CatBus

While so far the only surprise revelation about Trump/Russia to me has been the staggering incompetence of the whole operation, that’s only half-true. Only the American side of the collaboration has been staggeringly incompetent–the Russian side has seemed thoroughly professional, canny and capable… in an evil sort of way of course.

Which is why I’m seeing this as a good sign:

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2017/07/the-agalarovs-who-set-up-the-trump-russia-meeting-are-selling-their-jersey-homes/

When the Russian side of the equation decides to clear out of Dodge (selling assets before they’re seized), it’s likely because they know what’s coming, and are getting what they can while they’re still able to get it.

yhwx said:

It’s dead, Jim.

http://www.politico.com/story/2017/07/17/obamacare-senators-turn-on-mcconnell-240646

For now.

The 2018 Senate map, in a neutral year, is a Democrats-lose-six-seats map. In a wild anti-Trump revolutionary Democratic tidal wave year, it’s a Democrats-lose-three-seats map. So they don’t have the votes right now. Unless we take the House, they will later.

But… I came for the mouse droppings…

TV’s Frink said:

Before Trump ™ there was very little actual politics discussed in this thread.

Probably because, at that time, a critical minimum amount of it was being discussed by elected officials and their appointees.

TV’s Frink said:

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/886950594220568576?ref_src=twsrc^google|twcamp^serp|twgr^tweet

Most politicians would have gone to a meeting like the one Don jr attended in order to get info on an opponent. That’s politics!

TV’s Frink said:

yhwx said:

doubleofive said:

mfastx said:

Nandi said:

I too think it would be best if Yoda remained a mystery and wasn’t a head of the council etc.
That he didn’t chose swampy forest because of an exile, but as a place to test himself, or a seclusion while he explores the Force, entire place for younger jedies should be sort of a pilgrimage where he decides are they worthy or not to be trained by him.

Didn’t he say he had a council on who was to be trained in ESB though?

“My own counsel will I keep, on who is to be trained!”

Counsel =/= Council

That’s just an interpretation though. He could have full well meant council.

No. No!

Also, props to the dude with the first comment under the tweet, for not using “buried the lead.”

Alternate Universe Hillary is turning out to be a scary beast indeed! She conspired with Russian intelligence to influence US elections! She installed her daughter as an unelected placeholder-in-chief! She had a tiny, practically nonexistent inauguration crowd!

Although, to be fair, the past twenty years have largely involved attacking Hillary for doing things that she demonstrably did not do (Vince Foster, the Benghazi stand down order, Pizzagate, etc). Trump’s foray into this field is just lowering the plausibility bar to even more absurd levels.

Puggo - Jar Jar’s Yoda said:

I still expect there to be a quick glitch near the start, plus problems in reel 1 with contrast. And of course fur balls and mouse droppings.

I wouldn’t settle for anything less than that.

Keep in mind that if the FBI has you dead to rights on a serious criminal offense, they often let you retroactively clean up your paperwork (i.e. get legal) if you’re cooperating with the investigation/providing useful information on other high-value targets. I’m not saying Kushner’s cooperating, but he’s the latest in a string of Trump admin officials who have developed a sudden interest in getting their paperwork accurate & truthful at just about the same time their only other plausible escape route is a Presidential pardon (e.g. Flynn).

It’s also just as possible he’s following the family tradition of changing justifications every time he gets caught lying about the last one. But it’s an encouraging possibility–and we may never know what sort of deals were made–we’ll just see some people serving shorter sentences for less serious offenses than others.

That said, he could be cooperating and jockeying for a pardon, which is a pretty nonsensically over-the-top blinkered and self-centered chaotic fuck-everyone-else approach, which makes it a strong candidate in this instance too.

Failing that, could you run XP in a VM to get TMPGE working as it was pre-Win7?

First Duke Nukem Forever, now this.

Moral bankruptcy having been achieved long ago, it looks like Team Trump may be trying to drive the GOP into the more traditional sort of bankruptcy.

Another question is who will pay the legal fees for the president and administration officials involved in the Russia inquiries. Some in Trump’s orbit are pushing the Republican National Committee to bear the costs, said three people with knowledge of the situation, including one who euphemistically described the debate as a “robust discussion.”

You thought the guy with a long, consistent history of leaving a trail of bankrupt organizations and unpaid bills in his wake would make an exception for you guys?

