In a rare moment of courage, twelve Senators removed their heads from Trump’s ass long enough to tell him to piss off:
The Senate on Thursday easily voted to overturn President Trump’s declaration of a national emergency at the southwestern border, delivering a bipartisan rebuke to what lawmakers in both parties deemed executive overreach by a president determined to build his border wall over Congress’s objections.
The 59-41 vote on the House-passed measures set up the first veto of Mr. Trump’s presidency. It was not overwhelming enough to override Mr. Trump’s promised veto, but Congress has now voted to block a presidential emergency declaration for the first time — and on one of the core promises that animated Mr. Trump’s political rise, the vow to build a wall between the United States and Mexico.
In an attempt to limit defections ahead of the vote, Mr. Trump had sought to frame the vote publicly as not only a declaration of support for his border security policies but a sign of personal loyalty.
“It’s pure and simple: it’s a vote for border security, it’s a vote for no crime,” Mr. Trump told reporters ahead of the vote, which he declared on Twitter to be “a vote for Nancy Pelosi, Crime and the Open Border Democrats!”
When someone smarter than me breaks down the vote, we’ll see how many Republicans voted this way because it was the right thing to do and how many did so because they are running scared in 2020.
meander
Cameron Joseph at Talking Points Memo provides this analysis:
Frankensteinbeck
I honestly believe several of them voted to tell him to fuck off. Very little of congress likes him, and sending Pence to negotiate probably made things worse. They’ll defend his right to be president to the death, but they hate him personally.
schrodingers_cat
So which Rs exhibited a semblance of a backbone?
rk
I’m not smarter than you but I’ll break it down for you. None of them voted for it because it was the right thing to do. They’re all thick heads and would not know what the right thing was even it it smacked them on the side of the head.
Baud
@meander: I guess they figure their base will care about this more than ours will.
dmsilev
@meander: Trump is both vindictive enough and stupid enough to go after Republican Senators who cross him, and the GOP base loves Trump. He easily could torpedo the reelection bid of a Cory Gardner or similar by badmouthing them to the base. Hence their support for the fake-emergency.
Of course, Gardner etc. are now going to get slammed by sane people for supporting the unpopular and unneeded fake-emergency. So sad.
Mike in NC
“A sign of personal loyalty” is a common requirement among mob bosses, which is all that Fat Bastard is.
I hope he spends the weekend at Mar-A-Shithole, raging so hard against those disloyal Republicans that he promises revenge and ends up with an ulcer. Will the media call it “GOP in disarray”? Nah.
Baud
Josh Marshall
dmsilev
@schrodingers_cat: Via TPM,
zzyzx
Something that is being massively under reported in the national emergency issue is that the only reason Trump gets a veto is due to the Supreme Court’s ruling in INS v. Chadha. The original intent of the law was that Congress could overrule the declaration with a majority.
So if Trump gets shot down in court and complains about judicial overreach, remember that if we had gone by intent, this would be over today.
Ohio Mom
@schrodingers_cat: The list is at the TPM link.
My Senator Rob Portman is on it. Guess he figured this was a good time to shore up his fake reputation as a deep thinking moderate.
I’ll have to call and compliment him.
Keith P.
It will matter in court since Congress has voted twice on two matters showing it does not want to fund a border wall.
Roger Moore
@meander:
Shorter: Republicans facing reelection are more afraid of being primaried by Trumpites than of the general election.
gratuitous
I am unaware of any rule that prevents someone from changing their vote should Trump veto this as he has promised (and we all know what Donald Trump’s promises are worth). It would be quite easy and defensible for any number of Republicans to say, “I voted against the resolution to overturn the emergency declaration the first time around, but because of the president’s defiance of the will of the American people by his veto, I am now voting in favor of the resolution and overriding the president’s veto.”
trollhattan
Adorable, Susan Collins yet again donning her spine costume. Did she have it dry-cleaned after Kavanaugh?
Cermet
The concept of morality and a rethug senator are mutually exclusive. So, none did it for other than protecting their “for sale” ass’s..
trollhattan
Speaking of slow-moving train wrecks.
