April 13 Open Thread, Bulldog Edition: Tawdry Tales of Trump
Busy day on the skeevy-stories-about-Trump beat. We learned:
*The horrifying news that there could be another Trump scion out there somewhere, so move over Tiffany;
*That Trump was obsessed with getting James Comey to disprove the pee tape, which totally couldn’t exist because Trump is a germophobe;
*That the legendary New York Post “best sex I ever had” story was planted by Trump himself, and
*That Trump fixer Michael Cohen taped “some of” his interactions with clients, which has a good chunk of Trumplandia in a cold sweat.
Advance copies of Comey’s book hit the airwaves, after a review from the New York Times. Apparently in retaliation, or perhaps as a warning, Trump prepared late in the day to pardon Scooter Libby, whose crime pales in comparison to what Trump did today alone.
So do the crimes of ex-Texas congressman Steve Stockman, a RWNJ who was convicted on 23 of the 24 felony counts against him, and all he stole was $1.25 million, and it wasn’t even from the public — it was from two of his mega-donors.
Trump also ruminated out loud in front of people that maybe ankling the Trans-Pacific Partnership wasn’t such a hot idea after all. Who knows if anything will come of it.
Scooter Libby, and Pardon Fest 5,000 has a new poster child. The Door Man payoff gets me, is there anyone or anything Trump didn’t hit on? As for the legendary Pee Tape seems the global effort to seek and destroy it has been successful. Bummer. Finally I’m enjoying Comey Unbound tremendously, a new standard for pulling no punches with the now famous “Mafia Boss” comment.
Scooter Libby’s crimes do not pale in comparison to this president. Libby outed Valerie Plame, who had been working covertly to protect this country from real enemies. That is treason. Not a misdemeanor. A felony. Felonies. Libby should be in prison. I know you agree, so don’t get “cute” with comparisons.
So you’re talking about Trump’s pee instead of WWIII. Great job.
This is as bad as the way Democrats failed miserably to stop the Iraq war for the usual reasons.
@Christopher: Democrats are in no position to stop a war, and what people talk about on a Delaware blog isn’t of any import to anyone.
It’s a news roundup, sporto. I don’t do speculative panic. You want to piss your pants about geopolitics, nobody’s stopping you. Mop up when you’re finished.
Fair criticism.
Although I believe WWIII is highly unlikely, a conflict with Russia in Syria is a horrid possibility.
Corbyn said it yesterday. “More bombing, more killing, more war will not save lives. It takes them.”
I too hate the salacious soap opera shit.
@Paul: No, I don’t agree with you. Get off your high horse.
Libby outed one person. Trump’s treason has already resulted in Russians who worked with American intelligence agencies being killed. So you’re just wrong.
While I think Christopher’s criticism is fair Al is also right. Whatever going happen is going happen at this point. No regular stable human being is in a position to stop it.
Same argument applies to the Mueller shit also though. It’s a criminal investigation. Whatever happens is going to happen. There’s no arguing about it.
As far as news impact certainly the Syrian situation is far more pressing and grave than the pee tape.
Really? And the news out of the Syrian situation is….?
I write up the headlines. Nobody’s talking about Syria because nobody understands Syria and nobody knows what’s actually going on in Syria. Nobody’s reading about Syria. I notice that for all your concern, neither of you has posted a link to the open thread about what’s going on in Syria.
That’s why it’s an open thread. If you think something is worth discussing, then post something and see if people will discuss it. Nobody’s stopping you, but I’m personally not interested.
Here are the headlines about Syria this morning (remember, this was compiled last night):
Russia warns of dangerous escalation in Syria. Translation: Saber rattling.
Theresa May says world must ‘take action’ against Assad for Syrian chemical weapons attack. Translation: Britain is powerless here and can’t get Trump to act.
Assad government forces ‘take entire’ Eastern Ghouta. Translation: We backed the wrong horse.
Happy now?
Not really. 🙂
I really can’t give much of a shit. When people in the Middle East stop killing each other for the first time in 6,000 years, that will be news.
As tragedies go, I’ll take the plight of the polar bears over the plight of the Syrians. Both groups had the bad luck to be born in the wrong place, but one group represents their entire species, and the other is a particularly luckless variety of the species that has overrun and destroyed the planet.
