January 11, 2017

"The Deep State Goes to War with President-Elect, Using Unverified Claims, as Democrats Cheer."

Glenn Greenwald at The Intercept.
[The military-industrial complex] is the faction that is now engaged in open warfare against the duly elected and already widely disliked president-elect, Donald Trump. They are using classic Cold War dirty tactics and the defining ingredients of what has until recently been denounced as “Fake News.”

Their most valuable instrument is the U.S. media, much of which reflexively reveres, serves, believes, and sides with hidden intelligence officials. And Democrats, still reeling from their unexpected and traumatic election loss as well as a systemic collapse of their party, seemingly divorced further and further from reason with each passing day, are willing — eager — to embrace any claim, cheer any tactic, align with any villain, regardless of how unsupported, tawdry and damaging those behaviors might be.

197 comments:

Chuck said...

Trump has clearly won the golden shower vote.

Michael K said...

The Democrats, as evidenced by the local lefties in these comments, are acting as though deranged.

The behavior of their creatures at the Sessions hearing was a part of the derangement.

Sam L. said...

I expect the military will be in favor of Trump. The industrial complex, I expect, will come around.

Left Bank of the Charles said...

Isn't this the best way to neutralize any blackmail potential? Or, if Putin really does have the goods, does this make the blackmail more valuable?

rhhardin said...

P is for....

Paul Snively said...

A trenchant reminder of why Glenn Greenwald, perhaps the closest thing we have today to the late Nat Henthoff, was one of only three journalists trusted by Edward Snowden. I don't always agree with Greenwald's take on things—in fact, I rarely do—but I trust his intellectual honesty and integrity implicitly.

LYNNDH said...

Disgusted at the crap that is being directed at Trump.

Matt Sablan said...

I fully expected the IRS or some other group to be the first to try and strike the king.

rhhardin said...

Ridicule is what the doctor ordered for the MSM.

It's an entertainment choice but if you believe them you're not a serious person.

Wince said...

Doesn't this episode give Trump wide latitude to purge the intelligence agencies of these politicized miscreants once and for all?

Darrell said...

Doesn't this episode give Trump wide latitude to purge the intelligence agencies of these politicized miscreants once and for all?

Absolutely. The Democrats have stuffed them with political hacks and weirdos like themselves.

Big Mike said...

I linked to this from Instapundit. Greenwald is right, though IMHO for the wrong reason.

Look, fundamentally there were 4 Democrats and zero Republicans or true Libertarians running in the last election. If Democrats are upset about which one was elected, well then it's time for them to figure out what to do about that.

Fake news that's pretty obviously faked ain't what any of us need.

John McCain lost Althouse in fall of 2008. He lost me last week.

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

This is a bit hysterical. All political parties, at all times, take advantage of what they have available to them. Trump is a target-rich environment. I don't think it will have much effect on him. As someone else noted, he is the honey badger of politicians.

buwaya said...

Greenwald is correct, the US conflict today is the people against the deep state. Good term that, deep state. Captures the interconnected mass of government entities, NGOS and Quangos, consultancies, lobbyists, private sector gov't contractors and vendors, and the many private entities dependent on regulatory privileges and competitive shelters. And their employees and servants of all sorts including universities.
It's all much bigger than the military though, that's just a small bit of the whole.

Darrell said...

Chuck is drinking this stuff up.

mockturtle said...

seemingly divorced further and further from reason with each passing day

Greenwald has summed up the left's behavior nicely.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Pretty. much.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Democrat party is the party of lies.

Darrell said...

McCain is going to have to retire after this. He joined Chuck on the zero credibility list.

PB said...

What we're seeing is the complete weaponization of government by Obama. He purged the military of commanders and general officers that didn't agree with him. He gave the DOJ, IRS, Treasury, HHS, Labor, and other departments to wreak havok on political opponents. This action by the intelligence agencies is at a minimum tacitly approved by Obama, or it wouldn't have been done.

More likely what we're seeing is a scorched-earth exit strategy by Obama and the Democrats, and in spite of Obama's claim of a peaceful transfer of power, that only means he's smiling as he does this and lets his team run amok.

I Callahan said...

Trump is a target-rich environment.

Yet, like a bullet-proof vest, nothing's penetrated. Explain that, without using the tired old copout that his followers don't care.

Drago said...

"lifelong republican" Chuck goes all in on FakeNews acceptance and using that #FakeNews as a weapon against the republican base voters.

The most incredible and heartening aspect of Trump's victory is how all the masks are off.

Couldn't have turned out better.

mockturtle said...

More likely what we're seeing is a scorched-earth exit strategy by Obama and the Democrats, and in spite of Obama's claim of a peaceful transfer of power, that only means he's smiling as he does this and lets his team run amok.

Exactly, PB. Possibly the smartest thing the Progs could do to discredit Trump is to start praising him.

Fernandinande said...

I have music in my heart.
CIA Man
Poor Left Winger

Levi Starks said...

I used to get a lot of my information from NPR, knowing of course that it required filtering out all the left leaning commentary that always underlied each fact based story.
But after Trumps loss they have become positively unhinged, and are not listenable.

Chuck said...

Darrell said...
McCain is going to have to retire after this. He joined Chuck on the zero credibility list.

McCain is in the safest 1/3 of the United States Senate. He just got re-elected, to what will surely be his final, valedictory term. He is arguably the biggest threat to Donald Trump, in the world. McCain, plus two Republican Senate colleagues, are a veto on Trump.

Best of all, McCain's primary opponent was a quasi-Trump renegade, state senator Kelli Ward. And McCain thumped her, 52% to 39%.

So yeah; McCain will have to retire. After Trump is done.


Drago said...

Mockturtle: "Greenwald has summed up the left's behavior nicely."

Well, the behavior of the left and some "lifelong republicans".

Unknown said...

So tell me: If, say, Nazi Germany had won WWII and conquered America: how could we tell the difference between our current government under Obama and that?

Yes, I would imagine we would be celebrating more freedom, but the complete intertwining of government, Media, and Democrat party is exactly what happened to Germany. And now Big Business is involved: is there any big company that is solidly conservative? I mean, Apple, Google, the entire tech industry is cheerfully enforcing liberal doctrine. Not even IBM is left as a conservative company. GM, GE, Heck even Kelloggs is a far left company. So Big business, big government, big media; Big entertainment.... I think the churches are the really only remaining somewhat conservative institutions; which explains the huge targeting of them by Obama.

Trump is a giant middle finger to all of that.

--Vance

Chuck said...

Darrell, I was simply typing too fast to include; McCain's term is now six years. Trump's is four years.

You know that, I'm sure. I wanted to include it, to rub it in for your benefit.

Fred Drinkwater said...

levi,
npr is vying to replace comedy central.

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

buwaya puti said...
Good term that, deep state.


This term has been used by the left for some time. Surprised to learn that it has Turkish origins.

Known Unknown said...

Who would've expected Glenn Greenwald of all people to become the realest journo around?

n.n said...

Democrat party is the party of lies.

And the Republican Party needed some Spring cleaning. Back to principles.

traditionalguy said...

Obama's guys have their slogan too: Make America Chaos. But these old levers of power embeded in false propaganda are all powerless to deceive anymore.

Will DJT arrest Soros instead. Stay tuned.

Fernandinande said...

Fred Drinkwater said...
npr is vying to replace comedy central.


