Good Morning All,
Have a wonderful day, and enjoy the pictures!
by Alain Chamot (1971-2020)| 21 Comments
This post is in: On The Road, Open Threads, Readership Capture
Good Morning All,
Have a wonderful day, and enjoy the pictures!
This post is in: Because of wow., Open Threads, Religion
Dawn in Paris. #NotreDame is still standing. Hurt yet magnificent. pic.twitter.com/7oPUXPKX0H
— Agnes Poirier (@AgnesCPoirier) April 16, 2019
The stained glass that seems to have survived the fire of Notre Dame https://t.co/43ea4dVk0F pic.twitter.com/8yn4mAOS3G
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) April 16, 2019
Crazy photo of the altar inside Notre Dame, by Reuters' Philippe Wojazer pic.twitter.com/KjRPSVKJRA
— Stefan Becket (@becket) April 15, 2019
Notre Dame is one of the world’s great treasures, and we’re thinking of the people of France in your time of grief. It’s in our nature to mourn when we see history lost – but it’s also in our nature to rebuild for tomorrow, as strong as we can. pic.twitter.com/SpMEvv1BzB
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) April 15, 2019
“Far below, their vision obscured by fumes and tears, firefighters, priests and municipal workers passed treasures hand-to-hand, hoping the speed of desperation could outrun the flames.
“They had 66 minutes.” https://t.co/taQ2Hpm56i
— Jonathan Lemire (@JonLemire) April 16, 2019
The fire department in Paris followed a protocol: Save the people, save the art, save the altar, save what furniture you can, then focus on the structure, in that order. They know what can be rebuilt and what can't.
— Michael … .-.. .- …- .. – -.-. …. (@_theek_) April 15, 2019
The steeple and the beams supporting it are 160 years old, and oaks for new beams awaits at Versailles, the grown replacements for oaks cut to rebuild after the revolution.
— Michael … .-.. .- …- .. – -.-. …. (@_theek_) April 15, 2019
Wednesday Morning Open Thread: Notre Dame Is Still TherePost + Comments (160)
This post is in: 2020 Elections, Open Threads, Protest Is the New Brunch, All we want is life beyond the thunderdome
I’ll admit to a having a soft spot for ol’ Bill — and not just because, when he was Governor, he sent us a nice letter granting the required permission for an old friend to perform our wedding ceremony. He’s not gonna be the Republican nominee, but I might send his NH campaign a few bucks, because if Fox News is ever required to acknowledge Weld’s candidacy the Oval Office Squatter will burst a blood vessel flexing his little thumbs on twitter.
(Also, the Airport Diner featured in the clip does an excellent fried chicken livers & mashed potatoes plate — I try to eat there the once or twice a year when we go to Manchester for a Currier exhibit or a quilt show.)
Check out his comments on the Mueller report, at approximately 2:20 below:
"Jake, I'm announcing that I'm running for President… as a Republican against the President in 2020."
Former Gov. Bill Weld officially announces he is challenging President Trump for the GOP nomination. https://t.co/Q5z30Qjw8o pic.twitter.com/QBSwtdxPUx
— The Lead CNN (@TheLeadCNN) April 15, 2019
With Bill Weld formally declaring his candidacy for president, here’s a key moment from his career: March 1988, when he made national headlines resigning in protest from the Reagan Justice Department.
He returned to MA and the next year launched a successful bid for governor: pic.twitter.com/yHuURqDeXx
— Steve Kornacki (@SteveKornacki) April 15, 2019
My latest: Bill Weld launches campaign against Trump for 2020 Republican nomination, will focus efforts on NH.
Fmr Romney adviser Stuart Stevens has left his longtime firm to serve as strategist. Fmr NH GOP chair Jennifer Horn will run the campaign. https://t.co/Sq8PPKF4SM
— Robert Costa (@costareports) April 15, 2019
… [I]f Weld’s campaign did somehow get traction, it could present a headache to the Trump operation, and history has demonstrated the effect of such challenges.
