December 8, 2018

Things you might want to spend Saturday mulling over.



I'm not in the mood to pick this apart. All the links can be found here.

139 comments:

David Begley said...

Mueller’s work has been a criminal investigation in service of politics. This is all about drafting Articles of Impeachment.

Ralph L said...

It's the beginning of the end of the walls closing in on Trump's tipping point.

rhhardin said...

Proprietary click criteria form the news.

rhhardin said...

It's near the shortest day of the year for Trump.

Tommy Duncan said...

2+ years of Trump hating by the media reach a new plateau. But sadly, were Pence to replace Trump the madness would simply shift its focus. The treatment Trump is receiving is the new SOP for the media/DNC cabal regarding Republican Presidents.

MadisonMan said...

This time they'll get him! Click here to see why it's different now from the previous 100 times.

Mary Beth said...

And yet, there's no story about us bombing an aspirin factory.

William said...

If you need a background in law to understand not if Trump is guilty but rather of what crimes he is said to have committed,, then you have lost the case for impeachment. Clinton clearly committed some offenses, but his defense ultimately rested on the fact that they were not "high crimes and misdemeanors ". I suppose you can argue that sex with a Playmate of the year is a higher form of adultery than sex with a portly pepper pot, but, even so, such sex, while a sin, is not a high crime.

rehajm said...

Dershowitz has become quite the imp in all of this.

Matt Sablan said...

People really need to start demanding their rights to a speedy trial to end this conviction by process crap.

WK said...

Maybe this time his goose will really be cooked.

M Jordan said...

Daily Beast says Mueller’s got the goods on Trump andyesterday showed it. Meanwhile Alan Dershowitz says Nothingburger. Who’s right?

Dershowitz.

How do I know? I just do.

M Jordan said...

Rush Limbaugh has the best take on this whole thing. He says it’s oppo research for 2020, this time paid by the taxpayer, Last time at least Clinton paid for her glden showers smear.

Narayanan said...

,,,Mueller’s work has been a criminal investigation,,,

I prefer to phrase it honestly and clearer as *investigation by a criminal*

AustinRoth said...

Bad Orange Man Bad, Please Please Please Impeach!, say NPC press.

rhhardin said...

News is a projection operator. Whatever happens gets run through the proprietary news component set for that particular media's narrative.

Whatever happens, there's some component that excites any narrative.

rhhardin said...

I use a Cinderella filter on #MeToo news.

Narayanan said...

,,,People really need to start demanding their rights to a speedy trial,,,
What does it tell you of state of legal professionals training that this is not happening already.

Hagar said...

William, William,
Clinton was not impeached for "lying about sex," but for committing perjury with the aim of denying Paula Jones justice in a court of the United States.
That is a low-down felony offense; not "high crimes and misdemeanors" with regards to affairs of state.

chuck said...

I'm not impressed by any of it, and I'm a pretty average guy. The two movies will continue to play at the multiplex along with some new foreign films.

Random Onlooker said...

Wow, that Daily Beast article is really unhinged. Its author seem to equate "collusion" with even the vaguest, transient "contact" between any Russian citizen and any Trump campaign worker or associate.

Meanwhile, Mueller's latest filing showed that Cohen blithely ignored a Russian official's vague promise of "political synergy", and there's still no evidence anywhere of any meaningful contact between the Trump campaign and Kremlin up until Flynn talks to the ambassador in December 2016 as part of the transition.

The left is going to be so, so disappointed when all this fizzles out and Trump soldiers on....

Darrell said...

Million-felony Clinton laughs and laughs.

Darrell said...

Mueller should take a punch for every dollar he cost taxpayers.

Sebastian said...

So, Mueller, when are you gonna go after the felonious unmasker and leaker who helped to frame Flynn?

AllenS said...

Any article from the Daily Beast is unhinged. After clicking on links to the place over the years, I've learned to avoid the place.

Laslo Spatula said...

Girl with the Pony Tail on the Treadmill:

The days are getting shorter.

(pony-tail swish, pony-tail swish)

It's dark when I leave for work, it's dark when I come home from work. It's dark when I go to the gym.

(pony-tail swish, pony-tail swish)

I feel good, though. I keep running.

(pony-tail swish, pony-tail swish)

Winter comes, and there are a lot less people at the gym. It's harder to be committed when it's cold and dark all the time.

(pony-tail swish, pony-tail swish)

They'll be back in Spring. Most of them, anyway.

(pony-tail swish, pony-tail swish)

And they'll be desperately trying to get themselves back in shape for summer. A lot of huffing and puffing and regret over falling out of shape in the first place.

(pony-tail swish, pony-tail swish)

Me, I keep running. You don't need to get back in shape when you stay in shape. No regret.