I think you can tell which group my sympathies lie with. I’m not faking my misanthropy.
Of course one group are human beings, but anyhow.
Yeah, I’m not fond of human beings. Every other species with more than 7 billion individual units is considered vermin.
“Scooter Libby’s crimes do not pale in comparison to this president. Libby outed Valerie Plame, who had been working covertly to protect this country from real enemies. That is treason. ”
Treason to a country without borders and a nation without any form of national identity according to Democrats? Not possible.
How did Liebowitz commit treason? He served his country.
“@Christopher: Democrats are in no position to stop a war…”
But they’re in a position to walk around with pussy hats on. They’re in a position to be sucked into stirring up anti-Russian hysteria based on their daddy Trump issues.
We can’t even get close to the actual reasons for this war.
No, we can’t. Which is one of the reasons I don’t care.
As for your Libby comments, you prove yourself a right-wing asshole. Nice job.
You still haven’t posted a link to something you think should be discussed about the Syrian situation, and given your proclivities, it’s just as well. Right-wing assholes really aren’t welcome here.
I’m generally down on most people too. Fair enough. I’m not a fan of incinerating innocent children and the elderly though, but that’s just me. The fact I can’t do much about it doesn’t necessarily assuage the sadness of it.
“Really? And the news out of the Syrian situation is….?”
The news within context matters. You know the ships are on the way. That should reported in historical context, as it provides a pretext for war if any of the “allies in the region” to put a Syrian flag on their own ships or planes and attack in order to draw Team Freedumb into a wider war. Or someone could make a mistake. Or whatever. It’s like two children that decide to start walking across the room waving their arms at each other. They might hit each other. And then that will serve as a pretext for killing all the kids in the room once they get things going.
Russians have already been killed and we’re reaching levels of hysteria that shouldn’t be possible, including in the “intelligence community.”
Why not make a few posts about the “babies are dying” incitement of the maternal majority in democracies to war that have been used in the past? The incubator babies of the first Iraq war. The false flag in Syria last year.
Context and juxtapositions. It’s not just news. It’s perspectives. Ivanka: “Daddy, save those babies! No, not the Palestinian babies… the Syrian ones!” What is the perspective here? Nihilism? That’s easy.
I’ll leave you two at it. Seems like this is really going somewhere.
Libby did what he did because he’s loyal to his tribe and country and that helped to cause the Iraq war. Just as Trump may do what he’s going to do for Ivanka and the rest of his family.
I think you’re white. You seem to believe that abstractions like the Right and the Left matter more than actual familial or tribal relationships. If you could get over that then you could be a more successful anti-war activist.
I’m not an anti-war activist. I think that’s your problem right there. I certainly don’t fret about it ahead of time because, as noted, there’s nothing I’m going to do that will matter. I’ll show up for the march, but you’re going to have to organize it yourself.
Nobody’s stopping you from writing what you did, though a link or two would help. To each his own. I don’t care, you do, so you should be the one to write about it. IT’S AN OPEN THREAD. That’s what it’s here for. Write away. But insult me and you’ll get insulted back.
Nihilism? No, not at all. But to paraphrase a screenwriter, the fate of a few million people doesn’t amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world. CO2 is my existential concern. Wars are endemic to simians. Chimps do it, too. Bonobos don’t, but you’ll notice they’re on the edge of extinction, too.
” Nobody’s talking about Syria because nobody understands Syria and nobody knows what’s actually going on in Syria. ”
No one is going to be able to understand much if you can’t identify numerous different ethnic groups, including Jews/”neoconservatives” like Libby.
You seem to be stuck on the left wing view that doing that is a right wing thing to do, etc. You have two eyes in your head, right and left. They both have to be open to see things in depth at their proper perspective. That’s why I came here to see what local Democrats are saying. That was it.
I see that the answer is, not much. But I guess that’s logical, since you still believe in the Right vs. Left stuff.
This might help:
https://jacobinmag.com/2018/04/syrian-kurds-rojava-trump-united-states-support
“You know the ships are on the way. That should reported in historical context, as it provides a pretext for war if any of the “allies in the region” to put a Syrian flag on their own ships or planes and attack in order to draw Team Freedumb into a wider war.”
