The biscuit was day-old, we learned just now.
(Whoever was leaking it felt compelled to mention one material change verbally, because it wasn't in the text, just "staff have been directed to come up with possible proposals".)
Or alternatively, I missed the latest EPA rollbacks and regulatory slashes because I was too busy laughing at Kellyanne Conway couch memes.
Emails!!!
The draft EPA cuts - 97% to Great Lakes (and other liberal areas) and to unimportant areas like lead, tribal water quality, endocrine disruptions, radon. To save like 1/100 of the defense budget.
First thing DOI's new director did - remove the restrictions on lead in national refuges. For whom? Who is pushing for that? Like are they 6 years old? Oh, you guys like something, we're just going to destroy it (even if we both end up suffering).
Also the headline of a story that runs something like 'when the boys at her daughter's school started making Nazi salute, here's what she did'. I always automatically answer 'burn it all down'.
And finally, the guy they arrested for some of the JCC bomb threats. He was trying to get his ex-girlfriend in trouble?!
People are just horrible.
At least if we release enough lead, we can test Kevin Drum's pet theory.
And finally, the guy they arrested for some of the JCC bomb threats.
I missed this completely.
The press reaction to the speech was super-gross. I hadn't known what to make of Van Jones' sudden arrival as a big deal at CNN, but I sure do now. Fuck him.
First thing DOI's new director did - remove the restrictions on lead in national refuges. For whom? Who is pushing for that?
The ban was some gamesmanship on the part of the Obama's people. They put it in place the day before the inauguration, probably at least in part knowing they might get some headlines out of the immediate rollback and also in legitimate pushback against the recently passed SHARE act. (one page PDF summary) I don't think though that SHARE impacts the ability of entities like the NPS to enact the type of lead bans that current exist like in Glacier and Yellowstone.
First thing DOI's new director did - remove the restrictions on lead in national refuges.
This took me so long to parse because I was thinking refuges were people.
People who you can now shoot as many times as you like.
My brain tried to parse it as 'refugiums', which, (1) the correct plural is surely '-ia' and, (2) the ice sheets are melting not advancing, so the point has to be moot anyway.
I am fascinated by the fact that the GOP can't reach an agreement on Obamacare. It's yet another example of the crazy extremist assholes in the Republican Party thwarting their colleagues who are merely extremist assholes.
8: Van Jones has got a bunch of goodwill with me, and he hasn't used it all up yet. I don't watch him often, but I've seen him say things on the TV that nobody else will say. (Alas, no examples spring to mind.)
But yeah, he needs to be given shit for this one.
Thank you so very much for the Sizzler tip, heebie. I sent the link to my snooty midwestern family with the line "I know that if the last couple of years have taught us anything, it's that these fuckers always, always laugh last, but life is short and we can laugh a LITTLE about this today, right?"
14.1 was my understanding, but for him to come out like the worst kind of cliched toady....
I mean, he's not in the Friedman or Down category for me, but...
Or alternatively, I missed the latest EPA rollbacks and regulatory slashes because I was too busy laughing at Kellyanne Conway couch memes.
Justice Department Will Stop Monitoring Troubled Police Agencies. Not surprising (it was, essentially, a campaign promise), but still awful.
"We need, so far as we can, in my view, help police departments get better, not diminish their effectiveness," Mr. Sessions said in remarks to the National Association of Attorneys General. "And I'm afraid we've done some of that. So we're going to try to pull back on this, and I don't think it's wrong or mean or insensitive to civil rights or human rights."
The Trump administration, Mr. Sessions said, is working "out of a concern to make the lives of people in particularly the poor communities, minority communities, live a safer, happier life so that they're able to have their children outside and go to school in safety and they can go to the grocery store in safety and not be accosted by drug dealers and get caught in crossfires or have their children seduced into some gang."
Also dropping the federal suit against the Texas ID law
But the Justice Department under President Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions told a judge on Monday that it was withdrawing its claim that Texas enacted the law with a discriminatory intent.
The Justice Department remains a party in the case. But it is pulling back at a crucial phase. If a judge finds the state acted with discriminatory intent, as the Justice Department and other plaintiffs have alleged, Texas could be forced to seek federal approval before it makes any changes to its voting laws or procedures. That would have major impacts on voting rules in Texas and be a potent symbol of the ability of the federal government to be a major brake on voting discrimination nationally.