(pony-tail swish, pony-tail swish)

I like to watch reruns when I run. Friends, Law and Order. I've seen them all before, but it's comforting. I know the rhythm.

(pony-tail swish, pony-tail swish)

A lot of people watch the news when they run. I don't get it.

(pony-tail swish, pony-tail swish)

You can tell they are getting agitated, watching. They shake their heads, they grimace with sweaty red faces. I like calm when I run.

(pony-tail swish, pony-tail swish)

When I'm running I want my mind to be light. When my mind is light my feet are light. I want to be away from all of that noise.

(pony-tail swish, pony-tail swish)

It seems like it is getting so much harder to stay away from politics.

(pony-tail swish, pony-tail swish)

When I talk with friends I want to hear about them, not what they think about politics.

(pony-tail swish, pony-tail swish)

The world isn't ending, you know? Relax.

(pony-tail swish, pony-tail swish)

Like: tell me a funny story, something that happened at work or on the bus or whatever.

(pony-tail swish, pony-tail swish)

Hell, I'd rather listen about what new show they just binge-watched. And I don't even watch much TV.

(pony-tail swish, pony-tail swish)

I guess I'd just rather listen to people talk about what they're excited about, even if it's only a dumb TV show, rather than listen to what they are angry at. That just wears me down.

(pony-tail swish, pony-tail swish)

It's odd: when I'm running I have time to think, but what I like most about it is I get to get away from thinking.

(pony-tail swish, pony-tail swish)

I think a lot of people need to run more and think less.

(pony-tail swish, pony-tail swish)

I bet they'd be happier. And their ass would look better. It's easier to be happy when your ass looks good.

(pony-tail swish, pony-tail swish)

(pony-tail swish, pony-tail swish)

And when Spring comes and it's not dark all the time my ass will still look good: I'll be ready. No regret.

(pony-tail swish, pony-tail swish)

Oh, cool: the one where Rachel gets her job. I love this episode...

I am Laslo.

Etienne said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
narciso said...

Is that all you got, hohum sadly national review is in on the hysteria.

narciso said...

Oh David French, for an Iraq vet he doesn't seem to have a sense of perspective.

Mr. Groovington said...

The impeachment process, as far as it goes, is going to be brutal. I'm not looking forward to seeing Trump fight alone. It'll be a first in his life, being tried, and he won't like it.

narciso said...

Really based on what exactly, they got nothing that's why muellers in full Yosemite Sam rage.

Dude1394 said...

Memeorandeum has become a cesspool. I used to visit it often, but I got woke.

AllenS said...

I agree, Unknown.

narciso said...

It's the journolist hor doevre platter.

tcrosse said...

When all this started the idea was to undo the 2016 election and install Hillary in the White House. With the passage of time, fewer and fewer people favor that result. Yet they persist.

Tom T. said...

My wife is as committed a Trump opponent as any, and she just looked up from today's WaPo and said, "they've got nothing."

Big Mike said...

Mueller’s work has been a political investigation in service of Democrat politics. This is all about drafting Articles of Impeachment.

@David Begley, FIFY

Big Mike said...

@Tom T., if it took your wife this many months to reach that conclusion then you married a nincompoop.

Mr. Groovington said...

On the other hand, he could excel, if he's prepared and conducts himself with decorum. At his best, he's good.

narciso said...

Because this is the big reveal, which is even less than I thought, of course minitrue has to puff it up

Hagar said...

When you come right down to it, Mueller is a "Trump administration official," and Cohen and Manafort have had contacts with the Mueller team that they may have failed to list as such.

narciso said...

They don't have one verifiable contact between Cohen and the Russian press secretary, thanks to Lanny Davis they couldn't extradite firtash because too many players in Europe were involved

traditionalguy said...

The pattern holds. Mueller is a Potemkin Village Prosecutor who is only arresting the people Trump wants to see arrested for betraying him. But the orange Genius' plan rolls along. Meanwhile Sessions and Huber have done all of the real Prosecutor's work of indicting the 65,000 guilty, which will now be unsealed and arrested by the greatly respected Mr. Barr.

Anne in Rockwall, TX said...

Thank you Laslo.

chuck said...

"Sophisticated news consumers" ignore the news.

narciso said...

It's like kremlinology, Mueller rage because Manafort didn't give up klimnik who was a middleman for Ukrainian business interests

SayAahh said...

But what does Amy Carter think?

narciso said...

They worked with high profile ex European officials, ministers and prime ministers to push the Ukraines case before the eu.

Kevin said...

Muellering it over.

narciso said...

See there is a story just not thr one they are telling.

reader said...

I almost didn't read these comments. I am so glad I did. Laslo you made my day.

Wince said...

Matthew Sablan said...
People really need to start demanding their rights to a speedy trial to end this conviction by process crap.

