Open thread
Late Saturday Night Open Thread: Redemption Is Possible!
A Nova Scotia man says he was young and immature and generally unaware of the aggressive nature of West Coast seagulls when he left a suitcase of pepperoni near an open hotel window. https://t.co/VTrbaMVvK9
— CTV Vancouver (@CTVVancouver) April 2, 2018
Seagulls, dude…
A Nova Scotia man banned from Victoria’s stately Fairmont Empress hotel is welcome back after apologizing for an incident more than 17 years ago in which seagulls hungry for pepperoni trashed his room in a rock star frenzy.,,
“I remember walking down the long hall and opening the door to my room to find an entire flock of seagulls in my room,” stated Burchill’s letter. “I didn’t have time to count, but there must have been 40 of them and they had been in my room, eating pepperoni for a long time.”
He said he startled the gorging birds, which is when things really got out of control.
“They immediately started flying around and crashing into things as they desperately tried to leave the room through the small opening by which they had entered,” said Burchill. “The result was a tornado of seagull excrement, feathers, pepperoni chunks and fairly large birds whipping around the room.”
Tracey Drake, the hotel’s public relations director, said Monday there were thoughts this was an April Fools’ Day prank, but a check of the records and Burchill’s appearance at the front desk last weekend confirmed the seagull story and the former guest’s permanent ban…
“The hotel followed up with his employer afterwards, saying he’s not welcome back at the hotel due to the damage in the room,” Drake said. “He’s correct. The lamps were broken. The room was trashed. It’s a really funny story to tell 17 years later, but I was sitting here thinking about the housekeeper and what her first reaction must have been when she opened that door.”…
The letter he sent to the Empress and posted on Facebook explained how his plan to bring spicy Nova Scotia pepperoni to Victoria to share with friends stationed at the West Coast naval base went astray when he decided to cool the meat near the window because his room didn’t have a fridge.
Drake said the damage to the room was beyond description, but all is forgiven and Burchill is back on the guest list…
Surely there’s a Trumplodyte joke lurking in there somewhere?
Late Saturday Night Open Thread: Redemption Is Possible!Post + Comments (99)
If You’ve Got a Blacklist I Want To Be on It.
I’ve only been thinkfluencing here at the ranch for a few months, so I might not make the grade.
Meanwhile, the United States government, traditionally one of the bastions of press freedom, is about to compile a list of professional journalists and “top media influencers,” which would seem to include bloggers and podcasters, and monitor what they’re putting out to the public.
Great! Nothing nefarious to see here. Move along, folks.
If you would like to see more robust congressional oversight of these agencies, I think you know how to get it. It’s with the fund that’s split between all eventual Democratic nominees in House districts currently held by Republicans.
Update: Echo is feeling better.
If You’ve Got a Blacklist I Want To Be on It.Post + Comments (132)
South Carolina — Still “too small for a republic and too large for an insane asylum”
Rep. Ralph Norman took out a loaded weapon at a meeting with constituents. “I'm not going to be a Gabby Giffords," Norman said afterward. “I don't mind dying, but whoever shoots me better shoot well or I'm shooting back," he told The Post and Courier.
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) April 6, 2018
A South Carolina Republican congressman is not backing down from critics after he pulled out his own personal — and loaded — .38-caliber Smith & Wesson handgun during a meeting with constituents Friday.
U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman, R-Rock Hill, told The Post and Courier he pulled out the weapon and placed it on a table for several minutes in attempt to make a point that guns are only dangerous in the hands of criminals…
The incident happened at one of the many “coffee with constituents” meetings the freshman lawmaker hosts around South Carolina’s 5th Congressional District.
Norman said he pulled out the gun, pointed it away from the meeting attendees and put it on a table for about five minutes while they continued their conversation over breakfast.
The move, Norman said, was intended to prove “guns don’t shoot people; people shoot guns.”
Norman is a state concealed carry permit holder and said he regularly brings his gun with him when out in public.
If anyone walked into the diner and started shooting, Norman told the attendees, he would be able to protect them because of his gun…
Norman’s actions also drew the ire of Giffords’ husband, retired Navy veteran and NASA astronaut Captain Mark Kelly, who helped Giffords start a gun control group after she was shot.
“Congressman Norman is right – he’s no Gabby Giffords,” Kelly said in a statement.
“Americans are increasingly faced with a stark choice: leaders like Gabby, who work hard together to find solutions to problems, or extremists like the NRA and Congressman Norman, who rely on intimidation tactics and perpetuating fear,” Kelly added…
Democrats pounced on Norman’s actions, suggesting it was a potentially illegal political stunt.
“Ralph is only pulling his gun out of his pants like a prop, which no responsible gun owner would do, because he barely got elected the first time,” Robertson said. “This isn’t about gun ownership, it’s about his inadequate campaign.”
Four Democrats have filed to run against Norman in the 2018 race, including his opponent from last year’s special election, Archie Parnell….
I am no expert on concealed carry etiquette, but I would think that once a holder starts pulling out his weapon as a (literal) party prop, he’s pretty well negated the “concealed” part of the equation.
Additional context: A meeting with local constituents…about gun control.
— Scott Monty (@ScottMonty) April 6, 2018
Aside from the obvious insanity here, the casual disrespect shown Gabby Giffords is loathsome. If he was going to go there why didn’t he reference the more recent Steve Scalise, I wonder (rhetorically)? https://t.co/ZuyGcoor0B
— Schooley (@Rschooley) April 7, 2018
But at least Rep. Norman can count on the support of his peers…
South Carolina GOP introduces bill to secede from US over gun laws https://t.co/hOFWB38uaw pic.twitter.com/oGbhwbZtxT
— The Hill (@thehill) April 7, 2018
… because that worked out so very well for the state, the first time it was tried.
