February 18, 2020

At the New Snow Café...

60FE5458-400A-41A0-8E65-0886EEDD60A6_1_201_a

... you can talk about whatever you like.

And here's a little snow panorama (click and click again to enlarge):

7BE23E95-AB2B-4E40-84E1-D84F6C286B68_1_201_a

206 comments:

1 – 200 of 206   Newer›   Newest»
Drago said...

I wonder what the status of those Bolton and Mulvaney congressional subpoenas happens to be.

Given how long its taking for the dems/Lawfare crew/deep-staters to generate these subpoenas I'll bet they are going to be really impressive!

traditionalguy said...

Two roads diverged in a wood and you could not travel both and be one traveler , so long you took pics.

BUMBLE BEE said...

Frankly, I'm ready for Michael K's sunsets!

Bay Area Guy said...

I love the snow. And I hope the non-Bloomberg Dem candidates throw a lotta snowballs at Mini-Mike tomorrow night.

stevew said...

Ansel Althouse - that's not a compliment and I'm not a spammer.

No snow in Beantown, rain, gray skies, low 40's.

Robert Reich set himself up for a nice punking by Ted Cruz. Donna Brazille, who is one of the Democrats I like, is out of her depth on The Five. It's not her fault, there just isn't a good argument to be made against POTUS Trump.

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

Redditors commenting on the Blagojevich pardon:
1:
This is becoming like a Batman movie where all the criminals are broken out of prison.
2:
Kerik pardoned also, Giuliani crony who got into trouble with an absolute psycho freak who was just indicted for running a sex cult.
3:
Reading the story about the sex cult guy it's weird how these scumbags all naturally fell in with each other
4:
Or Harry Potter when the death eaters get broken out of Azkaban.
5:
an apt comparison considering Blagovich was fired from The Apprentice by Trump for not knowing anything about Harry Potter.
6:
Can you please stop? I don't need this timeline getting any more absurd. I can't take it.
7:
Welp, fuck, I didn't want this to be true either but here we are.

https://www.mediaite.com/tv/throwback-when-blagojevich-appeared-on-celebrity-apprentice-and-trump-confronted-him-over-harry-potter-research/
8:
I want off this timeline. It's too absurd and I don't remember signing up for it. Was it in one of those iTunes 300-page agreements and I missed it?

Iman said...

https://youtu.be/j0KEVFlhBC8

Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...

Bete PuttPuttguig and trouble in Bend South

Democrat Pete Buttigieg overstated pledges of support from black leaders, public figures - ABC News

https://trends.gab.com/visit?url=https%3A%2F%2Fabcnews.go.com%2FPolitics%2Fdemocrat-pete-buttigieg-overstated-pledges-support-black-leaders%2Fstory%3Fid%3D69053705%26__twitter_impression%3Dtrue


Buttigieg Finally Finds a Black Supporter... in Nigeria


Why South Bend residents are warning America about Pete Buttigieg

https://trends.gab.com/visit?url=https%3A%2F%2Fnypost.com%2F2020%2F02%2F18%2Fwhy-south-bend-residents-are-warning-america-about-pete-buttigieg%2F

Pete Buttigieg and the South Bend Socialists
https://www.theepochtimes.com/pete-buttigieg-and-the-south-bend-socialists_3241136.html

Ralph L said...

We have a chance for our first snowfall this Thursday. Raining now, again.

narciso said...

interesting

narciso said...

https://mobile.twitter.com/BrianEntin

narciso said...

Mexican national living in indon3sia opersting as a russian spy

Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...

Michael Bloomberg Was In Jeffrey Epstein’s Little Black Book

...and hanging out with Ghislaine
Little Mike? Little St James? Little Black Book

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

Trump pardons/ grants clemency to a bunch of his corrupt elitist cronies. So how can anyone continue to say this guy is draining the swamp? How do Trumpists explain away this sort of in your face flaunting away of the rule of law? Trump sees himself as above the law and that includes his political allies and cronies.

Inga said...

Trump’s Pardon List

Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...

what a bunch of losers!

FBI now claims it "lost" informant documents signed by dossier fabulist Christopher Steele in January 2016

...in addition to how many laptops, hard drives, files, memoranda, etc.?

Inga said...



emptywheel
@emptywheel
The nice thing about Trump freeing every corrupt person ever mentioned on Fox News is now the GOP will have to stop pretending Trump gives a flying fuck about corruption.
1:26 PM · Feb 18, 2020·TweetDeck

Kai Akker said...

She sure has that fellow totally enveloped! The tree.

Nichevo said...

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...
Redditors commenting on the Blagojevich pardon:
1:
This is becoming like a Batman movie where all the criminals are broken out of prison.

Like Talleyrand on the diplomat who died, I wonder what he meant by that. Can this be some Hail Mary Sunday punch that PDT feels he can effect political movement in ILLINOIS?!?

I mean, WIIF OMB? Why do it?
Justice/mercy? You'd never believe that so let's skip it.
Money? Really? Nah.
Ego? OK, how?
Blackmail/pressure? What? On PDT? Blag could only finger Ds. That in fact could be the basis of the value proposition:

Rod Blagojevich has turned and will support PDT in IL, combined with whatever other dei ex machinae are operating (a breakthrough in black votes? Force of the economy? Intel on existing and new D scandal?), to make a run on IL's electoral votes, Congresscritters, aldermen, dogcatchers?