Kills me that unlike us with Trump they can actually craft a do-over and perhaps avoid the whole mess, but, Principles and all, don’t you know?
TaMara (HFG)
Gardner is toast. Trump is at less than 39% favorability here in Colorado with independent voters lower than that. Bye. Bye.
Logan Brown
Tillis is more afraid of a primary than getting routed in the general election. Couldn’t happen to a nice fascist.
Brachiator
No crime. Is Trump going to build a Wall around Staten Island?
Cali was reputed to be involved in the drug trade that Trump seems to think only originates in Mexico.
lurker dean
that f-ing fraud ben sasse voted with trump. and then issued a statement calling himself a constitutional conservative. what an asshole.
Miss Bianca
@TaMara (HFG): from your mouth to God’s ear.
H.E.Wolf
Lamar Alexander (Tennessee) is retiring in 2020, rather than running for re-election.
Susan Collins (Maine) is up for re-election in 2020, if she chooses to run.
I think those were the only 2 of the 12 whose terms expire in 2020.
If so, the other 10 Republican Senators must have had other reasons for voting with the Democrats on this issue.
Shall we speculate?
Brachiator
@trollhattan:
Cruel, but funny!
@Mike in NC:
Given current events, funny that you should mention mob bosses.
Raoul
Ben Sasse is a sinkhole of stupid.
“What Trump did was unconstitutional but I’m voting to support Trump because Nancy is mean.” Ben is a child. A petulant fool with zero values or core.
Baud
So this will be Trump’s first veto, followed soon by the veto of the Yemen resolution.
Gravenstone
@Mike in NC:
Aim high!
Raoul
Oh, and Cory Gardner is fucking toast. An absolute twatwaffle.
ETA: at this point, I think he’s just trying to save himself from running a reelection campaign with zero money. And he probably thinks bucking Trump makes his wingnut welfare chances worse than faking having a backbone would.
I hope to g-d he doesn’t stand a chance in 2020. I’ll be donating to help sweep him out!
geg6
@meander:
I think Cory Gardner is a dead man walking. This vote didn’t help, but he was in big trouble long before this.
geg6
@Ohio Mom:
Toomey did the same. Fuck him. I’m not calling, unless it’s to tell him that this vote was for nothing because we’re coming for him regardless.
Gravenstone
@gratuitous: Good luck finding Republicans who actually believe that, let alone any who would put it into practice. Veto override probably goes down on nearly party line votes.
Bobby Thomson
@rk: this. Not complicated.
mrmoshpotato
@trollhattan: They also have a no-confidence vote. Must be nice.
hueyplong
Balloon Juice and both Utah senators in lockstep.
That doesn’t happen every day.
donnah
@trollhattan:
Well, the starch only lasts a little while.
JPL
Wouldn’t it be something if Hickenlooper ran for Senate rather than feed his ego.
JPL
@TaMara (HFG): Was the bomb cyclone as bad as predicted.
Baud
@JPL: From what I’ve heard, there are Dems in the Senate race who are pretty solid.
trollhattan
Uh oh, Trump is gonna go gunnin’ for a Norwegian schoolgirl who’s trying to steal his Precious.
Watch out, Greta!
Duane
@Ohio Mom: Sen. Blunt of Missouri voted against Trump’s stupidity. I’ve never called him in support until today. For once the old hack did something right.
JPL
@Baud: Phew.
Trump thinks this is a win because he can veto a bill and then build his f.king vanity wall.
tobie
@trollhattan: I guess Trump will retract his invitation for people from “Normay” to immigrate to the US.
Raoul
@JPL: Keystone resort picked up 9″, which in any other year would be a great day of powder. But I was snowboarding at Breck in over-the-knee freshies the weekend of March 2-3 (four feet fell in four days), so at least in the high country, this bombo was kinda ‘so – so’. Can’t speak for Denver or the plains, which I think got more.
trollhattan
@tobie:
Heh. “I don’t want any more Normegians coming here, they’re not raking their forests at all. SAD!”
