CNN got some Twitter direct messages between Michael Flynn and Congressman Matt Gaetz, praising Gaetz for attacking the Mueller investigation, with which Flynn was supposedly cooperating.
“You stay on top of what you’re doing. Your leadership is so vital for our country now. Keep the pressure on,” Flynn wrote in an April 2018 message to Gaetz, which was obtained by CNN.
The contempt these people have for the law is stunning. It’s just like Paul Manafort’s constant lying when he supposedly was cooperating. In meme language,
The common point could well be a promise from the godfather that they would be taken care of.
And Open Thread!
germy
So gaetz is the “person connected to congress” ?? I had my money on Nunes.
Lapassionara
How do we solve this problem of Republicans?
germy
Gravenstone
Would have guessed the individual related to Congress alluded to in the unsealed decision was Nunes. Guess it was probably any and every one of the Republican goon squad instead. Apparently I think too small when it comes to the hubris of this crew.
Adam L Silverman
@germy: Not necessarily. My guesstimate is that it is Derek Harvey. He’s a retired colonel who Flynn had as senior director for the Middle East on the National Security Staff. Harvey’s a conspiracist and, frankly, a kook. As soon as Flynn was replaced with McMaster, McMaster pushed Harvey out and he immediately took a senior staff position with Nunes. So if you wanted someone connected with both the Administration or Congress, Harvey fits the description. I suppose it could be Kash Patel, who is both Nunes senior investigator and also a tremendous asshat.
http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/federal_judge_issues_order_on_ineptitude_in_prosecutor_benchslap
Dorothy A. Winsor
@Lapassionara: I hear that question being sung by nuns in a tune from the Sound of Music.
Old Dan and Littlw Ann
There is a sweet moon tonight. Also, was reading BJ earlier about Woody Harrison’s dad being a hit man. Then saw it again just now on some randomn fb page I follow. It’s all connected, man,
Wag
Curiouser and curiouser. Truly heading down the rabbit hole
I picture tRump as the Mad Hatter.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Adam L Silverman:
With this crew that’s not a helpful description to narrow things down.
SiubhanDuinne
@Dorothy A. Winsor:
Mindmeld! That’s exactly where I went.
Adam L Silverman
@?BillinGlendaleCA: Read the linked article.
Adam L Silverman
@Dorothy A. Winsor: @SiubhanDuinne: As my area supervisory officer used to sing: the hills are alive with the sound of .50 caliber machine gun fire!
Wag
@Dorothy A. Winsor:
How do you solve a problem with an ear worm?
NotMax
Dragging up from downstairs.
Strictly for grins, went and looked up who is registered with the FEC as a presidential candidate for 2020.
Among the many listed at the link whom you likely have not heard about (yet):
Refino Pig (R)
Pew Die Pie (I)
Internet Beef (NP)
Grapelton Feret (D)
;)
Also noticed that Howard Schultz (I – Flash-in-the-Pan) has not registered as a candidate.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Adam L Silverman: Yeah, I remember that; the phrase “tremendous asshat” still describes most of the administration and the GOP caucus in the House and Senate.
Adam L Silverman
@NotMax: He’s convalescing. Back surgery about two weeks ago.
Steeplejack
@Lapassionara:
Fewer Republicans.
Adam L Silverman
@?BillinGlendaleCA: No argument there.
Harbison
I wanted to pick up on what Cole was saying below:
That is absolutely correct and some of us have not forgotten that chief architect of “safe, legal, and rare” were Bill and Hillary Clinton:
https://harvardpolitics.com/united-states/safe-legal-and-rare-the-democrats-evolving-stance-on-abortion/
We are reaping the results of this sort of hair-splitting “centrist” triangulating New Democrat bullshit right now.
SiubhanDuinne
@Adam L Silverman:
I am only remembering that Christopher Plummer, who detested the whole thing, referred to it for years as “The Sound of Mucus.”
Adam L Silverman
@SiubhanDuinne: I did not know that.
Mak
Hmm. Wonder what Judge Sullivan will think of this revelation (assuming he doesn’t know already).
dr. bloor
@Adam L Silverman: Fake news. The man has no spine.
Adam L Silverman
@dr. bloor: I tend to think of him more as the Ted Cruz of coffee.
Jay
@Wag:
Another/better ear worm,
@NotMax:
Pew Die Pi is a Swedish You Tube Nazi, so how is he in the running?
NotMax
@a href=”https://balloon-juice.com/2019/05/17/michael-flynn-urged-matt-gaetz-on-while-supposedly-cooperating/#comment-7288682″>Jay
The one listed is Pie with an e. Unfortunate propinquity?