Now stop laughing. The Rs, zillionaire kamikazes aside, have for a while had the fund-raising edge. Past a point you've spent enough money in a district, so PDT, the RNC and/or whoever else there is in politics, is going to take a political strategic offense: to assail the machine states, the big ones, NY CA IL. In the cases of Reagan and Nixon, they won those states for reelection. It's not impossible?

2:
Kerik pardoned also, Giuliani crony who got into trouble with an absolute psycho freak who was just indicted for running a sex cult.

Who, Karen Gillibrand? So many of them, one loses track.

3:
Reading the story about the sex cult guy it's weird how these scumbags all naturally fell in with each other

Like Clinton, Menendez, Weiner, Schiff?

Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...

Bloomie's Bloopers

Mark said...

Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Don't you guys get enough in the other threads?

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

The purpose of these pardons is much like the plot of a cheesy crime novel where the murderer kills a bunch of random people in order obscure their motive for killing their real target. Trump really needs to pardon someone, presumably either Stone or Rudy. He is so clumsy, we will know soon enough.

Drago said...

Both Clinton and Obama pardoned or commuted the sentences of unrepentent FALN terrorists who bombed and killed Americans.

Number of Inga/ARM posts complaining about those pardons: ZERO

Browndog said...

Too bad Nixon already has a pardon.

Trump could really make the libs heads explode.

Mark said...

Tonight its beeping Capt. Pike.

Hard to see how Jeffrey Hunter was supposed to be the star captain. Of course, the only other things I've seen him in are The Searchers, where he played a lightweight (who fought Festus in a fight), and when he played Jesus (he wasn't in the beeping chair then).

Kai Akker said...

Stock futures up enough they might give another new Nasdaq high tomorrow, slightly higher. Take that Apple--trying to rain on the parade with comments about lower sales and future manufacturing problems.

Impossible.

No problems for stocks! No problems for life! Yaaaay Fed!

Browndog said...

Dear Mr. President,

I often think of how much my father, Melville “Bud” Hynde, who proudly served his country as a Marine on Guadalcanal, would have enjoyed your Presidency. The other day when you gave that award to Rush Limbaugh, my father would have been so delighted. He loved listening to Rush, which is why I allowed my song, ‘My City Was Gone’, to be used on his radio show. My father and I didn’t always see eye-to-eye. We argued a lot but isn’t that the American way? The right to disagree without having your head chopped off?
My father and I didn’t always see eye-to-eye. We argued a lot. Soon, I will be participating in a protest in London against the extradition of #JulianAssange (@wikileaks). I know my father would be mortified, but I feel strongly enough to do what I believe is the right thing; to protest further punishment of a man who sought to defend Freedom, albeit in a way you rightly disagree with.

I know Mr. Assange broke the law (as i have done defending the treatment of animals) but I believe he has been duly punished and should now be set free.
Please consider my plea.

Yours truly,

Chrissie Hynde of @ThePretendersHQ


Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...

will Blago let the cat out of the bago?

per @DineshDSouza
Trump will indeed have “moved the needle” if Blagojevich spells out Obama’s role in selling that Illinois Senate seat. From what Blago’s wife says, there’s a lot more there there!

Hagar said...

If there was any reform movement cleaning house in Chicago politics, I would buy 14 years for Blagojevich, but not for the crooks lawfaring each other.

A bit like the Jacksons not being any favorites of mine, but when the Obama crew kicked Jesse Sr. to the curb and replaced him with Al Sharpton, that sort of generated a soft spot in my heart for old Jesse.

Drago said...

Meanwhile, lefties in CA deliver Lefty "Justice" by allowing multiple deportee felony-committing illegal alien killer of Kate Steinle off scot-free.

Because of course they did.

Of course the did.

I wonder if thats going to resonate in ads this fall?

I'll bet Pelosi's tearing up the State Of The Union with the brother of victim of illegal alien murder in the background will also make a campaign appearance.

Couldn't happen to a nicer pro-MS13 bunch.

narciso said...

https://freebeacon.com/national-security/pompeo-slams-democrats-for-secretive-meeting-with-top-iranian-official/

Mark said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Drago said...

Also meanwhile, there sure does seem to be quite a few dems meeting secretly with their islamic supremacist global-terror-leader allies, the Iranians.

I wonder what all these Logan Act violators are chatting about with their Iranian pals in such chummy secretive fashion?

Dont you think we ought to see a transcript?

Mark said...

Last night was Janice Rand's last episode on the Corbomite Maneuver. The last line I remember her giving was how, when the ship's power was out, she explained that she made hot coffee for the captain and bridge crew by using a phaser.

Maybe the yeoman was court-martialed for misuse of a phaser on board ship. I don't know. Anyway, she disappeared after that.

The Corbomite Maneuver was the episode with Clint Howard when he looked creepy.

Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...

are the Brits going to deny healthcare to Muslims?

Britain’s Government Health Service Could Deny Treatment to Patients Deemed ‘Racist,’ or ‘Homophobic’
what could go wrong?