PaulWartenberg
Insane day at work today. Am going mad.
Worst.
PI DAY.
Ever.
WaterGirl
@JPL: Sherrod Brown is a true statesman. I don’t mind someone running for President if they aren’t risking an existing senate seat, but it will be good if the ones who are in the senate now put protection of the senate above personal ambition.
mrmoshpotato
@PaulWartenberg: Do you own a pizzeria?
:)
Marcopolo
Well, even though I generally despise him I did call Sen Blunt’s office to thank him for standing up for the Constitution & separation of power.
Not sure if I want to make it a habit, however.
WaterGirl
@PaulWartenberg: Last year I broke my ankle on pie day. I am just hoping to get through today without incident!
rikyrah
Hallmark cuts ties with Lori Loughlin after she was charged in college admissions cheating scandal for paying $500,000 to get her daughters into USC
By EMILY CRANE FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 16:11 EDT, 14 March 2019 | UPDATED: 16:11 EDT, 14 March 2019
The Hallmark Channel has cut ties with actress Lori Loughlin after she was charged in the college bribery scandal.
Hallmark said it was ‘saddened’ by the allegations involving the actress and revealed on Thursday the network would no longer be working with her.
It has also stopped development of all productions involving Loughlin.
frosty
@dmsilev: Toomey! Maybe my phone call (or two) worked!
WaterGirl
@Marcopolo: We appreciate your sacrifice for the greater good.
Citizen Alan
I am utterly shocked that Roger Wicker (MS) voted with the Dems. Utterly shocked.
Marcopolo
@Duane: Reading the comments backwards after my post. So Blunt got at least two supportive calls!
I’m betting a hella lot more MAGGATs have called in complaining, though. That thought brings a smile.
janesays
@meander: I would argue that the vulnerable senators up for re-election who voted against the resolution largely did so because they’re running scared. Republican senators greatest fear in the age of Trump is having him back a primary challenge against them.
jl
Personal loyalty? OK, fine, please proceed master deal maker and terrific top statesperson Trump. As as a Dem, I love that sales pitch for 2020. More of that.
Lapassionara
@Marcopolo: I’d make it a habit if he voted the right way more often.
Mike in NC
Not surprised that Tom Tillis chickened out. Utterly worthless scumbag always toes the GOP line. Hope NC voters fire his ass next year.
Ryan
I think only two were up for re-election
frosty
@geg6: On Toomey: Second that.
jl
Maybe Trump appeal to personal loyalty will remind 8 or so GOP Senators about what happens when you go the wrong way up one way streets and get them to vote to over ride.
bemused
@rikyrah:
That was fast. I thought it might take a day or two more.
Jeffg166
They are running scared.
MattF
OT. Reinhold Aman has died. The photo of the deceased at the link reminded me of our very own JC.
Aman was an academic– the world’s expert on ‘strong’ language. As the photo suggests, he was not a nice man.
Patricia Kayden
Like a true Mafia Don.
bemused
@Jeffg166:
My spouse and I agree that Republicans are driven by basically two emotions, terror and rage.
WaterGirl
@jl: Pretty sure he meant fealty but he didn’t know how to spell it.
bemused
@bemused:
Oh wait, forgot overwhelming greed.
TS (the original)
Is it correct that EVERY democrat voted for the resolution? The media loves to praise any GOPer who once in a lifetime does the right thing – so I would like to thank the democrats for holding firm for democracy.
MattF
@TS (the original): Yes.
TS (the original)
@MattF: Thanks – easy to find the GOP votes online – have to do the maths to count the dems.
BC in Illinois
[Reprinted from earlier thread:]
The Brexit debate has given me this Scottish insult, which I can put to good use.
A shiver has run through the Republicans in Congress
— looking for a spine to crawl up —
and it has not found one.
Hoodie
Clearly, this was all about avoiding being primaried by Trump loyalists. Tillis was threatened by some local GOPers for saying he would vote against Trump, so he flip flopped. Maybe the ones voting against Trump were trying to create some kind of cover for those up in 2020, so they could lie about it during the general election, i.e., “many republicans voted against Trump’s unconstitutional power grab! (neglects to say he wasn’t one of them).” They probably think Americans are that stupid or cynical. Too many are.
germy
@bemused:
Don’t forget greed.
