TIME has chosen Jamal Khashoggi and other journalists as 2018's ‘Person of the Year'.
Others: The staff of Maryland’s Capital Gazette; Reuters journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo; Maria Ressa, CEO of a news outlet in the Philippines targeted by Duterte.https://t.co/tTIaWRGqgj
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) December 11, 2018
In my eight years at @Time and for the decades prior, we never honored the dead in the POY issue. Trump and the Saudi crown prince changed all that pic.twitter.com/tPKASC38uF
— Ishaan Tharoor (@ishaantharoor) December 11, 2018
Per the Washington Post:
… Journalists around the world have been targeted and assaulted for their work. Some have paid with their freedom; others have paid with their lives.
Even the president of the United States — a country that has prided itself on having freedom of the press since its founding — has repeatedly attacked the media as “the enemy of the people.” Other world leaders have echoed this aggressive stance against the media, cracking down on reporters who have tried to hold them accountable.
We are living through nothing short of a “war on truth” — but it is in such a time that “professional truth seekers” are more important than ever, Time magazine declared in its latest issue…
“The Guardians” also include the staff of the Capital Gazette, whose Maryland newsroom was attacked by a gunman in June; Maria Ressa, chief executive of the Rappler news website who has been made a legal target for the outlet’s coverage of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte; and journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, who have been jailed in Myanmar for nearly a year for their work exposing the mass killings of Rohingya Muslims.“As we looked at the choices, it became clear that the manipulation and the abuse of truth is really the common thread in so many of this year’s major stories, from Russia to Riyadh to Silicon Valley,” Time editor Edward Felsenthal said on the “Today” show Tuesday…
Poignant. Or maybe I mean ‘pungent’?
.@efelsenthal announces on NBC that Mueller is @TIME's #3 runner up for POY. Trump is #2.
— Zeke Miller (@ZekeJMiller) December 11, 2018
What is the Senate’s role in reining in despotism? https://t.co/apW8teambp
— southpaw (@nycsouthpaw) December 11, 2018
Having a normal one over there on the Fox News channel
(yes, this is the top story) pic.twitter.com/NseL2QcyHk
— Andrew Lawrence (@ndrew_lawrence) December 12, 2018
OzarkHillbilly
Somebody stole my credit card number. Caught it early, not liable for any of the charges but still….
Blech.
OzarkHillbilly
Heh. In reply to
is this little gem:
Betty Cracker
Open thread question for everyone: Got any ideas for Christmas gifts for people who are difficult to buy for? I don’t mean difficult as in unappreciative or picky; I mean people who don’t really need more stuff. Past gift ideas for this group have included things like car detailing gift card and a gourmet olive oil sampler.
Schlemazel
@OzarkHillbilly:
Had that when I was traveling all the time but because it was a work card & I had to report every week I caught it soon. Still it is a mess. Sorry you have to deal with this shit.
I blame the computers for making it so easy
NotMax
Ooh. Holiday time viewing chez NotMax now set. Vanity Fair shows up on Amazon Prime on the 21st.
Expect the amusing Frances de la Tour to leave no piece of scenery improperly unchewed.
@Betty Cracker
Our own satby’s merchandise?
oldster
I’m really glad that they are honoring Khashoggi.
However, I do wish that they would show him wearing ordinary Western dress.
For a lot of Time readers, the keffiyeh will mean, “meh, he’s a foreigner; what do I care if foreigners kill foreigners?”
They would not treat it so casually if they thought of him as a US resident whose children are US citizens.
And it would be easier for Time readers to think of him that way without the headdress.
Anne Laurie
@Betty Cracker: A worthy group they’d not otherwise know about? Like this?
(Was thinking about doing a post to solicit similar ideas, but there is TOO MUCH NEWS.)
Schlemazel
@Betty Cracker:
If they are the right kind of folks how about something from Oxam?
https://www.oxfamgifts.com/gift-category/all-gifts/
gkoutnik
@Betty Cracker: I am that person. I’ve asked people to donate to a nonprofit that helps people in need (i.e.: not NPR or opera) and tell me all about the organization and what they do. Interesting – many are resistant to this, and insist on stuff.
raven
@Betty Cracker: I love this book
The Saints of Old Florida
rikyrah
Good Morning, Everyone ???
rikyrah
@OzarkHillbilly:
Definitely blech??
raven
@Anne Laurie: White Tiger is my joynt!
OzarkHillbilly
@Betty Cracker: Hows about a card that says,
“For Christmas I got you just what you’ve always wanted.”
They open it and it says,
“Nothing at all.”
I know it’s what I’ve always wanted.
And oh yeah: BAH! HUMBUG!
NotMax
@OzarkHillbilly
Indeed. Have you priced humbugs lately?
Damn tariffs.
;)
Juice Box
@Betty Cracker: A year of a streaming service like Acorn, Britbox, Amazon Prime, PBS’s service.
NotMax
Sigh. No TCM for me today. All day/all night Elvis-thon.
germy
rikyrah
The Root (@TheRoot) Tweeted:
Several takeaways from Donald Trump’s Real Housewives of the Unseasoned reunion:
1) Trump is treating America like a reality T.V. show
2) Nancy Pelosi is urging Trump to avoid a government shutdown
3) Mike Pence posed as a flag-pole the entire time:
https://t.co/MAOsMKVjYW https://t.co/QryPKhidHd https://twitter.com/TheRoot/status/1072566719149944833?s=17
MomSense
@Betty Cracker:
I’ve given people like that things like archery lessons, a cooking class with a chef and four friends at their home. I gave my dad the National Geographic genographic project DNA test kit. It’s very cool because buying the kit supports the project around the world. Some of our local craft beer companies have a tasting deal where they send different beers every month.