Mark said...

What?

Clint Howard ALWAYS looked creepy?

narciso said...

Behave yourself laslo


https://english.alarabiya.net/en/features/2020/02/11/Meet-the-two-women-who-spread-Christianity-to-hundreds-in-Iran-s-Evin-prison.html?



narciso said...

Father rance played an evil bureau agent iom bones some years ago.

Clyde said...

I saw the Chrissie Hynde tweet-letter to Trump on Twitchy. While I don't necessarily agree with her on everything, I thought it was spot-on when she said regarding her father, "We argued a lot but isn’t that the American way? The right to disagree without having your head chopped off?" That's something that has been completely lost over the past three years. I don't know if Trump will respond to her, but I suspect that if he does, it would be among his milder tweets in conversing with someone who doesn't agree with him.

Mark said...

The Menagerie really doesn't make much sense.

The big-headed aliens of Talos IV are evil. Nothing but evil.

Even if I was in the beeping chair, I would want nothing to do with them.

Meanwhile, the anti-disabled bigotry of the episode is clear -- an ugly part of the precious Federation. Susan Oliver could very easily have gone back with the Enterprise in that first encounter. Disformed? Yes. But she was otherwise healthy. That should not have been a problem if the Federation really did have a superior morality.

Hagar said...

Patrick Fitzgerald, the Democrats' Andrei Vishinsky.

Jersey Fled said...

Looking more and more like Bernie will win the nomination.

Biden, Warren, Amy and Mayor Pete are done. Bloomberg will be done shortly.

Who's left?

They can't stop Bernie. Pelosi has lost the Party.

All hail AOC!

Mark said...

The episode did, however, bring out a huge depth to the character of Spock.

Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...

Daily, a few vids surface that would do in any other pol.
if the media gives him a free pass on all his PC crimes

...does that mean Mike's their guy (du jour) ?

Mike Bloomberg Once Again Called Transgender People “It” And “Some Guy Wearing A Dress”

https://t.co/EjUilnPEBp?amp=1

narciso said...


Look for yourself


https://starlocalmedia.com/mckinneycouriergazette/news/pogue-gets-probation-in-tax-fraud-trial/article_cb54abd1-4ef6-5e92-bd28-af1709118bad.html

Mark said...

Got an e-mail about a settlement in a class action lawsuit against lithium ion battery makers or something inquiring about participating.

If I join, I'll qualify for a split of the settlement. My share would be to get a 20 percent off coupon to Bed, Bath and Beyond. The lawyers get something like $40 million in attorneys' fees.

Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Andrew said...

It's fascinating to watch Biden's "dead man walking" campaign in its later stages. Watch this video, for example:
https://mobile.twitter.com/TCPigott/status/1228520315220905984

It's a sad spectacle, but as with Jeb Bush before him, I can't stop watching. He really needs a mercy killing at tomorrow's debate. Maybe Bloomberg will put the knife in.

stevew said...

Could someone please explain how lifelong public servant, and socialist, Bernie Sanders became a millionaire? Anyone?

Jersey Fled said...

Could someone please explain how lifelong public servant, and socialist, Bernie Sanders became a millionaire? Anyone?

His wife's crooked dealings as President of a bankrupt college.

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

Becoming a millionaire is not exactly difficult these days. Two smart people in a stable marriage working good jobs most of their life are going to be multimillionaires. Is there something exceptional about Sanders wealth?

Mark said...

Biden would be wise to stick around.

He may not be able to win a majority before the convention, but he can stand as a compromise at the convention in a contest between the (perceived) diametric opposites Sanders and Bloomberg. People from the other side might flock to him to keep from either one of them getting the nomination.

Inga said...

“The purpose of these pardons is much like the plot of a cheesy crime novel where the murderer kills a bunch of random people in order obscure their motive for killing their real target. Trump really needs to pardon someone, presumably either Stone or Rudy. He is so clumsy, we will know soon enough.”

Yep. Stone and Rudy have too much on him and aren’t about to take the fall for him. He’s saving his own skin, he’s pretty transparent.

narciso said...

https://mobile.twitter.com/MZHemingway/status/1229923796645294080/photo/1

narciso said...



Well forget about that

https://mobile.twitter.com/BrianColas7/status/1229929761473998848

Mark said...

I know a couple of regular people whose work savings and retirement benefits top a million.

Even my working class mother is close with her public university retirement benefits (stock market invested) and the value of her house, which has zoomed in appreciation.

Wa St Blogger said...

the purpose of these pardons is much like the plot of a cheesy crime novel where the murderer kills a bunch of random people in order obscure their motive for killing their real target.

You have it all wrong. Trump added the high profile names so people would look at the entire list looking for all the swamp creatures only to discover that there were real, normal people who got the shaft. Now we know their stores and how the CJS has unfairly treated regular people. 18 years for letting dealers use your apartment? 48 years for fraud when rapists and murders get 4 or 8?

If you weren't so rabidly left-wing you would see that none of these are particularly noteworthy or swampy. Blago is the worst, and he served out a good portion of his time and it's not like he was a Trump associate of any sort. Your Knee-jerk reactions betray your lack of relevance.