And bigotry.
Ohio Mom
@Ohio Mom: As usual, no one staffing the phones in any of Portman’s offices. I left a message complimenting this rare display of ethics and good sense at the DC office and will try the Ohio offices tomorrow.
I really do try to be fair.
germy
Banana: Meet Republic.
Ohio Mom
@geg6: Well, it’s not just being fair. I plan to first remind his interns that their boss tried to kill me by voting No on the ACA (two out of three times), but he is due the faint praise of being right this one time.
sjs
The interesting thing is that they could have filibustered it but nobody bothered.
TS (the original)
@germy: He must have been reading this headline at WaPo
Maduro’s muscle: Politically backed motorcycle gangs known as ‘colectivos’ are the enforcers for Venezuela’s authoritarian leader.
“Now we can’t even protest, because they’ll shoot at us,” said Delia Arellano, 72, one of the demonstrators.
germy
@TS (the original):
WaterGirl
@germy: Wow. I have the police, the military and the scary bikers. You know, the people with guns and weapons who can enforce what I want.
Shorter Trump: “Nice democracy you got there, would be a shame if something happened to it.”
Steeplejack
@rikyrah:
Wow, that’s going to leave a mark. Loughlin has been cranking out the Garage Sale Mysteries movies like crazy—eight or 10 in the last couple of years, three or four in pre-production right now.
WaterGirl
@TS (the original):
Oh my god, you are so right. It’s even worse than I thought, and I thought it was pretty bad.
Mary G
Surprised that Marco Rubio found a teaspoon of testosterone and voted yes. He must be betting that Twitler is going to crash and burn. It can’t be due to principle.
germy
WaterGirl
@Steeplejack: I actually liked those, and I liked her husband and her daughter in the show. Way less lame than a lot of Hallmark movies.
(p.s. check your email.)
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Mitch knows he can count on her vote when it matters. I used to think she was principled and weak. Since Kavanaugh, I think she’s a phony moderate, a right-wing ideologue and every bit the power-hungry cynic McConnell is.
Humdog
@Steeplejack: And Laughlin costars in When Calls the Heart. She is not a very good actress, but she had a lot going on on that channel.
germy
VOR
@dmsilev:
Sane people tend not to vote Republican in the first place.
trollhattan
@BC in Illinois:
Can we run a shiv through the Republicans in Congress?
Amir Khalid
@MattF:
The website looks fascinating. I have bookmarked it. Thank you.
FlyingToaster
@Steeplejack: Oh boy. Garage Sale Mystery 16 was filming (though noticeably missing Steve Bacic), and 17, 18, and 19 were in pre-production.
I think she should resign herself to voiceovers for a while.
germy
Southern Poverty Law Center fires co-founder, declines to say what he’s alleged to have done
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/03/14/southern-poverty-law-center-fires-co-founder-declines-say-what-hes-alleged-have-done/?utm_term=.d52c5e12fe5b
rikyrah
Sephora ENDS its partnership with Lori Loughlin’s daughter Olivia Jade after customers threatened to BOYCOTT stores in the wake of her parents being charged in college bribery scandal
By CHARLIE LANKSTON FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 14:24 EDT, 14 March 2019 | UPDATED: 16:47 EDT, 14 March 2019
Sephora told DailyMail.com on Thursday that it has cut ties with 19-year-old social media star Olivia Jade ‘effective immediately’
Olivia Jade is widely known as a social media and YouTube influencer who has done paid partnerships with brands like Sephora and Amazon
She also released her own Sephora palette last year, however the product was pulled from the website on Thursday as the brand released its statement
On Tuesday, Olivia’s parents Lori, 54, and Mossimo Giannulli, 55, were charged with paying $500,000 in bribes to get Olivia into USC
Online critics quickly began insisting that Sephora end the partnership and stops selling the product immediately
Australian fashion brand Princess Polly also removed Olivia’s dedicated page from its website on Thursday, while Hallmark cut ties with her mother Lori
Since the news of the bribery scandal broke, Olivia has faced brutal criticism on her social media accounts and her YouTube channel
trollhattan
@rikyrah:
“Thanks a lot, moooooom!”