TV’s Frink said:

TV’s Frink said:

Also it’s all Lynch and Obama’s fault.

Also it’s perfectly normal and everyone does it.

Why, I promised to end Russian sanctions in exchange for aid from Russian intelligence services three times before breakfast today alone. It’s routine! Doesn’t everyone do this? And if they don’t, how is that my fault? It’s like not paying any taxes. Sure, other people pay taxes, but my yuge brain helps me seek out opportunities others may miss. It’s the Art of the Deal! Like my book! Buy my book! Or a condo! Or a high rise full of completely coincidental Russian money laundering operations!

TV’s Frink said:

At last count the number of people confirmed in the DJT/Russia meeting is approximately nine-hundred and thirty-seven.

Yeah but only 12% of them were Russian intelligence operatives with a history of orchestrating politically-motivated cyberattacks. So that’s like 88% fake news!

SilverWook said:

CatBus said:

Great, now we’ll be able to openly carry schnauzers, sausages, shrimp scampi, and shish kebabs, without having to tuck them into our jackets, which will do wonders for my dry cleaning bill.

Don’t forget bananas.

Or any other sort of fresh fruit. *grimace*

Warbler said:

CatBus said:

Great, now we’ll be able to openly carry schnauzers, sausages, shrimp scampi, and shish kebabs, without having to tuck them into our jackets, which will do wonders for my dry cleaning bill.

?

http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/jeopardy/n10924?snl=1

EDIT: Holy crap that skit predates the Special Editions.

Great, now we’ll be able to openly carry schnauzers, sausages, shrimp scampi, and shish kebabs, without having to tuck them into our jackets, which will do wonders for my dry cleaning bill.

yhwx said:

CatBus said:

Time for an update as the new info rolls in. Here’s my odds on various things happening (no timeline) after the events of last week.

“Smoking gun”-type indisputable evidence of criminal wrongdoing by senior administration official available to public: 100% (unchanged from last time, but now we actually have it, so we’ll remove this metric as not worth predicting anymore)
Successful RICO prosecution of senior administration official: 90% (+5%)
Presidential pardon of senior administration official: 90% (+10%)
Impeachment of senior administration official: <1% (unchanged)
All mainstream media access to White House revoked: with the latest press briefing restrictions, it’s difficult to tell of this has already happened, I’ll remove this metric as too vague
All mainstream media (including Fox) access to White House revoked: same
Dems take the Senate (meaning 51+ seats) in 2018: 0% (unchanged)
Dems take the House in 2018: 2% (+2%)
Trump average approval rating (Gallup): 36% (unchanged)
Trump re-elected in 2020: 60% (unchanged)
Trump appoints one or more additional Supreme Court justice: 80% (+40%)

I think I have more faith in humanity than you.

The odds are good on that 😉

NeverarGreat said:

CatBus said:

Time for an update as the new info rolls in. Here’s my odds on various things happening (no timeline) after the events of last week.

“Smoking gun”-type indisputable evidence of criminal wrongdoing by senior administration official available to public: 100% (unchanged from last time, but now we actually have it, so we’ll remove this metric as not worth predicting anymore)
Successful RICO prosecution of senior administration official: 90% (+5%)
Presidential pardon of senior administration official: 90% (+10%)
Impeachment of senior administration official: <1% (unchanged)
All mainstream media access to White House revoked: with the latest press briefing restrictions, it’s difficult to tell of this has already happened, I’ll remove this metric as too vague
All mainstream media (including Fox) access to White House revoked: same
Dems take the Senate (meaning 51+ seats) in 2018: 0% (unchanged)
Dems take the House in 2018: 2% (+2%)
Trump average approval rating (Gallup): 36% (unchanged)
Trump re-elected in 2020: 60% (unchanged)
Trump appoints one or more additional Supreme Court justice: 80% (+40%)

I can understand, but cannot accept, the fact that >50% of the voting public are powerless to impeach a president who’s campaign engaged in collusion with a hostile foreign nation to ascend to power.

Keep in mind impeachment and removal from office are two different things, the hurdle for the latter being significantly higher. The odds I’m giving are for impeachment only, something akin to Clinton’s, where he served out his term and the value of the impeachment is mostly as a trivia question for future game shows.

