02
Feb
17
119 Responses to “Chat Away”
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The People’s View
- Follow me at my new venture: Reclaim the Fight
- Ignore the bait: Why it’s the right strategy for Democrats to focus SCOTUS fight on health care
- BIG: Judge halts Trump administration attempt to shortcut the census
- Trump doesn't want peaceful transition of power. Legally, it doesn’t matter.
- Fauci goes off on Rand Paul
- Rule 44: Why Obamacare is not lost even in a deadlocked Supreme Court, but only if Biden wins
- Time to suit up. This is war.
- BREAKING: Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has passed
- Bothsidesism comes to fact-checking: CNN's “fact-check” calling Biden ad 'misleading' proves the opposite
- Pardon me: How Donald Trump's stooges conspired with Julian Assange to exonerate Russia and undermine US Intlligence
Smartypants
- Durham to Right Wingers: "Blame Hillary"
- That Time When Refusing to Negotiate With Hostage-Takers Worked
- The Other Christian Nationalists: Leonard Leo and Opus Dei
- Hawley Demonstrates That He's an Ignorant Liar
- DeSantis Board Votes to Counter-Sue Disney Over Something...Anything
- Hunter Biden's Laptop Is a Total Nothingburger
- What DeSantis Couldn't Say in Response to Disney's Lawsuit
- Disney Skewers DeSantis With His Own Words
- Populism Without Civil Rights Is Fascism
- Glenn Greenwald gets triggered by smart competent women like Rep. Stacey Plaskett
Steve Benen
- Joe: Indictment could be something that had to be done and we have crossed a line that could be dangerous
- The effort to defend Trump is very haphazard, says former federal prosecutor
- Ari Melber: Jack Smith hasn’t said a word and he has the whole country listening
- A look back to 2019: Predicting Trump could run for re-election to shield himself
- Neal Katyal: Indictment makes clear no person can brazenly disregard the law without consequence
- Rep. Raskin: Trump has transformed Lincoln's party; he runs it like a religious cult
- Republican lawmakers react to Trump's indictment predictably
- Joe: Trump will now find out you can't bully federal judges or the feds themselves
- Ibram X. Kendi: When we assess structural racism, we are talking about groups not individuals
- Women are still pessimistic about the U.S. economy, polling shows
The Obama Diary 
Evening TOD folks! Thank you Samantha and as always Nerdy or staying vigilant.
Yay for Vetivera and for you, stalwart Nerdy! Missed checking in with you mostly of the last 2 weeks while we went East for the Women’s March.
Got a letter from President Obama in the pile of held mail, so that cheered me up considerably. We have to find personal ways to sustain our selves for the long battles.
❤ JF, well done, wasn’t it just the best to see an unexpected envelope from The White House! I was in tears! 😹
Thrilling!
First time ever watched S Bee. She is great.
I am apoplectic. I have never recovered from Newtown, much less all the shootings since then. This reg applied to those who have been diagnosed as “severely mentally ill” and we are going to give them guns? What’s next? Let’s give guns to 5 year olds? What is WRONG with these people? Bought and paid for by the NRA.
If any of us not only didn’t know our job, or were confused or uncertain of our qualifications or capacity to complete the job requirements, 1. We wouldn’t have been hired in the first place, and/or 2. We would be sacked pretty darn quick with a not-so-positive referral. This lot is really shining the light on their ignorance and lack of concern for the quality of life in the US.
GE FFTX.
I mentioned this before, but after the Roseburg OR massacre that killed 9 at Umpqua Community College, heard an interview on the radio with a woman who said the 2nd amendment stated that the right to bear arms “shall not be infringed,” so she was OK with allowing people with mental illness to possess firearms.
There will be no convincing rabid 2nd amendment worshippers that only sane, responsible, adults should have access to loaded firearms, and that the second amendment protects the ownership of automatic weapons capable of firing dozens of rounds of ammunition without reloading.
Makes no sense to me — there is no justification for automatic weapons to be sold and owned legally here, IMHO.
I know, but these our Congress people! This passed the House! I had to stay off FB tonight for fear I would say something I regret. I simply cannot believe what these people will do to our country given the chance.
Where is the fucking WELL REGULATED MILITIA?
You want a gun, join the Military.
I’m so sick of this insanity.
