Seldom Balanced – Usually Fair
From tengrain at Mock Paper Scissors:
It’s true: yesterday I saw several Fox News Hosts (Hi Sean!) screaming about how the number of their Twitter followers were reduced when Twitter purged a slew of bots. I did not notice that any MSM sources said similar things, however, so it seems likely that the Russians know a fellow traveller when they see one.
From our favorite Earth-Bound Misfit:
You might ask yourself why the North Koreans are now so interested in talking.
Well, it’s not because of Trump’s bluster and sanctions.
From Vixen Strangely at Strangely Blogged:
There’s bank fraud, there’s tax fraud, there’s money laundering, there’s unregistered foreign lobbying, and while there isn’t just as yet a clear connection to how this ties into the Russian election tampering probe, it clearly shows how seriously leveraged and therefore, vulnerable to being used by or as foreign agents they were. Especially Manafort, as Josh Marshall sketches out (you need TPM Prime for that one, I think–you should really get TPM Prime). Anyway, Paul Manafort was a guy so desperate for money that he went out of his way to work for the Trump campaign for free (as did a lot of folks, apparently)–but it’s hard to imagine he got nothing of value out of the job. And he remained in contact with the campaign through the transition (via the VP candidate he “helped” choose—Mike Pence). (Gates, of course, remained with the Trump campaign right through the transition, himself.)
What kinds of thing would Manafort’s position with the Trump campaign be good for? Well, maybe getting a spot in an eventual Trump cabinet for one of his creditors? Or helping “tweak” the Trump campaign’s position on Ukraine? Who knows what checks Manafort’s mouth might have written out of the Trump’s eventual presidency account? (Which could only get paid if Trump’s win could be ensured?)
But back to Gates–one of the things he is copping to, is making false statements to investigators in the probe. That’s what tripped up Mike Flynn, too. It also tripped up damn handsome attorney Alex van der Zwaan. This guy, van der Zwaan, is fascinatingly connected to a Russian billionaire by marriage who is, like Trump’s steadfast fixer, Michael Cohen, suing Buzzfeed over the Steele Dossier. That billionaire, German Khan, owns Alfa Group which includes Alfa Bank, which is an interesting side-story in all this that you probably have already heard about.
But: what was Gates lying about?
Wondering why a few conservative friends fail to be impressed.
From North Carolina pastor John Pavlovitz:
In the wake of the shameful growing legacy of mass shootings in America, one of the saddest realizations, is that the loudest, most vehement voices championing the cause of weapons of brutality—have come from professed Evangelical Christians.
The cognitive dissonance of supposed followers of Jesus choosing the side of violence and opposing the movement of mercy is staggering, exceeded only by the contention that Jesus says they can pack heat.
It’s nonsense and heresy and it’s a full bastardization of his life and ministry.
From Ted McLaughlin at jobsanger:
The problem Trump has is that the American public doesn’t want his military parade (see chart below). Majorities of all voters, both genders, all ages, and all races/ethnicities all are opposed to the parade. They don’t want to copy tyrants like Kim Jong-Un, and think such a parade doesn’t display strength (but weakness). Everyone knows the U.S. has the strongest military in the world, and showing it off in a parade doesn’t enhance that view.
Trump doesn’t care what Americans want though. He has ordered his military to have one anyway. But to disguise his narcissistic desire, he has set the date for the parade as November 11th — Veterans Day. He will try to pass of his vulgar display of narcissistic power as a tribute to veterans.
From Helen Philpot with Margaret and Helen:
Someone tweeted the question: Does Ann Coulter have to be crated on Delta flights or could you make the case that she is a comfort pet? I’m going to say yes to the former, but no to the latter.
It got me wondering, however, about what Ann has been up to these days. Apparently she is using her 3rd grade writing skills to make the case that a mass deportation of immigrants would result in mass shootings being reduced by half. She likes the word mass. Me too. If we had a mass deportation of old, white racists, I bet we would see a mass decrease in Ann Coulter readers and probably a mass NRA membership reduction of about half. I’m sure the other half are responsible hunters who still think the NRA is about them. Unless of course they’re hunting deer with an AR-15. Then they are just assholes.
The NRA membership is less than 2% of the population and yet the NRA owns 100% of Republican politicians. They do not represent gun owners. They lobby to protect the profits of gun manufacturers. For heaven’s sake, more people have read our blog and Margaret and I are nobodies.
From The Moderate Voice:
Donald Trump said the National Rifle Association is full of good people, which puts them in exclusive company because that’s the same thing he said about Nazis. Congrats, NRA.
If you watched just a few seconds of the speeches by NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre and spokesgoon Dana Loesch, you’ll see why they might belong in the same company.
Wayne LaPierre said gun control advocates hate freedom. Loesch said the “legacy media” loves mass shootings and “crying white mothers” are ratings gold. Donald Trump said we should have a rating system for violent video games and movies, which we’ve had since 1968. Maybe the president should focus on issues occurring during this century.
Trump said the NRA is willing to work with gun advocates for gun safety. I watched some of the CPAC speeches and I didn’t detect any willingness on their part to work on actual gun safety.
Sometimes it’s a good idea to write words down. Just so you don’t forget.
Wondering why a few conservative friends fail to be impressed.
