The Swamp

brian wrote:

Johnny Carwash wrote:The grand jury thing hasn't triggered NYT or WashPost push notifications for me yet, so should I consider it a big deal? That's sort of my gauge.

Was broken by WSJ so, eh...NYT and WaPo have broken most of the "bombshells" to date.

Well, this has to be something...Grand jury issues subpoenas in connection with Trump Jr., Russian lawyer meeting: sources

And why do I get the feeling that Kelly, McMaster, and Mattis have this silent military triumvirate over Trump in some weird way? Probably conspiracy theory, but it seems like it. Maybe it's because McMaster is letting Susan Rice stay connected to the administration.

https://twitter.com/charliespiering/sta ... 2146032641

Nice tweet:

https://twitter.com/MikeLevinCA/status/ ... 9805370368

Nicer tweet:

https://twitter.com/Marshall_Cohen/stat ... 8847726592

I mean, the 25th Amendment requires the VP and a majority of the cabinet to deem the President unfit to carry out his duties. Kelly is still at that level as CoS and Mattis is of course. Beyond that... I'm not seeing it.

Yeah, a large chunk of the cabinet are people who wouldn't have gotten a whiff of consideration for those seats under a "normal" administration. I don't see them turning on Trump.

Plus they'd be murdered within a week

Ryan wrote:Plus they'd be murdered within a week

I was going to make that same point, but less effectively. But yes, history might absolve/reward them, but 30 million mouth-breathers in MAGA hats currently living in America would not.

One thing I found interesting in my reading today re: the grand jury being empaneled is that there was already another grand jury empaneled in Virginia for the Flynn investigation. So at a minimum, Mueller is looking at people beyond Flynn. That's not surprising of course, but I didn't know about the other one and it's relevant given what little we know that this is obviously going to ding a few people.

I think at a bare minimum three people are going to eventually be indicted -- Flynn, Manafort and Page.

Going down the rogue's gallery in order of likelihood from there (I've probably forgot some folks) -- Trump Jr., Kushner, Trump himself*, Sessions, Lewandowski**

Think it's pretty unlikely either of the other kids were involved as least as far as any Russian interference. And none of that excludes the possibility that Mueller finds some smoking gun as far as ties to money-laundering for organized crime either in the United States or Russia to pin on Trump.

* - if it gets as far as Kushner it's impossible to believe there was a "firewall" between Trump and his advisors as far as collusion or any federal crimes went

** - he was already gone from the campaign by this point, but who knows

It seems like a good anti-leaking strategy is to not be such a huge fucking clown that nobody in a sensitive position respects you, but I'm not an expert.

brian wrote:* - if it gets as far as Kushner it's impossible to believe there was a "firewall" between Trump and his advisors as far as collusion or any federal crimes went

I think I already asked this, but we all agree Trump would dump Kushner and probably his sons to protect his own ass, right? Maaaaaaaybe he'd draw the line at Ivanka, but I kinda doubt that too. If anything, the structure is such that she wouldn't get caught up in the first place.

mister d wrote:

brian wrote:* - if it gets as far as Kushner it's impossible to believe there was a "firewall" between Trump and his advisors as far as collusion or any federal crimes went

I think I already asked this, but we all agree Trump would dump Kushner and probably his sons to protect his own ass, right? Maaaaaaaybe he'd draw the line at Ivanka, but I kinda doubt that too. If anything, the structure is such that she wouldn't get caught up in the first place.

For sure. I doubt he's going to get that chance at this point though. He's the fish Mueller is after. If anything, it's more likely Donny Jr. and Kushner roll on Trump, especially if they're legit looking at jail time.

ETA: In a "normal" White House I agree it would be the other way around. The advisors would take the fall to protect their boss regardless of the evidence, similar to Iran-Contra. In this one I'm not so sure.

http://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-com ... l_facebook

We know the guy is racist, but this article does a nice job shining a bright on just how deep it runs.

mister d wrote:So where does "WV democrat governor switches to pro-Trump republican" fall on the "real soon supporting the president will be an untenable position" meter?

https://twitter.com/politicswolf/status ... 7708644353

It's hard to overstate how poorly the Democratic Party is doing nationwide.

What is the breakdown population wise?

Anyway, it's not surprising. Obama took office just as the Great Recession was kicking in. The Republicans did a good job of preventing the Democrats from making things better and then blaming the Democrats for not making things better. Plus the promises of all those coal jobs back.

FUck you.


Trumps a goddamn idiot. That isn't up for debate. But when you want power to drive your electric cars let's see how much you hate coal And other fossil fuels.

Steve of phpBB wrote:What is the breakdown population wise?

61-39% GOP for Governorships, but it's even more lopsided for state legislature seats: 61-28% GOP, with 11% under split control.

I don't know about other states but coal only provided 4.1% of electricity in California in 2016.

sancarlos wrote:I don't know about other states but coal only provided 4.1% of electricity in California in 2016.

This is a fascinating chart showing the energy source in every state in 2004 and 2014. At a quick glance, coal has increased market share in only 2 states, Kentucky (92% to 93%) and Hawaii (15% to 16%). Coal isn't even listed for California, which has 1% unaccounted for. It shows my home states of New Jersey at 4% coal, and NY at 3% coal. Nationwide, coal is still king at 40%, down from 51%. It seems like coal is down at around 30%-35% for 2016, depending on source.

Today, solar, wind and other renewable sources aren't efficient enough to cheaply provide in larger numbers, but technological advances are moving quickly. If we stick are head in the sand and fight to save a dying dinosaur industry (see what I did there!), we will end up buying our energy production machinery and technology from German, Dutch and companies in whatever other countries are supporting the advancement of more efficient renewable energy. It sucks for coal industry, but would create a hell of a lot of jobs in other industries, and would bring new manufacturing jobs to the US.