And seriously – why not just go set up Gun Stores in Mental Hospitals?
TODers, AM SHOUTING! THIS IS THE COOLEST THING I’VE SEEN. Radio Garden. Explore live radio by rotating the globe. Am blown away by this technology! You can listen to radio stations all over the world! I hovered over a radio station 14K miles from me & listened to live radio!
.
http://radio.garden/live/boca-raton/fau
You all have to check this out! Am hooked! 🙂 Not to distract us from the onward fight right here, but to take a mini-break here & there & listen to what’s going on in the rest of the global world.
Well THAT was cool!! 🙂
DF, I’m blown away! It’s a global world, nothing’s going to stop that! 🙂 Whoever thought this one up I take my hat off!
Sure is:) Thanks for sharing, Gazelle.
Way Kool!
Wow! Thanks Gazelle! Feels like one world family again ❤
[Young people worldwide are doing amazing things!]
B.E. Education is a social enterprise that came into being to deliver a sustained and coordinated response to the educational and social inequality that exists within the UK. We work in partnership with schools, parents and professional organisations to offer high ability state school students a holistic educational experience that raises their level of aspiration, attainment and well-being.
.
More here: http://beeducation.co.uk/
LOlololol
Easy action item from a friend: If you are disturbed about Steve Bannon’s presence on the National Security Council, the Senate Committee on Homeland Security is taking calls about Bannon’s appointment to the NSC. You can call 202-224-4751. You’ll get a voice mailbox as they are taking messages. You can just simply say that you strongly object to Bannon being on the National Security Council. The call takes about 45 seconds. Cut & paste to share.
“I’m sorry, but that mailbox is full.” It’s working!
GE MP.
LOL:
After trying for a couple of days and not even getting into VM, I tried early evening tonight. Apparently they had cleared VM before leaving for the day so at least I was able to leave a message voicing my objection.
So grateful for Brian and Maizie!
Hay guys the Obamas are back in DC. They left the British Virgin Island today and arrived back in DC this evening.
Glad they are back safe and sound.
Me too
They all need to go…every last one.
Thanks JER. I was wondering about this.
A few years ago I remember sending a pizza to the demonstrators in Wisconsin.
The pizza shop had a board noting the countries where the people buying the pizza were from.
The movement needs everyone’s help.
Truth!
.
This is so true!!!
You should play this for your “Trump-kids”
Over 10 years ago a news magazine that was geared toward teenagers had on its cover a group photo of young people from Asian countries, the Middle East and India and the caption was : this is your competition. We are still far behind in STEM education when the great irony is that the U S invited much of the technology that others have advanced. We took for granted that we will always be at the top without making much of an effort to remain so. PBO did what he could to spotlight science and innovation and to make STEM education more available, but I am sure that this like too many other good things will be stalled by the Neanderthals in office.
GE CEB.
GE TODville.
ICYMI:
Man, oh man, DJT/Bannon have done a *stellar* job of isolating this country, making sure people avoid coming here.
–Donald Trump’s baffled looks when presented with text, verbal dictation of tweets, constant television viewing, and encounters with his “Art of the Deal” ghostwriter Tony Schwartz, all put into question the President’s reading ability.
OMG, he really cannot read! That excuse, ” I don’t have my glasses” is a classic dodge that illiterate people make. His body language tells the rest of the story. To think that this POS had the nerve to ask about PBO’s grades! His children and the others around him at there to help hide the fact that he can barely read. His habit of going on the offensive about everything is another way of hiding his illiteracy. This barely literate man is signing everything anyone puts in front of him and has no idea what it is.
He looks so ignorant in this video; it should get a much larger play.
Samantha Bee did this on her show, but this guy has more.
GM CEB.
(Aside: the reason RWNJ white supremacist sites like Breitbart and Drudge want PBO’s college transcripts isn’t for his grades. It’s to prove PBO as “illegitimate” — they are convinced that he was accepted by Columbia U as a “foreign transfer student” [i.e., Indonesia or Kenya] from Occidental College.)
Very convincing video — MSM and GOP are complicit in their unethical cover-up that not only is DJT #PutinsPuppet, but his reading comprehension apparently matches his speeches — 4th grade at best, meaning he has no ability for independent thought — he is literally a Chauncey Gardiner (simple-minded television watching gardener who becomes the DC guru), but without Chauncey’s good-natured innocence).