Depends on their interests. An afternoon with a birder at a cool place? Ancestry dot com membership? Is there a nice museum or botanical garden where they would like a guided tour?
germy
JPL
@Betty Cracker: If they have an ebook, you could purchase the appropriate gift card.
p.a.
@Betty Cracker: “A gift has been made in your name to The Human Fund…”
But srsly, giftcards to special-needs employing businesses, mostly craft/home goods stuff is what I’m aware of; I know of one café that trains for placement in for-profit food establishments.
Gex
If only the media could respond to the right’s eliminationist rhetoric against any other group as it does when they are the targets. How many years have they presented people who don’t want gay people to exist as the “balance” for those who want us treated like humans and citizens? Repeat this analysis for every other group targeted by the right and it holds true.
The media is Niemöller if he had only ever noticed that they came for him and no one else before him.
HinTN
@Betty Cracker: Single malt scotch. Single barrel whiskey. Tickets to Hamilton. Fishing trip with Raven. B&B getaway to the Cracker chalet.
A Ghost To Most
@MomSense:
Wouldn’t that be drinks out on BC’s lawn, given the pix we’ve seen so far?
Immanentize
@germy: As we have said forever: Ignorance of the law is no excuse.
The problem with that argument is that it basically admits Flynn lied to the FBI on purpose — to deceive.
HinTN
@raven: That’s fabulous. I’m sure you’ve read the first Doc Ford books wherein he talks at length about the history of Florida. I especially likedThe Man Who Invented Florida.
HinTN
@NotMax: I’ll go with the knockoff brand, Hah Bumbug!
raven
@HinTN: Ooo, no, thanks!
raven
@HinTN: We ate at his joint last week.
Immanentize
@Betty Cracker:
There is this fabulous pop-up book called “Birdscapes” that has two-page pop up habitats with recorded bird songs. Here’s a viddy. But it may be out of print. I gave four or five a few years back and everyone loved them
MomSense
@A Ghost To Most: i want that gift!
MomSense
I’m giving my mom audible for the year. She has vision problems and has finally discovered audio books.
Ceci n est pas mon nym
@Betty Cracker: I’m that person and I’m no help at all. I’ve been asked for suggestions and I’m honestly as stumped as the people asking. But I always am touched by things that show people know me, even if they are little joke gifts.
debbie
One can only hope Trump is outraged he wasn’t picked Person of the Year.
debbie
@Betty Cracker:
Take a look at uncommongifts.com. I’ve found stuff over the years for difficult-to-buy-for people. They’ve got all kinds of things at all price levels that fit into this category.
JPL
@debbie: Thank you. I just bookmarked it.
OzarkHillbilly
@Betty Cracker: Seriously tho, some people really well and truly don’t want any gifts at all.
trnc
@Betty Cracker: Something food based, since no one has all the food they need for the long run. Even the rugged individualist Snack Team 6 survivalists had to get food deliveries after, what, a week?
Elizabelle
Good morning. @ Raven: love the Saints of Old Florida link. Wow.
I am thinking of (a) Baud and his pet and
(b) Strasbourg, France and all those who love France and/or Christmas markets. Gunman opened fire there last night; killed 3 and injured several more critically. He was a Strasbourg native with previous criminal record, known to French police, who had gone to his home to arrest him earlier yesterday. At large now. It is said he was radicalized while in jail/prison. Strasbourg is very near the borders of Germany and Switzerland; not that far from Luxembourg or Belgium either.
Schools are open in Strasbourg today; Christmas market and all cultural events cancelled. I hope people return, in swarms, at first opportunity, to enjoy the beautiful old city center and holiday beauty and buying gifts and treats and gluhwein.
We need our public spaces. Courage and peace to the people of Strasbourg.
ETA: linky to coverage in The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/dec/11/strasbourg-shooting-in-eastern-france
satby
@Betty Cracker: @NotMax: actually there’s a lot of great gift ideas already in this thread (thanks NotMax!) A thread about the other artists and crafty folk among us would be great for other gift ideas. Billin’s and Albatrossity sell their photography, for instance.
And last night I was emailing with MazeDancer about another. Her Post Cards for Patriots has some nice gift ideas, a subscription service where cards from you are sent to your gift recipient at regular times. I ‘m a terrible, erratic correspondent despite my good intentions, so I like that as a way to keep in regular touch.
And she’s working on gift announcements for the procrastinators among us who order too late for deliver by Christmas (also my kind of thing ?), and that would be a beautiful way to gift a donation too.
Marci Kesserich
@@Betty Cracker: Custom ornament of their favorite furry friend. I have innumerable crazy old aunts and other relatives who are also impossible to buy for, but I can always bank on their love of their pets.
Just email the lady who runs this website: https://itsthefuzz.com/
opiejeanne
@trnc: One Christmas someone gave us a box of pears. Can’t remember who but I do remember those wonderful pears.
Elizabelle
@Betty Cracker: Sponsor a service dog — or puppy training — in their honor. Donate to a shelter. Donate to the International Rescue Committee. Refugees abound; if anything, we are making more of them.