:)
NotMax
Fix.
@Jay
The one listed is Pie with an e. Unfortunate propinquity?
:)
NotMax
@Wag
An ear robin.
Although that treads into “I know an old lady who swallowed a fly” territory.
;)
Jay
@NotMax:
Same Guy, but ballotpedia says Communist Party.
Basically, he filled out a form, so he’s listed, even if he’s not eligible.
Jay
@NotMax:
An early bird?
Does that mean you are stuck with it all night?
satby
@Harbison: fuck off
Jay
@satby:
??????????
satby
@Jay: Captain Obvious, that’s me.
??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??
@satby:
Seconded. Who cares about the Clintons at this point?
satby
@??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??: purity trolls
laura
@Harbison: Please to be eating a giant sack of salted dicks. When you’re done, go fuck yourself.
Mike in NC
Never read the book, but episode 1 of “Catch-22” on Hulu was excellent. The 1970 movie was good, with a number of preserved and flyable B-25 bombers, but it couldn’t match modern CGI for the combat scenes.
Got to ride in a B-25 a few years back and it was fantastic.
J R in WV
Ear worms are a terrible thing. I’m lucky in that mostly the ear worms I catch are good tunes. The only way to fight one is to pick out some really great tunes and listen to those to drive the worm out of your memory. Something completely different, but also awesome.
Like Los Lobos to drive out something you heard on the radio or in a business lobby. For example…
?BillinGlendaleCA
@satby: …and Trump.
J R in WV
@Adam L Silverman:
I’ve often said, when down with my back problems, that I wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy. But no more…
I hope his back trouble keeps Mr Starbucks down until late November, 2020. Then he can have a marvelous cure, but not before then. Asshat also too.
rikyrah
For those interested in the Gayle King Royal special,
Follow the hashtag
#MeghanandHarryPlusOne
J R in WV
@laura:
You all are keeping my style alive~!!~ For which I thank you all …
About time to go down for the night. Wife and I worked in the creek below the house this afternoon with a 6 foot pry bar. We moved a couple big rocks around in the creek bed hoping to stop erosion into the fill around the septic tank and driveway. Things you have to do to live in the green green hills!
Hope everyone has a good night.
How about those graduate school grades Lamh posted up? What a woman, traveling all over the world, studying, makin’ those A’s !!! Can’t say enough good things about her drive and success.
Good night all~!!!~
rikyrah
Joy Reid (@JoyAnnReid) Tweeted:
.@DrJasonJohnson on the subtext of so many white guys running: “What they’re really saying is-Lots of Americans think we went too far with a black president then a woman running for president. As a white guy I’ll be able to bring things back to normal” https://t.co/REjb7tcdCG https://twitter.com/JoyAnnReid/status/1129407935396884483?s=17
Aleta
Since the GOP is so concerned with sin, let’s see them support life imprisonment for elected officials and judges who lie to the public, and hard time for anyone who helps them do it.
Jay
@J R in WV:
Good night, sleep tight, don’t let the bedbugs bite,…..
Erosion:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ezpqDi42pRM
Bill Arnold
@dr. bloor:
Needs one of these:
Jay
So, y’all know how the Deplorables don’t know that “Obamacare” that they hate, is the ACA they love?
Well, some ReThug Senator’s don’t know about the JPCOA,…
https://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2019/05/coupla-senators-sitting-around-talking.html?m=1
Dumb and Dumber.
Adam L Silverman
@Jay: Those are both Democratic senators and that was snark making fun of the President.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Jay: Huh? Those two guys are Democrats, and pretty good with the snark.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Adam L Silverman: Great minds….
Jay
@Bill Arnold:
Is it a sharpened broomstick?
Bill Arnold
Interesting. This isn’t large scale social media, it’s groups. (Any people familiar with India care to comment?)
WhatsApp is driving Indian women to vote like never before (Annalisa Merelli, 2019/05/17)
Wag
@NotMax:
I remember a punk version with the final verse of
I know an old lady who swallowed a minister
Isn’t that sinister, to swallow a minister
She died!!
Bill Arnold
@Jay:
No, an exoskeleton, or the backside of one at least.
https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/super-soldiers-pentagon-looks-to-exoskeletons-to-build-resilience-20181130-p50jct.html
Chetan Murthy
@NotMax:
I love that in this community, people use words like that without even pretending they need explanation.
Jay
@Bill Arnold:
Sharpened broomsticks are cheaper.
Amir Khalid
@NotMax:
Is 716 presidential candidates a big number for this stage of the cycle?