Also makes you wonder what a college degree is worth when they graduate someone who couldn’t pass a basic 5th-grade test.
American voters need to know what the MSM sold to them, and how GOP elected officials enable this dangerous, befuddled fraud.
Was this posted here earlier in the week? Rudy is literally directly across the table from DJT, yet DJT doesn’t see him, even though they’ve been BFFs for decades…
I’ve thought for a while that he has some kind of learning disability and that he can’t read at a very high level, and probably has issues with comprehension. Unfortunately, rather than get help for him, his parents probably just demanded that he be passed along. It might also explain his low vocabulary level (readers have better vocabularies) and his inability to form coherent sentences (grammar and syntax are sometimes scrambled).Some children with these difficulties work to overcome them,some withdraw and just decide that they’re ‘stupid’ and just can’t learn, and some refuse to admit anything is wrong and decide that learning is ‘stupid’ and get angry as a way of hiding their problem.A good teacher will treat each of these children differently and help them resolve their issues and/orget the help they need. I’m guessing didn’t admit there was a problem, so he never got help for it.
I agree with this analysis of his reading. I imagine that all of us on this blog who are teaching, or have taught, recognize the symptoms of hyperactivity and inability to read, coupled with a conman’s ability to cover up This is going way out on a limb I know, but he would be classified as functionally illiterate educationally. I would imagine that during his college experience other people did his work. He could pay for whatever papers he had to write, He could talk and participate in classes, giving the impression that he knew more than he did. I assume he had a method for passing tests too. It can be done.
We learned in one of the interviews above that he dictates his tweets to someone, he does not type them himself. He operates entirely verbally. This does not surprise me at all.
We are in trouble with an illiterate in the White House who will believe whatever his aides tell him, and sign whatever papers they put in front of him. He even asked “Where do I sign?” That is not hard to see and understand. The person said “Sign wherever you want.” Pathetic and scary.
This
It also helps explain why he keeps his family so close constantly. He trusts them so he can depend on them to ‘interpret’ for him and also protect his secret illiteracy. I also think that his mental ability is declining and he’s having more difficulty with comprehension.. In older interviews he doesn’t exactly asking intermittent, but he did sound coherent. Now he just repeats the same words and dribbles through sentences.
Ooops! Was supposed to post this one, hope it works this time:
.https://youtu.be/MJCHeEQV454
liars can lie without a conscience : kellyann Conway just keeps making up stuff …. and we still have 4 years to go????
And the history …
.
YES!!!
And there was this:
.
They say history repeats itself. Well, enough of that rinse & repeat shit. It ends now. No more.
Let. That. Sink. In.
goodnight TOD …..
Morning everyone
So 45 never bothered to show up in the Situation Room for the botched raid that killed the Navy SEAL and the 8 yo American girl….but he went to Dover? All the glory, no guts. Got it. I want a COMPETENT PRESIDENT!
This is good. Stay woke
Beautiful.
Because corporations and hedge funds managers are WAY more important than regular folks. BUT PLEASE! FUCKING BENGAZI AND EMAILS!!
http://thehill.com/policy/finance/317698-trump-to-sign-executive-actions-targeting-obama-financial-regulations
Under the first expected executive order, Trump will direct the Labor Department to halt implementation of the “fiduciary duty” rule and completely re-review the project. The rule was set to take effect on April 10, but given Trump’s harsh criticism of financial rules, it would face long odds of being resurrected in anything resembling its current form — White House officials described the regulatory project as a “complete miss.”
One of Trump’s closest advisers, Anthony Scaramucci, went so far as to equate the regulation with the Dred Scott v. Sandford decision of 1857, in which the high court ruled the descendants of slaves could not become citizens.
Trump’s move is sure to set off fury among liberals who fought long and hard to get the rule in place and argue that it is critical to ensure people are not being steered to ineffective investments that reap hefty commissions for investment advisers.
Under the rule, advisers would have to act solely for the benefit of their clients. But industry critics argue it would be costly and burdensome to implement.
The rule had been stalled for years under Obama until the president personally threw himself behind the project in 2015. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) has been a vocal proponent, and the rule was shepherded through by then-Labor Secretary Tom Perez, who is now running to head the Democratic National Committee.