Or food gifts or wine/spirits or a plant or book. People who have everything really don’t need more.
opiejeanne
Ok, I see what I did wrong.
One Christmas someone sent us a box of pears. I don’t remember who, it was so long ago, but I do remember those pears.
satby
@OzarkHillbilly: that deserves two blechs. Sorry?
@rikyrah: Good morning ?
@Elizabelle: also thinking of Baud.
Dorothy A. Winsor
@OzarkHillbilly: That’s why credit cards are better than debit cards.
Kay
DougJ’s twitter is delightful. I once supported a (former) Ohio supreme court judge who is… insane, so I sympathize.
We should do a “political mistakes I have made” thread. One time Daily Kos supported a former Republican gun nut over Sherrod Brown in a primary.
Betty Cracker
Thanks for the great ideas, everyone!
SFAW
@Betty Cracker:
Although it’s not in the altruism/generosity ballpark: my family was given an “Escape Room” session (or whatever they’re called) for Christmas last year. So seven of us tried it. (This particular venue allows for groups of up to 10.)
Now — although Ozark and efgoldman will doubtless dispute this — I’m pretty curmudgeonly. But we had a GREAT time. We are allegedly going to get another one this Christmas. I’m psyched.
In the more-altruistic vein: a donation to something like VoteRiders.org?
ETA: How about a signed photo from the incoming Speaker?
Betty Cracker
@Kay: I like that thread idea! I’ve already confessed mine — I was one of the morons who voted for Ralph Nader in the 2000 election (in Florida!). I’ll carry that shame and regret to my grave but have tried to make up for it via service as a cautionary tale.
I wonder if Doug’s tweet was prompted by Greenwald’s appearance on the “Laura Ingraham White Nationalist Power Hour”? I think he’s a semi-regular on the “Tucker Carlson White Nationalist Power Hour,” so that horse sailed from the station a while back, IMO.
Dorothy A. Winsor
I have everything I want or need but I like getting things I use up like food or gift cards (especially for books).
Central Planning
@Betty Cracker: How about one of the “X of the month club” subscriptions. You can google to find lists of them, and you can probably find one that fits the things they like. I’ve seen food, books, magic, socks, ties, beverages, makeup, crafts, and more.
We got my 13yo this club for Xmas after his rock-of-the-month club shut down: https://mechanicalgifs.com/
dnfree
@Schlemazel: we have had credit card numbers stolen several times. We believe it mostly happens in restaurants when they take your card somewhere else to process it, and we think it’s low-tech theft—the server just writes it down. Now I tell the server I’m going with them while they process our card. It’s kind of embarrassing for them and me. But more places are doing the process in front of you or via a tablet.
OzarkHillbilly
@Dorothy A. Winsor: Hence my use of them.
Kay
@Betty Cracker:
In your defense, that election was weird. I loathe Leiberman. I thought he was a terrible VP pick. At that point in my political life I was palling around with the IBEW (electrical union members) and they hated Gore. I think the national IBEW endorsed Nader. It was all very upsetting. I was also sick to death of Bill Clinton. I sort of liked his used car salesman vibe- I generally like cheerful sales people- but I was sick of his too-cleverness, huge ego and triangulating, so I transferred some of that to Gore.
It wasn’t a good race. No one was inspired.
OzarkHillbilly
@Kay: @Betty Cracker: I voted for Edwards in the ’04 primary. Does that count?
Kay
@Betty Cracker:
My oldest son loved Gore. He wasn’t old enough to vote but I think that’s when he started to identify as a Democrat. He’s smart and fairly centrist and Gore still pretty much typifies the kind of candidates he likes.
Kay
@OzarkHillbilly:
Edwards is the person who popularized that dishonest framing where the candidate says “my opponent has X donors in X industry” where they’re talking about individual donors. So there will be individuals who check “finance” when they make a donation under “occupation” and Edwards portrays that as “millions from the finance industry”
He did it in a debate and I thought “you scoundrel” People still do it regularly. Completely dishonest.
Betty Cracker
@Kay: I hate that tactic too. It was recently used by acolytes of the High Sparrow to discredit Beto O’Rourke; these people dishonestly claimed that O’Rourke was beholden to oil & gas industries because many of his individual donors worked in those fields. Well, it’s Texas — of course they do! Completely dishonest is right.
A Ghost To Most
@OzarkHillbilly: Edwards ran a good con, for awhile. He took in a lot of good people.
I’ve voted D for every presidential race since 76, except for 88. Dukakis was a terrible campaigner. The only other R I can recall voting for was Thornburgh (sp?) for PA governor way back when.
Dorothy A. Winsor
@Kay: My friend who was precinct captain for Sanders in the 2016 caucus was precinct captain for Edwards in 2008. Afterwards she admitted we dodged a bullet there, but she has bad instincts.
Betty Cracker
@OzarkHillbilly: I saw right through that smarmy bastard Edwards and voted for Dean in that year’s primary. It still boggles my mind how big a deal the media made of the “Dean scream” — and 12 years later…well, I don’t think I need to finish that sentence here.
opiejeanne
@satby: Uhoh, what about Baud? I missed something
Lapassionara
@Betty Cracker: The gift ideas are great.
Speaking of birds, is there an app that can help identify bird calls, meaning hearing a call and figuring out the bird that is making it?
Good morning, everyone.