#1801:
"From PR Gnus in Washington, I'm swollen from days of heavy conspiracy, now at it's highest level in 35 years."

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

Golden showers fill your eyes,
Deep state lies to greet your rise.

Matt Sablan said...

"how could we tell the difference between our current government under Obama and that?"

-- Uh... Nazi Germany would have murdered a lot more people.

Look, I disagree with some policies here and there with any politician. But, you can't compare bad policy with Murder Policy. Because that was the Nazi's policy. They killed the disabled. Races they disliked. Jews. Homosexuals. *Murder*.

Obama's policies may be bad; they are not murder.

Darrell said...

McCain is the one who sent an aide to pick this "report" up from a former Brit ambassador in London and handed it to the FBI. No mention was made if McCain had also fallen for the "Show 'em you bleed" 4chan scam, but it wouldn't surprise me.

Quayle said...

"There are a wide array of legitimate and effective tactics for combatting those threats: from bipartisan congressional coalitions and constitutional legal challenges to citizen uprisings and sustained and aggressive civil disobedience. All of those strategies have periodically proven themselves effective in times of political crisis or authoritarian overreach."

Or how about voters going into the voting booth in two years and changing the House of Representatives.

Why does our genius form of democracy always get considered last?

All the levers of power are still there for the people, if we'll just wake up and use them.

Unknown said...

Of course, Lifelong Republican Chuck is fully invested in our new Fascist State. Yes, Chuck: you are a fascist. Why? Because you fully support this massive commingling of Big Government, Big Education, Big Entertainment, Big Media, and Big Business all into the same octopus of left-wing ideology. Fascism: The complete melding of all facets of society into one unified governmental/cultural mechanism aimed and directed for the purposes of the party at the head of the State: the National Socialist Democrat party. The only difference between this and communism is that we still have arms labeled "Business, media, government, education." instead of it all being "Government."

They don't even hide it anymore. People freely shuffle around between Big Business, the News, the entertainment world, the government; but their job remains the same: enacting leftist politics.

And you fully support it, Chuck. That's why you are always bashing Trump and conservatism, because you fully embrace the unified party aspect of the left. Don't you.

--Vance

Anonymous said...

"A managed democracy is a wonderful thing, Manuel, for the managers. And its greatest strength is a free press, where 'free' is defined as 'responsible' and the managers decide what is responsible."

— Robert A. Heinlein, The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress (1966)

Darrell said...

Or how about voters going into the voting booth in two years and changing the House of Representatives.

Yeah. Never vote for a Democrat again. They have shown their true colors and it is all shades of shit.

FullMoon said...

Chuck said... [hush]​[hide comment]

Trump has clearly won the golden shower vote.


Kinda weak joke, Chuck. Your "serious" comments are more humorous.

Unknown said...

Matthew Sabian: Yes, to date the big government of the left hasn't done that. That's why I said we celebrate at least more freedom; so far at least we haven't had to worry about the Gestapo. Although Dinesh D'Souza and a few other people (like movie makers who get blamed for Democrat foreign policy failures) might disagree.

Do you doubt, however, that the left is pushing as hard as they can to get to that position where they can have a Gestapo? Look at the colleges: it really is an Orwellian Nightmare and the left is very successfully eliminating individual liberties there. We aren't Germany; we are more like Mussolini's Italy.

--Vance

Chuck said...

Fuck you, Vance.

I've said how happy I was, with the nomination of Jeff Sessions as AG.

And then I said how happy I was, with the nomination of Betsy DeVos as Education Secretary. Betsy DeVos is an interesting case study. A former MIGOP chairwoman. A GOP mega-donor. A supporter of Bush, then Rubio, then Cruz. And never an endorser of Trump.

I expect that she voted for Trump, as I did. Least of the presented evils, and all.

I am always bashing Trump NOT because I dislike Republicans or conservatives. It is because Trump is such an asshole.

mockturtle said...

It is because Trump is such an asshole.

A bona fide asshole like yourself would know that, I guess.

Quayle said...

"It is because Trump is such an asshole."

Chuck, you must have a very discriminating eye indeed if you can spot that out in Trump, against the backdrop of everyone else on the national stage with him.

Asshole he may be, but I have learned that there are two kinds of assholes: those that put themselves first and those that put others first.

I'm still open to seeing if Trump is one of those people who rises to the occasion to lead and serve others. If he doesn't; I'll be back on here pushing for a new choice.

Drago said...

"lifelong republican" Chuck: "I've said how happy I was, with the nomination of Jeff Sessions as AG."

Not. Believable.

Drago said...

Chuck's and the dems (but I repeat myself) anguish is so fantastically warming it's difficult to put into words.

We can only hope and pray that they never relent as Trump is literally becoming more empowered and beloved by the base who will show up en masse for several more election cycles.

buwaya said...

"Surprised to learn that it has Turkish origins. "

Thanks ARM, very interesting.

Drago said...

This NBC report is a dagger to the CNN #FakeNews limited hangout position hook.

http://www.nbcnews.com/news

Democrats, Lefty fascists (but I repeat myself), ARM and Chuck hardest hit.

Unknown said...

Chuck, as is abundantly clear: no one here believes a word you say about being a conservative. You may consider why you have left such an impression on everyone. Why does every other commentator here view you as a leftist apologist, a Hillary Clinton supporter, and someone who sides with Robert Cook?

If you really are a "Lifelong Republican" then perhaps you should examine what it is about you that makes everyone think you wear a "Hillary 2016" shirt to bed every night.

Here's a hint: all the passion in your posts is always in defense of the left and it's people. Whenever you say anything about Sessions or whatever, it sounds like a gun is pointed to your head.

--Vance

Alex said...

The narrative is what's important, not the truth. Until the narrative becomes the truth that is.

buwaya said...

"We aren't Germany; we are more like Mussolini's Italy."

The corporatist idea is there, but not in quite the same way.

Arguably Italy had a less comprehensive degree of actual institutional control, though it had more overt tools of power - censorship, national police, industrial planning, etc. The Fascists put people in prison (like, famously, Gramsci) for political disagreements, but every institution was actually loaded with people who disagreed. The intelligentsia was mostly not on board and were not believers, they just worked for a living.

The US is different. We are not speaking of an overt state vs the people, but of entire classes of the people, integrated with the state, against other classes of the people.

Brando said...

Everyone likes having the other's ox gored. I'm sure the Dems will rediscover noninterventionism, and a skepticism for the NSA, learn that drone warfare is bad, and start wanting to close Guantanamo...

I remember when Obama was expanding federal power, and lots of leftists defended it, my reaction was "one day the president may not be someone you find so enlightening and brilliant and trustworthy and they'll have inherited this power..." And here we are.

Chuck said...

Drago; please point to where I supported, endorsed, or confirmed any reports about Trump's relations with, or inside, Russia.

They aren't my reports. Not my allegations. I have no more basis to support them, than you do to deny them.

Matt Sablan said...

While Obama was in power, I got a lot of use out of the phrase: "The consequences! They were unintended!" Now I expect to use: "The shoe! It is on the other foot!" a lot.

Unknown said...

Here's a thought experiment. 1944, let's say WWII was either over or not going on. Hitler is replaced by Rommel, via election or operation Valkyrie working. Rommel is almost universally recognized as one of the very few top ranking Germans not corrupted by the Nazi's.