Your concern seems to be about media manipulation of public sentiment in order to drum up support for a war. That’s not what a daily (lately semi-daily) news roundup is for. It’s basically a list of what’s being discussed in the media.
If you think about it, failing to include Syria means I’m avoiding this trap you’re pointing out, though it’s not because I want to avoid the trap — it’s because Syria isn’t making the lists of most popular stories. If it’s context you’re after, I would point out that all this pro-war propaganda is gaining no traction whatsoever with the broader public.
As for your false-flag speculations, down that path lies madness. Since you don’t know what even a single actor involved actually wants, your speculation is built on clouds. That game doesn’t interest me in the least, as it’s a field populated mostly by paranoids and crackpots, who make poor playmates.
@REV: Nope. I just don’t enjoy role-playing games I guess, and I’m too interested in too many other things to try to figure out the intricacies of a situation that has more sides than a set of Dungeon and Dragon dice.
“No one is going to be able to understand much if you can’t identify numerous different ethnic groups, including Jews/”neoconservatives” like Libby.”
See, this is where I just don’t care. I don’t care if they fight, I don’t care who wins. And I certainly don’t care about your tribalist interpretation of geopolitics.
“you still believe in the Right vs. Left stuff.”
Not in geopolitics I don’t. I believe that all actors are now acting as kleptocrats, and as a result I don’t bother following it. I’m curious about why you do. Do you think you’re discovering some big secret? See your shrink.
“But to paraphrase a screenwriter, the fate of a few million people….”
They will all die anyway, the only questions are when and in what manner they will die.
If you successfully save the white polar bears from climate change and breeding with grizzlies (Like a right wing polar bear supremacist trying to save white animals of the North, btw.) they too will die out eventually anyway. So why do you care about them? Or chimps?
I can act just as nihilistic. But isn’t the whole nihilistic tough guy routine a right wing thing? I thought we were supposed to be left wing anti-war types that care more about the bears and babies/infants/infantry too. After all, what’s the point of false flag attacks to incite our maternal instincts like an angry mama polar bear sacrificing herself for grizzly cubs if we don’t care about bears?
I care about bears. The war in Syria may cause more climate change…
“I thought we were supposed to be left wing anti-war types that care more about the bears and babies/infants/infantry too.”
And you say I’m hung up on left/right stereotypes? I haven’t once told you what I thought you should prioritize. What makes you think you have the right to tell me what I should prioritize?
As for nihilism, I don’t think that word means what you think it means. The fact that we do not share an ethos does not mean I don’t have one. I choose not to spend any time fretting about dead babies half a world away. Yes, I in the abstract “feel bad for them,” but to spend time thinking about them is not an act of “empathy” but one of self-worship — look what a good person I am, sympathizing with their suffering. It accomplishes nothing.
And what on Earth makes you think you have the skills to sniff out “false flag attacks” when you don’t even know the facts on the ground. Was poison gas used? Who knows? If so, by whom? Who knows? This is what you think I should spend my day on, rather than the biggest Constitutional crisis since the Civil War. With all due respect, you’re nucking futz.
And no, the war in Syria won’t cause more climate change. The amount of fossil fuel it will consume is a drop in the bucket compared with what China’s switch from bicycles to autos contributes in a month.
“See, this is where I just don’t care. I don’t care if they fight, I don’t care who wins. And I certainly don’t care about your tribalist interpretation of geopolitics.”
Nihilism seems common among people that aren’t allowed to care about their own ethnic group. You don’t have a family or tribe? You don’t care about them?
” I believe that all actors are now acting as kleptocrats, and as a result I don’t bother following it.”
But you do wind up following it, that’s why you’re apparently following the Trump pee stuff and the tawdry tales. That’s generally just usual suspects painting Trump in menstrual blood pictures, giving him a golden toilet, spreading the pee stories or basically directing their late night shows to portray him as “filthy goyim” and so forth. You seem to be following that.
Human tribalism aside, imagine white polar bears being driven off by grizzlies as they migrate North and pee on stuff to mark their territory. They’re colonizing the females, so we need to stop climate change lest white polar bears disappear forever.