Here’s the MUST SEE video. Rep. Castro had cogent, valid points. SHARE
h/t bj
Share…The warning signs and specific links as to how this is happening with 45 already…specific examples to 45 edicts…
http://washingtonmonthly.com/2017/01/31/the-12-early-warning-signs-of-fascism/
No accountability. Different set of rules
Gee, imagine if the U.S. was using its power to help thwart such attacks. Elections have consequences.
like what worked here in the United States…
Secret Service purge?
https://mobile.twitter.com/colleengleason/status/827497358896279552
Good Morning Everybody.
Missing Obama ✊🏼✊🏽✊🏾✊🏿 Stumble upon a #MISSINGOBAMA poster in your city? Take a picture and tag us. Then print your own from the website below 🌈 #ResistTrump #NotMyPresident missingobama.org
yep, saw this poster circulating online yesterday ….. of course I had to share it with all those in my network
reading these reports on the New Yorker and Vanity Fair cancelling their parties for the White House Correspondents Dinner reminds me of the joke PBO made in his last WHCD to paraphrase: “welcome to MY last and probably THE last WHCD”;
for the homegrown demagogue who loves the spotlight and who has insulted the media, interesting people not showing up for his first WHCD would be the ultimate humiliation;
the only unintended consequence is that students would loose money since we know that the WHCD also raises scholarship money for upcoming journalists
Good Morning TODVille.
Happy Friday.
Boycotting the WHCD will be great. Let Faux News be the only one showing up to worship His Supreme Yellow.
Team Trump points to imaginary ‘Bowling Green Massacre’
02/03/17 08:00 AM—UPDATED 02/03/17 08:30 AM
By Steve Benen
Donald Trump and his White House team have had a fair amount of time to come up with compelling defenses for the president’s Muslim ban. So far, their rhetorical pushback isn’t going especially well.
Trump World said only 109 people were denied entry into the U.S. under the policy, but that number wasn’t true. They tried to argue President Obama did the same thing, but that wasn’t true, either. They said the policy had to be sprung on people in order to be effective, but that too wasn’t true. An Associated Press fact-check found a variety of other misstatements related to the controversial executive order.
But as the Washington Post noted, Kellyanne Conway appears to have taken her affection for “alternative facts” to a whole new level.
And if there had been a massacre in Bowling Green that went ignored by rascally news organizations, Trump’s White House counselor might have a credible point.
But the massacre “didn’t get covered” because it doesn’t exist.
This incident, which did get covered, is what Conway appears to be referring to: “In May [2011], two Iraqi refugees living in Bowling Green, Ky., were charged with trying to send sniper rifles, Stinger missiles and money to the Qaeda affiliate in their home country. Neither of the men, Waad Ramadan Alwan, 30, and Mohanad Shareef Hammadi, 23, was charged with plotting attacks within the United States. A federal sting operation prevented the weapons and money from going to Iraq.”
The men were arrested, charged, and convicted. They’re both in federal penitentiaries now.
I’ll say it again..
He’s the Secretary of EXXON….
the rest of this means absolutely nothing to him.
Persecution of Putin opposition a test for Tillerson
Michael McFaul, former U.S. ambassador to Russia, talks with Rachel Maddow about dangers political opponents of Vladimir Putin face, and the increased anxiety with Putin admirer Donald Trump in the White House and Putin friend, Rex Tillerson installed as Secretary of State.
Team Trump puts Iran ‘on notice,’ won’t explain what that means
02/02/17 04:49 PM—UPDATED 02/02/17 05:00 PM
By Steve Benen
Mike Flynn, Donald Trump’s controversial National Security Adviser, appeared in the White House press briefing room to make a brief statement yesterday, declaring, “As of today, we are officially putting Iran on notice.”
The president himself added on Twitter this morning Iran “has been formally PUT ON NOTICE for firing a ballistic missile.” Press Secretary Sean Spicer used the same phrase this afternoon with reporters.
The trouble is, no one seems able to say what “on notice” means in the context of U.S. foreign policy. Sure, we remember Stephen Colbert’s “on notice” board, but when it comes to the White House, it remains an unexplained mystery.
State Department differs with White House on Holocaust statement
02/03/17 09:20 AM—UPDATED 02/03/17 09:33 AM
By Steve Benen
It never occurred to me this would still be a story a week later, and yet, here we are.