What would have happened with Rommel on top of a fully functional Nazi Germany? Would he have been able to drain the swamp? Get rid of the Gestapo? End Goebbels and the propagandized media? Would the Party have fought back?

The parallels are obvious here.

--Vance

Matt Sablan said...

"The parallels are obvious here."

-- Trump was a loyal soldier for the Republican party, a reliable right hand who was relatively well-loved by his peers and accepted as part of the in-group?

Unknown said...

Rommel wasn't accepted as part of the OKW's favorite people. He was somewhat flamboyant and popular because he got results most of the time. He was also scrupulously honorable towards his enemies and frequently slapped down the SS.

Trump was also well liked by the media and the left until he started running for president as a Republican. I cannot imagine that General Rommel would have been well liked by, say, Himmler.

It's not a perfect parallel, but Rommel was chosen to succeed Hitler because he was one of the few Germans who everyone respected at the time. And because he was not a creature of the uniparty. Just like Trump is, clearly, not a creature of the uniparty--at least anymore.

--Vance

Drago said...

Sorry Comrade "lifelong republican" Chuck, your assertions have collapsed.

As has the faux reputation which you have failed to adequately develop.

But that's OK. Pixels are free and I am certain you could easily switch to another of your online personas.

Why don't you use your Democrat Underground user name?

David said...

The most discouraging part is that senior and supposedly responsible Democratic politicians are abetting this. Last night on Fox news Bret Baier was interviewing Senator Warner from Virginia. Nelson was dropping innuendo after innuendo about "the Russians" so Baier asked him (more than once in different forms) whether he was saying that Trump's election was not legitimate. Nelson repeatedly ducked the question, letting the innuendo stand.

I hope Trumps's skills of communicating directly with the people are durable. He's going to need them.

CJinPA said...

Trump's been treated as President since he clinched the GOP nomination - as in his ability to command attention and the media's adversarial approach.

It feels like his swearing-in marks the beginning of his re-election campaign. Everything is off.

chuck said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
chuck said...

> Rommel was chosen to succeed Hitler

No, Karl Dönitz succeeded Hitler.

Bob Boyd said...

If 2016 was The Flight 93 Election, it follows that there will be a desperate fight in the cockpit after the door is busted down.

chuck said...

Greenwald is still talking military-industrial complex, how pathetically outdated is that? What we are dealing with is the media-bureaucracy-democrat complex.

Drago said...

It will be interesting to see which "brilliant" Rachel Maddow insight "lifelong republican" Chuck provides links for.

The problem for "lifelong republican" Chuck arises from attempting to figure out which of Rachel's many "brilliant" insights to use.

Brando said...

"While Obama was in power, I got a lot of use out of the phrase: "The consequences! They were unintended!" Now I expect to use: "The shoe! It is on the other foot!" a lot."

I've already started using that! Sic transit Gloria mundi and all that.

tcrosse said...

> Rommel was chosen to succeed Hitler

>>No, Karl Dönitz succeeded Hitler.

Rommel was forced to take his own life in 1944 for alleged involvement in the plot to kill HItler.

Unknown said...

Lower case "chuck" I said a thought experiment, not what actually happened. Hitler's choice for a successor was Goering (why? I mean, why him? Of all the top Nazi's, he was the most incompetent) until Goering ticked him off and he picked Dönitz at the last second. Ol' Karl wasn't the best or worse choice, but he quickly ended the war which is something Goering wouldn't have done.

Rommel in charge of a peacetime Nazi Germany would have been.... interesting. Certainly not a dull administration, I am sure.

--Vance

Bay Area Guy said...

The term "Deep State" I associate with a UC Berkeley Professor, Peter Dale Scott, who wrote a lot about the JFK murder and the international drug trade.

Roughly, it is various competing factions within the Government that want to do "stuff" and shape policy and exist pretty much under the radar screen.

But it's like Beirut in the 80s -- or, Spain in 1937, because there aren't 2 sides, but 5 or 6 and it's hard to know who is shooting whom.

Greenwald is a liberal guy, but I find him interesting, and mostly honorable.

Drago said...

Boy, that NBC report really crushes this whole Harry Reid/political IC employees/dishonest media/"lifelong republican" Chuck talking points.

eric said...

I don't know why people think Chuck isn't a Republican.

He is the epitome of almost every Republican you see on TV. All the so called Republican talking heads that get all the air time because they spend it bashing their fellow Republicans.

Chuck would fit in with this crowd perfectly. MSNBC would give Chuck his own show. And Chuck could repeat often how he voted for Trump, and how disappointed he is with him.

traditionalguy said...

Jake Tap-dancer at CNN is seriously asserts now that even though CNN breathlessly presented the Pure Slander BS of Kompromat as breaking news which was briefed to Trump and Obama by all 4 top intel men of the USA, CNN never said it was true.

Chuck said...

Drago said...
It will be interesting to see which "brilliant" Rachel Maddow insight "lifelong republican" Chuck provides links for.


Tell these good people when I have ever "cited" Rachel Maddow, and why.

No, wait; you won't do a good job. Or you won't do it at all. I'll do it myself.

I linked to her once. A long and high-quality interview with Kellyanne Conway, in which I thought Kellyanne performed great, if not brilliant. And in which I said that Kellyanne didn't have any substantive problems, apart from having to defend the stupidest of stupid Tweets and comments.

Now, depending on what level of hatred you have for Rachel Maddow (I'm certainly no fan) you might want to argue that Kellyanne Conway made a huge mistake in agreeing to appear on MSNBC and to do such a long and free-ranging interview. Do that, if that makes you happy. I won't care. But it doesn't concern me or my comments.

But from that, Drago, you mendacious shit head, you have tried to make me into a progressivist fan of all things Rachel Maddow.

You worthless douchebag. I'd like to meet you in person, to tell you exactly what I think of you.


Hagar said...

"Managed democracy" is a great way to put it.
I am currently reading a book about Europe 1914-49, and wondered what was wrong about this author. He is not quite conservative, not quite liberal, not quite socialist, not quite anything, but in favor of a "managed democracy" nails him.

But a "managed democracy" is a contradiction in terms.

And yes, it is somewhat what Obama and his Democrats advocate when they speak with longing about us all "coming together" - they mean "freely," but on their terms.

buwaya said...

Rommel was not a political figure in Germany. He was a propaganda celebrity and a well known celebrity on the Allied side, who made the most mention of him actually. He was the German General best known to the British and the US public.

His influence would have been within the German Army. He was not likely to have been chosen as the new leader should the 20 July plot have succeeded. There were several more senior officers involved, and AFAIK there was no designated head of state in the plot.

"And because he was not a creature of the uniparty."

Rommel was, initially, a Hitler protege and considered a political soldier (as opposed to the German military professional/institutional consensus), probably owing early promotion to division command to this preference, though he was a bit of a military celebrity anyway, from his WWI performance and may have got on well regardless. After that he established a record of success in high command and was naturally in line for promotion. His disaffection came later.

David said...

I see nothing wrong with McCain getting a copy of the report. There were rumors going around and best to see what is being talked about. The problem is what is being done with the report. It was by definition a partisan product and the content invites skepticism. Yet it found it's way to an official intelligence estimate (leaked) and CNN. There are lots of partisan fantasies that bubble up. The utterly fantastic and unproven Clinton-Liberal child molestation ring is a recent example. That remained where it belonged, in the deep stinking garbage pits of the internet. This should have stayed in the same place, but there is an attempt to destroy the new president afoot, and responsible people seem unwilling to stand up to stop it. (Though the NYT commentary on why they did not publish this was a pretty good start.)