Bill, Republic of Texas said...

SteveW. His wife stole a shitload of money from a university (paid with student loans). The FBI was investigating but she's on the left so she got a pass.

Sanders said he's tired of hearing about Hillary's damn emails. That got home a lake house.

And of course normal everyday government graft and corruption. So normal for a socialist system.

He thought he'd get a fifth house (what's left -- a beach home?) For ignoring Biden's corruption but Biden won't make it to the nomination.

I can't wait to see what bribe Bloomy gives him to stay quiet about his racists. homophobic and misogynist statements. Ol' Bernie might get a whole damn island!

stevew said...

"Two smart people in a stable marriage working good jobs most of their life are going to be multimillionaires"

And especially two corrupt individuals sucking at the public teat. All while pretending to be working selflessly for the common man.

Drago said...

Admiral Inga: "Yep. Stone and Rudy have too much on him and aren’t about to take the fall for him. He’s saving his own skin, he’s pretty transparent."

LOLOLOLOLOL

Nobody knows what Roger Stone and Rudy Know!

Its like the past 4 years never happened at all.

Dont hold back now Inga! Tell us what Roger and Rudy "know".

Does it take actual work to be that stupid?

rehajm said...

It's a combination if great benefits at a job he's had a long time- excellent salary, a great investment account. Now add compound interest. The man is damn near 80...

John henry said...

The No Agenda boys think Peter B is a spook. CIA or some other agency looking to get back in power.

Datapoints include Rhodes Scholar (major globalist program going back to cecil Rhodes), his military service (direct commission, intelligence, few details) and McKinsey & Co. Also his father is pretty hardcore red.

Today they were wondering if Peter is really gay? Is he just pretending to be gay so people won't look at his background?

His spouse, Chasten, works as a teacher but is also a thespian. Is he just playing a role here?

When you think about it, pretending to be gay is a perfect cover. He cannot be criticized or questioned. Anyone who tries to do so is immediately branded a homophobe. Any question that was raised is lost in the uproar.

He is also being questioned by the gay community as not gay enough
https://thefederalist.com/2019/05/24/lgtb-people-rage-pete-buttigieg-not-gay-enough/

So how do we really know peter b is really gay? Anyone seen him in the act?

If he is not actually gay, would that be disqualifying for the presidency? Like Warren's faking being an Indian.

And if he is not great, what are we left with? Basically a young, second rate mayor of a second rate city. And we are expected to believe that qualified him?

I want to see some proof he is gay.

John Henry

Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...

‘I’d Do Her’: Mike Bloomberg and the Underbelly of #MeToo

Disparaging comments. Demeaning jokes. As the mogul reportedly considers a 2020 presidential run, it remains an open question whether his long-alleged history of undermining women will affect his chances.
https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2018/09/mike-bloomberg-comments-women-metoo/570448/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=share

Did you know Mike Bloomberg banned food donations to the homeless because he didn't know the sodium content?
Nanny Bloomberg

John henry said...

If you dou think you can criticize Mayor Pete on an basis at all, remember the discussion we had a week or 2 back about the bridge lights?

Yeah. What a buncha homophobes that discussion showed up.

John Henry

stevew said...

At least Bloomberg created something of value and made a lot of people wealthy along with himself. Steyer, Bezos, Jobs, Ellison, etc. too. Sanders never created anything and made no one wealthy but himself. See also: Obama, Biden, Kennedy, Warren; a pattern appears.

Drago said...

Hey Inga, maybe it was Rudy who kidnapped Michael Cohen's cell phone and took it ti secret meetings in Prague!

And Roger Stone coordinated the "pinging" between Trump Tower and Russian bank servers!

Now is your chance to recycle every debunked russian collusion hoax lie!

Bill, Republic of Texas said...

OMG! ARM and Inga are saying the walls are closing in on Trump. He's done!

Hahahahahahahaha.

Losers.

narciso said...

oh

Drago said...

And this just in:

BREAKING: FBI claims it "lost" informant documents signed by dossier fabulist Christopher Steele in January 2016

Well gee whiz. Isnt it interesting how that kind of stuff keeps happening to our FBI and DOJ "professionals" while simultaneously these same corrupt pro-dem hacks keep getting caught manufacturing evidence against Trump associates?

stevew said...

Top Men Drago, Top Men!

Jersey Fled said...

So Bloomberg makes the debate on the basis of a fortuitous NPR/PBS poll released today and showing him at 19%.

Who could have guessed.

narciso said...

Roger stone lied to impress people than eandi credico called him out.he didnt have a back channel to assange unlike say senator warner.

narciso said...

Who made his fortune through a russian media platform yandex ru.

stevew said...

And I'd say Trump is correct when he says they are trying to screw Bernie out of the nomination.

tim in vermont said...

https://twitter.com/helloitsthao/status/1229952506056196097

Trump’s approval in California steadily rises.

I love how quickly the Democrats pretend that prison reform never happened and that Trump has made dealing with overzealous prosecutions a main theme of his presidency.

tim in vermont said...

"OMG! ARM and Inga are saying the walls are closing in on Trump. He's done!”

