Saturday Gardening Thread: You brought visitors, deer? [KT]
—Open Blogger
Andy sent in a suggestion for a thread on deer resistant gardening. Timely. There are news reports about a new tick-borne disease. In addition to Lyme disease. More deer, more ticks, more disease especially this year, in the Northeast. Be prepared to inspect your dogs and your loved ones for ticks after visiting areas frequented by deer.
We have discussed some deer-resistant plants. Deer-resistance may be regional and relative, except in the case of the most poisonous plants. We have also discussed ways to keep deer out of the garden, like bird netting, prison-style fences and predator urine. What has worked for you?
Continue reading
Branson's Spaceport is not in California [KT]
—Open Blogger
A week ago yesterday, CDR M linked a story about California's plan to add more taxes to rocket launches from California. One of the people planning to launch some rockets is Richard Branson. He also plans to save the earth from carbon dioxide. This seems kind of Jerry Brown-ish, but does not seem compatible with launching rockets into space.
Richard Branson runs an airline and wants to fly billionaires to space, but ride your bike to work, peasant.
Continue reading
Saturday Morning Weird News Dump
—Misanthropic Humanitarian
Good Morning Morons. Wow, it's Saturday again. Hope your week was a good one and that your weekend is better.
Continue reading
Overnight Open Thread (12 May 2017)
—CDR M
Ouch. The craven cowards at the FBI, starting at the top with Comey.
Continue reading
Donny Two Scoops Whacks His Dick (MJ)
—Open Blogger
Let me 'splain something about the Comey firing...
It was really boring, totally normal, and done for the most basic reasons. It's true that both the Left and Right had lost confidence in James Comey as the leader of the FBI. He botched the Clinton email investigation from any political perspective and then followed it up with a bizarre performance in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee on May 3rd.
The beautiful and entertaining Laura Ingraham agrees:
“I think [Comey] really damaged his own reputation. He came in as kind of a straight shooter. But by the end, nobody trusted him,” Ingraham said. “So in the end, it was about time that Justice Department recommended his removal.”"... the Left was not happy with him, the Right was not happy with him, and I think most people just think his investigation — if you look at this fairly, and the Russian collusion — there was nothing there," Ingraham added. "He found nothing there, but he did manage to put a lot of doubt in a lot of people's minds about the outcome of this election."
At one point his dog called for his resignation. It went something like this:
Bark bark, Comey has to go, bark bark.
Tough stuff. Really horrible.
And you know what isn't true? Just about everything else reported. The media gossip girls are focused on the palace intrigue, and rumor mill angles to the story. Almost everything you've read is an anonymous source making an observation about a trivial detail that has absolutely nothing to do with the actual reason that Comey was asked to spend more time with his family.
Ignore it all, and remember that the truth and reality are pale reflections of the dreams and conspiracies cooked up by shallow, j-school know nothings.
Remember when Steve "Nicknameless" Bannon and Jared "Who?" Kushner were going to meet at the flagpole after school to finally settle the score once and for all?
I guess they worked it out and everyone went back to work.
Exciting stuff!
More Than Half of E-Cig Users in the UK Have Fully (Finally) Kicked the Cigarette Habit
—Ace
Quick, let's outlaw this technology before it saves more lives.
Half of users are still "dual-users" who use the e-cig sometimes (probably when they can't smoke a cigarette) and cigarettes sometimes.
But half have simply quit cigarettes and other smoked tobacco.
Ann McNeill, professor of tobacco addiction at King’s College London, said: "This year's Ash survey finds that around 1.5 million vapers are ex-smokers, for the first time a larger number than those who continue to smoke."This is encouraging news as we know that vapers who continue to smoke continue to be exposed to cancer-causing substances.
"The message for the 1.3 million vapers who still smoke is that they need to go further and switch completely."
Meanwhile, the US government is continuing to attempt to "regulate" e-cigs to make it harder for people to make and sell them.
I am hoping Trump will do something about this, though I realize this is probably not a huge issue for most.
Let me do a quick post for anyone thinking about quitting smoking, and/or trying vaping:
First of all, Do It. Honestly, you don't even know the side-benefits you're going to get from quitting smoking.
Second, read the book I've mentioned a lot, The Easy Way to Quit Smoking by Allen Carr. It's fantastic. Nicotine is addictive, but it's a weak addictive substance. After three or four days of going without nicotine, you're no longer addicted.
At least not physically.
However, the act of smoking is powerfully habituating, which means the main addiction hook of smoking is psychological.
Continue reading
Son of a Bitch: Killer of Two Doctors in Boston Was In This Country Only Because Prosecutors Allowed Him a Deal Whereby He Would be Sentenced to One Day Less Than a Year in Jail for Two Bank Robberies, Thus Avoiding Deportation
—Ace
If you're a Green Card holder sentenced to a year or more for your crimes, you are eligible for deportation. I assume this was Obama's rule, but I don't know for certain. Maybe it's just the standard rule for Green Card holders.
So a guy who robbed the same bank twice was allowed a plea deal whereby he'd be sentenced to one day less than a year.
He wasn't here illegally -- he had a Green Card. He was just living his life illegally, what with robbing banks and ultimately murdering two doctors (engaged to each other, poignantly enough).
So that's where we are: We're affirmatively punishing US citizens more harshly than foreigners here either illegally or by our kind leave, so that they don't get deported. We're affirmatively letting criminals out of jail in order to make sure they remain in the US.
The Return of GAINZZZ: What Side-Benefits Have You Enjoyed Since You Started Yo GAINZZZ?
—Ace
Also, a Random Commenter suggested that people use this thread for low-carb food/recipe recommendations, as well as low-carb alcohol recommendations. So noted!
Okay, update on my own GAINZZZ: I went off the diet (mostly) a few weeks ago. I made excuses to myself that with my nagging back spasms and then my bout of dizziness, I shouldn't be trying any kind of GAINZZZ and should just eat what I wanted to help me heal up.
(By the way: My dizziness seemed to have been caused by my taking too many Aleve to help with the back spasms. I assumed Aleve was just like Advil as far as dosage, and that I should do two capsules every six hours or so, or six pills (maybe even more) in a day. A hard nope on that assumption -- you're only supposed to take one Aleve every 8 hours. You can have two for your first dose of the day, but you're not supposed to have more than three in a 24 hour period. And a side effect is, get this, dizziness.
Note to self: Read the label, you f***ing lazy moron goof.)
Anyway, in light of those back-to-back (ahem) problems, I went off-diet, to "give my metabolism a break" or whatever bullshit I sold myself.
This is just a textbook example of My Brain making up lies to give me permission to do things which are easy and soft but ultimately against my own interests. And My Brain, having made up these lies, justifications, and excuses, is all-to-willing to believe the lies it just told itself.
You're the easiest person in the world for you to fool, they say.
I didn't go Whole Hog (so to speak) so I haven't lost any previous GAINZZZ. (Well, I did gain back three pounds I abruptly and for no good reason "lost," but honestly, I never really believed I'd lost them in the first place -- a combination of low hydration and scale error, I think.)
My main deviation from diet was going off Intermittent Fasting almost entirely. Because I've been having some trouble sleeping, I went back to my old habit of eating cheese just before sleep -- cheese seems to make me sleepy.
I'm back riding the GAINZZZ TRAINZZZ now, though, and I promise, damnit, I will have positive results for you next week, even if I have to make them up entirely.