In 1992, President George H.W. Bush faced a troublesome run from the right from commentator Patrick J. Buchanan, who embarrassed the incumbent by winning 37 percent of the vote in the New Hampshire primary and fighting Bush until the national convention. The weakened president lost to Democrat Bill Clinton.
Similarly, President Gerald R. Ford had to fend off a Republican challenge from Ronald Reagan in 1976 before losing in the general election to Democrat Jimmy Carter…
I'm in! #Weld2020 https://t.co/XARRN08rUb
— Gov. Bill Weld (@GovBillWeld) April 15, 2019
Late Night Open Thread: Bill Weld Steps Into the ArenaPost + Comments (46)
This post is in: 2020 Elections, Open Threads, Proud to Be A Democrat
We’re building a campaign that reflects the true diversity of America. pic.twitter.com/DzyFJmhlCZ
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) April 15, 2019
And if we can afford to lose any Senator, surely one from California should be relatively easy to replace with another Democrat!
Thanks to commentor LAMH for the following clips:
This is how a black woman wins the general election. pic.twitter.com/nVHXUge5Hr
— chris evans (@notcapnamerica) April 16, 2019
"We have shaped public policy around this idea that whatever happens to a child they'll grow out of it. Instead of recognizing that a traumatic event that happens to a child will be forever imprinted on that person if we don't take it seriously. It will easier at 6 than at 16." pic.twitter.com/qR4H6HiqxR
— chris evans (@notcapnamerica) April 16, 2019
Harris sounds GOOD here. tl;dr: people long in the politics game won't innovate b/c innovation will have glitches and these are front page news and that's too risky and this is bad. Also, she defines "hypothesis" based on her scientist mom which is great. https://t.co/S6SJ1uVcGm
— Melody Crowder-Meyer (@MCrowderMeyer) April 17, 2019
And, of course, Harris knows how retail politics works…
Kamala Harris has snagged the crucial endorsement of Bakari Sellers in South Carolinahttps://t.co/uxvpW1ej83
— POLITICO (@politico) April 15, 2019
… Sellers, who is from Denmark, S.C., will campaign with Harris and formally announce his support for the California Democrat during a Saturday town hall at South Carolina State University in Orangeburg. Harris is returning to the state on Friday for a town hall at Winthrop University in Rock Hill.
Harris has made early investments in the state given its central role in her fight for the nomination. Ahead of her presidential announcement — and before she and top surrogates began holding events across the state — Harris attended a gala for the nation’s oldest black sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha.
Nearly 4 in 10 voters in the 2016 South Carolina Democratic presidential primary in the state were black women — and Harris has been working to lock down local endorsements, including from state Rep. Pat Henegan of Marlboro; Berkeley County Democratic Party Chair Melissa Watson; and Marguerite Willis of Florence, an attorney and a former gubernatorial candidate…
Harris’ weekend swing also includes headlining an event with the Orangeburg County Democratic Party and a meeting with faith and community leaders in Holly Hill. She then will attend Easter Sunday service at Bible Way Church in Columbia.
Election 2020 Open Thread: Kamala Harris Will Be Hard to BeatPost + Comments (183)
This post is in: C.R.E.A.M., Gun nuts, Open Threads, Republicans in Disarray!, Assholes, Ever Get The Feeling You've Been Cheated?
You'll never guess which career demagogue famous for skimming off the profits of arms sales is now accused of skimming off the profits of arms sales. https://t.co/Q7Spb23tiW
— Zeddediah Springfield (@Zeddary) April 16, 2019
Politics in the ’80s sucked the first time — which idiots decided we needed a rerun? Oh, right: Republicans, fondly recalling their ‘Glory Days’!
Per the NYTimes:
… The National Rifle Association sued one of its largest and most enduring contractors late last week and raised concerns about the contractor’s relationship to the association’s own president, Oliver North, in a stunning breach within the normally buttoned-up organization.