It was on CNN yesterday. There was a guy sitting next to me on the airplane watching CNN, a little drool in his chin, and poking his crooked finger at the screen every few seconds and Anderson Cooper explained it all.

As for ARM and Inga, who gives a flying fuck what people think who imagine that the use of prosecution as an extra democratic type of political action is a good thing.

Maybe Blago will tell us what was said on those tapes that were suppressed when he got railroaded.

narciso said...

like one phlegmatic one

William said...

I haven't paid any attention to the last few debates. I might tune into this coming one. Bloomberg might be one of the dullest Presidential candidates of the last century, but even so he'll be the center of attention on that stage....It's not beyond the realm of possibility that someone will say something interesting. I bet Bloomberg says something disarming and witty about his height. They don't call Bloomberg clever and witty for nothing. He pays his people top dollar to call him clever and witty....I think it would be cool if he came on stage using stilts or maybe dropped down from the heavens in a reprisal of his Mary Poppins role. I'm sure he'll do something eye catching. Maybe wear an American flag lapel pin.

tim in vermont said...

"And Roger Stone coordinated the "pinging" between Trump Tower and Russian bank servers!”

That one was funny. Glenn Greenwald nailed that one. It was marketing emails for Trump luxury properties and they go everywhere, not just alpha bank, and the “pings" back were people clicking on them.

There is no conspiracy theory too stupid for them to believe though.

William said...

I hope one of the candidates has a Big Gulp and makes loud slurping noises when Bloomberg tries to speak.

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

stevew: "Top Men Drago, Top Men!"

The Toppest of The Top Men!

Can you imagine? The combined efforts of the FBI/DOJ/CIA/NSA/StateDept/etc and elements of the foreign intelligence services and foreign diplomatic services of Britain/Russia/Italy/Ukraine/Australia not only knew that Trump had done nothing wrong but constructed multiple attempts (Crossfire Hurricane) to frame Trump as well!!

And they all failed.

narciso said...

The chabad putin tie to latvia, curiously llike rosemont senecas estonian cut out tohunter.

tim in vermont said...

Pete Buttigieg attacks Christian Trump supporters as violating their faith and Scripture.

"I cannot find any compatibility between the way [@realDonaldTrump] conducts himself and anything I find in Scripture."

What an utterly disgusting and false smear.


As Lazlo said, it’s a good thing for Mayor Pete that God agrees with him so much.

FullMoon said...

A bit like the Jacksons not being any favorites of mine, but when the Obama crew kicked Jesse Sr. to the curb and replaced him with Al Sharpton, that sort of generated a soft spot in my heart for old Jesse.

Guess you noticed how Jesse Jr. went to jail after Obama in power. Senior insulted Obama as a lightweight prior to election. Obama's gang really did get revenge on enimies, real and imagined.

narciso said...

Mark warner uses a lobbyist representing the russian foreign ministry and deripaska serving as a conduit to steele who also worked for deripaska

walter said...

No worries, Drago.
Wray will issue a stern memo.

Char Char Binks, Esq. said...

How dare Chrissie Hynde defend the treatment of animals when they’re treated so abominably! Has she never seen those ASPCA PSA? WWJPD?

FullMoon said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
walter said...

Remember Jesse Sr. caught on hot mic wanting to cut Obama's balls off...

Sebastian said...

"The combined efforts of the FBI/DOJ/CIA/NSA/StateDept/etc and elements of the foreign intelligence services and foreign diplomatic services of Britain/Russia/Italy/Ukraine/Australia not only knew that Trump had done nothing wrong but constructed multiple attempts (Crossfire Hurricane) to frame Trump as well!!"

We've addressed this before, but it is worth reconsidering, since it is the greatest political scandal of modern times.

The effort to derail and then to remove Trump was brazen, considering that the deep-staters and their foreign allies had nothing. I know Bruce Hayden has argued that the attack on Trump's campaign and the Russia hoax followed from and attempted to cover up earlier spying abuses, but the sheer scale of the attack is still remarkable.

Regardless of the origin story, the plotters must have thought two things: that they could get rid of Trump one way or another, and that they could get away with a frame-up. They were wrong about Trump, but they were not wrong about getting away with it.

Drago said...

walter: "No worries, Drago.
Wray will issue a stern memo."

And a few new "procedures" will be coughed up which are "guaranteed" to return "integrity" to the "process".

This "effort" will be "overseen" by "experienced" DOJ alumni Andrew Weissmann to ensure "compliance".

JaimeRoberto said...

If becoming a millionaire isn't so difficult, then what's all the hullabaloo about income inequality?

Bay Area Guy said...

The Dem debates so far have been long and tedious.

But I'm excited for this one.

Biden, Warren and Buttigieg are all done.Toast. Put a fork in 'em (or Tomahawk for Warren).

The question is, Do they direct their wrath at Bloomer or Bernie? Or maybe the Bernie Bros.

I'm hoping they all pile on Bloomer, as the short, sexist, racist, Billionaire he is.

Michael K said...

Is there something exceptional about Sanders wealth?

Just the stealing but it's OK since he's a Democrat.

D 2 said...

Don’t fall in, Mark. Stay strong! Don’t get caught in the back and forth and back and forth and back...