I mean, even if I have to do a 24 or 30 hour fast.
So here's a question: First, what are yo GAINZZZ?
Second, and this is important: What are the GAINZZZ you weren't anticipating or trying to GAINZZZ and yet you've GAINZZZed them anyway?
Here's what I mean: I quit smoking a long while ago for the usual reasons. Including the reason that I was convinced I was having pre-heart-attacks or something. I wasn't, but I'm glad I was a bit hypochondriacal on the point anyway, because it did stiffen my resolve to finally quit once and forever more. I'd quit before, sometimes for as long as two years, but I always wound up backsliding.
Continue reading
Could the FBI Take a Second Look at Hillary and Huma Investigations, Now That Lynch's Fixer Has Been Fired?
—Ace
Probably not, but I need a quick post while I write other ones, so let's just play a game of Let's Pretend and enjoy the idea of it.
Brian Weidner, a veteran former FBI agent, suggested both the case and the immunity deals struck during that investigation could be revisited."I would be surprised if they did not review all the investigations regarding HRC and come up with [a] conclusion regarding prosecution. The statute of limitations hasn't come into play yet," he said in an email to Fox News.
As for the immunity deals struck with key players in the Clinton orbit, he noted those deals are "with the government, so in theory it wouldn't change."
However, he wrote, "a new AG and new director may take a good look at the entire case, and if anyone who received immunity did not live up to their agreement, like Huma [Abedin] with the classified documents on her computer, the deal is off and they are potential targets again."
Question: I have a GAINZZZ thread ready to go but I know those are only appreciated by a subset of readers.
I sort of want to do an early one today, because a lot of times the late ones are posted when people start going off-line.
Would it be a problem for the non-GAINZZZers if I did that one next?
Trump Launches Panel to Investigate Election Fraud
—Ace
Good. It was a campaign promise, it's long overdue, and it's the right time for it -- the media and Democrats cannot object to an investigation into voter fraud when they're simultaneously screaming about "hacking the election," at least not without appearing to be more ridiculous shills than they currently appear.
Adam Schiff and Jake Tapper are all about voting integrity. Right? Right...?
That said, the Usual Suspects are already complaining. They're claiming that having to show ID would make it "harder" for "some people" to vote, in much the same way that having to show ID makes it harder for some people to buy cigarettes, alcohol, and guns.
OPEC to US: Please Help Us Improve the World Economy By Restricting Your Production of Oil
—Ace
If you enjoy the spectacle of OPEC begging US oil producers to choke back the flow of oil to bail their asses out, then, as Instapundit says, you should hug a fracker.
Sexton goofs on OPEC's plea, reported by CNN Money:
The report said that balancing the market would "require the collective efforts of all oil producers” and should be done “not only for the benefit of the individual countries, but also for the general prosperity of the world economy.”OPEC said that one producer in particular is to blame: The U.S., where shale producers have continued to ramp up their drilling despite lower crude prices.
The increased production has undermined OPEC’s efforts to keep prices between $50 and $60 per barrel.
Faces in want of a fist and mouths in want of My Dick.
This is very wonderful news. That these bastards, who have long enjoyed extracting money from us by artificially restricting supply, and have used the Oil Weapon against us again and again, and have used their oil wealth to prop up communist regimes (see Venezeula) or fund terrorist groups (see most of the Gulf states) or to both prop up a communist regime and fund terrorist groups (see Russia) are now begging us to help them do these things by making ourselves poorer is... well it's just about the most beautiful thing I've read in a year.
And who is again who is anti-fracking? And who is pro-fracking?
And which side does Russia propagandize for? Right, they pay money to anti-fracking propaganda groups in order to get us to stop making so much oil.
And the left supports that, and Trump opposes that (and supports fracking).
Who's the communist agent of influence again?
Dick Status: Plump and Bouncy. And not in a menacing, vulgar way, but in a happy, joyous way, like the Jamboree Bears at Disneyland dancing around and playing the banjo.
Second Look At The Handmaid's Tale?
—OregonMuse
Catastrophically Declining Fertility: The World of the Handmaid's Tale
(Yes, this is a longish, probably TL;DR review. So if you don't want to slog through all of my yammering, just swipe your mouse between the arrows below to get the short version)
-->Despite the stupid "Christian theocracy" premise, it's actually worth watching.<--
When I heard that that there was going to be a TV series based on the 1985 novel The Handmaid's Tale, my first thought was, wait, they already made it into a crappy movie that nobody watched, so why are they doing it again?
Here is a description of the TV series as I found it on the eztv.ag torrent download site:
The Handmaid's Tale is the story of life in the dystopia of Gilead, a totalitarian society in what was formerly the United States. Facing environmental disasters and a plunging birthrate, Gilead is ruled by a twisted fundamentalism in its militarized ‘return to traditional values'. As one of the few remaining fertile women, Offred is a Handmaid in the Commander's household, one of the caste of women forced into sexual servitude as a last desperate attempt to repopulate the world. In this terrifying society, Offred must navigate between Commanders, their cruel Wives, domestic Marthas, and her fellow Handmaids – where anyone could be a spy for Gilead – all with one goal: to survive and find the daughter that was taken from her.
So the United States has been taken over by a Christian theocracy. Of course, this a completely stupid premise:
If I were doing Handmaid's tale, I'd turn it into its obvious proper setting: a future America where Muslims took over. Seriously, the story fits Islam like a glove. women are oppressed and barely considered human, they must be covered head to toe, they cannot enjoy sex, some are mutilated surgically... its almost an exact fit. Its such an obvious shift, since the original story makes no sense whatsoever in Christianity.
Its like a Jack Chick tract featuring some atheist's bizarre ignorant version of Christians he fears are out there looking to ban fun.
Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at May 03, 2017 03:36 PM (39g3+)
So, why not Islam? As Christopher's comment points out, it's a perfect fit. The main reason for this is that The Handmaid's Tale novel's author, Margaret Atwood, is a deranged SJW who spent the 1980s hiding under her bed from Jerry Falwell:
In an interview for The Progressive, Margaret Atwood explains how she came to write The Handmaid's Tale, which is often labeled speculative fiction because it appears to predict or warn of a triumph of totalitarianism or what one reviewer calls a "Western Hemisphere Iran." Having absorbed the New England Puritan tradition during her studies at Harvard, she observed the rise of the U.S. political right in the 1980s and compared the Moral Majority's grass-roots menace to the phenomenon of Hitler. According to Atwood, the Nazi leader told the world what he intended to do; then he set about accomplishing his heinous aims. The ranting diatribes of late twentieth-century American right-wingers — who steadfastly push women back into the traditional roles common in the 1950s, delight in the AIDS epidemic among homosexuals, and threaten death to members of the gay culture — parallel Hitler's fascist candor.
Riiiight. Oh, and incidentally, Hulu has hired this unhinged moonbat as a "consulting producer" for the TV series.
Continue reading
Mid-Morning Open Thread
—CBD
The Storm
Pierre-Auguste Cot
[H/T Jacinthe Des Bois]
There are all sorts of competing ideas in this work. The innocence and sweetness in the faces of the two is in contrast to the barely hidden sexuality of the girl, and the horn (with its obvious connotation) on the hip of the boy.
Or maybe it's just a very nicely executed painting of an interesting scene.