Bobbo
@germy: Yes and it’s a little bit wack that the CNN piece doesn’t mention that at all
frosty
@Mike in NC: If I get to the MAAM airshow in Reading in June I’m going to sign up for a B-25 ride. Bucket list stuff.
Bobbo
@Harbison: @Harbison
‘We are reaping the results of this sort of hair-splitting “centrist” triangulating New Democrat bullshit right now’
Uh, no. The increasing fanaticism of the Republican party is the responsibility of the fanatics, who have agency too. Maybe Clinton didn’t do enough to fight it, but 25 years ago their fanaticism wasn’t as apparent. Clinton saved the Democratic Party. He was the kind if Democrat who could win in 1992
oatler.
“It was an earworm… and an earworm lays eggs.”
Ruckus
@frosty:
Went to Oshkosh in 99 and rode in the EAA B-17.
It was pretty fucking amazing. Those old birds are getting rarer and rarer so fly in one while you can.
I seem to recall that the pilot/co-pilot in my ride were B-17 pilots at the end of WWII. They were the right age for it and seemed very comfortable in the plane.
Plato
Fuck mueller, the inept.
TomatoQueen
@Mike in NC: Read the book. It’s a classic of modern American comic fiction, and impossible to film, altho’ someone in every generation wants to try it. The reviews of the current effort are most encouraging, except for hints that character names are truncated, which would spoil a good bit of the fun. Milo yes, but Milo Minderbinder is the full character.
randy khan
@Bobbo:
Haven’t you heard that only Democrats have agency?
gene108
@Bill Arnold:
Only commen is about 50% of WhatsApp users are in India. The platform is extremely popular there and is used for everything from personal to business communications.
******************************************
On a personal note, I have come to realize my personal goal in life is to have the physique and health I had 20 years ago, when I was 24 to 25 years old (including no gray hair), by doing nothing more than wishing really hard.
I have had no success so far.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@gene108: I took care of the gray hair, they have this stuff called hair dye.
NotMax
@Amir Khalid
There’s a chart at the link displaying in bar graph form the numbers for each time around back to 1980. Prior to 2018 the totals displayed are significantly lower, with the most numerous still not reaching 500..
gene108
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
I just have this sinking feeling, I am going to be one of those folks, who has a bad allergic reaction to over the counter hair dyes.
Makes me hesitant to use them.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@gene108: Madame ordered me to dye my hair, I had no say in the matter.
NotMax
@BillinGlendaleCA
Quite comfortable with the gray and the white hair. Each one tells a story.
The collective hubbub at one time kept me up at night, but one becomes accustomed.
;)
oatler.
Let’s raise a glass to Herman Wouk, just passed.
Mnemosyne
@gene108:
The OTC hair dyes instruct you to do a patch test before you apply them so you can find out whether or not you’re allergic before you rub it all over your scalp. It’s a fairly messy process, though, even if you have short hair.
I started going gray in my late 20s, so I’ve been dyeing my hair for years. I need to make an appointment with my colorist, because my roots are pretty bad right now. ?
Mo MacArbie
Why does my hair always look the grayest at the barber shop? I suspect they select the lighting to upsell more services.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@oatler.: Just missed his 104th by 10 days.
NotMax
Everyone get spooked? Plumb quiet ’round these parts all of a sudden…
TomatoQueen
@gene108: Hair dye allergy isn’t to be dismissed lightly, so do the suggested patch test first.
Aleta
Because there’s no reason to go to Ireland if he can’t charge them and us for use of his property.
Out of control avarice.
mrmoshpotato
@NotMax: Boo! ?
Sab
Crickets.
mrmoshpotato
@Aleta: JFC. What a grifter a-hole. “Wah wah wah I’m not coming to your country if I can’t make money.”
NotMax
@mrmoshpotato
Heh.
Duane
Hey, the little ghost guy disappeared! What demons have you unleashed upon us?
mrmoshpotato
@NotMax: Seen any good old movies lately? I have John Frankenheimer’s The Train on hold at the library.
mrmoshpotato
@Duane: The ghost emoji from my comment? I still see it.
Mnemosyne
@Aleta:
Remember that Trump also has that weird obsession about sleeping in his “own” bed, which includes the beds in his hotels.
He’s probably also starting to get paranoid about his personal safety now that he’s successfully pissed off the majority of the world’s population.
ETA: The fact that his personal fetishes and obsessions will also generate income for him is part and parcel of his malignant narcissism.
NotMax
@mrmoshpotato
Burt Lancaster.