Need a distraction ... February 19 ... hmm ... on this day ... uh, let’s see .... Wiki says it is the anniversary of the largest ever Roman vs Roman battle, won by Septimus Severus. (Nope, that ain’t gonna help)

Here we go: Bon Scott died Feb 19, 1980. Forty years ago wow.

Now there’s a safe subject. Surely to goodness everyone can agree that AC/DC was just as good with Brian Johnson on Back in Black vs Bon Scott’s Highway to Hell... surely no one is going to be so dogmatic Anti-Johnson in attitude or suffer from some sort of Bon Scott Derangement ... (Or DARE to suggest AC/DC were second fiddle poseurs to Black Sabbath)

FullMoon said...

The Dem debates so far have been long and tedious.

But I'm excited for this one.


How is position determined? Will new guy be front and center? Looking forward to type of personal questions asked. Any moderators bought off?

Would be nice if every participant was included in every shot so as to see reactions to rivals answers.

MadisonMan said...

Meet the new snow. Same as the old snow.

narciso said...


nothing suspicious

walter said...

“Part of our work will involve helping more Black Americans get on track to a successful career. That means we will triple funding for Historically Black College and Universities like Alabama State, which I visited last weekend, and Texas Southern, just down the road here in Houston. Go Tigers!"
Mike Bloomberg for Black America

walter said...

D2,
If AC/DC had two fiddles, that would open up the sonic possibilities.

Bay Area Guy said...

Did President Truman "interfere" with the Korean War effort when he fired General MacArthur in '51?

Of course not.

Same principle applies to many of our current political squabbles.

narciso said...

Codevilla might say yes, according to his review of arthur hermans book on truman and mcarthur.

narciso said...

I mentioned in an earlier threas how devastating the decimation of suleimani was to the revolutionary guard.

walter said...

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/fbi-director-carter-page-was-surveilled-illegally

Under questioning from Republican Rep. John Ratcliffe of Texas, Wray, who deflected many questions by referring lawmakers back to Horowitz’s report, agreed that Page was surveilled illegally.

“The report acknowledges that ... this was illegal surveillance with respect to at least several of these FISA applications, because there was not probable cause or proper predication, correct?” Ratcliffe asked.

“Right,” Wray replied.
<
“So to the point of one of my Democratic colleagues that there was no fraud on the court, illegal surveillance and changing evidence to conduct illegal surveillance is the very definition of fraud on the court, is it not?” Ratcliffe followed up.

“Well, I certainly think that it describes conduct that is utterly unacceptable,” Wray said. “We have accepted ... every finding in the inspector general’s report, including some that are extremely painful to us as an institution"
--
Gotta sting. So sorry for your loss. Thanks for focusing on the core issue.

walter said...

narciso,
We aren't getting any Martha Raadetz reports from Iran...

narciso said...





and you wont

Mark said...

I meant to mention that Martha's voice seemed a bit hoarse tonight.

Not Raddatz. The yum, comfort food one.

narciso said...

Mccallum, yes shes good.

Narr said...

FM, I think their order on stage will be tallest to shortest.

You know what would be cool? It should be like a game show: Hollywood For Ugly People Squares!

All the contestants in the little windows . . .

Narr
Maybe require written answers

Mark said...

Oh no they di'int!

Accuse Francine of having a beard?

It's on.

walter said...

Narr,
They should have buzzer buttons.

Howard said...

You people drink too much

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





fascinating

Narr said...

Nonsense, Howard. I drink just enough.

Narr
Drinking costs money

Hagar said...

Making Al Sharpton their spokesperson for "The Black Community" kind of said a lot about the Obama administration.

Narayanan said...

Is voir dire process same across all States and Federal Court Systems?

Edumacate me.

Roger Stone case Judge actions strike me as wrong.

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

"By pardoning Michael R. Milken, a potent symbol of the “greed is good” 1980s and arguably the most significant white-collar criminal of his generation, President Trump has sent two powerful messages: When it comes to justice, money counts. And white-collar crime doesn’t really matter.

So much for the rule of law, already under siege by the Trump administration, and the notion that no one, no matter how rich or powerful, is above it."

narciso said...

Bcci worldcom mf global each geometrically larger than the last.

narciso said...

Mf globals losses are similar to that of privat bank in the ukraine.

narciso said...

Bcci was replaced by the golden chain. Which included some of the same player in finance and intel.

Milwaukie guy said...

As someone involved in Cook "Crook" County Illinois Democrat politics for 25 years as an independent progressive Dem, I must absolutely applaud Trumps commutation for Rod "the Mod" Blago.

I don't know all the details but I don't remember any actual money changing hands. I know Blago said that the appointment to Obama's senate seat was a "valuable thing." It's the Chicago/Illinois Democratic Party. Of course the appointment was a valuable thing.

Yet the Obama DOJ put the hit out. 14 fucking years for making a true observation over an FBI recorded phone call?

Did the Illinois legislature Godfather Madigan call Obama for the hit? Blago's father-in-law was Alderman Dick Mell with an independent power center with other alderman, some suburban and state stuff, and so Chicago, Cook County and State of Illinois jobs.

Freedom for Rod the Mod. Thank you, PDJT.




narciso said...