The Morning Report 5/12/17
—J.J. Sefton
Good morning, kids. The weekend is here and what a week it was (seems like I've been saying that now almost every Friday since late January. I've put a couple of things in the Up Front section to make us not lose sight of the fact that a) the propagandist media and the Democrats will do anything to hide the successes that the President has had in just over the first 100 days and that b) their lying is not only pathological but now blatant and more and more unhinged. All that said, and as is always the case, the only thing that the Democrats have that can effectively gum up the works is the GOP. They have not a leg to stand on politically, ethically, morally or legally and yet, it's the McStains, Ryans and others who will stab him and us in the back. So far, and shockingly, McConnell has stood firm with Gorsuch and now with the outrageous calls for a prosecutor to keep investigating the Trump/Russia election hack hoax. Pardon my French by F**K them to Hell. Stand firm. 51 is the magic number Ram every nomination and every piece of legislation home. I hate these bastards. And just as a reminder, Maxine "Ethyl" Waters blood-libeled Ronald Reagan when she accused him of having the CIA invent crack in order to wipe out black people. We laugh at her at our own peril because too many young people are enamored of her and do not know her past. She is a vile excuse for a human being and should be exposed and vilified at every turn. Lastly, of note, and not unrelated to any of this is another great Daniel Greenfield essay. Anyway, links from around the world, across the nation and up your street. Have a better one and remain blessed.
UP FRONT THIS MORNING Rebounding Steel Industry Cheers On PDT, Sez . . . The NY Times?! Coal Mining Industry Coming Out of Obama-Induced Coma
- Lester Jolt: Interrupts PDT 9 Times in 3 Minutes
- Nuts! Tillerson Signs Bogus Arctic Climate Pact, But Insists US Firm on Climate Change Stance
- Really Nuts! GOP Might Buckle to DEMOCRAT Threats of Trading New FBI Head for Hearings on Russia Hack Hoax
- Grassley Confirms Trump Not Under Investigation, DEMOCRAT Feinstein Concurs
- Rush: Are We Missing the Mother of All Scandals? (Hint: Obama)
- DEMOCRAT Ex-Rep. Corrine Brown (D) FL, Found Guilty on 18 of 22 Charges of Wire Fraud and Tax Evasion, and She's a DEMOCRAT
- AETNA Is . . . OUT?! Fleeing All Obamacare Exchanges by 2018
- VA Whistleblowers: Retaliation Getting Worse, Not Better
- Same House Ethics Committee That Railroaded Nunes, Slow-Walking Investigation into DEMOCRAT Schiff and DEMOCRAT Speier
- "Needle-" Dick Blumenthal (D)raft (D)odger, Concurs with DEMOCRAT "Ethyl" Waters on PDT Impeachment
- Manufactured Comey "Crisis" Might Help GOP Advance Obamacare Repeal in Senate
- Palestinians Running the Show in . . . Chile?!
- Ba Fangoul! Italian TV Reporter Attacked by African Migrant During Live Broadcast
- Day Ending in "Y" Dept.: Danish Imam Preaches for Muslims to Kill Jews to Bring Judgment Day
- Daniel Greenfield: The College Blueprint for a Totalitarian America
- United's In-Flight Beat-Down Service Now Features SCORPIONS!
Is It Friday Yet? ONT
—WeirdDave
Welcome to the Oh-God-isn't-this-week-over-yet-please-just-get-me-to-Friday ONT.
Continue reading
Open Thread, With A Double-Scoop of Today's Hair On Fire Blue Checkmark Mafia Nuttery
—Ace
This explains a lot. pic.twitter.com/TeexrVv4GK
— David Frum (@davidfrum) May 11, 2017
This is how you got Trump. It is also how you will get more Trump. Keep it up, dummies. https://t.co/Vua3FBJjIl
— Sean Davis (@seanmdav) May 11, 2017
Bre Payton watches the lunacy so you don't have to.
By the way, regarding that CNN picture: Why do CNN women have to be in shape while CNN men (or "Men") are permitted to be softy and flabby like queens and babies in Renaissance paintings?
#Sexism much, CNN?
I had my monthly bout of insomnia last night. Up until 7am, in bed since midnight -- not fun. Had to drug myself up to finally conk out, and I've got a nyquil hangover today.
Not a good day of blogging, but I pumped out a whole bunch of items in the sidebar.
#Resist: Woman Follows Republican Representative on Highway, Menacing Them
—Ace
The Party of #Love and #Science strikes again.
Wright reportedly followed the car after it left a town hall on the UT Martin campus.A police report states Kustoff [a Representative from TN] and Dunavant [his aide] felt they were in danger of being forced off the road.
When they pulled into the driveway of someone they know, Wright reportedly ran to the car and screamed while banging on the car and reaching in.
She then reportedly blocked the car until police were called and she ran away.
Wright later posted about the incident on her Facebook account.
She is charged with felony reckless endangerment.
She's not charged with reckless endangerment of herself, though. People do carry weapons, and sometimes use those weapons when menaced by a clearly hostile person who may or may not be mentally well.
#FakeAcademics, a Matter of National Concern
—Ace
One of the dumbest published "scholarly" work abstracts I've seen, and I've seen a few:
Corporal Hauntings
(Re)membering FatherDavid Purnell
Depart Crit Qual Res, Vol. 4 No. 4, Winter 2015; (pp. 65-82)This narrative focuses on the use of fiction in conjunction with autoethnography in order to possibly change narrative inheritance. I use speculative autoethnography to seek out alternate outcomes of past life events. In this writing, fictionalized conversations take place with the hauntings of my child self during fragments of past experiences that I consider contributors to a failed familial relationship. I use this method to offer an alternative to the assumed social constructs of needing to "repair" such relationships. Through this account, I suggest ways to redirect the narrative momentum that pushes narrative inheritance into the future.
So he's using the "autoethnography" (which just means "Dear Diary, today I binge-watched Orange is the New Black and felt this way about its transnormative potentialities") of fiction of made-up conversations between, I don't know, his current-time "ghost" and his past child-self (or maybe the latter is the "ghost," visiting the future) in order to "redirect the narrative momentum" about, one assumes, his father's great shame about having begat this buffoon.
Could this be more divorced from reality?
Dude, just watch Frequency with your dad. Problems solved. And then you can write an "autoethnography" about the catharsis you and your shame-ridden father felt when Dennis Quaid goes all shotgunny.
He's not the only "academic" keenly interested in "hautnological" studies, either:
On the importance of the ghost concept in cultural geography https://t.co/WdRYe8eXez pic.twitter.com/z0Dhpa6mRW
— New Real Peer Review (@RealPeerReview) May 9, 2017
Now, if you'll all excuse me, I'm going to perform a data-generative deep dive into the Ocean of Me, per(form)ing a ritual by which I will videotape my (Real)ity self attempting to commune with the ghosts of my wise American Indian forefathers, who exist on an alternate plane of (Sur)(Real)ity, and use the technique of autoethnography and also Total Bullshit to repair my current (Real)ity by asking questions of (Be)ings who not only don't currently exist, but in fact never existed at all, because I made them up, using the technique of Fictional (Ex)plorations and the hyperreflexive act of watching old videos of myself on the floor with a bong in my hand talking to Dream Warriors and Vision Guides in my WoW (altar)-ego of a half-elf ranger/assassin (15th/18th level, DPS specced). By this process I seek to Re(If)y states of potentiality and also get Sick Loot Drops for my half-elf 'toon in my next Ra(Id).