The suit was filed late Friday by the N.R.A. in Virginia, where it is based, against Ackerman McQueen, the Oklahoma ad firm that operates NRATV, the group’s incendiary online media arm. The suit asserts that Ackerman has concealed details from the N.R.A. about how the company is spending the roughly $40 million that it and its affiliates receive annually from the association.
The suit creates uncertainty about Mr. North’s future at the organization. And it leaves the future of NRATV in doubt, given the new acrimony in the Ackerman relationship.
Since Ackerman created NRATV in 2016, it has often been “perceived by the public as the voice of the N.R.A.,” according to the rifle association’s complaint. It has also taken on an apocalyptic tone, warning of race wars, calling for a march on the Federal Bureau of Investigation and portraying the talking trains in the children’s show “Thomas & Friends” in Ku Klux Klan hoods.
The New York Times reported this year that two prominent N.R.A. board members were among those voicing alarm inside the association that NRATV was often straying beyond gun rights. The Times article also revealed that Ackerman had a previously undisclosed financial relationship with Mr. North…
The complaint details a peculiar standoff with Ackerman over Mr. North, who took over as president last year. The N.R.A. claims it was aware that Mr. North had a contract to act as the host of a web series for Ackerman, but that Ackerman has refused to provide a copy of the contract for nearly six months. Additionally, Mr. North’s counsel told the N.R.A. that “he could only disclose a copy of the contract” if Ackerman said he could, the suit says…
Is there a nepotism issue? Hey, as the Repub Majority Leader once said, “Remember, we’re all family here!”…
… The lawsuit is further complicated by family ties. The N.R.A.’s outside lawyer, William A. Brewer III, is the son-in-law of Angus McQueen, a co-chief executive of Ackerman, and the brother-in-law of Revan McQueen, its chief executive. Ackerman called the relationships an “irreconcilable conflict of interest” and said some kind of family dispute “pervades the Brewer firm’s dealings with Ackerman McQueen.”…
As ever, when dealing with Republicans, the wise choice: Root for Injuries.
Gun Fondlers Open Thread: The Return of Ollie NorthPost + Comments (113)
This post is in: 2020 Elections
Q: You’re stranded on a deserted island with a vegan, a crossfitter, and a Bernie Sanders evangelist. You have a gun with one bullet. Who do you shoot?
A: Yourself, but make sure you swallow the barrel deeply to take out your brain stem before you pull the trigger because you don’t want to miss.
This post is in: 2020 Elections, Impeachment, Trump Crime Cartel, Trump-Russia
John Sipher has an excellent explanatory post up, “Is Trump a Russian Agent?: Explaining Terms of Art and Examining the Facts.”
As I’ve been coming to believe, Sipher feels that Trump is more a useful idiot than a fellow traveler. (Sorry for the obsolete terminology; I’ve read too much old spy stuff.)
But he things it’s possible that one or another of Trump’s associates may be actively working with the Russians. Paul Manafort is a shoo-in, and Carter Page a definite possibility. I still would like to know exactly how Page got to be one of Trump’s early “foreign policy advisors.” He was really nobody, and his writings were cray-cray. But, in the useful idiot department, more than one of Trump’s crime cartel were happy to have Russian help, never bothered to report the contacts to the FBI, and lied about them. (And yes, I know about Sam Clovis and a few other people connected to Page, but unless you have a step by step connection from Page to all those folks, I’ve probably read it.)
Sipher also feels that the counterintelligence part of the Mueller investigation is unlikely to come to light. I think Adam may have said as much. I think that is the probable outcome, but I also think that a good way to foil continuing interference from the Russians would be to get as much out as possible. We’re doing information warfare here, and the best way to blunt the opponent’s offensive is to tell everyone what it is. That has to be balanced against revealing sources and methods, of course, but I think that concern has gone too far in the direction of secrecy.
Ultimately Trump must be brought to account, whether through impeachment or in the 2020 election.