Eric S.
@Betty Cracker: Last year I bought a pair of tickets for a cooking class for my mother. We went together and had a fantastic time.
Dorothy A. Winsor
@opiejeanne: He has a very sick pet.
MomSense
WTF is up with Mike Pompeo? Anyone know what kind of kompromat they have on him? Or is he just another psychopath?
Ladyraxterinok
@gkoutnik: Did this 1 yr. Asked recipients for group to donate to. Most gave at least 2 suggestions. One suggested several different animal rescue groups, at least 1 local.
Isn’t there a group that takes your donation and buys a cow or goat for a 3rd-world-country family? Don’t remember deatails. I think there are several. Such groups got lots of publicity some yrs ago.
Spanky
@Lapassionara: Google sez https://lifehacker.com/shazam-for-birds-three-apps-that-recognize-bird-calls-1797955537
MomSense
@Ladyraxterinok:
Yes, Heifer International.
opiejeanne
@Dorothy A. Winsor: Oh, that’s terrible.
I was worried that he and the pet were in Strasbourg. Because I haven’t been asleep all night and I’m punchy. It’s a quarter to 6, so I’ll probably go to sleep soon.
MomSense
@Elizabelle:
Sending love out to Baud.
opiejeanne
@MomSense: Oxfam, too.
rikyrah
@MomSense:
YEP
Spanky
@Ladyraxterinok:
I received that one Christmas, but don’t remember the name.
Another one is Kiva, which gives microloans to third-world applicants – usually individuals. Your donation gets loaned out, then as it’s paid back it gets recycled into other loans. I’ve been part of that for about a decade.
OzarkHillbilly
@MomSense: He’s from Kansas. ‘Nuff said?
MomSense
@rikyrah: @OzarkHillbilly:
It’s appalling how he has debased the State Department.
Schlemazel
@OzarkHillbilly:
I caucused for him. I thought he had a pretty good record on liberal issues. He is the only one I think I was wrong on.
I changed my mind on BHO on the night because 200+ people showed up and I thought anyone who could move that many people could overcome America’s racism.
rikyrah
Anytime Flynn or Manafort are in the news…
Mike Pence knew.
Mike Pence lied.
Mike Pence covered it up.
Mike Pence is complicit.
Mike Pence is still lying.
Mike Pence still knows.
Mike Pence is still covering it up.
Mike Pence was chosen by Manafort.
Isn’t that right, @VP*? ?
— Ricky Davila (@TheRickyDavila) December 11, 2018
Steve in the ATL
@MomSense:
Balloon Juice After Dark starts at 11 pm eastern.
rikyrah
New in NC-09: Early voting totals from Bladen County may have been leaked.
Tabulations were apparently run days before the election. A witness wrote in a sworn affidavit that totals were “viewed by officials at the one-stop site who were not judges.”https://t.co/Qy85lHl5Ae
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) December 11, 2018
kindness
This part got me: ‘Professional truth seekers’.
How does that explain Chuck Todd?
Frankensteinbeck
@dnfree:
The big one is gas stations. California has a particularly big problem with this for some reason. Fraudsters can insert a device in the credit card slot that reads your card’s information while the pump does. I had it happen repeatedly until the bank warned me and I started paying in cash for gas.
raven
What’s up with Baud?
Ladyraxterinok
@MomSense: Thank you for info.
Elizabelle
@raven: Baud’s beloved pet on its last legs, or gone. Do not know if it’s a dog or cat.
I hope that is all that is up with Baud.
MomSense
@Steve in the ATL:
Ha!
satby
@Ladyraxterinok: Every year when my kids were younger and school aged, one of our Christmas traditions was that we selected a charity for us all to donate to. They usually chose Heifer project because baby animals, but it was another way for me to try to convey a sense that the season was about giving, not getting. They had to put in their own money too.
Ladyraxterinok
@Spanky: That’s a great group to be a part of
Elizabelle
@Spanky: Is it Heifer International re the animals?
And I love Kiva. My beagles were microfinanciers. You remind me I need to check the account and see what needs to be loaned out.
Kiva.org
schrodingers_cat
I am on my town’s Cultural Council, you are appointed by the board of selectman and have to pass an ethics test before you can vote on proposals. We have about $6000 to allocate. We have about 25 or so proposals.
You are considered a special town employee even though I don’t get paid. Guess what guys our President is breaking most of the ethics guidelines. Only in America, a volunteer on a town committee with less than 4000 people has to have higher ethical standards than the President or the AG.
Frankensteinbeck
@rikyrah:
Oddly, I’m becoming less and less convinced that Pence knew anything. The man is an empty suit, who says and does what he’s told. The jokes about what ‘mother’ does and does not allow are how he lives his life. He is literally a useful idiot and was picked for that virtue.
Chyron HR
@germy:
“Flynn has served his country admirably”
And I’m sure Russia appreciates his service, but he’s in America now.
OzarkHillbilly
@Schlemazel: My memory is that he was the strongest pro-union voice in the primaries and I wanted to reward him for it at a time when so many other DEMs were running away from the union label.
Obama is the only DEM candidate I have ever supported in the primaries with my wallet. My norm is to wait until the party voters have decided then support that person.
schrodingers_cat
@Elizabelle: I think its a dog, Baud does not have kittehs AFAIK.
raven
@Elizabelle: Aw, it’s such a slog. I try to keep that “love them everyday” going but watching them slow down sucks. The guys I was with last week and I have such a long history with dogs. One had a huge black German shepherd named Frog Dog who was blinded when he was app and my man was a seeing eye person for 12 years. My other pal and I had brother pups that lived about 14 years.