Who delivered the consideration, of course itrook another decade for burke and madigan to fall into the net.

Michael said...

ARM
Milken was convicted and served his time. Do you happen to know the amount of money he paid as a fine in addition to his prison time?

walter said...

KerriKupecDOJ
@KerriKupecDOJ
·
1h
Addressing Beltway rumors: The Attorney General has no plans to resign.

Drago said...

ARM: "When it comes to justice, money counts."

Marc Rich says HELLO!

Drago said...

ARM: "So much for the rule of law, already under siege by the Trump administration, and the notion that no one, no matter how rich or powerful, is above it."

Yes.

A democrat wrote that.

Just now.

Without irony.

Milwaukie guy said...

And also, in most states, isn't it one of the Governor's perks to exercise raw political power in naming an interim senator? No state senate, no prominent citizens committee, just a valuable bauble for the governor to bestow. 14 years?

Patty stood by you all these years. She's a good wife and still hot. You've still got your hair.

BTW, I worked for Blago's opposition in the gov campaign, Paul Vallas, and David Axelrod was Rod's guru.

FullMoon said...

A captivating series.



Iowa man allegedly kidnapped woman and forced her to watch ‘Roots’ to ‘better understand her racism’

Churchy LaFemme: said...

I saw a re-worked version of "The Menagerie" several years ago. It was playing Fathom Events at theaters before, I guess, going out on blu-ray/dvd. This was the original movie-length first pilot, not the two-part version shoehorned into TOS. They had redone all the special effects with modern CGI, and it looked pretty good. I think it worked as a story too. In this version, the Forbidden Planet homage vibe was pretty strong too. I think it would have been a fondly recalled 60s SF movie if it had gone out to theaters then. (With a cinematic effects budget..)

Sebastian said...

Now pardon Martha Stewart.

Big Mike said...

The lede in an article in today’s LA Times: “The Boy Scouts of America, one of the nation’s oldest and largest youth organizations, filed for bankruptcy protection late Monday as former Scouts’ legal claims of past sexual abuse continue to mount.“

Not long ago it was part of the Scout Oath to be “morally straight,” but gays sued to be allowed to be scouts and scoutmasters. One wonders whether the people who agitated on behalf of gays, and the judges who forced the BSA to accept gays into its ranks, feel any remorse?

Who am I kidding?

Churchy LaFemme: said...

Well, they may have done themselves out of being able to wear it like a skin suit this time..

FullMoon said...

Now pardon Martha Stewart.
Not a bad idea, she was screwed. She has to ask nicely, first.

walter said...

So, it was “right-wing Stone supporters” who criticized Hart? Like good old Democratic voter Jonathan Turley, who wrote:

[Tomeka Hart] referred to the President with a hashtag of “klanpresident” and spoke out against “Trump and the white supremacist racists.” She posted about how she and others protested outside a Trump hotel and shouted, “Shame, shame, shame!” When profanities were projected on the Trump hotel, she exclaimed on Jan. 13, 2018, “Gotta love it.” On March 24, 2019, she shared a Facebook post — no longer public — while calling attention to “the numerous indictments, guilty pleas, and convictions of people in 45’s inner-circle.”

More worrisome are her direct references to Stone, including a retweeted post, in January 2019, from Bakari Sellers, again raising racist associations and stating that “Roger Stone has y’all talking about reviewing use of force guidelines.” She also described Trump supporters such as Stone as racists and Putin cronies…

It certainly seems Hart had no place on the Stone jury. The Supreme Court has repeatedly declared that the “minimal standards of due process” demand “a panel of impartial, indifferent jurors.” Hart’s record suggests little that is impartial or indifferent. She was perfectly within her right to engage in such commentary and protests — but she had no right to sit in judgment of an associate of the president after her public declarations. Her participation raises serious arguments for setting aside the verdict, from the possibility of ineffective counsel to the denial of due process.
<
https://www.thenewneo.com/2020/02/18/judge-amy-brennan-jackson-plans-to-go-full-steam-ahead-with-sentencing-stone/?fbclid=IwAR0zmewSJtURvJEJHoYcFNoI2DLFfih-3LWJ0m4vBDO2tFrau58an6ZOYK8

Milwaukie guy said...

Martha Stewart should get something. Does a pardon sort of expunge the whole thing? Theoretically.

stephen cooper said...

Yes, pardon Martha Stewart.

And have those folks who tried to put Bonds - a baseball player! who did nothing illegal! - in jail write him a sincere letter of apology.

Introduce legislation granting amnesty to every veteran who smoked a little pot and who was arrested by creepy sadistic local police officers who were too lazy to investigate real crimes, with a long letter of apology for having taken the side of the creepy sadistic local police officers.

Take down the statues of Lincoln who arrogantly violated the Constitution, take down the statues of every rich little man with a shrew of a wife who violated the Constitution.

Get Andrew Jackson and his cruel ugly face off our currency. And Ben Franklin, that old phony, too.

And write a letter of apology, if you are an English teacher, to every poor little student who was forced to read anything written by Harper Lee.

Or better yet, put just a little energy into forgetting the evils of our past and put a lot of energy into trying to be a decent person in order to set an example for future generations ....

eddie willers said...

