Open Thread – 5/18/2017

 Posted by at 12:16 pm  Personal, Politics
May 182017
 

The Comcast tech was on time, and I’m most pleased with the job he did here.  He worked for almost two hours setting up a network that is rated at 200 Mbps, but is actually performing at 298 Mbps, over three times the speed of the old modem.  He configured my computer, laptop, printer, phone, Kindle Fire, and Roku devices, and he tested them all.  He cancelled the $40.00 I had been charged for the setup because of my disabilities.  And for the time I had the old modem, he gave me 3 months of HBO.  I was surprised to receive such excellent service.  After I broke for lunch, Neighborhood House arrived.  I wish I had had the time to do research, considering all the scandalous news that Trump and the Republican Rectum Reich have caused lately.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:27 (average 5:20).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From Daily Kos: While Washington insiders and most of the American press are falling over themselves and each other trying to keep up with the latest Trump scandals (for the love of God, it’s only Tuesday), you might wonder how the nation’s worst major news network is handling the news that Donald Trump accidentally or on purpose leaked information to Russian diplomats that is considered so sensitive that no United States newspapers are willing to detail exactly what it is.

You needn’t wonder—because at newly Ailes-less, O’Reilly-free Fox News, it’s been business as usual.

While CNN and MSNBC provided wall to wall coverage of the breaking news, Fox News defended Trump before returning to coverage of such hard hitting stories as the “Romper for men,” Miss USA’s comments about healthcare, Michelle Obama’s comments about school lunches, “Media Hysteria,” and “leftists” on college campuses

What else would you expect from the Republican Reichsministry of Propaganda, Faux Noise? RESIST!!

From Washington Post: A month before Donald Trump clinched the Republican nomination, one of his closest allies in Congress — House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy — made a politically explosive assertion in a private conversation on Capitol Hill with his fellow GOP leaders: that Trump could be the beneficiary of payments from Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“There’s two people I think Putin pays: Rohrabacher and Trump,” McCarthy (R-Calif.) said, according to a recording of the June 15, 2016, exchange, which was listened to and verified by The Washington Post. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher is a Californian Republican known in Congress as a fervent defender of Putin and Russia.

House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) immediately interjected, stopping the conversation from further exploring McCarthy’s assertion, and swore the Republicans present to secrecy. [emphasis added]

Read the transcript here. Lyin’ Ryan and the Republican leadership knew about these crimes all along and instituted a cover-up! RESIST!!

From NY Times: The Justice Department appointed Robert S. Mueller III, a former F.B.I. director, as special counsel on Wednesday to oversee the investigation into ties between President Trump’s campaign and Russian officials, dramatically raising the legal and political stakes in an affair that has threatened to engulf Mr. Trump’s four-month-old presidency.

The decision by the deputy attorney general, Rod J. Rosenstein, came after a cascade of damaging developments for Mr. Trump in recent days, including his abrupt dismissal of the F.B.I. director, James B. Comey, and the subsequent disclosure that Mr. Trump asked Mr. Comey to drop the investigation of his former national security adviser, Michael T. Flynn.

Mr. Rosenstein had been under escalating pressure from Democrats, and even some Republicans, to appoint a special counsel after he wrote a memo that the White House initially cited as the rationale for Mr. Comey’s dismissal.

By appointing Mr. Mueller, a former federal prosecutor with an unblemished reputation, Mr. Rosenstein could alleviate uncertainty about the government’s ability to investigate the questions surrounding the Trump campaign and the Russians.

Frankly, I’m quite surprised that Rosenstein has done this. It was the only way to begin to repair his own credibility, after the ridiculous memo he signed on the reasons for firing Comey, since Trump threw him under the bus by bragging about the real reason. Remember, since a sitting President may not be charged with a crime, Muller’s only remedy is to refer his evidence to the House for possible impeachment. Will they impeach?  Also, the investigation will take months. If Republicans have decided not to save Trump, they will use the time strip the cupboard bare and create huge deficits providing welfare for billionaires.  RESIST!!