Trump: I Was Going to Fire Comey Anyway, Regardless of Rod Rosenstein's Memo
—Ace
I'm glad this is out of the way:
Trump on Comey: "He's a grandstander, a showboat" it was my decision pic.twitter.com/a7sMG6hBAv
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) May 11, 2017
Rosenstein was apparently angry that it had been whispered or implied that he had "recommended" that Comey be fired, and that he was the main motivating force behind the firing.
Apparently he was angry about the put-the-blame-on-Rosenstein campaign (but see downpost).
Rosenstein's role, I'm thinking, was to write a memo informing Trump whether he had justification or cause for termination of Comey. He did this, I would guess, at Trump's direction, or at Sessions' request (who, if involved at all, probably was just relaying Trump's order).
So Rosenstein researched it and rendered an opinion that yes, Trump could fire Comey, and did have cause to do so.
If he wanted to fire him, that is -- if he wanted to fire him, he had cause.
But that's not the same as Rosenstein himself initiating this or directing it or "recommending" it.
So I'm glad that this shabby, poorly-thought-out decision to suggest that Rosenstein Did It is behind us.
Well, it's not behind us. It will be Maddow's Top Story for three months.
But at least no one will feel compelled to try to support a claim that seemed pretty implausible almost from the beginning.
If this can be called a lie -- I'm not sure it's a "lie," straight-up, but more of a manipulation or insinuation/implication by careful wording -- it's a dumb one. It's like using a buddy as an alibi, telling your wife you were doing Church Work with him on Friday night, when you were really out at a tittybar getting drunk and stanky, without ever asking your buddy if he was cool being your alibi or even telling him you were using him as your alibi.
It's very, very dumb to use Rod Rosenstein as an alibi without even clearing it with him first. That sort of thing results in... well, the current conflagration.
Beyond the dumbness of it, there is also of course the moral question about lying. Or misleading. It's shabby behavior, it's dishonorable, and the excuse that people being lied about by the media have latitude to lie in their own defense is getting really overworked lately. At some point, that dog won't hunt, and that point was a month and a half ago.
There is also the problem that lying is generally taken by people to be a sign of a guilty conscience -- few people lie about things they feel ethically confident about or proud of. It's the things people know they shouldn't do that they lie about.
I had no problem with Trump firing Comey, and I assumed it was all on the up-and-up. But if it were on the up-and-up, why mislead about it? Why misdirect people about the parentage of the firing?
If it's not shameful, why is deception being deployed to hide it?
The only good thing here is that now that Trump has admitted it was his idea, I can say "It was Trump's idea" without being yelled at by a contingent of Trump supporters who often take it upon themselves to be Trump's own Media Narrative Enforcement Brigades.
About Rosenstein threatening to quit if it were not "clarified" that this was not Rosenstein's call: Although there seem to be too many reports that Rosenstein was upset and/or angered by this, there seems to be some doubt about the Blue Checkmark Mafia Media's claims -- luridly retweeted and blogged for many hours today -- that he "threatened to quit" over the incident.
Not true, says Rod Rosenstein himself.
When asked by Sinclair Broadcast Group's Michelle Macaluso about reports that claim otherwise, he stated "no, I'm not quitting."
Macaluso: Did you threaten to quit?Rosenstein: No.
The Washington Post reported Wednesday night that "Rosenstein threatened to resign after the narrative emerging from the White House on Tuesday evening cast him as a prime mover of the decision to fire Comey," citing an unnamed source close to the White House.
Other reporters on Capitol Hill also stated he was upset at the administration over the matter.
Not sure if one can believe that -- perhaps some personal diplomacy was worked out behind the scenes permitting both parties to have some cover (Trump needing it much more) -- but Rosenstein says he didn't threaten to quit.
A little unsolicited advice for Trump: What made Trump popular among many was the fact that he couldn't be bowed by the stultifying, suffocating politically-correct received-wisdom-of-the-elites phony government/media complex, and would often blurt out unpopular and harsh truths. (Also some unpopular and harsh lies, but let's stick to the truths.)
And also: that he seemed like a brazen enough guy that he didn't lie like other typical Washington politicians. Not necessarily because he was a good man, but just because He Didn't Give a Fuck. And whatever the motive, that's refreshing.
Invigorating. Bracing. Enlivening.
Thrilling, even.
Trump really should get back to that and stop with the dissembling. We've had enough of that.
Lies are so tedious and so 2008-2016. And so... Beta.
Alpha Males aren't supposed to lie, because they don't have to lie. They don't try to get their way through indirect, scheming, feminine methods like deception. They just to straight to the thing they want and do it.
Or at least that's the theory.
If you want to fire a guy, be a man about it, be brazen about it, and just go on TV and say "I'm firing this guy because I don't like him and I think he's a water-carrier for Obama, Lynch, Hillary, and the Deep State/Liberal Media Establishment."
Just show your dick. Don't play with it in the dark corners like a guilt-ridden pervert.
Just whip it out and wag it around like a proud, confident pervert.
People are tired of being lied to. I know I am. And we actually like getting a dash of unvarnished, unscripted, un-focus-grouped truth every now and again.
Trump is a shitty, obvious, unconvincing liar and he needs to know that about himself. (Obama was too, but he had the media backing him up on every inch of deception.)
Don't do the shit you're bad at; do the stuff you're good at.
No, Comey Did Not Just Ask For More Resources for Russia Probe
—Ace
FBI Deputy Director and I guess acting director at the moment Anthony McCabe confirms he is "not aware" of Comey having requested more money to investigate Russia scandal crap, and yesterday, a DOJ spokeswoman also said the DOJ had not been so requested.
And yet this was a huge claim that went 'round the Blue Checkmark Mafia Media yesterday and this morning, too.
Why would I believe you, Journ0listers, when you are either chronically uninformed or remorselessly dishonest?
Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley hinted that Comey made the revelation about Trump during a closed, classified session following a committee hearing last week. California Sen. Dianne Feinstein also attended."Shortly after Director Comey briefed us, I tweeted that he should be transparent. I said he should tell the public what he told Senator Feinstein and me about whether the FBI is or is not investigating the President," Grassley said.
Though that still allows some people in Trump's orbit to be targets, naturally.
Bangaladesh Prime Minister: Hillary Clinton Personally Pressured Me to Help Out a Clinton Foundation Donor
—Ace
Sara Carter reports for Circa:
While secretary of state, Hillary Clinton made a personal call to pressure Bangladesh's prime minister to aid a donor to her husband's charitable foundation despite federal ethics laws that require government officials to recuse themselves from matters that could impact their spouse’s business.The Office of Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina confirmed to Circa that Mrs. Clinton called her office in March 2011 to demand that Dr. Muhammed Yunus, a 2006 Nobel Peace prize winner, be restored to his role as chairman of the country’s most famous microcredit bank, Grameen Bank. The bank's nonprofit Grameen America, which Yunus chairs, has given between $100,000 and $250,000 to the Clinton Global Initiative. Grameen Research, which is chaired by Yunus, has donated between $25,000 and $50,000, according to the Clinton Foundation website.
"Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton telephoned Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in March 2011 insisting her not to remove Dr. Muhammad Yunus from the post of Managing Director of Grameen Bank," Deputy Press Secretary Md Nazrul Islam told Circa in an email.
Sure seems like #EvidenceOfCollusion to me.
Mid-Morning Open Thread
—CBD
The Adoration Of The Magi
Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi (Boticelli)
This piece is in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence. It is essentially a family portrait of the Medici's, which makes me wonder whether in 500 years we will have any remnants of the rich and powerful of our age...