Brachiator
@Steeplejack:
Apparently, she has been very important to Hallmark:
germy
@Brachiator: I wonder if William Macy is experiencing any fallout from this?
WaterGirl
@germy: Holy shit!
germy
@WaterGirl: A “personal matter” they’re calling it.
A Me Too situation, maybe? I’m just guessing here.
Barbara
@Brachiator: I just can’t imagine what she and her husband were thinking. By all accounts her daughters don’t even care about school and there is a better than even chance they would have skated into a reasonably good school just based on their own efforts and the fact that they could pay full freight. The most elite schools have need blind admissions, but there are lots and lots of good schools that still take ability to pay into account because, basically, they don’t have a choice. I am also less than convinced the daughters had no idea what their parents were up to.
Frankensteinbeck
@germy:
It is central to the Right’s self-image to believe they’re the tough guys and the Left are wimps. In real life Trump has 63 million cowards, including police who wet their pants and empty their clips if a black man looks at them funny.
WaterGirl
@germy: Me Too was might first thought, also.
rikyrah
????
Kasie DC (@KasieDC) Tweeted:
.@Kasie: “Do you think that the experience [@BetoORourke] has here in the House is a strong enough foundation to jump to the Oval Office?”
@SpeakerPelosi: “And you ask me that when we have a President of the United States who never – you know – please. Yes, the answer is yes.” https://t.co/YLDK1FPYSF https://twitter.com/KasieDC/status/1106235143021346816?s=17
Brachiator
@rikyrah:
BTW, the daughter apparently was going to USC more for the social status than to get an education. Her relationship to the school seemed to involve mutual exploitation. How many students get to do Spring Break on a yacht?
BTW: owning a yacht separates millionaires, who can’t afford them, from billionaires:
West of the Rockies
@germy:
Of course not. He’s shameless.
Barbara
@Brachiator:
At USC or in general? Because probably quite a few at USC.
The Gray Adder
@meander: So in other words, if their seat is good past 2020, they felt more free to vote their consciences, making the reasonable guess that Trump would no longer be President in 2022 or 2024.
TaMara (HFG)
@JPL: Longmont, as usual, had its own weather system – lots of wind, blowing snow and about 2″ accumulation. But nothing like the rest of the state. It’s almost all gone here.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@Brachiator: I though mob etiquette demands head shots only in their killings. Or is even the mob gone to outsourcing for hits in these fallen times?
Steeplejack
@germy:
Wow, that’s going to leave a mark. For the (few?) people who know the SPLC, Morris Dees is practically synonymous with the SPLC.
zhena gogolia
@rikyrah:
BEAUTIFUL
Brachiator
@Barbara:
It’s all about status, connections, and bragging rights. America doesn’t have an official aristocracy, so some people who have achieved prominence or success need to create markers that indicate their elite status. So, it’s not about getting their kids into any college. And it wouldn’t be enough that their kids would still be celebrities and hang out with the cool kids at whatever school they went to. They have to get into the schools that matter, that have a name or a special cachet.
Also, some kids didn’t know what was going on, but others must have known. If someone is taking your SAT test for you, do you really believe that you are getting into college on your own merits?
Jay
@WaterGirl:
Or remembering Putin’s Bikers
rikyrah
chris evans (@notcapnamerica) Tweeted:
NPR: Do you think there should be an end to the death penalty?
Kamala Harris: Yes, I do.
NPR: An end?
Kamala: Yes.
NPR: No one would be executed?
Kamala: Correct.
NPR: For any crime?
Kamala: Correct.
NPR: Not even treason?
Kamala: No.
NPR: There’s nothing?