Platonailedit
Long overdue. God speed.
Kay
@Dorothy A. Winsor:
I don’t really trust my own anymore. Trump rattled me.
This is horrible to say and the southerners might object but John Edwards was to me a certain type of slick southern man that I am familiar with. I dated two of them. Like “aw shucks” but really pretty crafty and clever and..strategic. Bill Clinton had elements of this too. I identify it with southern men because that’s where I happened to encounter it.
raven
@Kay: Did you see “The Gal Got Rattled” in the Ballad of Buster Scruggs?
Starfish
@opiejeanne: Harry & David does the really nice pears.
Kay
@Dorothy A. Winsor:
I had a sad encounter with a Bernista. She mentioned that she had donated to Bernie in August and she said “he hasn’t announced, has he?”
I told her she might have donated to his Senate campaign. She’s donating to a Vermont senator. Because that seat’s likely to go to a Republican, right?
Spanky
@Elizabelle: Almost certainly it was Heifer Int’l at the time. And now I notice Kiva has a livestock section.
sherparick
@germy: The problem for LTG Flynn, Retired, is that he was routinely trained from the time he was a Cadet to his time as the head of DIA on military justice and Government ethics where he was informed that a false official statement, oral or written, is a crime both under the UCMJ and Title 10 of the US Code. Flynn knew full well telling a falsehood to an FBI agent was a crime.
This is another example though where being bound by the law kind comes to a shock to a Republican, since they believe very firmly in IOKIYAR. See Mr. Barr criticizing the donations of Mueller attorneys to Democrats, but saying, heh, nothing to see here, when it comes to his own massive donations. https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/trump-has-blasted-muellers-team-for-political-donations-but-attorney-general-nominee-william-barr-has-given-more-than-500000/2018/12/11/dce5974a-fcb0-11e8-862a-b6a6f3ce8199_story.html?utm_term=.0a14b33937a1
Kay
@raven:
No, should I watch that? I never know what to watch :)
schrodingers_cat
@Kay: They are as gullible and easily led as the RWNJs who love Orange Tantrum
rikyrah
@Kay:
But, you didn’t vote for him. Your judge of character is still in tact.
satby
@raven: Baud mentioned his (?) little girl once when you and I and probably Ozark were talking about our oldster dogs getting on, and facing the end knowing it wasn’t far off. Knowing Baud is in that place now and wishing peace for Baud and his furbaby.
WereBear
@NotMax: Tortures of the Darned!
Jeffro
@Betty Cracker: For folks like that, I almost always go with a high-end gourmet food, spice set, or wine gift. The more ‘artisanal’ the better.
Here in Virginia the Virginia Living store has all kinds of things like that from around the Commonwealth…I’m sure Florida has the equivalent. Or you could always go with Harry & David and the like. =)
rikyrah
@sherparick:
UH HUH
UH HUH
Kay
@schrodingers_cat:
Oh, it’s hard. I’m a team player, generally. I don’t throw anyone off the team. I think it comes from being in a political minority where I live- we’re very needy and constantly pleading with people to become Democrats. If you’re sort of a Democrat, you’re not only in, we’ll give you whatever you want.
My youngest likes Bernie and my daughter voted for him the PA primary, although she’s not a moron so she voted for Clinton in the general. I think my middle son might have voted for him in the OH primary but I know he voted for Clinton in the general because he filled out his ballot at my kitchen table. I was lobbying him right up until the end there.
It’s such a fragile coalition, a Democratic presidential win. You need a lot of pieces. I can’t waste any! What if I need them!?
Kay
@rikyrah:
I didn’t think he would win.I was shocked. Compare with Kerry, who I actually liked a lot and thought was underrated- I knew he would lose.
Jeffro
You know what I really detest about media coverage of Trumpov’s imminent (political) demise? They treat it like a game: “how will he avoid going to prison? what will he say when Cohen’s sentenced? Etc etc.” Instead of the sheer fact that HE HAS COMMITTED FELONIES! HIS ‘FIXER’ IS ABOUT TO GO TO PRISON! HE’S STARTING TO (as predicted) CALL FOR HIS SUPPORTERS TO ‘REVOLT’! Report THAT!
But no…just like when he called for “2nd Amendment Remedies” during the campaign…it’s all “how does he get away with saying things like that?” BECAUSE YOU LET HIM! (Well, because the GOP lets him, too…but still…)
Immanentize
Gifts.
I know this is not everyone’s cup of tea, but I am giving the Immp a gun safety course. A real one, not an NRA propoganda one.
He is going to college, likely in a gun rights state and I want him to know how to act if a gun comes his way.
rikyrah
Flynn wasn’t the only one who lied about sanctions discussions
As Mike Flynn’s sentencing approaches, Rachel Maddow looks at the other members of the Trump administration who lied about discussing Russian sanctions, or who lied about knowing about the lies, and wonders about the biggest remaining unanswered question: Why did Flynn lie?
Jeffro
@Betty Cracker: Oh and if you feel like giving a book, the Atlas Obscura coffee table book is just amazing…great for any age, any kind of person (except folks who hate coffee table books)
gene108
@Kay:
Vermont has a Republican governor. Not impossible
rikyrah
@Immanentize:
It’s sad, but probably a useful gift for him. Break it down for him what can happen.