"This is a complete 180-degree turn," said Danielle Lang, a lawyer for the Campaign Legal Center, one of the groups that sued Texas and represents some of the Justice Department's fellow plaintiffs in the voter ID case. Under the Obama administration, she added, the Justice Department was "fully committed to the case."
Attorney General Jeff Sessions acknowledged Monday that he hasn't read the Obama-era Department of Justice reports on abuses committed by police departments in Chicago and Ferguson, Missouri. Sessions, who is now the nation's top law enforcement official, said he's only read summaries of the two reports, according to Reuters, and, apparently, he found no reason to read on. "Some of it was pretty anecdotal and not so scientifically based," he commented.
to make the lives of people in particularly the poor communities, minority communities, live a safer, happier life so that they're able to have their children outside
I'll defer to heebie on this one, obviously, but I would have thought having children indoors would be more comfortable and safer. In some sort of clinic, perhaps.
probably at least in part knowing they might get some headlines out of the immediate rollback
The Obama administration made Trump look bad by doing something substantively good while at the same time giving Trump an opportunity to do show in stark terms what a shithead he is, knowing he wouldn't be able to resist rolling it back! Gamesmanship! No fair!
The VOICE agency was really bothering me, beyond its being evil, because a weekly publicizing of the crimes of some segment of the population seemed so familiar and I couldn't place it. It was the Nazis, of course, but it was just on the tip of my brain for weeks and it was driving me crazy.
Oh, and the paper announcing our intention to ignore the WTO and like five other awful things that exceed my outrage buffer.
18: God, ajay, way to otherize the skybirthing community.
4-2 who is pushing for that? The symptoms for lead poisoning include lowered IQ, and anger issues. More lead poisoning means more perfect Republican chumps. They really needed to work on rhat. The recentt generations haven't been good for them.
4-2 who is pushing for that? The symptoms for lead poisoning include lowered IQ, and anger issues. More lead poisoning means more perfect Republican chumps. They really needed to work on rhat. The recentt generations haven't been good for them.
Theresa May, berating the Nats for wanting to "wrench Scotland out of its biggest market".
Maybe I'm just mentally saturated with lead-infused dust blown inland from the 80/580 for decades and thus irascible, but generally I don't read "liberal" blogs with comments like 23/24, and I'm not crazy about seeing more of them here.
I don't know how justified the belief is that reducing regulations in those Trump-embracing Great Lakes areas will fuel business creation and economic growth, but it's intended to secure votes and loyalty from anyone with a headache from all the paperwork or the threat of lawsuits over pollution, and that's all it needs to do. I'm not sure they care about lead one way or another, in part because all science is made up. Anyway, my daughter is not yet six and is incapable of such malice and idiocy, at least so far.
(Noting the increased permissivity about endocrine disruptors would seem to be a good line of attack for the midterms, though. Assault on American Men and Boys! In the Heartland!)
Or more to the point: here is my theory, and it may very well be wrong. To the extent that the Trumpists can drive economic growth in extraction and pollution-intensive manufacturing, they can ensure that the rank-and-file employees in these industries believe they depend on Republican control of government for their livelihoods, which will create a virtuous circle for the GOP: starve all sectors that tend to vote liberal of federal funding (notably public education, other reliably unionized professions), redistribute to cronies in extraction and the military- and prison-industrial complexes, remake the economy as a GOP shop. Whether or not it thrives -- and fundamentally, as long as the bosses get paid, no one cares -- it will feel affiliated with the party. My vague sense is that this is going pretty well in Wisconsin, to the horror of my family and others. If the Walker government can pull the federal levers too... well, this is where I get off the speculatin' train because it's starting to vent fumes into the passenger car.
Thoughts? Refutation?
To the extent that the Trumpists can drive economic growth in extraction and pollution-intensive manufacturing, they can ensure that the rank-and-file employees in these industries believe they depend on Republican control of government for their livelihoods, which will create a virtuous circle for the GOP
That's a good description. Even if the actual policy shifts don't have that much of an impact it does communicate "we're on you're side" (if you work in an extraction industry).