Drago said...

Chuck, your affection for Rachel and many, many other lefties whom you seem compelled to defend at every turn is nothing to be ashamed of.

I find your transparent affection for them refreshing and I congratulate you for this openness.

I would only ask that you send some notes to the #Fakestream media that you love so much (easily validated by your giddiness in retransmitting their fake news) and request that they too adopt this openness.

Again,thanks.

David said...

Rommel? Jesus fing Christ. Talk about fantasies.

Darrell said...

Chuck, I think Rachel Maddow would pee in your mouth if you asked nicely and left your cellphone in your car. You have to keep hoping.

David said...

This whole incident shows that Trump is correct to challenge the intelligence establishment. Whether he is doing it in the right way is another issue. But how does anyone know the "right way" to do this? Huge tough task.

Drago said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Bad Lieutenant said...

Chuck said...
Drago said...
It will be interesting to see which "brilliant" Rachel Maddow insight "lifelong republican" Chuck provides links for.

You worthless douchebag. I'd like to meet you in person, to tell you exactly what I think of you.


1/11/17, 1:39 PM


Funny, you make invitations, but don't accept them. Come and meet me anytime!

Bob Boyd said...

This is funny.


https://twitter.com/neontaster/status/819192030970728448/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

buwaya said...

re Donitz -
"but he quickly ended the war which is something Goering wouldn't have done."

I think Goering would have done the same.

Drago said...

"lifelong republican" Chuck: " I'd like to meet you in person, to tell you exactly what I think of you."

I'll bet you would tiger, but I wouldn't want to horn in on what is rightly amorous time you have allocated for Chris Hayes.

Drago said...

"Lifelong "golden shower referencing" republican" Chuck: "you have tried to make me into a progressivist fan of all things Rachel Maddow."

By your fruits you will be known.

Truths are eternal.

Yancey Ward said...

It has been extraordinary watching some of the news organizations completely destroy their credibility this last year, and crescendo of that leading up the Trump's inauguration is simply stupefying. I couldn't not, in my wildest fantasies have made up the stuff happening right now.

It is difficult to understand how anyone could torpedo their credibility by trafficking in this particular story given all the obviously ridiculous details contained within it. I suppose McCain could cover himself by claiming he was doing what he did for the good of the country, but it is a difficult thing to sell now.

At least some people in the media who aren't Trump supporters seem to understand the stakes here, but they are probably a day late and a dollar short- they are already just tossing whatever shred of credibility they had left into the shitpile that Buzzfeed and CNN have vomited up. Simply amazing.

Tank said...

Need a tag for Chuck is like Cory Booker.

viejo loco said...

Jeez, Chuck, your are such a juvenile douche bag. Are you going to go with that 6" 190 lbs of tough manliness again? That is so Junior High School. If you believe the planted info, say so. As for McCain, It's time for him to do the rest of us a favor and jump off of a building. And, take mini-me "pansy Graham" with him.

Matt Sablan said...

"I suppose McCain could cover himself by claiming he was doing what he did for the good of the country, but it is a difficult thing to sell now."

-- Eh, all he has to say is: "I needed to see this report to understand what I was being told." Just picking up the report doesn't mean he believed it.

buwaya said...

Anyway, we are all spectators to history being made.
The system is changing, but to what we can't say.

Its clear that enmity is increasing almost daily. Every limit is being crossed. Institutions with no partisan purpose are being used for political warfare. These are losing the trust of at least the half of the people on the other side. Foreign policy is now a venue for partisan war, even inside the institutions supposed to handle foreign policy.

Considering the $ at stake, in the $trillions, its surprising there hasn't been more violence. Yet.

This whole thing is the result of the stakes being this big. Nobody can afford to lose political power, it means too much. If the new administration is indeed dedicated to reducing the size and footprint of government, it can't come soon enough.

Original Mike said...

"You worthless douchebag. I'd like to meet you in person, to tell you exactly what I think of you."

You can tell him here. We promise not to look.

Bob Boyd said...

Let he who has never paid a Russian prostitute to pee on a bed because Obama once slept in it, cast the first stone.

Chuck said...

Tank said...
Need a tag for Chuck is like Cory Booker.


This is so wrong-headed on every dimension.

All of the hate I have aimed at Trump; I've had nothing but praise and defense for Jeff Sessions.

And, uh, I am thinkin' that Cory Booker and I have verrrry different views on Obergefell. Not to mention Shelby County and Citizens United. 'Nuff said.

Brando said...

"Its clear that enmity is increasing almost daily. Every limit is being crossed. Institutions with no partisan purpose are being used for political warfare. These are losing the trust of at least the half of the people on the other side. Foreign policy is now a venue for partisan war, even inside the institutions supposed to handle foreign policy."

We haven't reached peak ugliness yet. But judging from some comments it appears everyone has a choice--frothing Trump hater, or blind Trump follower, and you have to twist your beliefs to fit those battle lines.

Brando said...

"Let he who has never paid a Russian prostitute to pee on a bed because Obama once slept in it, cast the first stone."

(Slowly sets down the stone I had picked up...)

Michael K said...

"McCain will have to retire. After Trump is done."

Midway through the second term. Kelli Ward was a three year state Senator and physician. McCain has name recognition and lots of establishment support. I would like to see Martha McSally succeed him but he has a few more years to be a jerk. A friend of mine flew an F 18 in to an event for McCain a few years ago. He was standing at the end of the reception line in his flight suit and McCain ignored him. Too long in DC.

mockturtle said...

Chuck has impugned Drago's honor. Duel at high noon?

Brando said...

"Let he who has never paid a Russian prostitute to pee on a bed because Obama once slept in it, cast the first stone."

I'd love to hear a defense of it in terms of "ok, once in a lifetime opportunity, they showed me the bed Obama slept in, and three hookers who drank SO much water earlier, come on, I'm not made of stone! What would you have me do???"

Brando said...

"Chuck has impugned Drago's honor. Duel at high noon?"

It is too bad we're not all in person. I wonder if we'd all be more polite?

bgates said...

I've said how happy I was, with the nomination of Jeff Sessions as AG.

It's my understanding that Sen Sessions was selected because he's an immigration hawk - unlike, say, John McCain, whose continued presence in the Senate (and ability to join with two other Republican Senators to veto any immigration legislation the Sessions Justice Department can convince Trump to propose, delights you so.

Anonymous said...

Hoorah! And this is just the tip of the yellow iceberg.

D. B. Light said...

If the point of this episode was to damage Trump or to warn him against meddling with the intelligence services, the effect has been just the opposite. Trump has been strengthened, his enemies embarrassed, and his determination to reorganize the intelligence community increased.

roesch/voltaire said...

This anti-Trump GOP paid for research, and them Dem, has been floating around Wash. D.C for months, and it is odd that they surface now but is it because of the CIA's distrust of Trump? Really considering the FBI helped sink Hillary without their objection. But Greenwald knows a lot about the Deep State, and as he points out this makes any legitimate complaints about Trump more difficult. Rather, as he states,"There are solutions to Trump. They involve reasoned strategizing and patient focus on issues people actually care about." I agree.