Gotta give Little Imma all the skills possible for him to succeed
satby
@Gex:
@Jeffro:
These two quotes sum up the failure of the media perfectly.
rikyrah
@Kay:
I was disappointed and enraged.
Enraged that so many White people clung to the Whiteness.
Enraged that so many White women chose a disgusting human being over an obviously qualified woman.
Enraged by those on the left who helped make this happen.
In the end, it was a bank shot of voter suppression and ratphucking in a handful of states, along with the antiquated Electoral College, that got this to happen.
Those that made this happen will never be forgiven.
NEVER.
geg6
@A Ghost To Most:
I voted for Specter a few times, especially when old Bob Casey was running against him. Fuck him and his wanting to foist his religion on women and their bodies. But I’m not ashamed of that. Nor am I ashamed of the votes I threw to John Heinz. I can’t really think of anyone I voted for that I’m ashamed of.
rikyrah
A question still outstanding: Why did Mike Flynn lie?
Shane Harris, national security reporter for the Washington Post, talks with Rachel Maddow about questions that still linger about the Mike Flynn case (from the public perspective), including the role of his deputy, K.T. McFarland, and the question at the root of it all, why did Flynn lie?
Tazj
@Kay: I didn’t think Trump would win either. I remember one of my older brothers, who is a Democrat, but not really into politics, said he would win as not long after he announced. He said “People will be stupid enough to vote for him, I can see it now.”
I was foolish and thought he wouldn’t make it out of the primary. You know how pundits always talk about how grueling running for president is? I thought he would drop out. I believed Republicans would choose Rubio and I was very wrong. Well, Trump is definitely more committed to spewing garbage than Rubio is so there’s that.
I didn’t think Edwards was that sleazy either. I didn’t want to believe he would cheat on his wife when she was being treated for cancer and after everything they had been through. I guess most people weren’t surprised.
Brachiator
@Betty Cracker:
I always think you should ask people what they want. People who have “everything” may have seen something recently that tickled their fancy, or not thought about gifts.
And of course, I would not focus on a single gift, but try to get an idea of a range of possible presents.
rikyrah
@Betty Cracker:
Everybody cooks.
Get a nice Penzy’s gift box.
schrodingers_cat
@rikyrah: Amen sister. You know what, every day he remains in office he is pissing away America’s standing in the world. And that won’t be easy to regain even if we are so lucky as to have some one like President Obama win, in 2020.
A Ghost To Most
@Immanentize: Very wise. Even if Immp never touches another gun.
rikyrah
@Tazj:
The cheating on the wife was regular sleaze.
The MISTRESS HAVING THE BABY AND HIM STILL RUNNING AFTER SAID BABY…
well, that was a whole other level of unmitigated gall.
WaterGirl
@debbie: Thanks for that! I found one final gift for my niece. Ordered.
@raven: Thanks for the tip! I just ordered for my other niece who travels in those circles.
@Betty Cracker, up top: Great timing for this thread! :-)
Those were the last of my gifts that have to be mailed. Just a few gifts for local friends left, so this thread
satby
Not only did family friend Justin Cummings win in his race to be elected to the Santa Cruz City Council, but last night he was elected to be the Vice-Mayor. So proud to know this fine young man!
Brachiator
What a week. Shortly after 3 pm (noon Pacific Time), we should know the results of the no confidence vote which may boot UK prime minister Theresa May out of office.
A Ghost To Most
@sherparick:
Flynn should be worried about his military pension.
Ruckus
@Betty Cracker:
I’m that person as well. Nothing I really need for xmas. Nothing.
Things I want or could use? Don’t really want anything if I’m honest. It’s an obsession many have to want more. Sort of like wanting more money than can ever be used.
Gin & Tonic
@Ruckus: Fucking commie.
schrodingers_cat
Update on news of Assembly elections from India. BJP lost big. They are no longer in power in 3 big Hindi-belt states, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh. Whoever rules the Hindi belt, rules India.
Brachiator
@debbie:
Thanks for the gift search idea!
Gin & Tonic
@raven: Did you ever read Peter Matthiessen’s Shadow Country?
gene108
@schrodingers_cat:
America will never regain its standing in the world. Obama could sell Bush, Jr as a one-off and an overreaction to 9/11.
But the next Republican President is just as bad or worse in many regards.
The world knows we will elect another Republican and they know the odds are he will be just as big a fuck up as Trump and Bush, Jr.
JanieM
@Betty Cracker: Don’t have time to read the whole thread but the suggestion of Satby’s wares is a good one — I use her soap and it’s great! — and it has a more generalizable quality I like in gifts for people who don’t need a single atom more of “stuff” in their lives: it’s consumable. I give a few people on my list gift packs from our local orchard (Maine-grown/made apples, maple syrup, honey, cheese). With food, the recipient doesn’t have to store it, dust it, or maintain it. I actually *receive* a couple of food gifts that I don’t/can’t eat, but I can always find someone who will/can.
The charity suggestion is a good one too. A friend of ours decided to do frugal Christmases and asked that I not give gifts to her kids, so I gave to a non-profit (that benefited kids) in their name and the non-profit sent them a thank-you, by name, each year.