I sort of hope not.
The Morning Report 5/11/17
—J.J. Sefton
Good morning, kids. That was a fun, and much needed musical open thread last night before the ONT. Back to reality, or in some instances madness. In that light two stories illustrate the utter vacancy of Leftist thought. Cray-Cray Aunt Esther, aka Maxine Waters (who is the new fresh face of the Democrat Party, or so they tell me), out of one side of her mouth rails against President Trump firing James Comey and then from the other side of her dentures claims it would have been completely proper for Hillary Clinton - who will never be President of the United States of America - to fire him. And then, on national television, Stephen Colbert demonstrated a mass shock-the-monkey moment, wherein when he announced the breaking news that Comey had been fired, the audience of Lefties and Millenials burst into applause since Comey was in their eyes an Emanuel Goldstein figure. Colbert had to remind them that they are now supposed to support him. Up front, I have linked to a story where a Senator from Nevada, who I have never heard of, wants to abandon elections and use diversity to select lawmakers. Hint: few if any whites, practicing Christians or men will be allowed. I'm sure I saw that somewhere in Oscar Madison's Notes or that dude Alex B. Tokeville. We laugh at this garbage at our peril because the instant they have the chance, they will be at our throats. Anyway, links from around the world, across the nation and up your street. Have a better one and remain blessed.
UP FRONT THIS MORNING: Who IS This Broad?! Nevada Senator Masto Wants Quotas Instead of Free Elections
- Maxine "Ethyl" Waters: I Don't Support Trump Firing Comey, But I'd Support Hillary Firing Comey
- Rush: Colbert's Reaction to Audience Cheering Comey's Firing "A Teachable Moment"
- Now that Comey's Gone, It's Time to Indict Hillary
- Five Possible Candidates that Could Be Tapped to Head the FBI
- Degrees of Ignorance: Grads at Black College Turn Backs to Betsy DeVos at Commencement
- Insurrectionist Blue State AGs Sue PDT to Shut Down Red State Coal Mining
- 15-Times-Deported Illegal Alien Arrested in Car Crash that Mangled Young Boy
- PDT Moving Quickly to Arm Syrian Kurds, Erdogan Not Pleased
- Chuck Schemer Leading Dems Into Political Oblivion Over Comey, Russia
- The Good Chuck (Grassley) Responds with Nelson Muntz Laugh
- Coulter: To Say "Stop Raping Me" In English, Press 1 Now
- The Face of Tyranny is Young(ish) and Punchable: Zuckerberg Censors Atheist and Ex-Muslim Pages
- In Case You Missed It, Ted Cruz Wiped the Floor with Sally Yates
- Kellyanne Conway Smacks Down Ignoramus Son of a Mafioso
- The Science Is Settled: Veganism Can Be Lethal for Children
- Too Bad the MFM Ignores Where and How Democracy Actually Is Dying In Darkness
Continue reading
W.O.N.T Edition (5/10/17)
—Misanthropic Humanitarian
Quotes of The Day
Quote I
The only way you can beat the lawyers is to die with nothing. Will Rogers
Quote II
When the doctrine of allegiance to party can utterly up-end a man's moral constitution and make a temporary fool of him besides, what excuse are you going to offer for preaching it, teaching it, extending it, perpetuating it? Shall you say, the best good of the country demands allegiance to party? Shall you also say it demands that a man kick his truth and his conscience into the gutter, and become a mouthing lunatic, besides? Mark Twain
Quote III
School teachers, taking them by and large, are probably the most ignorant and stupid class of men in the whole group of mental workers. H.L Mencken
Need more quotes? Bad Ass Last Words
Continue reading
Open Thread
—Ace
It wasn't a stressful or hard-working day at all but I guess I'm just lazy.
So here's a thread where you can continue talking about the Smooth Sounds of the Seventies . . . .
Source "Close to Comey:" Russia Investigation Was Accelerating, or Something
—Ace
So says the Deep State's go-to spokesnetwork, CNN.
Whatever, it's been six months. If you had something, we'd know it already.
At the FBI, shock and confusion over the firing of Comey.
Can I make it any plainer that this is purely obligatory post and I don't give a shit about any of this? I'm really tired of having to dance to the frantic spastic tarantella the Media Progressive Establishment strikes up every ***damned day.
John Oliver, While Attacking Trump and the GOP for Tax Loopholes and Trusts Designed to Reduce Property Taxes, Uses Tax Loophole and Trust to Reduce Property Taxes on $9.5 Million NYC Luxury Penthouse
—Ace
Ain't no hypocrisy as pungent as that of the tax-dodging champagne socialist aristocrat.
The hypocrisy really gets ratcheted up with John Oliver, the No. 1 darling to so many liberal anti-Trumpies, who regularly attacks GOP tax schemes as giveaways to the rich and detrimental to the poor. ...Back in July 2014, in an episode in which he lamented the "Wealth Gap in America" (which has resulted in the richest one percent of Americans controlling 20 percent of annual income), Oliver said, "At this point the rich are just running up the score... What sets America apart is that we are actively introducing policies that disproportionately benefit the wealthy," such as tax cuts and loopholes like trusts.
So it's a little surprising to discover that just months before, Oliver had a tax attorney set up two revocable trusts, one for him and one for his wife, to hide the couple's purchase of a $9.5 million Manhattan penthouse. Then he used a tax loophole created by Donald Trump himself back in the 1970s, when the current president was merely a prominent New York real estate developer and aspiring celebrity author.
The loophole in question is the banally named "421-a" tax dodge, which was recently attacked in a Daily News op-ed written by two New York state Democrats, one a senator and the other an assemblyman...
But just four months before Oliver’s July show, he had hired slick New York law firm Proskauer Rose LLP, which, in addition to union-busting and representing BP America, ChevronTexaco and ExxonMobil, specializes in helping the rich find tax breaks and buy real estate....
In other words, [Oliver's lawyer] is exactly the type of fancy pants attorney who helps his 1 percent clientele get the tax breaks and use the loopholes that Oliver gets such mileage deriding on TV....Oliver benefits from New York's property tax system, which offers huge advantages to residents of rich enclaves like the one where he lives. For example, even though Oliver paid $9.5 million for his penthouse, the city assessed its market value for tax purposes at just $1.3 million. However, only $515,000 of that amount was billable for property taxes. At a rate of 12.8 percent, Oliver normally would have paid $66,390.
However, property tax records show that, thanks to Trump and Roy Cohn, Oliver gets the very generous 421-a tax break on the penthouse. Hence, his property's billable value after the exemption plunged by over $300,000, and he owed just $27,343 for 2016. That comes out to a property tax rate of roughly 0.25 percent, which would make Ronald Reagan and Ayn Rand dance in their graves from happiness.
Those are the highlights but the stuff I've cut out is really good, going into detail about the luxe pad's description, Oliver's well-heeled hedge-fund-manager neighbors, and the services provided by his law firm to wealthy clients.
It's almost as if the rich clown John Oliver is just running up the score at this point and actively exploiting policies that disproportionately benefit himself at the expense of his viewers.
Of Course: Federal Court Rules that Firing of Phoenix VA Official, Who Is a Felon, is "Unconstitutional"
—Ace
Note that the procedures ruled "unconstitutional" are from a 2014 law, and this firing happened under Obama.
Though Loretta Lynch also declined to object as to the "unconstitutionality" of the procedures -- Government Workers Uber Alles.
