April 30, 2018

Kelly thinks he's saving U.S. from disaster, calls Trump 'idiot,' say White House staffers

Source: NBCNews


Some current and former officials said they expect Kelly to leave by July, and that Trump and Kelly seem to have tired of each other.

by Carol E. Lee, Courtney Kube, Kristen Welker and Stephanie Ruhle / Apr.30.2018 / 3:14 PM ET

WASHINGTON — White House chief of staff John Kelly has eroded morale in the West Wing in recent months with comments to aides that include insulting the president's intelligence and casting himself as the savior of the country, according to eight current and former White House officials.

The officials said Kelly portrays himself to Trump administration aides as the lone bulwark against catastrophe, curbing the erratic urges of a president who has a questionable grasp on policy issues and the functions of government. He has referred to Trump as "an idiot" multiple times to underscore his point, according to four officials who say they've witnessed the comments.

Three White House spokespeople said they don't believe it's accurate that Kelly called the president an "idiot," adding that none of them has ever heard him do that or otherwise use that word.

Officials said Kelly's public image as a retired four-star general instilling discipline on a chaotic White House and an impulsive president belies what they describe as the undisciplined and indiscreet approach he's employed as chief of staff. The private manner aides describe may shed new light on why Kelly now finds himself — just nine months into the job — grappling with diminished influence and a drumbeat of questions about how long he'll remain at the White House.

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/kelly-thinks-he-s-saving-u-s-disaster-calls-trump-n868961

April 27, 2018

When he snaps, and loses his mind, and starts raving like a lunatic,

how will we know?

April 23, 2018

James Shaw Jr. started a GoFundMe for the Waffle House shooting victims and families.

"My name is James Shaw Jr. I am creating this page to help the families of the victims from the Shooting that took place at Waffle House in Antioch, TN. Please take the time to donate as all of the proceeds will be given to the families. Thank you again for your generosity and blessings!"

https://www.gofundme.com/5g07bvs



He stopped the Waffle House gunman.

https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/22/us/waffle-house-shooting-hero-tennessee/index.html

April 20, 2018

AP obtains memos drafted by former FBI Director James Comey on interactions with President

Source: AP

The Associated Press
?Verified account @AP

BREAKING: AP obtains memos drafted by former FBI Director James Comey on interactions with President Donald Trump.



The Associated Press
?Verified account @AP

BREAKING: Memo: Trump told Comey he had "serious reservations about former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn's judgment.

https://twitter.com/AP/status/987130547838357505



Read more: https://twitter.com/AP/status/987126490889408512

April 12, 2018

Michael Cohen search warrant documents mentioned Trump by name

Source: CBS News


Last Updated Apr 11, 2018 8:02 PM EDT


The FBI search and seizure warrants executed against President Trump's personal lawyer Michael Cohen mentioned President Trump's name several times, sources familiar with the documents tell CBS News' Jeff Pegues. Sources who've seen the warrants told Pegues it appeared to them that the real target of the raids was Mr. Trump. One source called it a "search and destroy mission."

The search warrants also listed records related to the release of the so-called "Access Hollywood" tape, sources familiar with the matter told CBS News' Andres Triay and Len Tepper. The New York Times first reported the connection to the tape. The warrants executed at Cohen's office, hotel room and home became public knowledge Monday.



Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/michael-cohen-search-warrant-included-records-related-to-access-hollywood-tape/

April 11, 2018

Take the money and don't run.

House Speaker Paul Ryan, citing family, will not seek re-election in November

James B. Nelson, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Published 7:31 a.m. CT April 11, 2018 | Updated 9:57 a.m. CT April 11, 2018


snip . . .

Earlier this week, Ryan's campaign reported it had raised more than $11 million in the latest fundraising period.

Team Ryan said that with the latest $11.1 million during the first quarter of 2018, it has raised more than $54 million during this election cycle.


https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/2018/04/11/axios-issues-alert-house-speaker-paul-ryan-not-seek-reelection-november/506165002/


Just sayin'.

April 9, 2018

Michael Cohen, he has caught it, caught the WHANGDEPOOTENAWAH!

WHANGDEPOOTENAWAH, n.
In the Ojibwa tongue, disaster; an unexpected affliction that strikes hard.