I'm pissed off that friggin' Notch is happy to engage with people who have pepe frogs and milk glasses in their user names. I used to think he was cool for building Minecraft, but apparently he's down with the red pill shit.
29: Didn't he announce himself as a closet Gamergater a while back?
Also, if you are looking for rage, have a look a the home page of the , which I happened to stumble upon earlier this week.
Home page of the US Trade Representative, I meant to say.
I'm minded of the 20's part of Deluge where the dominant themes in the US's international presence were inattention, pride, and self-interest.
29, 30- He admitted he had some real psychological issues dealing with suddenly becoming a billionaire- throwing parties just to feel the joy of burning money- but I hope this isn't where he ended up.
Didn't he announce himself as a closet Gamergater a while back?
I didn't catch that, but I had had the impression he was navigating an unfortunate level of neutrality about it. The guy is my kid's hero, so maybe I've been too willing to overlook the signals. My confidence in him has been eroding over time, but I think its become clear by now that he's gone full asshole.
Anyway, I feel like I should talk to my kid about this but I'm really not sure how I'm going to explain this stuff.
10
In America, we welcome you no matter what your lead content is.
Although TBH filtering visa applicants by lead level is way more likely to prevent crime than filtering by country of origin or religion.
27 is interesting. I suspect that short-term advantages beat everything else as an R strategy for the foreseeable future-- defense and extraction industries are R contributors in the clean world of campaign finance. Also they can be lucrative in other ways, here thinking of Ted Stevens or Tom DeLay.
To 26, I think there are commenters here who don't think before they write. Some of them are funny or personable, most also at least sometimes have something to say.
27 is interesting. I suspect that short-term advantages beat everything else as an R strategy for the foreseeable future-- defense and extraction industries are R contributors in the clean world of campaign finance. Also they can be lucrative in other ways, here thinking of Ted Stevens or Tom DeLay.
To 26, I think there are commenters here who don't think before they write. Some of them are funny or personable, most also at least sometimes have something to say.
And swapping the name field with the comment field?
I like my refuges like I like my gas: fully leaded.
29 is a good point also-- pseudopolicy as campaign ad, along the lines of the new office of bad immigrant anecdotes.
lw
Here's something to get outraged about that's close to Heebie's home: http://www.sacurrent.com/the-daily/archives/2017/02/27/texas-lawmakers-advance-bill-that-would-allow-doctors-to-lie-to-pregnant-women
Is wypipo the new SWPL? (No, because it's not new, but apparently people are getting offended. White people are, that is.)
Yeah, 46.link is just a bit racist.
How about that UBER? They've been using their massive trove of collected data to figure out who the regulatory authorities are so they can serve them up with fake versions of the app as to evade enforcement actions.
What kind of deprived corporate culture do you need to have to even come up with this shit?
46 makes more sense if you think of it as a term to label negative or hypocritical behaviors, rather than a category of person. Lots of the stuff on the list is contradictory, or at least applies to very different types of people. No one who loves confederate flags or takes pics with tigers also identifies as a Social Justice Warrior or wears a BLM t-shirt.*
*I find this acronym funny because the first thing I always think of is the Bureau of Land Management.
46: Looks like it. To me the most annoying thing about it is that it apparently conflates anything annoying done by white people. Apparently wypipo are OK with the Confederate flag and consider themselves social justice warriors. I think that describes literally no human being on Earth and the hypothetical person it describes is just a schizophrenic oddball, not part of any particular trend whether you like it or not. (Which I guess was one of the complaints about "SWPL" too.)
I'm trying to figure out of 44 is more likely to get lw banned by LB or neb.
52: I'm ok with all of that. I always disliked the term "ally", anyway (like you need a title to act like a decent person). It's the cultural stuff that makes it creepy, the closeness with pets and the fashion. It's not cool.
To 46, the whole thing could be better with showing rather than telling. alternate link
(Which I guess was one of the complaints about "SWPL" too.)
It was, but this writeup of wypipo is so flagrantly self-contradictory that I have to assume it was intentional*. SWPL always felt more like they were casting about for topics and didn't really care if they cohered.
*which makes sense: there's not only one way to be a stereotypically problematic white person
I always disliked the term "ally"
I particularly don't like it when people use it to describe themselves.