A law was recently passed under Trump to make firing of incompetents even easier -- but that law too utilizes the procedures of the 2014 law, now ruled "unconstitutional," thanks to Mr. Government Obama and his corrupt mob boss.
Whipsaw Warning: Steven Colbert's Audience Cheers at News Comey Has Been Fired
—Ace
This is exactly what he should have expected, and perhaps did expect -- the left has been ginning up a Hate Comey campaign for six months, recently reinforced by Hillary Clinton's assertion that she would be president if not for Comey's October 28th information to Congress that was reviewing the emails found on Anthony Weiner's computer for possible relevance to the Hillary Clinton case.
So when they heard he'd been fired, of course they cheered.
However, they were on line to get into the show and sitting in the audience for a half hour. Many of them probably did not have time to be properly Socialized by "influencers" on the liberal side of things on Twitter, FaceBook, and Instagram.
So many probably did not know that the Party Leadershp had declared that Emmanuel Goldstein was no longer a Traitor, but in fact a Martyr, a 180 degree reversal reached by a Consensus of Twitter Scientists in just ten minutes of primal screaming and digital animal noises.
Life comes at you fast. pic.twitter.com/SDtbDJ5elK
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) May 10, 2017
Colbert attempted to play off the cheers as if they were from "Trump fans," but no, Trump fans don't go to Colbert's show, where they're called monsters. The cheers came from partisan liberals who simply had not been present to hear the Party decree that everything they said up to yesterday was now officially an Untruth, and the New Truth going forward was We Heart the Warrior-Martyr Comey.
Even Jimmy Kimmel, who is no longer an unfunny comedian but is now an unfunny health care policy expert, quickly got on board with the New Truth.
What losing the plot looks like. pic.twitter.com/6bMyWkmw2l
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) May 10, 2017
To make sure that people who aren't on Twitter 24/7 know the New Truth and know the Old Truth is now a Heresy, the We Love Comey New Truth will now have its own t-shirt.
You have to get the word out to people who don't sit hunched over a computer screen or a phone screen all day, after all.
The Narrative ain't gonna narrate itself, you know.
Continue reading
CNN Scolds Liberals for Spreading "Conspiracy Theory" That "Rape Will be a Pre-Existing Condition" if Obamacare Is Repealed, Without Noting That CNN Was a Primary #FakeNews Propagandist for the Lie
—Ace
Chris Cilliza is now scolding liberals for pumping out conspiracy theories themselves dreamed up by hardened partisans, but he overlooks that CNN was a major megaphone for this #FakeNews:
"[The Affordable Care Act] ensured that tests for HIV and sexually transmitted diseases, plus domestic and interpersonal violence screening and counseling, would be completely covered by insurance companies," wrote CNN's Jen Christensen."That may not be the case in the future. Under the current bill, states could seek waivers that would let insurers sell plans that don't include all the essential health benefits mandated by the ACA," she added.
In case you're thinking, "But that doesn't mean the article reported that 'Rape and Domestic Violence Could be Pre-Existing Conditions,'" you should also know that the much-linked-and-tweeted story was headlined Rape and domestic violence could be pre-existing conditions.
By the way, Google still returns zero hits for any news story on the Washington Post reporting that the "hate crime" it reported on endlessly turned out to be a complete false-flag hoax.
Google also reports no stories on this hate-crime-revealed-as-yet-another-hoax on the New York Times or, of course, CNN's website, either -- at least, searching for the admitted hoaxer's name, George Stang or George Nathaniel Stang, turns up no references on either #FakeNews site.
Hot Monkey Love
—OregonMuse
Paolo, the Gay Love Baboon
Click on this link to read about Paolo's adventures in a remote South African Village.
"The Paolo, he brings the sexy monkey love, yes?"
Yeah, I got nothing. Open thread until ace shows up. And relax. Like Paolo, the love baboon.
Mid-Morning Open Thread
—CBD
Thomas Jonathan Jackson
Charles Keck
This is the statue of General Jackson in Jackson Park, in Charlottesville Virginia.
It is a fine sculpture of an impressive and interesting figure in our history, and I wonder how long it will grace Jackson Park, or, for that matter, how long will Jackson Park have that name?
New Orleans is in the process of destroying a small part of American history by burning books removing statues of Confederate figures. Regardless of one's opinion of the War Of The Southern Rebellion (SWIDT?), it is a hugely important part of American history, and no amount of revisionism will make it go away.
I have seen those statues, and the idea that they "lionize" the Confederacy is laughable. They honor courageous men, and important figures in our past. And when I see Stonewall Jackson on his horse, I think not of slavery, which was rightly cast into the dustbin of history, but of a brave and resourceful and honorable man.
But the Progressive cant cannot allow any deviation from the orthodoxy, and they are particularly exercised by the Confederacy. Here is The National Laughingstock gleefully tarring anyone with any respect for the Confederacy as an "extremist." [Check the link...it is courtesy of a lurker!] New Orleans needs help moving Confederate statues -- and stopping extremists in the way
Let us cross over the river and rest under the shade of the trees.
General Jackson died on this day in 1863, about a week after being wounded at Chancellorsville, where he and Lee kicked the Army of The Potomac's ass.
Continue reading
The Morning Report 5/10/17
—J.J. Sefton
Good morning, kids. Well, the fallout over James Comey's long overdue firing continues. I'm sure it will dominate today's thread, and I've tried to post the best links about the story up top. One thing is for certain, the non-hack decent agents and operatives at the FBI are shouting a collective "hallelujah!" And Joe diGenova, who was apoplectic when Comey covered up for Hillary at that now infamous press conference puts it plainly:
"It was long overdue," said diGenova, who served as U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia under President Ronald Reagan. "I'm very proud of the president of the United States . . . He did exactly what should have been done. He [Comey] was and is a very dangerous man." By "dangerous," diGenova said he means that "[Comey] is so unpredictable and so self-indulgent and so self-righteous."
Personally, I think our own poet-laureate Muldoon won the interwebs yesterday with this gem:
Said Donald J. Trump to James Comey,"I've got some bad news for you, Homey!
Since you've now been Muldooned
Let's rub salt in the wound--
You're fired, but first. . . you will blow me!"
Anyway, there are other links, as always, from around the world, across the nation and up your street. Have a better one and remain blessed.
- When Clapper Confirmed Russky Fishing Expedition, the Axe Fell on Comey . . .
- . . . Ten Major FBI Scandals Under James Comey's Watch . . .
- . . . Elijah "Showboat" Cummings Demands Hearings, Smears AG Sessions . . .
- . . . Comey Was Giving a Speech as News Broke, Thought It Was a Practical Joke
- . . .Acting Dir. McCabe Takes Over, Should Have Been Fired Simultaneously . . .
- . . . Good Roger Simon: If I Were Hillary, I'd Be Soiling My Depends About Now
- Tunnel Collapses at Hanford, WA Nuke Site, No Radiation Release Reported
- Senate GOP Wing of Democrat Party Signaling Obamacare Taxes Might Remain in "Repeal"
- LAUSD Declares "Sanctuary Schools," Feds Verboten
- Illegal Border Crossings Down for Fourth Straight Month
- Planned Launch of Two Satellites a Likely Test for Farsi ICBMs
- ChiComs to Boeing: Thank You and F**k You!