And the Syrian war turning into WWIII or causing more mass migration will cause climate change… so there you go, now you can care about some white animals and the impact that geopolitics has on them. Let me guess, now you don’t care about that either. But it’s ok to care about the bears even if you’re not allowed to care about other white animals.
“I’m curious about why you do. Do you think you’re discovering some big secret?”
Ethnic politics and tribalism is as obvious as anything, it doesn’t require a theory about “big secrets.” It’s occurring right in front of you, day after day. That’s why you’re not allowed to talk about it. It would be too obvious. You have been allowed to talk about “Russians” as a group lately without building a case for their ethnic and national identity up from the ground every time you say “Russian” or “the Russians.” What is the essence of “Russian,” who can say? We’re concerned about “the Russians” taking over from whoever “the Americans” (???) are now, yet aren’t we all humans in a world without borders?
It’s all amusing, given that you’re not allowed to identify and criticize the ethnic interests and ethnocentrism of people like Libby even if they just said: “This is who we are. These are our organizations. And these are our perspectives on what is good for us as an ethnic group. This is our ethnic state. This is what we think is good for it. Stand with our state. Russia isn’t standing with our state!” Etc.
Observable facts. But some people would rather focus on “tawdry tales” than deal with basic aspects of human tribalism that may be the primary driver for yet another war.
I’m out. I forgot how absurd white people that reject open and honest discussions about nationalism and human tribalism are. Don’t forget to save the bears! Lol.
“You don’t have a family or tribe? You don’t care about them?”
Nope.
I don’t like anti-Semites or conspiracy theorists, either, so go ahead and let the door hit your ass on the way out.
But thank you for demonstrating so amply the lack of a difference between a human — you, for example — and a chimp.
Wow. I just realized that the “you’re white” business shows what you’re up to. You’re a white nationalist.
Sorry, bud, but I’m not white. I’m of Italian descent. Your kind only started calling us white when they realized they were outnumbered.
So thanks for also demonstrating that you can never prove white supremacy by the people who espouse it. Indeed, that’s why they espouse it — they’ve never done anything personally, so they want credit for what other white people did. LOL. You’re the filth you’re so quick to see in others.
Meanwhile, it seems news outlets have been looking into the “love child” story for months without being able to confirm it. They came out with it now because the news peg became the payout to shut the doorman up. It’s not the untrue story, it’s the coverup.
https://www.haaretz.com/us-news/.premium-bernie-sanders-initiates-letter-urging-trump-to-change-gaza-policy-1.5995259?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=gplus
At least one politican has some nuts and guts.
Everyone believing the latest bullcrap on Syria…welll be advised European and Mid East papers don’t agree with US, Britian or France. For those claiming I dont no much about Syria, well there are experts who do and their view is totally different from saber rattlers. Note: Germany and Italy won’t participate, guess they won’t be bamboozled again.
I’m so furious I can barely write this email, Elizabeth. (From Pelosi moments ago).
President Trump is inches away from firing Robert Mueller and derailing the entire Russia investigation.
And my Republican colleagues are actively HELPING him.
They’re jeopardizing our democracy, our national security, and the safety of every election we hold. Frankly, they can’t be trusted.
I need a MASSIVE 24-hour fundraising surge to send them a powerful message: If they let Trump fire Mueller, we’ll kick each and EVERY one of them out of office.
Robert Mueller’s our only hope for justice, Elizabeth — and we’re the only ones who can protect him.
Please rush $1 immediately:
Chip in $1 immediately >>
Trump using our military to “pimping out” to terrorists a fundamentalist country Saudia Arabia. Former Ambassador to Syria is opposed to invading a soverign nation who has done nothing to us! Spain, sink the Maine, Vietnam, Gulf of Tonkin, Iraq, Kuwait, Iraq WMD, and now Syria “gassing”. After 7 yrs of war in Syria, no body gave a damn. Nikki Haley needs the hook, her lies at the UN, are kin to the vial held up by Collin Powell. This war would have been over a long time ago, if the US, Israel and Sauds didn’t get involve. Former Mi5 agent, stated, Nikki Haley and Western media are pushing the US into another illegal war against a soverign nation while UN inspectors, Russian Inspectors and others have not determined if it was a chemicl event. Investigators state a building was bombed, First floor destroyed, second fire and smoke inhalation. 70 people came to hospitals treated for fire injuries, not chemicals. Medical people in the ER at the time said the same
When Bush, Cheney et al created the project for a new american century Syria was on the top of the list. John Bolton was part of that, he is responsible for Trump now calling for attacks on Syria.