According to Politico’s report, the State Department’s Office of the Special Envoy on Holocaust Issues “prepared its own statement for International Holocaust Remembrance Day.” As it has in the past, the department’s statement commemorated the Holocaust’s Jewish victims.
The White House chose to issue its own statement, which obviously went in a different direction.
Hello TOD land.
Thought I´d drop a link with a batch of photos in case you haven´t seen these yet.
https://projectfreetv.unblockerproxy.top/free/scandal/scandal-season-6/
President Trump inherits an economy with an unemployment rate of 4.8%. Employers added 227,000 jobs in January, the US government says.
Thanks Obama.
“missingobama.org” ??? I’m in! GM!
I wonder if 45 will tell Chancellor Merkel to dress more feminine?
House Republicans vote to expand gun access for mentally impaired
02/03/17 10:07 AM—UPDATED 02/03/17 10:26 AM
By Steve Benen
When an American suffers from a severe mental illness, to the point that he or she receives disability benefits through the Social Security Administration, there are a variety of limits created to help protect that person and his or her interests. These folks cannot, for example, go to a bank to cash a check on their own.
If congressional Republicans have their way, these impaired people will, however, be able to buy a gun. USA Today reported:
………………
While GOP proponents of the bill argued that it’s unfair to limit the rights of the mentally disabled, Rep. Mike Thompson (D-Calif.), among others, explained, “These are not just people having a bad day…. These are people with a severe mental illness who can’t hold any kind of job or make any decisions about their affairs.”
This did not prove persuasive to Congress’ far-right majority, which supported the measure that enjoyed the enthusiastic backing of the National Rifle Association.
In addition to Nordstrom’s, Neiman Marcus follows.
We have to hit these people every way we can. Affecting their bottom line is one way of getting them where it hurts: their brand.
good. turn their ‘brands’ into shit.
YEP
Yesterday it was Nordstrom. 😀
“I am woman, hear me roar!”
Trump and his Republican allies cling to the ‘paid protester’ myth
02/03/17 10:46 AM
By Steve Benen
Progressive activists have been very active in Colorado of late, pressuring Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.), among others, to break with his party’s far-right agenda. “It’s just been a fire hose,” the Republican senator said this week.
But Gardner doesn’t seem especially moved by the public outcry. The CBS affiliate in Denver reported, “Gardner said his office is getting so many calls and emails, his has staff assigned to do nothing except respond to them. In one night, his office received 3,000 voicemails. Many of them were from what Gardner calls paid protesters from other parts of the U.S.”
I haven’t seen any evidence to suggest the protesters have been paid, but it’s apparently the assumption Gardner is making to dismiss the progressive activism in his home state – which Donald Trump lost by five points in November.
The conservative Coloradan isn’t alone. Sen. Marco Rubio’s (R-Fla.) press secretary told the Miami Herald the senator’s office was unconcerned with “paid protestors.”
First, I’m deeply amused by the very idea of “professional anarchists.” I also wish that had been the name of my band in high school.
Second, this is common in authoritarian thinking. When the public rallies in support of the leader, those citizens deserve to be celebrated. When the public rallies in opposition to the leader, those citizens should be dismissed as corrupt and ignored.
That’s fabulous. GM, meta!
Hellllllloooooooo, Booms.
🙂 🙂 🙂
Hope everything is well in Boomville. Lots more rain here……..I’m loving it.
Lots of distress signals from my friends…..everyone if feeling very freaked out.
My friends are, too. Very, very freaked out. As am I.
Forgot to add – other than watching any “news” – all’s well in Boomville (Ha!) and thanks for asking. We even have SUNSHINE today. OMG. Missed it.
Ah, yes, I remember the 1970s women’s movement, when “the bosses” finally allowed “the women” to wear something other than a dress to work. Those were the days, my friend. Ugh.
Of course, being women, making the most of a bad situation, we celebrated with signs that announced “Pants Suit Day” and we all got 50 new outfits. Well, a few new outfits, anyway. Can’t keep a good woman down, eh?
When his wife dressed like a girl she removed all her clothes. Maybe he wants them all naked in the oval office.
One thing I know he would never consider – that NONE of them would ever want him to return that favor. Ugh.
New post.
https://theobamadiary.com/2017/02/03/behind-the-scenes-the-white-house-internship-program/