Have watched maybe a half dozen or so middle of the pack old movies recently. Nothing to mention as standing out; there’s reasons they are generally obscure.
mrmoshpotato
@Mnemosyne:
In that case, he should resign, get the fuck out of the people’s House, and fuck off back to Dump Tower in NYC. It’s only logical.
mrmoshpotato
IMDB is asking who would win a fight: John Wick or T-Rex. Am I missing something, or are they pitting human vs dinosaur?
something fabulous
how annoying of her. how dare she even think of running again this time? —oh, wait.
NotMax
@mrmoshpotato
One thing recently watched which has its cute moments (not a recommendation, merely pointing it out as an oddity) is a mini-series – seemingly incomplete as yet – on Prime called The Benza. About two Western guys in Japan, both fluent in the language, on an increasingly bizarre errand to buy a replacement for a cracked toilet seat.
NotMax
@mrmoshpotato
Dunno about that match-up. Smart money would be on Bea Arthur.
:)
Omnes Omnibus
@mrmoshpotato: It could be Marc Bolan’s band, but I doubt it.
Aleta
@Mnemosyne: He can sleep wherever he likes (and we have to pay him for every room and glass of water and sandwich the secret service needs). Seems the Irish think it weird though to expect their officials and their security, etc to set up at his private place and buy his congealed freedom fries, instead of greet him at a national site prepared for these things.
mrmoshpotato
@NotMax:
Sounds quirky.
Aleta
@mrmoshpotato: A fungal infection kills both of them after their scratching frenzy from lice.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@mrmoshpotato: Maybe it’s the band, T-Rex.
Duane
@mrmoshpotato: When the screen is enlarged the ghost disappears. Spooky good fun for all!
tokyokie
@mrmoshpotato: The Train is one of my all-time favorite movies, an action movie in which the action is believable. Burt Lancaster performs his own stunts (and pulled a muscle along the way, so the script was changed to include his getting wounded), it’s one of the rare film appearances of the great Paul Scofield, and classic French actors like Jeanne Moreau and Michel Simon show up as well. And there’s a huge train crash that doesn’t employ models or CGI. I heartily recommend it.
PST
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
My gray hair pretty much took care of itself, no dye necessary.
AM in NC
@TomatoQueen: And, of course, BJ’s own Major Major Major Major.
trnc
@Harbison:
I don’t know if Clinton was triangulating when he said that, but the way I took it at the time and the way I still think of “rare” in that statement is not “shame on you.” It’s that birth control should be taught to every school kid, pre-natal care should be available to every pregnant woman and men bear as much responsibility as women for preventing unwanted pregnancy and supporting the health of the expectant mother.
I fully support abortion rights, even a fully elective one, but I would rather there be zero abortions, mainly because every medical procedure carries some risk to the patient.
I’ll ask in the interest of gaining some perspective from other people here – I don’t think any woman should be shamed for their choice, but I would still think it’s a somewhat tough decision to make (barring medical or financial reasons, etc), even if you know it could be completely private. Is that a minority opinion?
From a purely political perspective, to the extent that anyone here agrees with the above sentiment, I don’t think it’s productive to tear down the statement. I think it would be better to embrace it and define it in the way we want. One thing that bothers me about the controversy around the statement right now is that I’m not sure how much of it is fed by right wing framing. I noticed, for instance, that the linked story linked to the Washington Times, who would not be writing about this in good faith.
Johnnybuck
@trnc: Just because Cole has a semi-famous blog foesn’t mean he’s right. Safe, legal and rare is exactly how this issue should be framed. Most people, and I mean the vast majority support legal abortion, although they’d prefer that it not have to happen. How fucking hard is this? These laws have less to do with abortion and more to do with white supremecy. And anyone who thinks it will change the political calculus in those states, didn’t pay attention to 2016.
J R in WV
@SiubhanDuinne:
Loved the Alpine scenery, but hated the sweetness, like supersaturated southern iced sugar water tea. Hated the characters, the children, everything but the scenery.
J R in WV
@gene108:
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
You guys! I was so bald at 25 I had to wear a baseball cap to go fishing lest I get a horrible sunburn on my scalp — and you’re bitching about it being gray??
SAD!
trnc
@Johnnybuck:
I appreciate your comment. I know what you’re saying, but several people chimed in to agree with Cole on it, and that was not the first time I’ve read complaints about the “rare” part. Which is weird to me because I think very few people would actually WANT an abortion.
I think the comments are actually more of a pushback against the patriarchical authoritarianism that spawned the recent abortion laws, but I do worry that it starts to sound more like, “Abortion! Hell, yeah!” instead of “Hey, assholes, if you’re so against abortion, how about some birth control education and health care for women instead of your viagra subsidy?”
Smott
I want to know who had access to Gaetz and/or Flynn’s DMs to leak this….