Drago said...

Blogger Unknown: "Hoorah! And this is just the tip of the yellow iceberg"

There are no icebergs. There cannot be as the left told us long ago AGW would result in the complete loss of Arctic ice and snow at many northern latitudes by.....Now.

And since the left is "The Party of Science" there can be no argument.

Thus: there are no icebergs and if you claim there are then you will have outed yourself as a "climate denier".

President-Mom-Jeans said...

Chuckie boy's mouth is writing checks that his fat old body can't cash.

Drago said...

Hey Chuck, R/V understands the facts, properly characterizes them and offers interesting perspective.

Food for thought.

Matt Sablan said...

"This anti-Trump GOP paid for research, and them Dem, has been floating around Wash. D.C for months, and it is odd that they surface now but is it because of the CIA's distrust of Trump? Really considering the FBI helped sink Hillary without their objection"

-- Two many problems with these statements.

A) The FBI did not help sink Hillary. They literally said: She did not break the law. They tried to help her, or at least, were neutral. The longer you focus on "Russia hacked the election!" and "Comey cost her the election!" the longer it will take for anyone on the left to understand WHY Trump won; Clinton didn't lose. Trump won. Trump's strategy [break the blue wall, appeal to middle America] worked. To keep parroting around comforting talking points like the FBI shilled for Trump is only going to further confuse you on what really happened.

B) It isn't odd that it surfaced now; it is odd that Buzzfeed and CNN both dropped the ball in the same way and manner at the same time, despite NBC being able to prove the data was NOT briefed and used as an example of DISINFORMATION.

Chuck said...

bgates;

Have seen, how well Sessions has been doing in his hearing? Really well. It's not like I am particularly surprised, that Jeff Sessions can handle himself so admirably.

The only embarrassments/setbacks for Sessions were when Democrats cornered Sessions on the stupid things that Trump said and/or Tweeted. So yeah; Trump isn't going to waterboard anybody with Sessions as AG. There's not going to be any religious test for immigration. Sessions was pushed off the campaign chants of "Lock her up!" So much so that he'd recuse himself from any investigation of Mrs. Clinton. Sessions agreed that "Grab 'em by the pussy" could be sexual assault. Et cetera, et cetera.

Sessions is fine. Trump is a headache at best and a danger at worst.

Original Mike said...

..."the FBI helped sink Hillary ..."

If you don't want an FBI investigation to sink your candidate, don't nominate someone under investigation by the FBI.

So simple, a caveman could do it.

cubanbob said...

Brando said...
"Chuck has impugned Drago's honor. Duel at high noon?"

It is too bad we're not all in person. I wonder if we'd all be more polite?"

One would hope. As for McCain, he might as well resign since has made a total fool of himself.
Absent Trump screwing up Big League McCain has become a joke and its unlikely he will have any other Senator joining his bandwagon.

Yancey Ward said...

D. B. Light wrote:

"If the point of this episode was to damage Trump or to warn him against meddling with the intelligence services, the effect has been just the opposite. Trump has been strengthened, his enemies embarrassed, and his determination to reorganize the intelligence community increased."

This rings very true, so much so that it at least makes me consider the unlikely idea that Trump is who planted this story. If I wanted to discredit my enemies, I would salt them with a ridiculous story just like this one.

Unknown said...

I certainly hope the "deep state" is going to war with Trump, because Trump has manifestly gone to war with it. Someday some of the Trumplidites will realize they too are in his sights ... not today, obviously.

Robert Cook said...

Vance is seriously misguided, (as are others here), given that he thinks we have a "left" government. We have a center/right government. You guys are such radical right-wingers you think anything to the left of the John Birch Society is "left."

You also confuse fascism with "left" politics and socialism/communism. It is to laugh.

These misconceptions are why you'll always misunderstand the world you're living in, and the real sources of the problems we're facing, (i.e., unchecked capitalism and its institutions).

Unknown said...

Ah, that's better. The world has at least one guarantee still working: Robert Cook's insane support of communism as utopia. Who but a leftist could defend the greatest genocidal governments of all time as utopia?

If he ever gave it up, I'd be looking for the 4 horsemen in the skies.

--Vance

Darrell said...

Nobody is a Lefty like Robert Cook is a Lefty. Here that you fucking pretenders and posers? He'll kick all your lying asses!

traditionalguy said...

CNN just committed suicide as a News Channel. Serves them right for moving operations out of Atlanta.

Lewis Wetzel said...

Wasn't "Unknown" pushing this bizarre story the other night?
After pushing the other bizzaro story about the person w/o a valid address suing Trump for doing the dirty with her when she was thirteen?
Credibility is hard to regain once it is lost. I suppose that is the story behind the "unknown" moniker.

Drago said...

Comrade Cook: "These misconceptions are why you'll always misunderstand the world you're living in, and the real sources of the problems we're facing,.."

That explains the powerful economic engines and freedoms in the Soviet Union, Cuba, Venezuela and North Korea.

Back to work Comrade! Those mass graves won't fill themselves!

Cookie is to pro-capitalism as Chuck is to pro-republican.

Robert Cook said...

You who misunderstand the world around you seem to think I am a communist, based on no claims I've ever made. But then...of course!

Darrell said...

I suspect you are a Cookist. But like Marx, you'll deny being a Cookist like he denied being a Marxist.

Kyzer SoSay said...

* reads Bob Boyd's comment at 2:21PM *
* puts down rock *

mockturtle said...

At least Cookie, bless his heart, is a self-identified leftist. Which is preferable to those who call themselves 'lifelong Republicans' and other such subterfuge.

Titus said...

OMG the Golden Shower memes are hilarious.

Anonymous said...

Chuck: Sessions is fine.

'deed he is.

The only embarrassments/setbacks for Sessions were when Democrats cornered Sessions on the stupid things that Trump said and/or Tweeted.
[...]
Trump is a headache at best and a danger at worst.

Considering that, in a Trump-less alternate reality, that fine Mr. Sessions wouldn't be encountering any questions, embarrassing or otherwise, re his nomination for AG of the U.S.....well, it's a funny old world, isn't it?

mccullough said...

Greenwald's piece is overwrought. It seems that there was a CIA-CNN complex for yesterday's broadcast of pretty strange allegations. In the past few months there's been an Intelligence-Media complex putting out some allegations that may or may not be true. But the media don't identify which of the 17 agencies their "senior intelligence officer" sources work for. It seems likely most of it is from the CIA, which has a pretty weak record of recruiting Russian officials as spies. And confidence is low that their spies are actually providing them with useful accurate information, as opposed to misinformation.

A lot of this comes down to the CIA trying to protect its turf. Are they any better at gathering and analyzing human intelligence than the State Department or the military? Exxon probably has better human intelligence in the countries where it operates as the CIA. There is probably a case to be made for the continued existence of the CIA but the agency needs to get rid of the dead weight careerists. They are more like the 62 Mets than the '27 Yankees. And the media needs to stop being used as a tool by the CIA.

Drago said...

Titus: "OMG the Golden Shower memes are hilarious"

They really are! And the hilarious and obvious fact that those memes are so outrageously false checks so many blocks on the "why are the lefties such morons" checklist!

So, we get "the funny" AND the entire left beclowns and discredits themselves! What a great day!

Darrell said...