Sorry to be Debbie Downer–but the odds did go up in the House, the situation is always fluid. Maybe 10 more bombshell smoking gun revelations like last week’s and we could see reasonable chances for impeachment on the horizon (a Democratic takeover of the House would be a major tipping point, but it’d have to be a big enough margin to allow for a few Blue Dogs to vote No).

Time for an update as the new info rolls in. Here’s my odds on various things happening (no timeline) after the events of last week.

“Smoking gun”-type indisputable evidence of criminal wrongdoing by senior administration official available to public: 100% (unchanged from last time, but now we actually have it, so we’ll remove this metric as not worth predicting anymore)
Successful RICO prosecution of senior administration official: 90% (+5%)
Presidential pardon of senior administration official: 90% (+10%)
Impeachment of senior administration official: <1% (unchanged)
All mainstream media access to White House revoked: with the latest press briefing restrictions, it’s difficult to tell of this has already happened, I’ll remove this metric as too vague
All mainstream media (including Fox) access to White House revoked: same
Dems take the Senate (meaning 51+ seats) in 2018: 0% (unchanged)
Dems take the House in 2018: 2% (+2%)
Trump average approval rating (Gallup): 36% (unchanged)
Trump re-elected in 2020: 60% (unchanged)
Trump appoints one or more additional Supreme Court justice: 80% (+40%)

SilverWook said:

I always thought it was funny. Way better than Chevy Chase doing Ford.

Ackroyd’s Jimmy Carter was pretty good too.

Is there a “missed the dick joke” meme?

SilverWook said:

Warbler said:

I didn’t know Nixon had a mustache.

Neither did the Joker, but that never stopped Ceasar Romero. 😉

I keep hoping for a SNL skit where Trump is visited by Nixon’s ghost, just so they can have Dan Ackroyd reprise his Dick.

I don’t know who prised it the first time, but if I were Dan, I wouldn’t want to do it again.

yhwx said:

Could someone explain to me the problem with this tweet? Apparently people on Twitter are angry about it.

https://twitter.com/CBSThisMorning/status/884401683656306688

“Science is the belief you can solve the problem.” --@BillNye #MondayMotivation

Mostly it’s a weird definition. Science is a methodology for learning about things. Problem-solving may use science, but it’s much more subjective.

i.e. Global warming. Science just says such-and-such species will likely go extinct, such-and-such areas will likely dry up and be uninhabitable for humans, and so on. It could even say (although it doesn’t) that humans will likely go extinct, or that the Earth will become a barren space rock. But science does not say that any of this would be a problem. Saying that any of this is a problem is a value judgment–ethical, moral, human. But it’s not science. Actually solving problems is a tricky mix of science, engineering and other human factors like ethics, economics, logistics, and law.

Science just helps us learn stuff so that we can identify things we consider to be problems. It doesn’t identify problems. Science helps us learn stuff so that we can solve problems, but it’s far from the only factor in problem-solving.

I’d say it would be more accurate to day “Science is the method that allows us to know things.”, but that doesn’t rate very high on the motivational poster scale. “Belief” was probably the thing that set the most people off, though. It’s not a belief, it’s a method. And the method works whether you believe in it or not, although you do still need to do it right.

Man am I glad I got out of the swimming pool before THAT happened.

“That” being the last three pages or whatnot, not the middle finger per se.

Tyrphanax said:

CatBus said:

This guy thinks way too much about fonts:

https://backchannel.com/how-fonts-are-fueling-the-culture-wars-f9d692101fea

And, of course, I’m a complete sucker for this sort of thing.

Great article. I love fonts!

The hits just keep coming:

https://thenextweb.com/world/2017/07/11/microsofts-default-font-is-at-the-center-of-a-government-corruption-case/#.tnw_XdVX3x6N

CatBus said:

And the only way it usually changes is for the targeted minority group to complain about it, sue, protest, boycott, legislate, whatever the appropriate avenue might be. And sometimes you just want to buy a damn record without having to go through all that.

A friend of mine put this much more concisely years ago, although I’m still probably mangling the quote: “I just want to be able to take a crap without it having to be a political act.” She uses a wheelchair, so the crap in question is still far too frequently the source of high political drama.

Handman said:

Catbus is wise.

That’s a euphemism for “old”, isn’t it?