There should be a "loosing Independent Counsel pays" the defendant's reasonable legal bills rule to even the playing field and to protect the innocent.

sodal ye said...
The impeachment process, as far as it goes, is going to be brutal. I'm not looking forward to seeing Trump fight alone. It'll be a first in his life, being tried, and he won't like it.

That's why Barr needs to appoint a killer Independent Counsel to bring in head after head with meritorious convictions against the Deep State actors for the last two years of Trump's term.

Jeff Brokaw said...

Lying to investigators is all they’ve got, it seems.

These are—apparently—mostly bullshit charges engineered as a strategy to gain leverage and hang a scalp on the wall even when no actual crime has been committed. Better to save your reputation as a prosecutor even when it means railroading the innocent, I guess.

Nice legal system you got there, America.

Jeff Brokaw said...

If they had stronger charges against Manafort, Cohen, etc that also implicated higher-ups, would they not lead with those?

I.e., the absence of such charges seems like a very strong indicator that they’ve literally got nothing. Zero. Nada.

As in, “we wasted two years on this stupidity”.

Am I missing something?

Big Mike said...

Lying to investigators is all they’ve got, it seems.

And can we see videotapes of the interviews? Or do we have to trust the recollections and edited notes of Mueller’s investigators?

narciso said...

Anymore than you could read eickenrodes transcripts with libby, whose counterpart was apparently the recently retired prietap.

AlbertAnonymous said...

Laslo,

I’m so glad you brought back pony tail swish girl. I haven’t seen her in awhile. But she’s my favorite.

Doesn’t everybody know a pony tail swish girl?

Jimmy said...

"Nice legal system you got there, America." Exactly. It's a f**king circus. We don't need no stinking facts. The old school communists did it better, of course. But a pretty good example of why people hate lawyers and the so called justice system. Making more money in a week than most people make in months of actual productive work.

Tom T. said...

@Big Mike: Hey, man; not cool.

Laslo Spatula said...

Thanks, Annie C and reader.

The "I'm not in the mood to pick this apart" post about news inundation inertia coalesced in my head with the previous SAD post and Althouse's recent 'Friends'-as-comfort-food post: the character sorta wrote herself from there.

Which is kinda funny: the comment ties in three different Althouse posts, and Althouse once wrote she doesn't read the Treadmill Girl comments (doesn't like the 'swish').

A tree in the forest with Helen Keller, maybe.

I am Laslo.

Guildofcannonballs said...

Just as with George's cherry trees Trump has now got an admin rife with convicted criminals: Obama's was scandal free.

What about that is hard to understand?

Some people would and have murdered to gain and retain power, why not endless lies too?

Evil exists.

virgil xenophon said...

FYI:

CNN running with the headline "Trump implicated in two crimes" all am (RE campaign finance) commentators saying Stormy payoffs are a "high crimes & misdemeanors" criminal violation of campaign finance laws. Snort..

Francisco D said...

I saw a "Trump/Putin" bumper sticker in the library parking lot yesterday, next to a "Vote Blue" sticker."

It struck me that Democrats are frantic to neuter Trump because he threatens them more than most "worse than Hitler" Republicans. They are paranoid of losing power to him. The degree of desperation is similar to the transparently disgusting tactics used against Brett Kavanaugh.

35 years ago, I stopped voting for Democrats because they could not tolerate Reagan's success and because they did not seem to want America to be successful. Maybe our current climate will help some people to see the light.

Jupiter said...

Blogger narciso said...
"Oh David French, for an Iraq vet he doesn't seem to have a sense of perspective."

David French adopted a negro and discovered that everyone on Earth is racist. He is no longer properly hinged.

Laslo Spatula said...

"...because they did not seem to want America to be successful."

For the elite a successful country doesn't matter, as long as they stay on top of the strip-mined mountain.

In this light, our media, and the politicians they support, are our own Vichy government.

They expect to be there after the flood.

I am Laslo.

Big Mike said...

@Tom T., ain’t apologizing. Tell your wife that in my book she’s a racist because she is unhappy that young black men are getting jobs thanks to Trump’s economic policies.

Laslo Spatula said...

"They expect to be there after the flood." -- the nod to "Après moi, le déluge" is intentional.

I am Laslo.

Original Mike said...

"All the links can be found here."

I don't need to follow the links. Inga's absence says it all.

Big Mike said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Narayanan said...

Qui est gilets jaunes ?
If John Galt was un Garcon on French railway.

Big Mike said...

@Laslo, thanks for bringing back Girl with a Pony Tail on a Treadmill. Missed her!

CWJ said...

Laslo, No explanation necessary. I understood and appreciated your reference the first time around.

hombre said...