Cartoon:

0518Cartoon

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  14 Responses to “Open Thread – 5/18/2017”

  1. 4:27  Not the same as scilla peruviana, no matter what they tell you.

    So glad you can report good service from Comcast!  I have to say that's the first good thing I have ever heard about them.  Hope your rep doesn't get fired.

    DKos – Speaking of "Ailes-less" – Roger passed away this morning – and the far right is already saying he was murdered by the Deep State.  Clearly they don't get it that with him removed from power, there was no need for murder.

    WaPo – Glad you picked this up.  So glad there's a transcript.  Ryan needs to be impeached along with Trump and Pence, and this looks like good evidence.

    NY Times – I'm not sure Trump can now do anything more for them that Pence can't do as well.  At this point we probably don't know what our future options (or I probably should say possibilities) will be.

    Cartoon – Not that I am a huge fan of hydroelectric power, but few people knew any better at the time, and it has helped the people there a lot.

  2. So glad the Comcast tech proved me wrong by giving you so much excellent service, and in such a short amount of time, TomCat. That guy is worth his weight in gold.

    DK: Before going "back to business as usual", they invested everything they got to defend Drumpf and blame everybody else, as Trevor Noah of the Daily Show so expertly ridiculed yesterday. It starts at 5:58, after Noah's most perfect gesture:

     

    WP: When this leaked, Kevin McCarthy made out as if he was only joking at the time. It's also very funny then that Paul Ryan wasn't laughing and had all Republicans present swear to keep this "joke" a secret. O yes, another one as innocent as the driven snow…It's been obvious from the very start this "Russian thing" became public that both McConnell and Ryan are knee deep in covering up for Drumpf. But 'obvious' doesn't mean they'll ever go down for it of course.

    NYT: I think your analysis is spot-on, TomCat. Rosenthal didn't appoint Mueller as special council to show that this government is able to conduct an investigation into The Russian Thing, but the only way Rosenthal could salvage what was left of his "impecable" career. It was clear from the way Rosental went blubbering to the Washington Post that he nearly quit his job because he was taking the fall for Comey's dismissal, but then didn't, that he had to do something to stay afloat. I'm just curious to know if, or how, he could appoint Mueller against the will of both Sessions and Drumpf. Or is there more to it, and is this indeed another way to put us off the scent: an investigation that could take months, if not years, while in the meantime Republicans can finish whatever that's left on the agenda of their masters and plunder the country to their benefit?

    RESIST, PERSIST &

    STAY VIGILANT!

    • We know he did it first and only notified Sessons and the White House after it was done.  We don't know much more that that about the actual appointment. 

      As to Mueller, we know that

      Robert Mueller worked in the US Attorneys office for 12 years. He was appointed as the FBI Director 1 week before 9/11 occurred. In 2004 He and James Comey offered to resign if the White House overturned a DOJ decision that domestic wiretapping without a court order was unconstitutional.

      A person familiar with Mueller just related that Mueller was the FBI Director when Comey stood guard at then AG John Ashcrofts bedside while he came out from under anesthesia after surgery, to prevent Bush lawyers to get him to sign the domestic wiretap waiver. Mueller ordered FBI agents at the door to NOT allow Comey to be removed from the room under any circumstances.

      He will operate with full powers to conduct the investigation.

      I think that should be legible …

      • Thanks, Joanne. So Rosenthal indeed appointed Mueller, with full powers as special council, before he told his superiors. That's a little weird, isn't it? At the least not something you'd expect from a well functioning administration.

  3. Your Comcast experience is the yin to my yang, warp to my woof – because I've had nothing but shitty service from them.

    I'm on record as LOATHING Comcast – and I'm glad they were more than wonderful to you, but my experience stands!

    And WRT the Faux News & Roger Ailes quote: "because at newly Ailes-less" – well, the world is now permanently "Ailes-less".

    Despite the utterly awful damage he and Faux news has done to our nation, I'm reminded that Mom always taught me to speak only good of the dead, so:

    Roger Ailes is dead … good.

    (Sincere condolences to family and friends who mourn his passing – I am not among them.)