I am on fire today. In 58, please read showing for the incorrectly unlinked one. I especially like that even the URL is pretentious-- taxon_id as the name for a cgi parameter is, well, is something special.
The Uber thing is some Volkswagen level douchebaggery. There needs to be prison time for senior people who approve this kind of crap.
Please stop me this is too much
Nutpicking goop is too easy. It's like shooting fish in a barrel. The goal should be to find something overpriced and absurdly pretentious that you think neb might actually own. . .
65 is fairly remarkable. For anybody who didn't click through:
These asymmetrical, textured petite cups from Japanese brand, Wasara, make the most artful--entirely practical, single-serve--tableware for entertaining. [$10]
61: stick that link in my arse and turn me over. I'm done
The description is worth reading.
Americans are now going need a visa to visit the EU. Completely justified on the EU's part, but total bullshit that it has to be that way.
Another turn of the ratchet (may not want to read if you are heebie or my spouse):
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-immigration-children-idUSKBN16A2ES
Women and children crossing together illegally into the United States could be separated by U.S. authorities under a proposal being considered by the Department of Homeland Security, according to three government officials.
Part of the reason for the proposal is to deter mothers from migrating to the United States with their children, said the officials, who have been briefed on the proposal.
The policy shift would allow the government to keep parents in custody while they contest deportation or wait for asylum hearings. Children would be put into protective custody with the Department of Health and Human Services, in the "least restrictive setting" until they can be taken into the care of a U.S. relative or state-sponsored guardian.
My further comments would be superfluous.
(may not want to read if you are heebie or my spouse)
It took a long time in the TFA, but I have confirmed I am not your spouse.
Nonetheless, I am agitated by that info.
I'll add you to the list! This is one of very few subjects (climate-related stuff is another) that causes lourdes to punch furniture in rage. It has something to do with growing up in southern AZ as a decent human being.
I can't even imagine the rage I'd feel if Latinx immigrants were part of my landscape*.
It's funny/weird/infuriating: we're an international family, but in a very privileged way (reminder: AB's father a German citizen who was an American businessman for ~30 years, her stepmother an American; they live in Germany, and she has extensive German/Austrian kin). So all this shit is simultaneously personally alarming and kind of distant. I really don't think that there's any plausible chance that my FIL will be detained when he comes in April. And fucking yet. Shit is so fucked up that I can't entirely compartmentalize that and focus on the actual victimized people, because, holy shit, they're just fucking with anyone they can.
Come to think of it, this is like a Bizarro Bonhoeffer situation: First they came for the Muslims and Latinx, and I protested because I was related to Germans.
*Pgh being the least Latinx** major city in the US, IIRC. There are a handful in my neighborhood, and of course quite a few in my larger world, but nothing like 74.last.
**I actually prefer Latin@, but I've seen it argued that it's internet-clever rather than useful, and that actual activists prefer the -x formation, so.
Latin*: wrong in three languages!
Although I'm only really an English curmudgeon, I'm an ally to curmudgeons of Spanish and Portuguese.
and that actual activists prefer the -x formation, so
Actual activists need to come up with a word that doesn't look like its pronounced La-TINKS. Also, "Latin" is a pretty good word on its own.
Or, say, Latin Americans, which has the benefit of being an actually existing phrase.
Actually, the first thing Sec. Zinke did was ride a horse to work. Or, more accurately, get photographed riding a horse to work.
Pretty much everyone was expecting him to run against Tester in 2018, and McConnell apparently tried to get Trump to pick someone else for Interior. My theory, though, is that Zinke is smarter than that: rather than gambling against a popular incumbent in an off year, after another do-little term in the House, he can serve out the next 4 at Interior and then run for the open governor's seat here. Consequently, I look for him to be taking frequent high profile actions designed to enhance his appeal with Montana low information voters.
Whenever you see him do something, remember that he's an opportunist, not an ideologue. Sure, he'll do stuff the ideologues want, if the personal benefit is worth it.
If I'm right that his principal interest is running for governor in 2020, I guess he has to find ways to differentiate himself from AG Fox, who's also a likely candidate. No one is sure who's even interested on the Dem side, but there' a bizarre rumor going around that I'll leave off sharing.