Unfortunately, what continues to come to mind is Beria's assertion: "Show Me The Man And I'll Find You The Crime. "

Mueller and his button men continue their bullshit long after any ethical prosecutor would have concluded that probable cause doesnt exist to continue. They are men without morals on a mission. In other words, Democrat operatives.

gilbar said...

hurray!!!!! Girl with a Pony Tail on a Treadmill is back!!! hurray!
and, the most bestest part is: she's stayed in shape!!! woo! hoo!!
the world is back running in greased grooves

Winter comes, and there are a lot less people at the gym.
Me, I keep running. You don't need to get back in shape when you stay in shape.
I think a lot of people need to run more and think less. I bet they'd be happier.
And their ass would look better. It's easier to be happy when your ass looks good.


i'm certainly happier when Girl with a Pony Tail on a Treadmill's ass looks good!!!

Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...

The pattern holds. Mueller is a Potemkin Village Prosecutor ... Building Inspector?

Narayanan said...

@comment above said
*The impeachment process, as far as it goes, is going to be brutal. I'm not looking forward to seeing Trump fight alone*

This is right moment for Hank Rearden defiance about legitimacy.

Trump presence not required for:
Stage I in the House or
Stage Ii in the Senate

Trump can provide Twitter update to world

rhhardin said...

The Columbus zoo just announced that its newborn baby elephant is a girl. No gender fluidity there.

alanc709 said...

I'm a climate change denier- our political climate never changes, liberals are always the harbingers of intolerance.

chickelit said...

Shouldn't we expect the Mueller investigation to wind down? Starting next year, the Dems have a clear mandate to persecute Trump in the House with endless investigations (also tax payer funded). Occasional-Cortex already telegraphed that she'll be starting with Trump, Jr. The media will cheer her on. I hate all this predictability.

cronus titan said...

What a colossal waste of time, money and energy. Two years and $30M+ (and no end in sight) and we have some "crimes" that no AUSA would spend a moment on -- they have more important things to do. He may yet prove that Cohen paid off Stormy Daniels and Manafort played dirty business games 10+ years ago (a dangerous charge since The Swamp is loaded with people playing these same dirty games for foreign nationals). Who cares?

This is how all Special Counsels end: far afield from their original mission, completely unaccountable and out of control, and turning the screws on people to justify their own existence. Starr began with a failed and dirty real estate deal, and ended up with a stained dress. Fitzgerald started with leaking a CIA employee's name and ended with a phony lying conviction. Mueller is threatening everyone and their families (quite literally in some instances) and we have yawn inducing charges. Meanwhile, the President is distracted while terrorists run loose.

Putin has to be laughing his ass off at our self-inflicted idiocy.

Yancey Ward said...

From the documents, it appears that Mueller is going to lay his bets on pushing the campaign finance angle. To really succeed, he will have to show that Trump personally used donated funds to pay off the women, but I don't think Mueller can actually show that, and that is why the document is heavily redacted- the lack of substance would be damning at this point. If Trump used his own money to pay them, then that is perfectly legal, and even worse for Mueller is that Trump will be able to point out the fact that he has done this in the past even before he was a candidate for office.

As for Manafort, Manafort has probably not been able to tell the Mueller team what they really wanted to hear- that the Trump Campaign did collude with the Russians, and the reason Manafort was unable to tell them this is because there was no collusion. I think Mueller tactic here is to find some matters unrelated that he can prove Manafort is lying, and bootstrap those proven lies into the assertion that Manafort must be lying about there being no collusion, too. Mueller's report will innuendo squared.

Brian said...

Mueller drops political bombs in the form of redaction's in charging documents allowing the media and anti-Trumper's to fill in their own nefarious deeds.

Trump fires Sessions, appoints Whitaker, and then Barr for Atty General as a shot across the bow. He alludes to declassifying FISA documents, but doesn't actually do anything. These are all "hot spots" around the world flaring up. Each side showing bravado. Cohen and Manafort and Papodopolous are the Vietnam of this new cold war. Messed up in their own rights, but laid waste by the powers on each side.

I may be in cognitive dissonance but there really does seem to be a deep state swamp that is positioning its pieces on the board. Hoping that they can make a quid pro quo with Trump, we won't impeach you for you not telling how we abused the intelligence process.

It's not between right and left, but between establishment and outsiders. "This is the way we do things", versus the Very Stable Genius.

At some point though, they have to put up or shut up. As with the real cold war, the only way out is if one side is unable to play anymore, or nuclear war.

Bruce Hayden said...

Blogger chuck said...
“I'm not impressed by any of it, and I'm a pretty average guy. The two movies will continue to play at the multiplex along with some new foreign films.”

Chuckles is right. This is one of the best examples of Scott Adams’ Two Films theory. Both sides see vindication here.