Barbara
@sherparick: I am shocked that anyone would contend that a mitigating factor in sentencing should include not having been warned by the government that lying in response to official questioning is a criminal offense. You never have to lie. You can ask for a lawyer, decline to speak to agents or invoke your right against self incrimination. Someone like Flynn is way more knowledgeable and sophisticated about the legal system than most people, who really might not know, for instance, that carrying 10 grams versus 1 gram of some kind of substance is the difference between probation and decades in jail. What an idiot.
Kathleen
@Betty Cracker: Did the same on Ohio. Mea Culpa, Mea Culpa, Mea Maxima Culpa
I blame Obama.
Barbara
@schrodingers_cat: Is that a good thing? I guess it depends on who won instead — someone more moderate or someone who is even more extreme. I would say theocentric but that doesn’t sound right.
schrodingers_cat
@gene108: The RoW (rest of the world) is not covering itself in glory right now either. Right now there doesn’t seem to be an alternative to the United States on the global stage. But that could change, The disastrous tariffs imposed by T and loved by many lefties will hasten that. Its the height of hypocrisy for United States to push for tariffs while pushing WTO and it is predecessor GATT and lowering of trade barriers on other economies for the last 30 years or more.
If the $ is replaced by the another currency or a basket of currencies as the global reserve currency the wheels will start coming off the we are number one bus pretty quickly.
Citizen Alan
@Gex:
This. I’m certainly glad that Shitgibbon isn’t Time’s PotY. But it is, IMO, both hypocritical and sanctimonious in the extreme for Time to burble about journalism’s role as “professional truth seekers” when the U.S. media has been engaged in a quarter-century-plus campaign of disinformation in the service of fascism. Donald Trump is president because journalism FAILED. The entire profession simply FAILED America at every level.
Platonailedit
Fuck you, jack.
Barbara
@Tazj:
It happens more than you would think. Not everyone rises to the occasion of sickness and becomes a better person. What I would tell your brother, however, is that Trump actually lost the majority of voters, so his assessment of people only works when funneled through the kind of system that we have, that gives disproportionate levels of power to the kind of people who can be bamboozled by someone like Trump. Increasingly, it feels like an anchor around our neck.
schrodingers_cat
@Barbara: Yes it is a good thing. Bharatiya Janata Party is the right wing Hindu Nationalist party, the one that PM Modi belongs to. Congress and a raft of left parties won. Congress has done awful things too in the past but it hasn’t tried to rule on the basis of a majoritarian nationalism.
ETA: Unlike Modi’s 2014 campaign which was about a centrist economic agenda this time they campaigned on hate (against Muslims, liberals etc) and were rejected soundly.
Gin & Tonic
@Citizen Alan:
FTFY. There are courageous, truth-seeking journalists in many countries. Unfortunately they have a tendency to be imprisoned or killed. Too bad that Americans seem to prefer entertainment to news.
Brachiator
@Platonailedit:
And practically no one in the US gave a shit.
Gin & Tonic
@Platonailedit: Is there any evidence that Jack Dorsey is not, in fact, a fascist?
satby
@schrodingers_cat: is that Modi’s party? That would be good news.
Platonailedit
Rethugs don’t give a shite even about a fig leaf for public probity.
schrodingers_cat
@satby: Yes.
Miss Bianca
@A Ghost To Most: Cool place. Cooler birder. Plus, drinks! Hey, works for me!
SFAW
@gene108:
Now you’ve done it.
schrodingers_cat
For the first time since 2014 saffron shrank on the map of India
Miss Bianca
@Elizabelle: oh, that is horrible. I was lucky enough to be in Strasbourg in December many years ago, and I remember that Christmas market fondly. : (
catclub
@Brachiator: I am guessing she does not lose the no-confidence vote. No one wants her job.
Platonailedit
Miss Bianca
@rikyrah: I am so with you on this.
Elizabelle
@Miss Bianca: Wasn’t there for the market, but visited twice this winter and it’s a lovely little city. Am not surprised that radicalized Islamists target the markets, but they must not succeed in making them less popular.
And I feel so much safer and saner in Europe than here.
Gelfling 545
@Betty Cracker: A framed picture of a pet or other loved one or a common happy mempry. A membership or subscription. I have given a year of Rolling Stone, a year membership in the Audubon Society, the Smithsonian, and our local zoo at various times.
Yarrow
@debbie: I think it’s actually uncommongoods.com. I’m a big fan of them and have bought things for people from there several times. They work with small businesses and seem to function like a different type of Etsy.
I know someone who had their products sold via Uncommon Goods. I met them when they were selling their stuff at a local farmers/artisan market and then a few months later I saw them again. They didn’t have the thing I was looking for and they said they were short on it because they were selling it through Uncommon Goods!
Everything I’ve got from them has been great. Unusual. Good quality.
The Moar You Know
@schrodingers_cat: It could have and should have been the EU but they are too busy ripping each other to shreds over brown people inside their borders. Gotta give Vlad some credit, he knew his audience and knew what they’d bite on.
So we will get China instead. I don’t think anyone is going to be real happy with that outcome. Least of all Vlad, when the Chinese just up and take all of Siberia/East Russia and there won’t be jack shit he can do about it.
Platonailedit
@catclub: Yup. The brexiteer clowns have shown themselves as complete corrupted cowards. Tina factor may help May stay as PM.
schrodingers_cat
@The Moar You Know: China is not without its own internal problems either. China’s ascendance is not a given. But the R nonsense here, is definitely making it easy for them.