Kamala: No. https://t.co/QurTBDZ0at https://twitter.com/notcapnamerica/status/1106295660301742082?s=17
WaterGirl
@Steeplejack: I was about to type: “This is a shock — Morris Dees is synonymous with the Southern Poverty Law Center.” when I saw your comment.
rikyrah
Where?did?the?money?go?
AP Politics (@AP_Politics) Tweeted:
APNewsBreak: The Sanders Institute, a think tank founded by Democratic presidential contender Bernie Sanders’ wife and son, has stopped accepting donations and plans to suspend operations by the end of May. https://t.co/ODQvDVLMrB https://twitter.com/AP_Politics/status/1106303269113073665?s=17
WaterGirl
@rikyrah: We seem to be living within the proverbial curse: May you live in interesting times.
Brachiator
@germy:
He is well liked in the acting community. Apparently, he has not been arrested. Folks seem to be bending over backwards to try to give him some cover.
FlyingToaster
@rikyrah: Yep.
Where are Wilmer’s tax returns? And where are Jane’s?
Roger Moore
@bemused:
You left out greed.I see you addressed that already.bemused
@Roger Moore:
I added that soon after, overwhelming greed.
They are scared of everything, angry all the time and want to steal all of our money.
MattF
@rikyrah: Tsk. The unfairness of it all..
Brachiator
@Enhanced Voting Techniques:
Good help is hard to find. Probably got mobsters busy trying to bribe someone to get their kids into the top colleges. And guys who used to work for the mob are all at home playing video games and trying to get into social media.
Or they are trying to get White House fellowships.
@germy:
Interesting how Trump sees no difference between law enforcement entities and criminal enforcers.
I still can’t believe that this dope is president.
TS (the original)
@rikyrah:
The family dynamics will be interesting. If the child did not know about this – did she at least wonder how she got into USC?
TS (the original)
@WaterGirl:
Could say its been one of those days – but with trump in the WH every day is one of those days
Brachiator
@rikyrah:
A Sanders “think tank.” That’s gotta be about as fraudulent as one of Trump’s foundations.
Baud
@rikyrah: Why can’t she give a straight answer?
@rikyrah: Very interesting.
John Revolta
Huh. Well, I’ve been wondering what a “social media influencer” is, since many yoots, esp. wealthy yoots, aspire to that. Now I know. It’s what we used to call a “shill”.
debbie
@schrodingers_cat:
No backbone at all. They vote, secure in the thought it will never be enacted.
Roger Moore
@rikyrah:
If only somebody would show us his tax returns, we might find out.
debbie
@rikyrah:
I believe that was fucking Steve Inskeep. God forfend there should be an interview where he doesn’t get to speak the most words.
John Revolta
@Enhanced Voting Techniques: Apparently they ran him over with their car too. A made man! Nobody’s got respect
for nothin’ no more.
Chyron HR
@rikyrah:
“And when is this free weekend?”
“It’s THIS WEEKEND.”
paulM
@rikyrah:
Yes! Love Pelosi.
Beto has more experience in Congress than Obama did when he ran for president, and he was in a border district to boot which means he has at least a little experience with foreign policy. Unlike Sarah Palin he probably really can see a foreign country from his house!
Fair Economist
@germy: Speculating, but Morris Dees was running SPLC like a personality cult. I donated to them and got this hagiographic biography book in the mail. That kind of put me off further support although I appreciate what they do.
Ladyraxterinok
@MattF: He had an interesting career.
Roger Moore
@John Revolta:
I don’t think social media influencers are exactly the same as shills. A shill is supposed to disguise themselves as an ordinary, uninterested bystander who is won over by the con man’s salesmanship. Social media influencers are actually pretty open about taking money or other rewards from the companies whose goods and services they’re pushing.
debbie
@H.E.Wolf:
Portman’s office is sick and tired of my emails demanding he grow a pair and do the right thing?
Mike-SMO
@Brachiator: We are part of a federal system and mob bosses are municipal or state officials. Most local juridictions use elections, but Staten Island is New York where other means of “recall” are used.
rikyrah
rolandsmartin (@rolandsmartin) Tweeted:
RT @MrsCMitch: @rolandsmartin: “#BetoORourke loss by 10 points to Ted Cruuz. #AndrewGillum and #StaceyAbrams loss by less than 1 points in their governor races. Where’s the media hype and enthusiasm for those two? Why #Beto?”