Chuck said...

Matthew Sablan said...
People really need to start demanding their rights to a speedy trial to end this conviction by process crap.


Well many don’t want a trial at all. They are pleading guilty. Or they are accepting immunity/cooperation deals.

Manafort chose a trial; and he got one. He got it good and hard.

Brian said...

Mueller's report will innuendo squared.

Agreed. If we ever see it. As soon as we see it, the last shot has been fired though. And there is no more leverage.

I'm with Scott Adams though. The report will be a split in reality. Two movies again. One side seeing high crimes and misdemeanors and the other saying "ho hum".

Sometimes I wish that Trump is impeached (but not necessarily removed). It may defuse the use the future of lawfare in place of politics.

Marcus said...

Reader, you almost didn't read the comments? IMO, the comments are the best thing about this blog. (Mine excluded).

THEOLDMAN

Matt Sablan said...

"Sometimes I wish that Trump is impeached (but not necessarily removed)."

-- I'm not sure it will be good for the country to take a shot at the king and not kill him.

chickelit said...

tcrosse notes: With the passage of time, fewer and fewer people favor that result. Yet they persist.

The whole thing simply became "too big to flail." They had to keep up appearances.

ALP said...

Nope. Nope. Just no. No politics in my head on this Saturday. Think I'm going to fill my head with antique/thrift shopping. Political shit gets enough attention Mon-Fri.

tcrosse said...

"Sometimes I wish that Trump is impeached (but not necessarily removed)."

It didn't seem to hurt Bill Clinton or the country much, apart from setting a bad precedent. But it's a huge waste of money, brains, and time.

Bruce Hayden said...

Blogger Yancey Ward said...
“From the documents, it appears that Mueller is going to lay his bets on pushing the campaign finance angle. To really succeed, he will have to show that Trump personally used donated funds to pay off the women, but I don't think Mueller can actually show that, and that is why the document is heavily redacted- the lack of substance would be damning at this point. If Trump used his own money to pay them, then that is perfectly legal, and even worse for Mueller is that Trump will be able to point out the fact that he has done this in the past even before he was a candidate for office”

I can just envision the conversation:
Cohen: You are going to have to pay off some more of your bimbos to keep quit, if you want to become President.
Trump: Pay them then. You know that I am good for it. Just let me know how much, and I will have my campaign cut the check. This wasn’t budgeted, so I will have to top off my campaign fund with a personal check. Normally I would pay them out of my personal account, but this is a true campaign expense, so I need to launder the money I need to spend here through my campaign.

The awkward reality for those believing that Trump did anything illegal there is that he self funded part of his campaign. Politicians get in trouble for paying off their bimbos with campaign funds either because they can’t afford to do it personally, or are too greedy to spend their own money on what is legally considered a personal expense. Personally paying them off is never a campaign finance crime. It isn’t an in kind contribution, because a candidate can spend as much of his own money as he wants to on getting elected (that pesky 1st Amdt again).

Mark O said...

Serious question, Ann. When Mueller's report comes in to the AG and before it is released to anyone, why wouldn't Trump and others, file for declaratory and injunctive relief asking that all of Mueller's actions and everything flowing from them be vacated, including the report, on the ground that the SC appointment was illegal and unconstitutional? That would follow from the failure to designate a crime before appointment, among other things.

Get it to the Supreme Court.

Browndog said...

I still think Mueller is trying to create an atmosphere to make it politically acceptable to indict Don Jr.

Craig said...


Blogger William said...
If you need a background in law to understand not if Trump is guilty but rather of what crimes he is said to have committed,, then you have lost the case for impeachment. Clinton clearly committed some offenses, but his defense ultimately rested on the fact that they were not "high crimes and misdemeanors ". I suppose you can argue that sex with a Playmate of the year is a higher form of adultery than sex with a portly pepper pot, but, even so, such sex, while a sin, is not a high crime.

---

If you think you need a background in law to understand what Trump is accused of doing but not to understand what Bill Clinton was accused of you, you are an idiot.

Craig said...


Blogger Mark O said...
Serious question, Ann. When Mueller's report comes in to the AG and before it is released to anyone, why wouldn't Trump and others, file for declaratory and injunctive relief asking that all of Mueller's actions and everything flowing from them be vacated, including the report, on the ground that the SC appointment was illegal and unconstitutional? That would follow from the failure to designate a crime before appointment, among other things.

Get it to the Supreme Court.

12/8/18, 12:28 PM

---

Sheeeesh.

Craig said...

hombre said...
Unfortunately, what continues to come to mind is Beria's assertion: "Show Me The Man And I'll Find You The Crime. "

Mueller and his button men continue their bullshit long after any ethical prosecutor would have concluded that probable cause doesnt exist to continue. They are men without morals on a mission. In other words, Democrat operatives.