So first Frank McCourt buys one of the most beloved (but perpetually mismanaged) French soccer clubs, and now we get Jamie McCourt as your ambassador...

Joe K wrote:61-39% GOP for Governorships, but it's even more lopsided for state legislature seats: 61-28% GOP, with 11% under split control.

Fucking Koch brothers.

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/sta ... 1760377856

Of course, Trump's service to his country prior to January 20th was legendary.

Trump has just retweeted a "Fox and Friends" tweet for the third time in an hour. No commentary, just a straight retweet.

Pruitt wrote:Trump has just retweeted a "Fox and Friends" tweet for the third time in an hour. No commentary, just a straight retweet.

Rained in New Jersey yesterday, which meant he couldn't golf and was inside watching TV instead.

That French Guy wrote:So first Frank McCourt buys one of the most beloved (but perpetually mismanaged) French soccer clubs, and now we get Jamie McCourt as your ambassador...

Gotta stop PSG somehow.

Pruitt wrote:Trump has just retweeted a "Fox and Friends" tweet for the third time in an hour. No commentary, just a straight retweet.

The best part about this, F&F was discussing classified leaked info about North Korea military movements. They asked Nikki Haley for a comment, and she said she can't comment, because it is classified. Then immediately after, Trump comments. If he is so concerned with leaks, maybe he should stop tweeting confidential information. Yes, technically the President is authorized to declassify info, so it isn't illegal for him to do so, but it is incredibly irresponsible and dangerous.

It's frightening that he gets his info from F&F and the lunatic Right fringe like Infowars instead of through Intel briefings.

The whole North Korea situation is terrifying, as it seems to be the most plausible scenario where Trump does something rash which results in massive carnage. And I'm not sure who in his administration is willing or able to serve as a moderating force.

The Sybian wrote:

Pruitt wrote:Trump has just retweeted a "Fox and Friends" tweet for the third time in an hour. No commentary, just a straight retweet.

The best part about this, F&F was discussing classified leaked info about North Korea military movements. They asked Nikki Haley for a comment, and she said she can't comment, because it is classified. Then immediately after, Trump comments. If he is so concerned with leaks, maybe he should stop tweeting confidential information. Yes, technically the President is authorized to declassify info, so it isn't illegal for him to do so, but it is incredibly irresponsible and dangerous.

It's frightening that he gets his info from F&F and the lunatic Right fringe like Infowars instead of through Intel briefings.

I can imagine that the folks whose job it is to brief him have to cool their heels in the parking lot or the bar at the golf club and wait to catch him in between his post round shower and his dinner.

Joe K wrote:The whole North Korea situation is terrifying, as it seems to be the most plausible scenario where Trump does something rash which results in massive carnage. And I'm not sure who in his administration is willing or able to serve as a moderating force.

It will be fine...

https://twitter.com/Bencjacobs/status/8 ... 9363373056

rass wrote:

Joe K wrote:The whole North Korea situation is terrifying, as it seems to be the most plausible scenario where Trump does something rash which results in massive carnage. And I'm not sure who in his administration is willing or able to serve as a moderating force.

It will be fine...

https://twitter.com/Bencjacobs/status/8 ... 9363373056

Jesus Christ. My apocalypse plan has always been to move to New Zealand, but I'm not sure if I'd be safe there from the fallout of a nuclear war in the Pacific.

rass wrote:

Joe K wrote:The whole North Korea situation is terrifying, as it seems to be the most plausible scenario where Trump does something rash which results in massive carnage. And I'm not sure who in his administration is willing or able to serve as a moderating force.

It will be fine...

https://twitter.com/Bencjacobs/status/8 ... 9363373056

He really went with the "Best not" phrasing? Is he in junior high?

isn't this the old Nixon madman theory?

except Trump really is a madman?

"From a side room in the clubhouse at his golf course"

Jesus F Christ.

We had a run. Some would say even a good run, at times. Ah well.

For those of us swampers within 35 miles of DC, it has been good knowing you all virtually.

Proximity to NYC was once something I very much liked. Now I am pre-dead.

From the Asian point of view, Kim Yong Un would be insane to directly attack the US. He could be Emperor for another 40 years or follow Saddam Hussein and sons into the grave.

degenerasian wrote:From the Asian point of view, Kim Yong Un would be insane to directly attack the US. He could be Emperor for another 40 years or follow Saddam Hussein and sons into the grave.

He doesn't want to attack the United States, he wants to do what him and his father and grandfather have done -- maintain total control over his country, poke at the U.S., the RoK and their allies and elicit/extort money/supplies from the west that he can use to enrich himself.

Previous American presidents have realized this and responded accordingly (sometimes, diplomacy; sometimes, payoffs; sometimes the carrot and sometimes the stick).

The problem is that Trump is too stupid and vain to play that game. So a pre-emptive American attack under the "Bush Doctrine" leaves Kim with no outs other than trying to maximize carnage. Because really why does he care at that point? The lesson of the United States invading Iraq was to teach other despots that it makes no sense to bluff that you have weapons, a lesson he learned all too well.

EnochRoot wrote:At what point is assassination on the table for the MIC, or IC for that matter? Cuz nobody wants a war in North Korea.

Definitely didn't just ask that exact question to a friend, but with "secret service" instead.

"Fire and Fury"? Please tell me that someone out there has photoshopped Trump on Drogon from Sunday night's GoT.

We're all busy making WNBA missiles