  4. I'm most likely going to have to move "Friday Fun" to "Saturday or Sunday Smiles & Smirks"

    From here on out I'll be even dumber than I already am, because I'm having a "Wisdom Tooth" extracted tomorrow morning.

    I cracked part of it off somehow and it began hurting.  So I saw my dentist yesterday and she said it should be pulled.

    I think I've become a cottage industry for the local dental community, because just in the past 3 months I've had: night-time bruxing guard ($400); root canal ($1,700); crown for the root canal ($900); scheduled for a "scraping & deep cleaning" ($900) and now tooth extraction ($???).

    Dentists inflict pain in more than one way!

    • Oooh – SO sorry.  I had all four of mine removed (one at a time) while I was in the Marine Corps, so I was at least spared the financial pain, but none of them was painless otherwise, and I was in my twenties.  Have you considered a designated driver?

      As for the postponement – I take it you mean this week and not indefinitely?  I could certainly accomodate either ….  As it is, I'll just post tomorrow and send my little email out after yours is up, whenever that may be.

    • So sorry to hear about new dental problems, Nameless. Painful in more than one way. Painkillers will numb the pain of the extraction, but there's nothing for the pain in your wallet, I'm afraid. Those prices are a shocker!

      From my comments you may have guessed by now that I don't have problems with wisdom teeth: never had any. But that doesn't mean I haven't gone through all of the other painful treatment.I understand what you're up against, so good luck with the extraction tomorrow and good and quick healing afterwards Treat yourself to a good painkiller specifically for toothaches if your bank account still permits that.

    • I guess I am a half wit since I still have 2 wisdom teeth.  I will be thinking about you as you persevere.  Perhaps it won't be too painful, at least not as painful as the dentist's bill.  Good luck Nameless!

    • I so sorry about getting wisdom teeth pulled.  I have no teeth today, because getting mine pulled at 13 gave me a phobia of dentists.  To "instill character" my father sent me to a dentist who restrained me in the chair and pulled them with no anesthesia.

      Feel better fast!!

  5. DK: Loooove the picture of the new Fox Headquarters!! lol They just don't get it. I have not watched this channel at all. In years.

    WP: Glad that this was noted, the more Repugs hoot and holler, the more they show that they are just as guilty as the next person. And the list goes on and on…..hope they all go down, as this is a coverup.

    Cartoon: Yeah, they'd love that, wouldn't they?

    Glad that all went well with ComCast. Hopefully, there is a survey that you can fill out for the excellent service that you received, and I'm glad for that. Sounds like a really nice technician too! Every single day is a disaster for dt in the WH. He needs to go. Period.

    Hope that you have a relaxing evening, take care, and Thanks, Tom.

    *Nameless, take good care of yourself after your appointment at the dentists'. btw…the meds to recover are good, but there's none for the monetary pain…sorry

    *Joanne, read your comment, I too, had all mine taken out (wisdom teeth) in the Navy, in my 20's too.

     

  6. Puzzle — 3:54  Love the colour of the posies!  I have my hair cut and my purple streak redone.  The darkest purple of the flower is about the colour of my hair when I first have it done.

    Daily Kos — "Move along.  Move along!  Nothing to see (or hear) here."  "This is your brain while watch Fox News. (picture of egg dropping on pavement and smashing)."

    Washington Post — This whole thing just gets juicier and juicier by the moment!

    "“What’s said in the family stays in the family,” Ryan added."

    This entire rat's nest of the administration and the Republican party leadership are all complicit at the very least with covering up the ties between Drumpf and Russia.  How's that working for you Comrade Ryan!

    NY Times — Sir Walter Scott's words are so appropriate to the Drumpf administration and those that have to navigate around it without getting thrown under the bus.

    "Oh! What a tangled web we weave

    when first we practice to deceive."

     

    Resist and Persist!!!

    I'm very glad you had such a good experience with the Comcast guy.  Last time I had a modem problem, Telus was great.  The only thing I don't like is the '4 hour window' the trades often use.  I understand why, but sure does screw up your day.

     

  7. Thanks all.  Hugs.  On Ailes, see today's cartoon.

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