#BetoForPresident #Beto2020
#RolandMartinUnfiltered https://twitter.com/rolandsmartin/status/1106320992035635206?s=17
rikyrah
???
HawaiiDelilah™ (@HawaiiDelilah) Tweeted:
??? VIA MSNBC: Chairman Cummings has requested from ex Fox reporter Falzone all docs related to women alleging extramarital affairs with the president, payments by or on behalf of the president to silence them, as it relates to potential campaign finance crimes. ??? https://twitter.com/HawaiiDelilah/status/1106320736434610176?s=17
Brachiator
@rikyrah:
I don’t give two shits about who the media likes.
It’s up to the Democratic Party and the voters.
Amir Khalid
@TS (the original):
Doesn’t a student have to sign her application, and affirm the accuracy of the information provided? (I’m genuinely not sure how this works; it’s been many moons since I applied to enrol anywhere.) If her signature is indeed on the application, it will be hard for her to claim innocence.
paulM
@rikyrah:
Ten points? That’s not even in the same zip code as the actual margin.
rikyrah
@rikyrah:
AND…….
HawaiiDelilah™ (@HawaiiDelilah) Tweeted:
Falzone’s attorney, Nancy Erika Smith, says that an official govt investigation trumps the NDA preventing her client from compliance, thus they will submit the document. No subpoena needed. https://t.co/8uRazKz5Rl https://twitter.com/HawaiiDelilah/status/1106321891659141120?s=17
JPL
@rikyrah: Beto was always bigger nationally than the other two, so I’m not sure what point is being made. I want Stacey to run for Senate and have been clear about that. btw I got invites for Kamala events on the 24th and as tempting as that is since I have limited funds, I’m holding off.
Amir Khalid
@John Revolta:
Yes, but it’s the modern kind of shill.
WaterGirl
@rikyrah: Roland Martin should be honest – Beto lost to Cruz by 2.6 points. Not 10 points. He’s undermining his own point by lying about the loss.
JPL
@WaterGirl: Thanks. I took the post at its word.
Baud
@WaterGirl: Are you allowed to be honest on Twitter?
Brachiator
@Roger Moore:
The game is the same. Both are trying to separate suckers from their money.
I was watching some tech show and the hosts were sadly amoral in their love of all things tech. They had little problem with the idea of teens, not even old enough to sign contracts, working as social media influencers, getting money to push other kids into buying games, toys, clothes. The hosts simply refused to make any distinction or draw any line at what a fully informed adult might do, and what children should be allowed to do. Because, tech is cool.
John Revolta
@Roger Moore: Well, I woulda called that a “plant” or a “stooge” but potatoe potahtoe. Let’s be generous and say “spokesmodel”.
Oh Hell, let’s don’t They’re shillin’.
Ghost of Joe Lieblings Dog
@debbie:
Or seems to know anything.
He’s the exemplar of a style of interviewing that must be called something like ‘studied mediocrity’ – a vague, befuddled ignorance on any topic. Appalling interviewer but very NPR.
debbie
@Ghost of Joe Lieblings Dog:
Even worse is his restating every answer, as if the audience wasn’t capable of understanding it. And then cutting them off because time’s run out. Gah!
BruceFromOhio
@schrodingers_cat: here’s the vote.
https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=116&session=1&vote=00049
rikyrah
Da phuq ? ?
https://twitter.com/megoconnor13/status/1106236982475276288
paulM
@rikyrah:
Also I like Abrams just fine but six years in Congress is substantially more experience than six years in a State Legislature.
bemused
@John Revolta:
Not as bad as zombie phone calls on our landline. At least I can avoid internet social media influencers. I don’t take well to people I’ve never heard of trying to influence me on anything.