- Obama's Cow-Fart Speech: Short on Science, Long on Leftist Dogma
- Good Jobs Exist; It's the Schools That Are Failing OR the Wall Street Journal Is Full of Shit
- Perfect Caption for Che T-Shirts" "Mexicans Are Mostly a Rabble of Illiterate Indians"
Tuesday Overnight Open Thread (5/9/17)
—Misanthropic Humanitarian
Quotes of The Day
The French have voted to postpone their rendezvous with destiny. But kicking the croissant down the road means another half-decade of demographic transformation that lengthens the odds against ever winning the numbers to halt it. Mark Steyn
The marriage discussions [were clouded by Obama’s] torment over this central issue of life. . .race and identity. [The] resolution of his black identity was directly linked to his decision to pursue a political career.Sheila Miyoshi Jager.
Quote III
It is gonna get worse because of the stupidity that we're hearing coming out of people who say, "We need to build bridges, not walls." Wrong! You can't build a bridge to terror. You need to build a wall between you and terror. Michael Savage
Continue reading
Open Thread So Everyone Can Continue Talking About Comey
—Ace
I was going to put something else up, but who'd care right now?
When do we get the "Trump is clearing DC like he's Voldemort at Hogwarts removing half-muggles" think piece? @AceofSpadesHQ #ComeyFiring
— Jeb Bos (@BigJebBos) May 9, 2017
We don't need a special prosecutor. We need an Auror. @jk_rowling
— Joss Whedon (@joss) May 9, 2017
Read another book, queerbaits.
Or read any book, including the one you keep referencing over and over -- I don't believe you idiots have read it. I think you just saw the movies.
More substantively, Deputy AG Ron Rosenstein blasted Comey's behavior in this case:
The most substantive part of the allegation by Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein against (now former) FBI Director James Comey pic.twitter.com/Cg1PbJAxQy
— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) May 9, 2017
In Memorandum to AG Sessions, Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein recommended that Comey be replaced: pic.twitter.com/xsS37OwSTA
— Mark Knoller (@markknoller) May 9, 2017
Charles Schumer, who looks like the kind of guy who plays with himself in the bathtub and then admires and finger-dabbles his own effluence, is now demanding that Ron Rosenstein do Something or Another about this Outrage of Trump Doing What Schumer Previously Demanded.
BTW, someone claimed on Twitter than Comey was in his LA Office when he heard about his firing on the TV.
#Baller move, Trump.
What may have happened (given the confusion about whether this guy resigned or not) is that he was asked to resign, refused, and then was actually fired after that.
Meanwhile, Egg McMuffin decided he had to say something to keep his fundraising hopes alive and decided to write "comprised" when he meant "compromised:"
This is a desperate act by a vulnerable, comprised president to avoid accountability. The people's Congress must step up its investigations! https://t.co/N36p68pVPM
— Evan McMullin (@Evan_McMullin) May 9, 2017
Meanwhile, the Less Attractive and Less Intelligent Rachel Maddow decided to shriek about a bit:
Special. Prosecutor. Now.
— Jennifer Rubin (@JRubinBlogger) May 9, 2017
More: For the next one, click on the various linked pictures to see what the left was saying about Comey before today-- that he should be fired.
Welp. pic.twitter.com/7yLU1pOa81
— jimgeraghty (@jimgeraghty) May 10, 2017
David Frum had to open his dick-shaped mouth, too:
It’s a coup.
— David Frum (@davidfrum) May 9, 2017
BREAKING: TRUMP FIRES COMEY
—Ace
James Comey has been fired -- Sean Spicer
— Jonathan Karl (@jonkarl) May 9, 2017
The President accepted the recommendation of the deputy attorney general to dismiss FBI Director James Comey.
— Jonathan Karl (@jonkarl) May 9, 2017
COMEY PINK SLIP pic.twitter.com/1C0Z58HotK
— Shannon Pettypiece (@spettypi) May 9, 2017
I'm cool with that.
FBI Director Rudy Giulliani?
On Macron, and that 11th Hour Hack
—Ace
Macron was in fact the victim of an 11th hour hack of his emails, including some of his financial records. Some of those records have been confirmed to be real -- while others, presumably those which detail his secret accounts in offshore banks -- he implies are false.
Who was behind the leak? Well, some say it was Russia's army intelligence GRU, and some say it was the far right or "alt right."
Macron has blamed Russia and, of course, "fake news." (It's amazing how global our media is now, with memes passing so easily across borders like the Zika virus.)
Either the far left or the far right. One's as good as the other, depending on the media's storyline needs of the day.
This news was embargoed by the French government:
French media warned not to publish Emmanuel Macron leaksElection authorities will prosecute internet users who pass on documents from massive En Marche! hack
France's electoral commission warned media and internet users that they could face criminal prosecution for publishing documents obtained in a "massive and coordinated hacking attack" on the presidential frontrunner Emmanuel Macron's political movement.The commission, which held an emergency meeting to discuss the leak, said some of the documents appeared to contain "false information".
Thousands of internal En Marche! (On the Move!) documents were published on the internet an hour before the Friday midnight deadline for the start of a campaign blackout, meaning neither Macron nor his far-right Front National rival Marine Le Pen was allowed to respond.
France's presidential electoral authority, the CNCCEP, asked the media to avoid transmitting information from the leaked documents and reminded them of their responsibilities given the "seriousness of the election".
Here's the strange thing: Macron actually warned people that claims that he had secret accounts (a big deal in France, as I've said, given that they had a huge (and I do mean huge) political scandal about such accounts from around 2013 to 2014) before word of it was out.
I can't find the article now, but I read a week or 10 days ago that he was warning people not to believe any 11th-hour claims of financial impropriety and specifically told people they would be hearing of that.
Here's what I don't get: Presumably Macron knew he had been hacked before others did.
So I get the warning about the hacked information.
But how did he know that false reports of secret offshore accounts would be inserted amidst the real records?
When you're hacked, you do have an idea of all the real information the hackers could release about you. After all, it's your data. You know basically what it says.
But how do you know, before they release it, the stuff you're claiming is fake that they're going to stuff into it?
If they invented that stuff-- how did you know what the stuff they invented woudl say?
Maybe Macron saw some reports, containing the false information, circulating on internet websites. Maybe French intelligence somehow got a head's up about the plan and told him about it ahead of time.
That could be.
Or, it could be that the reason he knew the leaked emails would include information about secret overseas accounts is because he knew such information was included in the originals of the hacked information.
I'll be curious to watch this one. Now that the embargo is over, French media is, presumably, permitted to discuss the leaked information, and determine if Macron's warning that the stuff that makes him look bad was all forged is actually true. Or not true.
I do know this: If it's true, it's a big problem. The widespread use of secret accounts among French officials was nearly a Watergate level scandal in France, and I'm not sure if the center-right media in France will keep from looking into it. The center-right media in France (weirdly, France does in fact have a major center-right media, though, of course, it's just less socialist than the admitted socialists and communists) will protect him.
They supported him against Le Pen (whom they hate more than the Parti Socialist, of which Macron was a member until he claimed to be an "independent" four years or so ago), but they probably won't support him if there's any there la.
Is there? I have no idea. I just think this question -- how did you know there were going to be "false documents" mixed in with the ones you admit were real, before people knew about them? -- needs to be answered.
Maybe there's an innocent answer (French intelligence alerted him to the forgeries after seeing a preview of them). Maybe there's not.