If Chuck's candidates had run against Hillary, we'd still be watching Hillary victory fireworks and lining up for re-education camps. So let's be thankful that Chuck is an idiot that no one pays attention to.

Darrell said...

James Clapper is now warning us that the Russians can plant porn on our computers. Time to check James Clapper's computer for kiddie porn right now!

Hagar said...

Cookie is a throwback to the radical, but non-violent, students of pre-WWI Europe.
Do not traduce him; treasure him!

Kyzer SoSay said...

I pay attention to Chuck, if only to get my daily dose of GOP-E gripes about Trump and the unfavorable comparisons to Hillary.

Maybe I'm alone in that. While most of the comments here are pretty aligned in a partisan sense, the viewpoints and individual expression of opinion are what makes this blog comment section so great. Chuck is no exception, though he does get tiresome sometimes. Chuck should, by rights, be thanking Trump. If Bush (or whoever Chuck preferred) had won the nomination, we WOULD be facing President Clinton 9 days from now. So even though Chuck's beloved GOP-E was repudiated, and then his second beloved DNC was repudiated, he still gets a nominally Republican president who has made some fantastic appointments and whose policy goals, as stated on his website, align very well with a slightly populist brand of conservative governance. And yes, I said slightly populist - read them yourself if ya don't understand or believe.

Bob Boyd said...


Natasha: Vut is it you vant, Boris?

Boris: I vant you must make pee on beds of moose and squirrel.

Natasha: Who do you think you are, Donald Trump?

Ignorance is Bliss said...

Matthew Sablan said...

A) The FBI did not help sink Hillary. They literally said: She did not break the law.

Despite many fake news stories to that effect, the FBI said no such thing. They said no prosecutor would bring charges in a case like this. It was not a lack of a crime, nor a lack of evidence of that crime. It was only that this was not the sort of crime that is prosecuted.

BJM said...

In the words of "The Wire's" Det. Lester Freamon; follow the money.

Rick said...

You guys are such radical right-wingers you think anything to the left of the John Birch Society is "left."

Close, but the real truth is Cook is so far left he thinks communists are centrists.

Seriously Cook's beliefs are incoherent because he defines his own beliefs as perfection without regard to whether they can possibly exist. For example when his preference for Socialism is tainted by its alliance with big business he thinks that proves the resulting circumstance is different than his preference. But in reality this alliance is an inherent and inalienable part of Socialism and therefore of his own beliefs. Any effort to remove this alliance - i.e. outright communism - has an even worse impact as even he admits. Since experience has proven this a failure he's reduced to arguing his preference doesn't have the costs every other person on the planet can clearly understand - and we see everywhere it's tried. It's like a child arguing air travel is impossible while watching planes fly.

Robert Cook said...

"James Clapper is now warning us that the Russians can plant porn on our computers. Time to check James Clapper's computer for kiddie porn right now!"

James Clapper is a known liar, but it is true that hackers can plant porn or other files on other people's computers.

Ignorance is Bliss said...

Bob Boyd said...

Let he who has never paid a Russian prostitute to pee on a bed because Obama once slept in it, cast the first stone.

Cool. *Picks up a rock*

( Someone should have taught her to get the money up-front! )

Darrell said...

I think the Democrats are getting ready for the next shoe to drop. If all of the WikiLeaks were accurate, why would anyone think there was no substance to the Podesta Pizzagate emails.

Ignorance is Bliss said...

James Clapper is now warning us that the Russians can plant porn on our computers

I don't have to worry, as I came up with a really clever P@$$w0rd.

MAJMike said...

The CriminalLiberalMedia and the LibCong (I repeat myself) have gone full retard.

Oso Negro said...

Blogger Titus said...
OMG the Golden Shower memes are hilarious.

1/11/17, 3:19 PM



Don't be looking for someone to get in a pissing match with, Tits!

I Callahan said...

It is too bad we're not all in person. I wonder if we'd all be more polite?

Without a doubt people are more polite offline. But politeness (is that a word) is not a standard human trait - it's one that has to be learned. An internet feed shows humanity's true self. People can hide behind a keyboard and say stuff they'd never say to each other face to face.

I find it refreshing, if a bit ugly now and then.

Bob Boyd said...

"It is too bad we're not all in person. I wonder if we'd all be more polite?"

Maybe at first, but as we became drunker....

Big Mike said...

It is too bad we're not all in person. I wonder if we'd all be more polite?

The politest people you meet are the ones you meet at a gun show. No one is more polite than people at a gun show. I have a theory about that.

I Callahan said...

Vance is seriously misguided, (as are others here), given that he thinks we have a "left" government. We have a center/right government. You guys are such radical right-wingers you think anything to the left of the John Birch Society is "left."

Please, Bob. This statement can be completely re-written with the final phrase "such a radical left winger you think anything to the right of Joseph Stalin is "right"."

You also confuse fascism with "left" politics and socialism/communism. It is to laugh.

You're really good at making this complaint, but every time I ask you to explain the difference, you laugh again, but never address it. I've asked you a number of times over the past few years. So have at it.

These misconceptions are why you'll always misunderstand the world you're living in, and the real sources of the problems we're facing, (i.e., unchecked capitalism and its institutions).

Please, give us one single example of "unchecked capitalism". Just one. And you can't count illegal capitalism, such as the drug trade, because that's the only one unencumbered by the government (other than trying to jail them of course).

There isn't a single business, or capitalist venture, in the United States, that isn't encumbered by the government in some way or another. Not one. Because that would be the true definition of "unchecked capitalism".

So have the stones to share your opinion with a little more of an explanation, or just admit that you're just blowing hot air.

Earnest Prole said...

Who would've expected Glenn Greenwald of all people to become the realest journo around?

Anyone who's had the slightest acquaintance with his work in the past sixteen years. Google Greenwald’s Youtube confrontations and watch him humiliate establishment-liberal water-carriers like Jeffrey Toobin. Right or wrong, of all journalists Greenwald is probably the least corruptible.

Hagar said...

The conflating of communist with "the Left" and Nazi or fascist with "the Right" is misguided.
A Nazi will beat you up and a communist will kill you, but both are of the violent Left and have no connection with "Right" in the sense of conservative.

Michael said...

Dear God our "intelligence" agencies bought into this. If it is this easy to troll the CIA we can only imagine the KBG tricks they have fallen for, gobbled up.

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

Big Mike said...
The politest people you meet are the ones you meet at a gun show. No one is more polite than people at a gun show. I have a theory about that.


They are all bat-shit crazy and for a few brief hours they are doing their best to pass as normal?

Bay Area Guy said...

@Robert Cook,

These misconceptions are why you'll always misunderstand the world you're living in, and the real sources of the problems we're facing, (i.e., unchecked capitalism and its institutions).

Actually, this could be the beginning of an excellent dialogue. I disagree with you, but I give you credit for soberly articulating the left of center viewpoint on this big issue.

Indeed, I believe you have reversed cause and effect: Most of the real sources of problems we are facing are due to a lack of capitalism and the stable institutions it breeds.

But we will reserve that debate for a latter date.



BJM said...

Sessions agreed that "Grab 'em by the pussy" could be sexual assault.

Back the Chevvy up and unpack that steaming bag of fake concern Chuck; doesn't a pussy actually have to be grabbed or under threat of being grabbed to be assault? The only thing assaulted in this example was good taste and our ears.