12/8/18, 10:49 AM

---

I don't think you understand the relevance of probable cause.

Craig said...


Blogger Jeff Brokaw said...
Lying to investigators is all they’ve got, it seems.

These are—apparently—mostly bullshit charges engineered as a strategy to gain leverage and hang a scalp on the wall even when no actual crime has been committed. Better to save your reputation as a prosecutor even when it means railroading the innocent, I guess.

Nice legal system you got there, America.

12/8/18, 9:48 AM

---

Maaaaaaaaaan. Some people need remedial reading lessons.

El Supremo said...

Isn't paying off people to protect your campaign a valid campaign expense? I bet every major candidate that ever ran did that in some form to somebody. Paying them off with jobs after winning is more common, but that isn't possible with every threat, some are not loyal and some could never have the job, but it seems pretty much the same quid pro quo. You should be able to pay for anything that's not illegal or for strictly personal enrichment. It just needs to be transparent.

Craig said...

Blogger Unknown said...
Isn't paying off people to protect your campaign a valid campaign expense? I bet every major candidate that ever ran did that in some form to somebody. Paying them off with jobs after winning is more common, but that isn't possible with every threat, some are not loyal and some could never have the job, but it seems pretty much the same quid pro quo. You should be able to pay for anything that's not illegal or for strictly personal enrichment. It just needs to be transparent.

---

Read!!!!

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Yancey @ 11:45 -

Yep.

Narayanan said...

@Serious question,

It was mentioned in some thread Nixon thought it was legal matter while Watergate was actually coup attempt.

Is coup against Trump issue to resolve for US Supreme Court?

You have
Executive branch sticks daggers in his back,

purse string loose to provide daggers

Trump has to and if can prove himself it will be history made.

El Supremo said...

Craig, You gonna contribute anything, or is being an asshole all you got?

I Callahan said...

Unknown - that was the exact reaction I had. Craig drops a number of comments where he quotes others, then acts as though it’s beneath him to actually address the points made in the quotes.

MB said...

Why bring this stuff out now? Why not in January, after one chamber changes hands.
It could be a flooding the zone approach to dominating the headlines and not letting the Trump team get any of their stories (quite damaging to Democrats) in the news. Of course, the mainstream media are happy to play along. For them the most insignificant Trump scandal is important, the most damaging Clinton story is boring.
Or maybe it's preparing the ground for impeachment, so that they can hit to ground running in January.
It could also be a sign of their desperation, though, which forces them to use whatever they have now, due to not having anything else to work with.

Craig said...

Blogger Unknown said...
Craig, You gonna contribute anything, or is being an asshole all you got?

12/8/18, 1:04 PM
Blogger I Callahan said...
Unknown - that was the exact reaction I had. Craig drops a number of comments where he quotes others, then acts as though it’s beneath him to actually address the points made in the quotes.

12/8/18, 1:18 PM

---

Like the lamest sports teams, I play up to the level of the competition.

Big Mike said...

@Unknown, Craig is trying to be an asshole. And succeeding.

He's kind of like Howard the educated fool, who wanted us to know that the houses in Paradise, CA, burned but not the trees because heat rises.

Only Craig isn't as bright.

Jim at said...

One has to wonder about the mental state of the idiots who still believe something's going to come out of all this.

Jim at said...

Like the lamest sports teams, I play up to the level of the competition.

Pssst. You're losing.

FIDO said...

On an issue where some cruel neutrality and some legal commentary would be useful and helpful to the commentariat, once again Althouse takes a powder.

And who reads Craig? Sheesh!

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

After 2 years (and countless wasted tax dollars) - the pressure on Mueller-Hillary is HE MUST deliver the goods. Trump must be guilty of something.

Sebastian said...

"Things you might . . ."

What things, exactly?

It's le néant all the way down. But, Sartre notwithstanding, not without meaning in itself.

alanc709 said...

How does Mueller "proving" all these Trump associates are liars help him prove collusion in the Trump campaign? Seems like all Trump has to do is tell Mueller is that anyone claiming he colluded, has already been charged or convicted of being a liar. Kind of the definition of reasonable doubt.

mockturtle said...

In this light, our media, and the politicians they support, are our own Vichy government.

Indeed they are, Laslo. It is WE who are the resistance.

AZ Bob said...

I had wondered how bloggers found their material. Thanks Ann for the link to:

https://www.memeorandum.com/

James K said...

I suppose you can argue that sex with a Playmate of the year is a higher form of adultery than sex with a portly pepper pot, but, even so, such sex, while a sin, is not a high crime.