72 Is enraging.
71 Hits me where I live since I've been travelling a lot to Europe, and a lot of it almost spontaneously decided within about 2 weeks of a departure date. What a pain in the ass it will be to have to get a visa, though I suppose I can get a Schengen visa good for 5 years.
71: Technically, in two months, the European Parliament may sue the European Commission to get them to legislate that Americans need a visa.
80- come on, CC, you're either announcing your candidacy here or the other place.
He might go with Snapchat. Element of surprise and all. Plus, reaching the youth.
All the cool kids use Wikileaks.
That's just for the pro-Russia candidates.
We should set up an alternative leak site that isn't just a Russian front.
(Not that it needs to be anti-Russian; I have a more nuanced view of Russia than most Americans, in part because for me it's, like, right there. I've literally seen it. There are direct flights.)
And that's not even considering the indirect cultural influence. There's a church around the corner from my apartment that hosts a congregation that advertises in Russian, and I assume conducts services in Russian too. There's another on my commute to work that has an onion dome. Neither is technically Orthodox.
Russian America: a real thing, even now.
There are direct flights
To where, used by whom? Serious question.
63. The slogan on those sweatshirts appears to translate: "We are a lighthouse - ALL OF US!" Any ideas?
83. Heh, no.
It turns out, though, that I'm a delegate to tomorrow's special nominating convention to pick Zinke's successor. It's said we'll have some national media; it's quite the cast of characters, and may end up being quite the race.
Coincidentally, I'm part of a breakfast meeting with Sen. Tester this morning.
91. If you were FB'd to teo, you'd already know about this.
All of the immigration stuff.
SXSW backed off (or says they have, anyway) on reporting international acts who played additional gigs to ICE, but that's absolutely classic behavior in police states. People informing to the secret police to gain or keep economic advantage.
At lot of people don't have very good historical awareness. Like the people who are selling "Cannae Pro Gear Legion Day Pack". Unless being killed by Carthaginians is somehow a good thing now.
So now Trump is alleging that Obama tapped his phones before the election. Coincidentally an article on Brietbart just said the same thing right before Trump tweeted his accusation.
Neither is technically Orthodox.
Out of curiosity, what are they, in that case?
96: Carthage was a mercantile empire. Americans naturally identify with them.
Trump now accusing Obama of tapping his phones.
I thought Obama was on holiday in the Caribbean. Is he tapping in from his hotel?
No he went in a time machine back to October, can't you keep up?
Honestly, it is more appropriate in this thread.
95.2 That SXSW story was revolting, and this ... that's absolutely classic behavior in police states. People informing to the secret police to gain or keep economic advantage. is a very good point. It's not enough that they backed off. They need to pay some kind of price whether it be boycotting or further shame or the like.
How is it Trump is the last to know that the FBI had obtained FISA clearance for a tap related to that Russian bank server he's been running. I heard about that months ago. Does nobody tell him anything?
Would you tell him stuff? He's fucking crazy.
I wonder what Chris Christie told him that made them break up.
I thanked Sen. Tester for trying to save civilization.
It's a good effort but fruitless in the long run.
I think the real race is on now after this morning's tweets. White House counsel is apparently spending the day trying to get hold of FISA docs if they exist (according to NYT).
It is all going to come down to what he fucktards in the House and Senate think the fucktards in their districts and states will think about all of this come 2018.
I wonder how many Republican leaders are wishing they could be bitching about President Clinton's cabinet appointments right now.
115 None yet; they still think there are tax cuts to be had. Looks, though, like the Russia thing is going to paralyze Congress for a bit. The hearings next week for the Dep AG, and then later for the AAG Nat Sec are going to be quite something. Republicans might end up with some defections if the nominees don't make some real promises.
106: Having just seen "Logan", I have to say the price should be metal claws to the head.
None yet; they still think there are tax cuts to be had.
Trump or Pence, they will get their tax cuts either way.
To where, used by whom? Serious question.
Charley answered part of this already; Yakutia does seasonal flights in the summer from Anchorage to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. Tickets on sale now! No idea who uses these flights or why, but they've been doing them consistently for the past few years so someone must.
Out of curiosity, what are they, in that case?