WaterGirl
@Baud:
I believe so. But don’t take my word for it because I don’t actually have a twitter account – I just read a few twitter accounts in my web browser: Adam Schiff, Beto, John Cole, and Preet.
rikyrah
Go Miami Herald ? ?
https://twitter.com/ScottMStedman/status/1106321306398515200
Jim, Foolish Literalist
um….
the inevitable and baseless speculation this prompts is… fascinating
paulM
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
There’s also a rumor going around that Biden contacted Beto and basically asked if he wanted to be his running mate ahead of time, but both camps deny it. Wonder if that’s what is going on here? Or maybe, more conventionally, he’s just trying to line up some big name endorsements.
Biden is very popular among black voters right now, believe it or not.
WaterGirl
@rikyrah: These stories make me want to bang my head against the wall. What the fuck is wrong with these cops? Besides being chicken-shit racists, that is.
paulM
@WaterGirl:
Well, probably roid rage for starters!
WaterGirl
@paulM:
Who is “him”?
Jim, Foolish Literalist
contacted… whom?
Easy to believe. Biden is far more popular with everybody outside twitter, but he also hasn’t gotten very rough treatment outside of twitter. Again, I like him, but he worries me, and I’m so befuddled by the current field I’m on the sidelines for now.
paulM
@WaterGirl:
Beto, sorry I thought I referenced him previously in that comment. Its been fixed.
WaterGirl
@paulM: Thanks for clarifying! That’s an interesting story.
paulM
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
@WaterGirl:
Could be the opposite, too–maybe they both want Biden’s endorsement?
Biden is at his best running for president when the spotlight isn’t on him. His age and some of his policies from back in the day are big stumbling blocks for me though.
My ideal candidate would combine Warren’s policy chops and positions with Beto’s age and charisma…of course I’d like a pet unicorn too. Sigh…
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@paulM: personally I think (and we might as well talk about how we’re gonna spend our lottery winnings at this point, but…) Biden/Abrams is a much stronger ticket. I like O’Rourke well enough, but I think that earnest and youthful quirkiness plays better in a Senate race than for the big chair
paulM
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
I think the nominee is a white male they’re going to have to have a woman or POC (or both) as their VP, so I agree. You can’t have an all-white male ticket now.
Roger Moore
@WaterGirl:
I think a key part of it is that they have a dangerously authoritarian idea of what police are supposed to be. They see themselves as authority figures first and foremost, and that maintaining their air of authority is critical to doing their job. If they’re ever questioned, disrespected, or made to look foolish, it diminishes their authority and thus their ability to do their job. Thus anyone who fails to defer to them and follow their every command- even if it’s something impossible or unreasonable, like demanding a frightened person stop being frightened- is a threat and must be treated that way. I’m sure racism contributes to who they see as failing to respect their authority, but it’s the idea that they are the authority and everyone has to kowtow to them that’s the bigger problem.
TriassicSands
This was not “one of the core promises that animated Mr. Trump’s political rise.” The “core promise” was to build a wall AND to have Mexico pay for it. The two are inseparable, but reporters keep separating them. It is sloppy reporting and misrepresents Trump’s campaign promise.
Gin & Tonic
@Roger Moore: So a different one-syllable word.
WaterGirl
@Roger Moore: I agree with what you wrote, except that racism must have a hell of a lot to do with it since black people are routinely treated a thousand times worse than white people. White people get the benefit of the doubt a dozen times over, but if you’re black, you get only the negative benefit of the doubt, and your life is at risk. The authoritarian cops are the worst possible choice.
Jay
@Roger Moore:
They also go through hundreds of hours of what I call “Escalation Training”, based in Militarized Policing, out of Israel that trains them to treat the Public as if they are rebellious citizens of an Occupied Nation.
Roger Moore
@WaterGirl:
It’s probably wrong to say that “cops vs. the world” is a bigger problem than racism. They are overlapping problems that each make the other worse. “Cops vs. the world” means the police see any sign of disrespect as a threat, while racism means they have a much lower threshold for what a minority has to do to constitute disrespect.
catclub
@bemused: what about surprise! and a fanatical dedication to the Trump?
WaterGirl
@Roger Moore: Agreed!