It's not exactly news that younger women are more available to wealthy and/or handsome men. Sexual bragging is juvenile behavior often taking the form of one upmanship and hyperbole between individuals in conversation, and has been going on at least since 1590 as evidenced in Spenser's "Faerie Queene".

Braggadocio has also created some classic comedy.

Bay Area Guy said...

Chuck:

All of the hate I have aimed at Trump; I've had nothing but praise and defense for Jeff Sessions.

I despite and hate the apple tree -- but I do love the apples!

Bob Loblaw said...

Whether they realize it or not, the Democrats have created an environment in which nobody is going to believe the wolf is here when it actually arrives.

buwaya said...

"They are all bat-shit crazy and for a few brief hours they are doing their best to pass as normal?"

Most of them, in my experience, work at things where they had better be sane, because they are likely to do more damage screwing up there than whatever they are likely to get up to with guns.
Airline pilots, truck drivers, police officers and firemen, construction workers, heavy equipment operators, operating engineers of all kinds, electricians, etc. and etc.
I was once at a power plant control room and every man there owned an "assault rifle".
The people with their hands on the switches of our lives.

Sebastian said...

@Cook: "We have a center/right government." The majority of whose employees vote Democrat and contribute to Democrats. Major sections of which, like the IRS, take aim at conservative groups. Officious officials in which, like the Ed Dept. OCR promote progressive causes with eager determination. Heads of major agencies in which, even supposedly GOP CIA honchos, publicly supported Hillary. In the upper echelons of which, say at DoJ, you'd be hard pressed to find a "right" attorney.

Michael K said...

" is it because of the CIA's distrust of Trump?"

Hilarious. The CIA "distrusts" all Republicans. It's another Conquest Law. There are several that apply.

Conquests’s Three Laws of Politics:
1. Everyone is conservative about what he knows best.
2. Any organization not explicitly right-wing sooner or later becomes left wing.
3. The simplest way to explain the behavior of any bureaucratic organization is to assume that it is controlled by a cabal of its enemies .

— Robert Conquest.


It all goes back to the Church Committee, which defenestrated the CIA for the mortal sin of fighting communism.

Among the matters investigated were attempts to assassinate foreign leaders, including Patrice Lumumba of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rafael Trujillo of the Dominican Republic, the Diem brothers of Vietnam, Gen. René Schneider of Chile and Director of Central Intelligence Allen Welsh Dulles's plan (approved by President Dwight D. Eisenhower) to use the Sicilian Mafia to kill Fidel Castro of Cuba.

Th Diem brothers were assassinated by the Vietnamese generals but they may have been encouraged by the Kennedy brothers.

The left was firmly in control of intelligence until Trump. Valerie Plame was no outlier. They were living down the attempts to kill Castro until yesterday.

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

Hagar said...
Cookie is a throwback to the radical, but non-violent, students of pre-WWI Europe.
Do not traduce him; treasure him!

1/11/17, 3:27 PM

The difference between Robert and those pre-WWI European students is that those students were unable to see the 20th century horrors that Communism would perpetuate - gulags, mountains of corpses, mass starvation, secret police, people standing in line for hours to obtain basic necessities.

Those students were simply naive. Cook has no such excuse.

If I could, I'd require every college freshman to read "The Black Book of Communism."

Anonymous said...

I don't think this is true. It's not the police or investigators job to determine if laws apart from regulations are broken. Like those driving faster than the speed limit can be cited by a policeman. But other than this type of offense the job of investigators, and for that matter the FBI (and even a grand jury) is to hand the evidence they have to a prosecutor, a US attorney or equivalent. In Ms. C's case, it was a prosecutor, all the up to the AJ's job to make the determination. Which would have had put them in the worst of political binds if the Justice system said "not enough evidence." It wasn't Comey's job to weigh the evidence in this matter, except if it was a speeding ticket where the posted legal speed limit sign had been knocked over, and even then he could and probably should have written a citation and said "take it to court please, I think you have a habit of speeding here"

So Professor, would you educate us on the difference in roles of investigators and prosecutors? And how usual or unusual is Comey's behavior, or better yet, relative to typical behavior of the U.S. attorney's investigators, the FBI? I suspect this was the substance of the Tarmac Meeting between the AJ and Mr. C.

Michael K said...

"If I could, I'd require every college freshman to read "The Black Book of Communism."

Another book young people should read is Fred Siegel's "Revolt Against the Masses. " which gives a pretty good history of the radical left.

The problem is that those who need it probably would not believe it or even read it.

Rob said...

The leaking of this report is treacherous and confirms all one's worst suspicions about the intelligence community. That said, you know that if there's any kind of showers Donald Trump would prefer, it's golden showers, and it's only fitting that golden showers would be the subject of a leak.

Gahrie said...

@Sebastian:+

When Comrade Cookie says things like "We have a center/right government.", he means it. It makes sense when you realize he considers Pol Pot to be a moderate.

Unknown said...

If I had to name all the lefties that I thought have integrity I'd be stumped after only a couple. Greenwald is one. The others may all be dead. I'd have to think on it a while.

Gahrie said...

Whether they realize it or not, the Democrats have created an environment in which nobody is going to believe the wolf is here when it actually arrives.

I'm more worried about the ones who don't realize that the wolf has taken control of the Democratic Party.

Alex said...

So I'm supposed to believe Trumpistas that the intelligence community are a bunch of commie pinko traitors all of a sudden because they have damning information on God Emperor Kek Trump?

Gahrie said...

If I had to name all the lefties that I thought have integrity I'd be stumped after only a couple. Greenwald is one

Am I the only one who remembers his dalliances with sockpuppetry?

Gahrie said...

So I'm supposed to believe Trumpistas that the intelligence community are a bunch of commie pinko traitors all of a sudden because they have damning information on God Emperor Kek Trump?

No..Greenwald's position is that the intelligence community are a bunch of reactionaries trying to maintain the reins of power........the Democrats are a bunch of commie pinko traitors allying themselves with those reactionaries in the desperate hope that the reactionaries have damaging information on Trump.

gadfly said...

Glenn Greenwald is one-sided. Recall that on Sunday, Reince Priebus told Chris Wallace that there was "no reason" to complete background checks on Trump's cabinet appointments and the the "questions" asked of of Jeff Sessions were non-existent in the hearings.

So the ridding the Washington swamp of alligators could possibly bring in crawly snakes. When ethics hit the skids, corruption and cash become the way of political hacks - and the dreaded Ruling Class identified by Angelo Codevilla, continues onward and upward atop the new administration. Populism is obviously being defined by the President-elect and his appointees as "how can I become even richer and more famous."

And all that is necessary to do about the "Kompromat" papers is to deny their veracity. As pointed out in Lawfare:

... it is significant that the document contains highly specific allegations, many of which are the kind of facts it should be possible to prove or disprove. This is a document about meetings that either took place or did not take place, stays in hotels that either happened or didn’t, travel that either happened or did not happen. It should be possible to know whether at least some of these allegations are true or false.

So Republicans are serious about throwing the rascals out without guarding the swinging door against new rascals.

Gabriel said...

@Gahrie:Am I the only one who remembers his dalliances with sockpuppetry?

I remember. But it was quite a few years ago now.

Gabriel said...

For every Greenwald sockpuppet there is one for John Lott.

buwaya said...