The former is some sort of generic American Protestant; it seems to operate primarily in English, with Russian services as a supplement or something. The latter is Byzantine Catholic. There is also an Orthodox church, but it's in a different part of town and I've never seen it.
106: Having just seen "Logan", I have to say the price should be metal claws to the head.
It's not that bad, as airports go.
Hey y'all. I've earmarked a large annual windfall fund for hunger relief in the famine zones. We generally give to Oxfam and Mercy Corps; any other recommendations?
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-03-04/somalia-on-brink-of-famine-tipped-to-follow-south-sudan/8323286
The United Nations said it urgently needed nearly $6 billion in the next few weeks to avoid what it called a "catastrophe". But so far it has received only half a billion dollars.
That makes it seem pretty fucking hopeless, but I bet someone can use my daycare FSA funds and smallish bonus for something that might save lives.
119: Thanks, teo and Charlie. By their website, the main market looks like American tourists to the Russian Far East, which makes sense. I can see that producing 140-150 passengers/week for a B737.
Yeah, I mean, I'm sure that is the market, but I'm surprised it's large enough to sustain that many flights. How many Americans really want to vacation in Kamchatka?
People like Gswift, with a bit more money? Probably better fishing than you can get anywhere in North America. Maybe also Far Eastern Russians changing planes at Anchorage. I'd be surprised if that was the most direct route, but air routes are often weird.
...most direct route to the US, presumably.
Probably not noticeably better fishing than Alaska, and much more money and hassle. There was a post making the rounds a while back by an "adventure traveler" talking about bumming around Kamchatka, which made it sound very cool, but there aren't very many people like that.
They do seem to be marketing in the other direction too, and Charley's link is an example. I'm sure it's way more direct than flying through Moscow or Tokyo, which are probably the main alternatives, but again, not very many people live in those parts of Russia.
It's definitely not the most direct route to the US for most Russians, or the shortest.
It might just be a loss leader for Yakutia, which per its name probably makes most of its money on flights to and from Yakutsk. Maybe it boosts numbers on the Petropavlovsk-Yakutsk flights enough to make it worthwhile overall.
Definitely better tiger poaching though. They also do freight, which could be the most direct import route for Yakutsk. But 126 last is what I keep tripping over.
I think the tigers are further south. But yeah, freight might be the key. I think it's generally more profitable for airlines than passenger service, at least calculated by weight.
Whatever it is that makes them do this, it seems to be working, because they keep doing it year after year.
My ex-military spy relative has a colleague who organizes kamchatkan fishing expeditions, apparently it is strictly catch-tag-and-release under the auspices of scientific studies.
See? Come to Alaska instead, where you can keep the fish!
WE CATCH WHALES FOR SCIENTIFIC PURPOSES ONLY I SWEAR THIS IS TRUE
We catch them to eat them. To each his own.
For values of "we" that don't include me, of course.
Don't be shy, teo. You're among friends.
I have definitely eaten whale blubber. I've never caught a whale, though.
It's not as easy as it looks. And it doesn't look very easy.
The Sakha (Yakutia) Republic is pretty large
Comprising half of the Far Eastern Federal District, it is the largest subnational governing body by area in the world at 3,083,523 square kilometers (1,190,555 sq mi)[6] and the eighth largest territory in the world, if the federal subjects of Russia were compared with other countries. It is larger than Argentina and just smaller than India which covers an area of 3,287,590 square kilometers (1,269,350 sq mi).
Maybe flights go there because it's hard to miss.
I suspect Yakutia Airlines flights go there because it's where the airline is headquartered.
Has Jeff Sessions ever been to Yakutsk? Should Congress investigate?
120: In the movie they talk about "what happened in Westchester". I was curious if it was from the comics, so I googled "Logan Westchester". The first hit was of course how to get to Logan from Westchester.
One of my sailing buddies worked on a whaler in the Southern hemisphere for six months. He wasn't keen to stay any longer. (He's eighty now so this must have been late 1950s or early 1960s.)
If you wait till your 50s or 60s all the good whales will have been taken.
The flights are probably for linguists. At least, those are the only people I know who hang out in Yakutia on the regular.
And no-one invited teo? Academics really are the worst.
That Powerball thread is about 80% spam at this point. It seems to have hit some spam-attracting tipping point.