"High crimes and misdemeanors" is whatever a majority in the House says it is. Clinton ultimately got off because he was a bit too popular (and loved by the MSM) to get thrown out of office. Nixon would have been impeached and possibly convicted because the MSM hated him and he was not all that popular. The seriousness of charges is always a secondary consideration if any.

Craig said...

Blogger alanc709 said...
How does Mueller "proving" all these Trump associates are liars help him prove collusion in the Trump campaign? Seems like all Trump has to do is tell Mueller is that anyone claiming he colluded, has already been charged or convicted of being a liar. Kind of the definition of reasonable doubt.

12/8/18, 1:56 PM

---

No, no it is not. Think harder.

Browndog said...

AZ Bob said...

I had wondered how bloggers found their material. Thanks Ann for the link to:

https://www.memeorandum.com/


Initially was a straight up non-partisan aggregate site. However, like so many sites (politico, mediaite, etc.) they turned blatant left-wing in the age of Obama.

Craig said...

Blogger Big Mike said...
@Unknown, Craig is trying to be an asshole. And succeeding.

He's kind of like Howard the educated fool, who wanted us to know that the houses in Paradise, CA, burned but not the trees because heat rises.

Only Craig isn't as bright.

12/8/18, 1:21 PM

---

Zing! Man, Bigly Mike is Big League!

Craig said...

Blogger Jim at said...
Like the lamest sports teams, I play up to the level of the competition.

Pssst. You're losing.

12/8/18, 1:37 PM

---

Jim at brings the pain.

Carol said...

IMO, the comments are the best thing about this blog. (Mine excluded).


Oof...

Kevin said...

We'll know how seriously the media is covering the Stormy Daniels payments by how many times they use the words, "John Edwards"...

Bruce Hayden said...

“Why bring this stuff out now? Why not in January, after one chamber changes hands.It could be a flooding the zone approach to dominating the headlines and not letting the Trump team get any of their stories (quite damaging to Democrats) in the news.”

I think there is a race is going on, between the pro and anti Trump forces, and this is part of the result, on the anti side. Here is some of what they are facing right now:
-FISAgate blowing up in their faces. Pretty clear by now that the 4 FISA warrants on Carter Page were fraudulently obtained by lying to the FISC, mostly by omission, but somewhat by commission. People like Nunes have seen the fully unredacted warrant applications, and what they show is both highly embarrassing and illegal. So far, it appears that the only reason that they remain redacted is thanks to entreaties by the British and Australians, over their roles in it. OIG has been tasked with unredacting everything except for what is minimally required to protect sources and methods (much of the redactions appear to be protecting reputations and keeping out of jail the DoJ and FBI (and probably CIA) participants).
-the justification for the Mueller investigation depended to a great extent on the same Steele Dossier that was the basis for the FISA applications. We long knew that Peter Strzok tied the two together, but it turns out that Andrew Weismann was meeting with Steele, Simpson, Fusion GPS, etc starting in maybe August, 2016, three months before the election, and maybe 9 months before being assigned to be the lead investigator for Mueller. Working in Organized Crime, instead of Counterintelligence, he had no legitimate, work related reasons to have been involved, yet he was, likely through AAG Bruce Ohr, who was working with those people to interface with the FBI, after that agency officially severed ties, due to Steele flogging his Dossier with various MSM entities (Ohr’s wife, Nelly, was Fusion’s Russian expert) It appears that instead of Mueller picking his team, the core of the team was picked by Strzok, Page, McCabe, etc, and Mueller added as window dressing.
-OIG is now 3-4 months late on releasing their report on FISA abuses in the DoJ and FBI, possibly slowed down by the recent requirement to unredact a number of documents, including the 4 FISA warrant applications.
-the reason for the FISA warrants on a low level campaign staffer was apparently the Obama era implemented two hop rule, that allows electronic surveillance of up to two hops from the warrant target. That would likely include much of the top of the Trump campaign staff, transition, and even into his WH. We don’t know yet who was surveiled, and who authorized the unmasking.
- Whitaker appears to be working to clean up this mess. Barr has voiced similar concerns. At some point control over Mueller is going to be taken away from Rosenstein, by his boss, due to his own conflicts of interest. Mueller’s team can’t afford that - not only was their original mandate fraudulently obtained, but they have repeatedly violated DoJ rules and regulations.
- We appears to have finally figured out what UT USA Huber has been up to for the last year: investigating the Clinton Foundation. He was scheduled to testify last week in a closed House committee hearing, but got delayed by the GHW Bush funeral. Appear to be at least three whistleblowers, and the investigation appears to have been wrapping up. We can probably see the panic in the Clintonista and Deep State people at the DoJ and FBI in their before dawn raid on the house of one of those whistleblowers, in violation of DoJ rules, and very likely involving lying to the judge authorizing the search warrant
- House committees flip from offense to defense when the Dems take control of the House in January.