Alex - "So I'm supposed to believe Trumpistas that the intelligence community are a bunch of commie pinko traitors all of a sudden "

Gahrie - "No..Greenwald's position is that the intelligence community are a bunch of reactionaries trying to maintain the reins of power'

Whats the problem with both being correct? They are reactionary commie pinko traitors trying to maintain the reins of power. What, commies can't be reactionary, and have no reins of power? They invented the nomenklatura after all, and "intelligence" has to be the sort of government service most disconnected from objective performance criteria. The purest of pure bureaucracies most vulnerable to bureaucratic illnesses, like internal politics and internal organizational goals trumping their charter.

Freeman Hunt said...

"It has been extraordinary watching some of the news organizations completely destroy their credibility this last year, and crescendo of that leading up the Trump's inauguration is simply stupefying. I couldn't not, in my wildest fantasies have made up the stuff happening right now."

Same.

How did this fool anyone? It's moronic. Can people think anymore? I know intelligent, well-educated people who were passing this around this morning.

Even now they don't see the problem because their yokel racist uncle shares equally moronic things about Obama.

The people with actual power on the left do the things they claim to hate that the powerless ignorants do on the far right. Then they call it even.

Fabi said...

That's not true, Chuck. During the primaries you wanted Trump, his endorsers and supporters to be purged from the Republican Party. Sessions was his biggest endorser at the time, so that's a huge slam on Sessions. Admit it and own it.

mockturtle said...

Michael K proposes: Th Diem brothers were assassinated by the Vietnamese generals but they may have been encouraged by the Kennedy brothers.

More than encouraged. Ngo Dinh Diem [and probably his brother] was assassinated by a CIA-led insurgency presumably ordered by JFK.

CWJ said...

"The most incredible and heartening aspect of Trump's victory is how all the masks are off."

Incredible yes. Heartening no. The spin on a dime from a pose of "reasonable, principled" to 24/7 venom spitting is frightening. I really didn't expect it of my fellow Americans. But it's true. The masks are off. The peace, love, dope crowd really hate people as much as they claim those other people are the haters. It seemed a little too pat in the past, but I've concluded that the explanation has to be projection.

Gahrie said...

It seemed a little too pat in the past, but I've concluded that the explanation has to be projection.

It is the validation of the projection that I find to be the most satisfying. And it happens on both sides.

The Right basically thinks that the Left are mistaken, not evil. They make the assumption that the Left are people just like them, who are acting in good faith.

The Left basically thinks the Right are evil, not mistaken. They make the assumption that the right are people just like them, who don't give a shit about good faith, only power.

Both are wrong.

Jupiter said...

Gahrie said...

"The Right basically thinks that the Left are mistaken, not evil. They make the assumption that the Left are people just like them, who are acting in good faith."

Speak for yourself. I hate the evil bastards, I think they know exactly what they are trying to get away with, and I wish them ill.

Gahrie said...

@Jupiter:

Yes, but then you've been woke.

Jupiter said...

Robert Cook said...
"You who misunderstand the world around you seem to think I am a communist, based on no claims I've ever made. But then...of course!"

No, Cookie, we think you are a Communist. Based upon your frequent railing about the evils of capitalism. But you have a point, we tend to suppose anyone who disagrees is disagreeable, and therefore must have voted for Obama, etc. We sometimes forget that disaffection comes in many flavors. So, here's your soapbox, Cookie;

What is it that you believe?

Bob Loblaw said...

It has been extraordinary watching some of the news organizations completely destroy their credibility this last year, and crescendo of that leading up the Trump's inauguration is simply stupefying.

Yeah, the "Trump lies so we're allowed to lie too" defense was a bit silly coming from people for whom credibility is the only enduring asset.

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

"The Right basically thinks that the Left are mistaken, not evil. They make the assumption that the Left are people just like them, who are acting in good faith."

I used to think that. I still think that about, say, your run-of-the-mill Hillary voter. I do not think that about the majority of people in the media, Dem politicians, high level bureaucrats, political activists, and anybody else who has adopted leftist politics as an ersatz religion. They've sold their souls to the devil. They are either actively working to destroy this country and Western Civilization or focused on amassing as much power and wealth as they can before it all comes crashing down.

Bob Loblaw said...

There's been a lot of foam-flecked vitriol from the average Hillary voter. If you put a Trump sticker on your car where I live you'll be lucky to get away with only a keying.

Hagar said...

Robert Cook has never indicated any desire to beat up or kill anyone - at least not on this blog - and so has given no reason to be suspected of being either a Nazi or a communist.
He is a dreamer of an utopian society, which may be foolish, but it is not condemnable.

Paco Wové said...

"The peace, love, dope crowd really hate people as much as they claim those other people are the haters."

That's been pretty clear from the lefty commentariat here (e.g., sunsong, Unknown#6575, etc.).

Michael K said...

Populism is obviously being defined by the President-elect and his appointees as "how can I become even richer and more famous."

You offer absolutely no evidence of this. The only evidence I see is he is taking no salary and donating income from foreign operations to the US Treasury.

it is significant that the document contains highly specific allegations, many of which are the kind of facts it should be possible to prove or disprove.

Yes and the one specific allegation was that his lawyer met someone in Prague. His passport shows no foreign travel.

You are starting to get creepy in your Trump hatred.

BN said...

C'mon. The call for unity was just last night, y'all. You shit heads in the galley should just row a little bit harder. Y'know...

For The Cause.

Cry cry for peace. Make camp for war.

BN said...

"You are starting to get creepy in your Trump hatred."

Creepy is the best it will get. Welcome to interesting times.

rcocean said...

"He is a dreamer of an utopian society, which may be foolish, but it is not condemnable."

They said the same about Lenin and Trotsky - until they took power.

And Hitler was a dreamer too.

Hagar said...

No. Those guys were schemers.

Chuck said...

Fabi said...
That's not true, Chuck. During the primaries you wanted Trump, his endorsers and supporters to be purged from the Republican Party. Sessions was his biggest endorser at the time, so that's a huge slam on Sessions. Admit it and own it.


You know, Fabi; you're mostly correct. Except that if you and I went back and looked at my primary-season complaints about Trump (and you are correct in that I did talk about purging the Party of Trumpkins) I also at that time expressed my surprise and disappointment in Sessions, whom I said that I really liked.

I keep trying to use normal search engines to search old posts on Althouse. It never seems to work, for year-old (or so) posts. I have corresponded with Ann about this feature, or lack thereof. She says Google works fine for her when she is searching old posts. I don't think it works so well for Comments.

But again, my friend, I confess to much merit in your post. Still; if together we did a fair and complete review of all the relevant ones, I think my point in this comment would be borne out.

Marc in Eugene said...

Thanks, Fernandinande, for Janet Greene! 'A comrade's lot is not a happy one'....

MPH said...

Glenn Greenwald.

Qwinn said...

I bid you good day, sir!

I Callahan said...

They are all bat-shit crazy and for a few brief hours they are doing their best to pass as normal?

You cannot call yourself "reasonable" and actually believe this.

veni vidi vici said...

"Grab 'em by the pussy" is the "Grab 'em by the balls" of the feminized 21st century.

Why everyone gets their undies twisted over this is pretty fucking stupid, unless they never spent any time on a playground in their youth. I wish I had a nickel for every pearl phonily clutched over this nonsense (yet cleverly properly-gendered) utterance; i'd be a very wealthy man.