Gelfling 545
@SFAW: My sister gave this to the “middles” in our family ( those between 20&40) and a grand time was had by all. The year before she gave them a session at a local joint called Lazer-tron which I gather is kind of a shooter video game irl. Again, it was a big hit and a nice chance for the cousins to get together without us olds.
Gelfling 545
@Betty Cracker: Spa treatment or massage gift certificates. Something I love to receive.
SFAW
@Gelfling 545:
Our crew ages were three 20-somethings, three 60-somethings, and a 70-something. We ALL loved it. Of course, it helped that we were able to escape within the time limit. [We were able to hear the screams — mixed in with the sound of the chainsaw — of one unfortunate team.]
joel hanes
“professional truth seekers” are more important than ever
Unfortunately, the NYT has specifically and repeatedy denied that they see this as their mission.
As to food gifts:
Superb-quality specialty foods, chosen with a knowledge of what that person likes.
I’ve done:
– salmon from Keta in Juneau
– bacon from Nueskes in Wisconsin
– bratwurst from Miesfelds in Wisconsin
– olives from The Olive Pit in Corning California
– blue cheeses from Carr Valley in Wisconsin
– one of the dried fruit “crates” from Casa De Fruta in California, or a package of their huge cashews
WereBear
I know exactly what you mean. I moved a thousand miles away to date in a different pool.
schrodingers_cat
@WereBear: I am not southern but I too recognized the slick sleazy type in Edwards. I am sometimes surprised at how gullible and trusting many people are.
As for Bill Clinton, his policy instincts were pretty good. The worst legislation he signed had the Gingrinch Congress imprint on it.
Captain C
@OzarkHillbilly: I would have voted for Edwards in the ’08 primary had he lasted that long (by the time things rolled around to New York, only Obama and Clinton were left on the ballot). I’m glad I got spared from making that mistake.
trollhattan
@Gelfling 545:
I first read that as “I have given a year of Roger Stone” and was pretty appalled. Unless it was to a frenemy, then Well played!
West of the Rockies
@schrodingers_cat:
I concur, but sometimes I wonder what would have happened had Hillary won. I think it would have been death by a thousand cuts, one piggy-shit investigation after another, with a ginormous dose of McConnell/Ryan obstruction, resulting in a one-term presidency, with people concluding that a woman just shouldn’t be president.
Platonailedit
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-46539341
Amir Khalid
@The Moar You Know:
Someone will step up. Maybe China, maybe the EU if they still have weight to throw around post-Brexit. They won’t have the diplomatic, economic, or military resources the US could bring to bear; they certainly won’t be any wiser or more impartial than the US was (every nation has biases and self-interest, after all); the results won’t be pleasant. But everyone wants, secretly or not, to be the big man.
tobie
Add this to the annals of the grift in the age of Trump: George Papadopoulos and Simona Mangiante are now being filmed for a reality TV show about their lives post-Mueller. The article in the Post only had this to say about financing:
Brachiator
@catclub:
A number of people think they want her job. And of course, the crazy thing is that everyone hates the decisions she has made with respect to BREXIT, but no one has a better idea.
The UK Standard reports this:
Rudd has previously been a strong ally of Theresa May. Michael Gove, not so much.
Domestic short hair tabby (fka vheidi)
@Ladyraxterinok: Heifer. We gave my mom the ark (all the animals) for her 75th. Not a gift for the vegetarians.
WereBear
@schrodingers_cat: Are you talking about the repeal of Glass-Steagall? Because that turned out to be a mistake.
WereBear
@West of the Rockies: I doubt the Russian angle would have been pursued to its end under those circumstances.
schrodingers_cat
@WereBear: And IIRIRA, harsh sentencing guidelines, welfare reform, etc.
Brachiator
@West of the Rockies:
No way to know. This stuff always becomes more personal projection than anything else.
I think HRC would have had a gloriously successful presidency. Both terms.
More seriously, I think that based on the popular vote alone, the majority of citizens have no problem with the idea of a woman president. None at all. Hell, I even think that a Republican would have a good chance of being the first woman president, especially if she positioned herself as an authentic pro-family alternative to someone like Trump.
WereBear
Not so! I gave a beehive in remembrance when a friend lost her vegetarian son, and she found that lovely and appropriate.
I also love Heifer International for those tough gifting situations. One year my office bought someone a llama.
Gravenstone
@kindness:
Professional truth distorter.
TenguPhule
@Betty Cracker: Cash is king.
J R in WV
@Ladyraxterinok:
Yes, this is the Heifer Project, which gifts rural families with everything from bee hives or Llamas up to Holstein dairy cows. It’s a wonderful charity. I had a good friend who helped start it up years ago.
lurker dean
@NotMax: ooh, thanks for the reminder, i forgot about satby’s soap etc. yes, excellent gift choice, just ordered some :)
Domestic short hair tabby (fka vheidi)
@WereBear: good points, thanks
debbie
@Yarrow:
Crap, you’re right. I plead early morning sleepiness. Thanks for setting the record straight, though I see it redirects to the correct site. Glad I’m not the only idiot in this world.
DaveInOz
@Betty Cracker: I’ve found ‘experiences’ gift cards handy. I’ve bought my wife a day’s spa treatment for example. WE’ve bought scenic flights, go-cart sessions etc in the past