FullMoon said...

Fascinating in that someone as involved in world wide construction, casinos, buying and selling which entails dealing with govt officials, contractors, banks, real estate people, hundreds if not thousands of people and laws and regulations, can be investigated by the best and brightest and viscous people with unlimited budget and no time constraints and come out of it without a multitude of actual crimes.

Really amazing that Trump is so clean.

rcocean said...

When will this boring crap end?

Mueller? Mueller?

Anyone?

readering said...

All's for the best in this best of all possible Trumpworlds.

Kevin said...

To Mueller (Mull-er)

Verb

1. to dither about looking for something important while finding nothing.
2. to waste taxpayer money on ill-conceived activities.
3. to extinguish one's reputation on a political witch hunt.

chickelit said...

Grist for Mueller.

hombre said...

Craig said (12:47): “I don't think you understand the relevance of probable cause.”

If that is sarcasm, it’s pretty obtuse. If it is not, by all means explain “the relevance of probable cause” to me. Lol.

Doug said...

Althouse once wrote she doesn't read the Treadmill Girl comments (doesn't like the 'swish').
Maybe Althouse's son doesn't like the 'swish'.

Big Mike said...

All's for the best in this best of all possible Trumpworlds.

Actually, no it isn't. In the best of all Trumpworlds the Dumbocrats admit to themselves that they put up just about the worst candidate they could possibly have put up, and they would engage in deep introspection about why so many people despised their policies and were willing to take their chances with Donald Trump rather than the Dumbocrat party.

Also, in the best of all Trumpworlds, the Dumbocrats would be looking at the booming economy and the US morphing from an energy importer whose president felt constrained to bow to the king of Saudi Arabia into a petroleum exporter. They would be rethinking their own assumptions about energy resources and macroeconomics, and the result would be better for the poor and working class and middle class of this country.

But this isn't the best of all possible Trumpworlds. These are Robert Heinlein's Crazy Years, and it won't end well.

chickelit said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
narciso said...

yes, and they think he's Nehemiah scudder, a level four delusion, handmaid's tale is a much more hackneyed version of Heinlein's 'if this goes on'

bagoh20 said...

Many of us, I'd say millions of us, are asking why such blatant illegality with the DOJ, FBI, and the Clintons is being glossed over and even ignored while they pursue unfounded charges against the duly elected most powerful man in the world. Where exactly is the power located these days? It isn't with the people, and it isn't with the law. It seems concentrated in unelected opportunists with clearly corrupt motives who are still openly monetizing their unlawfulness. This episode is the most disappointing period in government of my lifetime, and half the country is fine with it, and even supports it. That is the saddest part of all.

Brian said...

Nixon would have been impeached and possibly convicted because the MSM hated him and he was not all that popular.

The GOP thought they could save their seats by getting him to resign and not having to decide on impeachment votes. Didn't matter. They lost their seats anyway.

The resign for the good of the country play won't ever work again. Clinton didn't and served out his term. Trump surely won't ever resign barring some major health issue.

Big Mike said...

Commentator Craig has a useful side. He reminds us that you cannot separate progressivism from “smug.” I always knew that, but today Craig and Chuck Todd really crystallized it, especially when the latter said “But I think there was part of me in my head assumed people were discerning it out, knew the BS from the non-BS.“

Bad news for you, Mr. Todd: we did.

gadfly said...

“Individual-1” has a singular problem: His own Justice Department just said he directed a crime.

Late Friday, U.S. prosecutors — ordinary prosecutors, not the ones working for Robert S. Mueller III’s supposed rogue witch hunt — filed papers in court saying President Trump’s former fixer Michael Cohen admitted “he acted in coordination with and at the direction of Individual-1.”

This means that it is the considered view of Individual-1’s Justice Department that Individual-1 participated in a felony violation of campaign finance law by directing, in order to influence the presidential election, the payoff of two women who alleged affairs with Individual-1.

Mueller and his team will decide in the coming months whether to accuse Trump of crimes. But in one sense, these are just details. That Trump is fundamentally lawless can no longer be seriously disputed. His own prosecutors now say he took part in a crime — and his former of secretary of state [Rex Tillerson] says Trump had little concern about what was legal.


But I must point out that those conservatives who read up on Donald Trump's business operations over the years knew full well that Trump was operating a criminal enterprise

Big Mike said...

Keep in mind that to folks like gadfly, any business that makes a profit is a “criminal enterprise.” Robert Cook enthusiasticly agrees.

mockturtle said...

Bagoh20 observes: Where exactly is the power located these days? It isn't with the people, and it isn't with the law. It seems concentrated in unelected opportunists with clearly corrupt motives who are still openly monetizing their unlawfulness.

Just waking up, Mr. van Winkle? ;-)

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