Assad was forced to turn to Russia, Iran and now Turkey. Assad is a shite alowite. Syria a secular nation. We have huge military bases in Turkey, the largest in Adana. Erdogan is refusing to permit any warplanes to leave the ground.
Last year Mad dog Mattis stated after, “Trump bombed Syria”, we have no evidence of a chemical attack”. The White Helmets are the enemy of Syria and the mid east. Jalah Ah-Islam are the crazy fundamental wahabbis in Syria, another offshoot of Isis.
Ghouta was the final battle for Syria, they have taken back all other territory. They did it with Russian help, not the US, who are in reality arming the White Helmets through an US Aid group , called SAMS, SAMS has been banned in many countries. So our corporate media uses SAMS as their sourse. White Helmets, Jalah AlIslam are just two of the many radical groups fully armed by the Sauds, Saudia, US and Israel.
Former Amb Murphy could not state one thing the US has done to help Syria in this 7 yr war, so why now? Trump was pulling troops out 2 wks ago, but in last few days wants to bomb them. What happened, Sauds gave him billions for new weapons (obviously to keep the wahabbis, JalAlIslam fighting and overthrowing Assad. They are also in Lebanon raising hell…
I think everyone needs to get up to date on whats happening here, if we go to war, wont be a frigging dime for anything for the citizens of the US.
“I think everyone needs to get up to date on whats happening here”
I think most people don’t care, but thanks for keeping us up to date.
@c “I’m out. I forgot how absurd white people that reject open and honest discussions about nationalism and human tribalism are.”
You’re out? Thank God for that… you fucking racist. Go spread your blatant racist shit somewhere else.
And you’re lying about “open and honest”. You and your ilk are anything but open and honest… more like cockroaches that scatter when someone shines a light.
I’m still a bit mind-boggled that we got an honest-to-god white nationalist trying to infiltrate with an anti-war line of BS.
Notice that he started with something quite reasonable. And then little by little the little cockroach ventured further and further into the open exposing more and more of his nasty rhetoric, until we could all see exactly what he was… and then he scurried away when you turned on the light.
That’s not what one does when seeking an “open and honest” discussion…
No, it’s not. But it was fun turning on the light.
Context and juxtapositions. It’s not just news. It’s perspectives. Ivanka: “Daddy, save those babies! No, not the Palestinian babies… the Syrian ones!” What is the perspective here? Nihilism? That’s easy.
Chris: From what you wrote I don’t consider you a white nationalist. I too am extremely concerned over an attack on Syria, leading to WW3…and dont’ worry there are many experts who feel the same, based on evidence over 7 yr war.
Just like the GOP has turned into the party of Trumpolini, the democrats are splitting. The establishment, vs liberals vs. progressives. There are very obvious differences on domestic, foreign policy, war and peace etc issues. and how to solve the issues: common sense legislation vs incrementalism.
Well , the orange conman just sent Shock and Awe to Syria. He calls Assad a monster, what the hell is he?
https://consortiumnews.com/2018/04/11/international-lawyers-strike-against-syria-would-be-illegal/
“Chris: From what you wrote I don’t consider you a white nationalist.”
Your own predilections were noted here years ago. I don’t give a fuck what you consider him, there will be no coddling of that bullshit here. You’ve been warned.
Alby: WTF: I said, from what he said, I didnt think he was a white nationalist? What is wrong with you…you sound like a dictator. “you’ve been warned”?
You can look it up yourself. Your anti-Semitism was noted here long ago, and not by me. Perhaps that’s why you couldn’t see it in him.
As for the “dictator” part, this is not a public forum. You, like everyone else, posts here at our discretion. If you don’t like it you can always start your own blog.