Should you ask me whence this laughter,
Whence this audible big-smiling,
With its labial extension,
With its maxillar distortion
And its diaphragmic rhythmus
Like the billowing of an ocean,
Like the shaking of a carpet,
I should answer, I should tell you:
From the great deeps of the spirit,
From the unplummeted abysmus
Of the soul this laughter welleth
As the fountain, the gug-guggle,
Like the river from the canon [sic],
To entoken and give warning
That my present mood is sunny.
Should you ask me further question --
Why the great deeps of the spirit,
Why the unplummeted abysmus
Of the soule extrudes this laughter,
This all audible big-smiling,
I should answer, I should tell you
With a white heart, tumpitumpy,
With a true tongue, honest Injun:
Michael Cohen, he has Caught It,
Caught the Whangdepootenawah!

Is't the sandhill crane, the shankank,
Standing in the marsh, the kneedeep,
Standing silent in the kneedeep
With his wing-tips crossed behind him
And his neck close-reefed before him,
With his bill, his william, buried
In the down upon his bosom,
With his head retracted inly,
While his shoulders overlook it?
Does the sandhill crane, the shankank,
Shiver grayly in the north wind,
Wishing he had died when little,
As the sparrow, the chipchip, does?
No 'tis not the Shankank standing,
Standing in the gray and dismal
Marsh, the gray and dismal kneedeep.
No, 'tis peerless Michael Cohen
Realizing that he's Caught It,
Caught the Whangdepootenawah!






http://www.alcyone.com/max/lit/devils/w.html

(apologies to Ambrose Bierce)

April 8, 2018

Take that down!: Watch Fox host panic after graphic shows Fox News is least trusted network

‘Take that down!’: Watch Fox host Howard Kurtz panic after graphic shows Fox News is least trusted network

In what was undoubtedly a painful moment on Fox News this morning, media analyst Howard Kurtz frantically implored his producer to take down a graphic that showed Fox is the least trusted of the big three cable networks.

Speaking with pollster Frank Luntz about Donald Trump’s Twitter habits, with Luntz calling the president’s use of “fake news” detrimental to his cause, Kurtz brought up a recent poll from Monmouth University on news trustworthiness.

That is when things took a hilarious turn.

“Speaking of fake news, there is a new poll out from Monmouth University.’Do the media report fake news regularly or occasionally?’ 77 percent say yes,” Kurtz exclaimed before noticing the graphic instead showed “Who do you trust more?” with CNN at 48 percent, MSNBC at 45 percent and Fox News bring up the rear at 30 percent.

https://www.rawstory.com/2018/04/take-watch-fox-host-howard-kurtz-panic-graphic-shows-fox-news-least-trusted-network/

April 7, 2018

"One of the most annoying conversations on the internet goes something like this:"

Atrios:

Saturday, April 07, 2018

BURNNNNNN

One of the most annoying conversations on the internet goes something like this:


Me: This is bad.
Internet people: And this surprises you??????


I didn't say it surprised me. I said it's bad. I'm not exactly a sunny soul. Bad stuff usually doesn't surprise me. More than that, I'm usually not an idiot, and some bad things are completely predictable. They're still bad! It's worth pointing that out!

A related thing is people who always say things like, "Trump told us who he was on the campaign." Some people say that as a kind of sage, "all of this was foretold to those who cared to listen." And some use it as a weird justification, as if saying it on the campaign makes it ok. "This is what we voted for, now we just must accept it."

Neither is true, of course. Trump said a billion things on the campaign, often contradicting each other. That doesn't mean a reasonable person shouldn't have concluded that Trump Is Bad, but there is no straight line from campaign promise to action. His campaign promises were gibberish because the man's brain is gibberish and because he's a liar and because the press rarely tried to actually divine what President Trump might be like because they didn't think he would win and didn't care.

And this isn't how politics works. 'Well, he campaigned on this, so you have to shut up for 4 years and not criticize as he implements his agenda.'

[more]

http://www.eschatonblog.com/2018/04/burnnnnnn.html

April 2, 2018

Amiot: Deuxime divertissement chinois Le Baroque Nomade, Jean-Christophe Frisch

Amiot (1718 - 1793) was an interesting cat.

https://blogs.harvard.edu/preserving/2014/01/28/jean-joseph-marie-amiot-introduces-the-art-of-war-to-the-west/