One mistake I have to correct: Last week I said Macron's new party was called "On Marche," which means "We're moving." I misheard it -- as you all probably know by now, it's En Marche!, or "On the move." "On" and "En" sound alike in French, and I guess I only heard the party's name and didn't read it, or at least hadn't remembered reading it.
One thing the media isn't reporting too much, because they love the "Populism loses, Take That, Trump!" storyline: France had the highest level of blank ballots -- an official "None of the Above" vote -- in history, I think, or at least in decades, at around 25%.
When you hear that Macron got 65% of the vote and Le Pen got 35%, that's the percent of the two party vote they got. That doesn't take into account the 25% no-vote vote. So Macron actually got 65% of the 75% of votes cast for an eligible candidate (somewhere around 50%, I reckon) and Le Pen got something like 27%.
And while the media is loving talking this up as a Fire Which Will Ignite The World Against Trump, hailing Macron as a model for Democrats to follow, they're ignoring a big part of this story: Macron wasn't just a repudiation of Le Pen, he was also a repudiation of both of France's major parties (the center right former UMP called Les Republicaines (LR), and the Parti Socialist (PS)).
Oddly enough, there was a bigger movement on the left to vote None of the Above and cast a blank ballot than on the right. (At least as far as open declaration and marches encouraging that.)
It could turn out to be that Macron got more support from the "anti-socialist" LR than the usual coalition that votes the PS into power.
Les Republicaines didn't make the second ballot largely due to candidate Francois Fillon's own financial scandal (claims his wife held a no-show job with the government). The Parti Socialist didn't make the second round due to the disastrous outcome of the Parti Socialist's last five years in power.
Macron, a socialist, made silly claims that he represented a third way and was running against both major parties.
So it seems to me that you can make the case that Macron is just as much a Trump analogue as a repudiation of Trump.
One last point:
I don't think the FN can ever win in France (all other parties vote against them if they make it to the second-round two-party runoff). The fact that they could only get around 27% of all votes (from the entire pool of votes, including the blank ballots) kind of shows what their ceiling is.
Always happens. People thought FN could grab a bunch of regional seats when they made the second ballot in like 6 or 7 regions in 2015, they only came away with a single win out of those. FN's 27% is enough to finish in 2nd or even 1st place in the first round, with a very divided field of a half dozen or full dozen parties, but it just cannot win many 2-party 2nd-round contests.
But I'm also now wondering if LR can ever win if it doesn't steal some issues from FN -- like an anti-EU plank, or being more restrictionist on immigration -- without all the baggage and actual racist elements of FN.
Marine Le Pen does not seem to be a racist (though I can't follow her actual words in interviews), but her father definitely was (very anti-Jewish, for one), and every once in a while there's an embarrassing story about some FN official turning out to have a prior history as a skinhead or something.
While FN cannot win many races in the near future, it's possible they can win in, say, 20 years -- early analysis of returns suggests that up to 44% of young French people voted for her in the election, and very few older people. Young people presumably do not have the negative emotional reaction to the name "Le Pen" caused mainly by her father.
But that kind of plan for the FN winning in the future is like the prog "Coalition of the Ascendant" seizing complete power -- they just have to wait for Old People to Die Off In Massive Numbers, and then hope nothing else much changes politically over the course of 20-30 years.
Overlooked Part of Comey's Testimony: 15% of Those Under Current Terrorism Investigation Came to the Country as Refugees
—Ace
Comey's testimony last week revealed the consequences of this lack of information [that is, information about a refugee's background, which is either spotty or entirely nonexistent -- ace]. While most of the time he was asked about Hillary's e-mails and Russia, Russia, Russia, Sen. Tillis asked about terrorism investigations.... Comey responded that out of 2,000-plus "violent extremist investigations … about 300 of them are people who came to the United States as refugees."So 15 percent of the FBI's terrorism cases are refugees -- far more than their share of the immigrant population, let alone the general population. And that denominator of 2,000 presumably includes people with no immigration nexus at all -- skinheads, antifa, Klan, environmental and animal rights extremists, et al. So the refugee share of immigration-related terrorism investigations is more than 15 percent, perhaps much more.
If you didn't follow that last bit, he means that when you say that 300 of 2000 current terrorism investigations came as refugees, you can't assume the 2000 are foreign born. The 2000 might refer to all active terror investigations of both domestic and foreign-but-present terror threats. Thus, he means, as regards foreign terror investigations, the 300 we know came as refugees might be much, much higher a percentage of that smaller pool.
In Fourth Circuit Hearing on Obama's Travel Restrictions, ACLU Lawyer Admits, Sure, This Executive Order Might Be Legal if Hillary Clinton Signed It
—Ace
Well, this was all pretty much implied from the lower courts' reasoning -- which always centered not on the law itself, but on statements Trump made (or was alleged by Rudy Giulliani to have made).
Minus those statements, then the EO passes muster. It's facially constitutional. But they're saying a bad man wants to pass it, which makes it unconstitutional by prior statements.
There is no such category. Courts distinguish between a law, order, or rule being facially unconstitutional -- the law or order or rule's own words themselves contain unconstitutional directives -- and unconstitutional-as-applied, where a mandate may be written in a way that is perfectly constitutional, but as actually applied by officials, is discriminatory. A good example of this, which courts aren't bothered by at all, is that "hate crimes" legislation is mostly executed in an unconstitutional-as-applied way: It's mostly a crime that only white people can be guilty of.
But while those distinctions exist, there is no "facially constitutional but unconstitutional because Trump is a very bad man who uses very bad words" category.
And in fact you can't even fault this directive for being discriminatory -- Presidents are permitted to be discriminatory as regards non-US-citizens coming into the country.
The ACLU lawyer, quizzed by judges on this strange new doctrine they were arguing for, admitted that sure, Hillary Clinton signing the same EO would be perfectly constitutional, because she's not a Very Bad Man like Trump.
Clintons Trying Novel Approach to Stay Relevant
—Ace
Annoying author James Patterson is teaming up with Bill Clinton to write a thriller called The President is Missing. Due out in summer of 2018.
The novel will be "informed by insider details that only a President can know," the publishers said in a statement provided to Publishers Weekly and AP. Clinton said: "Working on a book about a sitting President--drawing on what I know about the job, life in the White House, and the way Washington works--has been a lot of fun.""Working with President Clinton has been the highlight of my career, and having access to his first-hand experience has uniquely informed the writing of this novel," Patterson said in the statement.
The President is Missing will be Clinton's first work of fiction, apart from his marital vows, court depositions, and grand jury testimony, as well as most of his presidency.
I might have added that last part.
Meanwhile, while Hillary Clinton is not involved in producing a novel, she is, for some reason, the subject of one: A bestselling novelist I never heard of (but don't hold that against him) is writing a novel about the nonintriguing question that none of us except Hillary and Huma Abedin have asked, What If Hillary had never married Bill Clinton?
Random House announced Monday that Curtis Sittenfeld will tell the story from the point of view of Hillary Rodham. In real life, the former first lady did turn down Bill Clinton's marriage proposals at first before agreeing to marry. In the novel, not yet titled, she turns down Clinton once and for all, then goes on with her life.No release date was announced.
That's fine -- no release date was wanted.
By the way, that's not the only What If Hillary Clinton alt-history being written:
Sci-fi writer William Gibson is writing a novel about Hillary Clinton in which he imagines that she won the presidential election.
William Gibson is as culturally relevant now as Kajagoogoo, and for much the same reason -- he invented a silly word.