Puppy Pictures Open Thread
As promised. Scout at 5 months with her favorite guy.
Don’t let that face fool you – she’s all mischief and trouble.
There are a ton more photos here. I got kind of carried away yesterday. There were a lot of requests for ducks in the last thread I put up – even though it was literally a duck post. So here are most of the duck photos I have. I don’t take a lot of them because most of the time I just get their little fluffy butts. Most of their charm is in their daily yard duties. They take their job very seriously. I should be taking more video of them.
I suppose my cats deserve equal time…maybe next week.
Time to update us on your critters! Share your photo links in the comments.
Open thread
Russiagate “Saturday Morning Serial” Open Thread: Blackwater & Its Princes
CNN Exclusive: A Trump foreign policy adviser played key role in the pursuit of possible Hillary Clinton emails from the dark web before the 2016 election https://t.co/LFftYKeDcH w/ @JennaMC_Laugh @carlbernstein https://t.co/QuJC63lDnA
— Jim Sciutto (@jimsciutto) April 6, 2018
cough Blackwater exec cough https://t.co/xD6Zdmq6aX
— Zed Wood Junior (@Zeddary) April 6, 2018
… Joseph Schmitz approached the FBI and other government agencies about material a client of his had discovered that Schmitz believed might have been Clinton’s missing 30,000 emails from her private e-mail server, sources say. The material was never verified, and sources say they ultimately believed it was fake.
His push is the latest example of Trump advisers who were mixed up in efforts to find dirt on Clinton during the presidential campaign. Schmitz was one of the first people Trump named to his campaign’s national security and foreign policy team. The team, showcased in a March 2016 photo, was thrown together early in Trump’s successful run as he faced mounting pressure to prove his ability to pull in high-level advisers who could help prepare him for the White House.
Another adviser pictured in the photo, Trump’s foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos, was told by a Kremlin-connected professor that the Russian government had damaging material on Clinton. Six weeks later, Donald Trump Jr. got a message from a business associate offering similar information, leading to the Trump Tower meeting that Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and then-campaign chairman Paul Manafort attended…
Schmitz met with officials at the FBI, the State Department and the Intelligence Community Inspector General — the watchdog tasked with investigating Clinton’s alleged mishandling of classified information. He claimed a source he called “PATRIOT,” an unidentified contractor he was representing, had discovered what he believed was likely material stolen from Clinton that could contain classified information. Both the client and Schmitz were afraid that going through the material without permission could jeopardize their security clearances, though there is no indication their actions were illegal.
Schmitz then took a memo outlining his claims and concerns to the House Intelligence Committee. One cybersecurity expert outside the government who also saw the material on the dark web said the emails appeared to be fake, based on his review and the forum where they were posted.
“I’m pretty sure they were posted on the (dark web) equivalent of Reddit,” the source said…
That meeting was like the legion of freaking doom of ratfuckers.
— AgentHades (@AgentHades) April 6, 2018
Maybe Schmitz can plead the political equivalent of the ‘affluenza’ defense — he had no idea how ethics work, because he was raised by professional Republicans…
Russiagate “Saturday Morning Serial” Open Thread: Blackwater & Its PrincesPost + Comments (190)
Late Night Repub Stupidity/Venality Open Thread: Folding His Tents Ducky Pajamas
— Todd J. Gillman (@toddgillman) April 6, 2018
Repub leadership have decided that nothing important but contentious will be coming to the floor the rest of this year. https://t.co/R29ey7NlnT
— Dana Houle (@DanaHoule) April 6, 2018
Corpus Christi Republican Blake Farenthold abruptly resigned from Congress Friday afternoon, less than four months after dropping re-election plans under siege for crude and verbally abusive office behavior…
He made no mention on Friday of any of the allegations that ended his congressional career, and made no apologies for using $84,000 in taxpayer funds to settle a sexual harassment suit.
He promised to repay those funds four months ago, but has not done so…
Texas is seeing enormous turnover in its congressional delegation this year.
Out of 36 House members, eight announced plans to retire in the last few months. Farenthold is the first to actually leave office…
More granular detail about the upcoming primaries at the link.
Too late to be held on May Uniform election date.
Either @GovAbbott declares it an emergency or #TX27 will remain unrepresented until end of the year. But based on my conversations with #CD27 residents, having no Rep. wouldn't be much different from the past 7 yrs. #txlege https://t.co/4FPIG7NCO8— Mark P. Jones (@MarkPJonesTX) April 6, 2018
Before he leaves DC, can someone please settle his $84k harassment tab https://t.co/6YZsYRDRz7
— Stephanie Ruhle (@SRuhle) April 6, 2018
Life doesn't always go as planned I guess. https://t.co/Y5EXblkGSM
— Schooley (@Rschooley) April 6, 2018
ETA: Title reference, from (Republican) Charlie Sykes…
What is remarkable is that someplace voters looked at this guy and said, yes, I'd like him to be my congressman. pic.twitter.com/pNGLiSLasA
— Charlie Sykes (@SykesCharlie) April 6, 2018
These Friday night news dumps are getting lamer and lamer https://t.co/Qo30z8MDU8
— Dan Pfeiffer (@danpfeiffer) April 6, 2018