The "Limey Eyes" one is picking up speed, too.
We can safely blame academics for that, too.
I don't even know if that's real spam or not.
It's a bit too on-point to be real, I think.
"They're real and they're spectacular."
160: You're uniquely positioned to go find out if Yakutsk has a poker house.
True. I might wait until some of the controversy dies down, though.
I'm sure some lessons will be learned.
Secretary of State Tillerson has been keeping his head down for a while. That has me nervous. The rumor that he's getting sidelined in the administration seems a little convenient. What's he up to?
I don't know. I'm drinking cheap cream sherry, eating buttered bread, and watching Harry Potter. It's all I can manage except I wish I'd have gotten dry sherry. I can never remember which I like.
First they came for thepoorman.net and I did not speak out etc. etc.
I'm starting to feel like beer is too gassy.
I'm looking for the oenophile equivalent of Yuengling.
Not Christian Brothers cream sherry or Franzia Chablis.
They changed a bunch of stuff from the book for the last Harry Potter movie.
All of these Kamchatka and Yakutsk references in this thread and not a single Risk joke? I am disappoint.
Someone made one when I posted it on FB.
174 Doesn't count unless it's posted on Standpipe's blog.
Tillerson is presumably mopping floors and buying paperclips because he has no staff to actually run the department.
I still don't get Facebook. It's nice to see pictures of people's kids and all, but it's absurdly full of earnest people and almost totally devoid of bad puns.
I also don't get Snape's eye make up.
So, we went with the cowboy singer. I hope you folks hear a whole lot about him for the next 82 days.
Tillerson is presumably mopping floors and buying paperclips because he has no staff to actually run the department.
That's what concerns me. He may be very busy dismantling shit.
Unless he's MacGyver, he can't dismantle that much with a paper clip. And the real damage to our foreign relations was done when Trump won. No institutional structure can undo that.
Everybody in this movie has goofy eye make up.
Trump's reluctance to appoint any (any!) second- or third-tier people at most of the departments is probably going to stymie GOP desires to dismantle them. The way to do that effectively is to put your own people at the top and instruct them to dismantle the lower levels. What Trump is doing, apparently deliberately, is just going to freeze everything in place for a while. It's not clear to me if this is his actual plan or if he just doesn't care.
I'm thinking Harry is going to win even though they changed stuff from the book.
You're a young man. Stockpile photos of Nirvana and Sir Mix-a-lot and Little Kim. Put them in nice frames and sell them to nursing homes on 2047.
My nursing home will need Winona Ryder in "Heathers". Thanks.
186 And Vanilla Ice. For the wypipo.
The way to do that effectively is to put your own people at the top and instruct them to dismantle the lower levels.
I agree - this seems to be an own goal. Compounded by the fact that when campaign staff don't get the jobs they were implicitly, they start talking candidly to the press (JD Gordon seems to be one such).
I'm inordinately amused by "Little Kim."
192: I'm not sure it's an own goal so much as a lack of interest in playing the game at all.
It seems crazy that Bannon's plan to dominate the NSC is to prevent the formation or function of the deputies committee. Too crazy to believe.
Maybe. With no interagency process there is no policy, only personal presidential interventions; with no interagency process Bannon can dominate the president. It means the executive will get very little done, but what does get done will come from Bannon.
Would you ever even run a business that way?
Sure. Straight into the ground.
There is so much birthday cake in this house, an inordinate amount of cake.
On topic, but false, because cake is always in order.
199: More seriously, Bannon clearly understands 198.2, but doesn't obviously understand 198.1.
Apparently the reason Trump's administration is having a rough time is that the executive branch has not been sufficiently purged of leftists.
All of these Kamchatka and Yakutsk references in this thread and not a single Risk joke?
I have previously confessed on this blog that singing "Hold Kamchatka!" to the tune of "On Wisconsin!" was a regular feature of my childhood Risk experience. So I believe I have abased myself sufficiently on this front.
I am sticking with my assessment this household is over-caked, despite the best efforts of several friends including teenagers. The admin staff near my office are reaping a whirlwind o cake tomorrow.
OT: Disturbing news! China has banned bad puns in advertising!
#prythemoutofmycolddeadhands