If becoming a millionaire isn't so difficult, then what's all the hullabaloo about income inequality?

Ouch! That's gotta hurt.

Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...

Whitey Bulger's dead.
No, no, no, no, He's outside looking in.


I'm a little Leary-- does this mean he was innocent?

"The CIA dosed notorious Boston crime boss #WhiteyBulger with LSD more than 50 times in a top secret mind control experiment, but his lawyers never mentioned it in his two-month trial".

https://t.co/J6Fe862sze?amp=1

Yancey Ward said...

There was nothing unseeming about any of these pardons and commutations. Even that of Blagojevich is ok- the man has served 8 years of what was likely an unjust sentence of 14 years for the crimes of which he was convicted. The one for Milken is simply an acknowledgement of the good work the man has done since he was released from prison years ago- you should want to use the pardon power this way, or at least you would want to if you had any integrity about you, and the same applies to Kerik.

Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...

Make America Great Always

Is ‘America’s Expiration Date’ Near?
Most World Powers Last 250 Years.

https://www.dailysignal.com/2020/02/17/most-world-powers-last-250-years-is-americas-expiration-date-near/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=most-world-powers-last-250-years-is-americas-expiration-date-near

Yancey Ward said...

I am going to make a prediction about the Stone sentencing- the judge puts him prison for the full 9 years. I make this prediction because she should have decided the appeal for a new trial first- that is the standard way of proceeding in such circumstances, so not following standard procedure here demonstrates that for her is just political, and doing so suggest she wants to make a political statement at the sentencing itself, and the only way she can do that without making a mockery of herself is to make it 9 years like the corrupt prosecutors wanted in the first place. The Left can't help themselves- it is politics over justice at every opportunity.

Yancey Ward said...

And I think Jackson might not be able to stop there. It is an open shut case for a mistrial- this will conviction will get overturned by the first competent appeals court judge it reaches, but I don't think Jackson can bring herself to do this, though- the tell is that she wants to do the sentencing first.

Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...

Most unpopular qualities for a prez candidate in the new NBC/WSJ poll (combined reservations + very uncomfortable):

Socialist: 67%
Heart attack in past year: 57%
75+: 53%
Self-funder: 41%
Under 40: 40%
Gay/lesbian: 27%
Woman: 14%

Feb 14-17, RVs, MOE +/- 3.3%

Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...

Bernie, it may be sooner, if you're in Hillary's way

Study: 65% of older MI patients die within 8 years
About two-thirds of patients older than 65 who experience a myocardial infarction die within eight years, according to a new study—and nearly half die in that timeframe even if they receive percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) or coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery.

https://www.cardiovascularbusiness.com/topics/acute-coronary-syndrome/study-65-older-mi-patients-die-within-8-years

Churchy LaFemme: said...

Rome lasted 1000+ plus years. We can do it too. Of course we may have to move the capital to Hawaii at some point and abandon DC to the Goths..

Gahrie said...

Now there’s a safe subject. Surely to goodness everyone can agree that AC/DC was just as good with Brian Johnson on Back in Black vs Bon Scott’s Highway to Hell... surely no one is going to be so dogmatic Anti-Johnson in attitude or suffer from some sort of Bon Scott Derangement ... (Or DARE to suggest AC/DC were second fiddle poseurs to Black Sabbath)

How about Van Halen with Dave as lead, or with Sammy as lead? Genesis...Peter or Phil? Has anyone played in all three of Deep Purple, Rainbow and Black Sabbath?

Bonus trivia Question: There is a musician who plays bass and sings, that has replaced the same man (who also plays bass and sings) in two different bands. Name the two men and the two bands.

Gahrie said...

Rome lasted 1000+ plus years. We can do it too. Of course we may have to move the capital to Hawaii at some point and abandon DC to the Goths..

We'll move the nation to the Moon.

n.n said...

the people who agitated on behalf of gays, and the judges who forced the BSA to accept gays into its ranks, feel any remorse

Clearly, boy privilege. Transgender is trendy, socially progressive, gender diverse, and politically congruent.

n.n said...

Gay/lesbian: 27%

Trendy, but one trans/homo judge does not political congruence ("=") justify.

Woman: 14%

Taxable, available, and leveraged for political progress through sym-pathetic and em-pathetic appeals.

Yancey Ward said...

AC/DC was better with Johnson, but then the real creative forces weren't the lead singers, and they improved through the change in lead singers.

For me, Van Hagar was shadow of Van Halen, but I don't put that on Sammy Hagar- it was the decisions of the Van Halens that made the sound more commercial and rock-lite. This started with the album "1984" when Roth was still the frontman. Of course, Van Hagar thrived to a much greater extent than did Roth as a soloist.

It is a similar thing with Genesis- the band developed a more commercial sound after Gabriel left, but in that case it was a change I liked better. The split, of course, was very beneficial to Gabriel, too, whose music as a soloist I loved every bit as much as Collins first two solo albums.

Josephbleau said...

When I hear a Democrat authority piously claim No One is Above The Law (tm). I throw up a little, in my mouth.

Josephbleau said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Josephbleau said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Original Mike said...

"I want to see some proof [Pete B.] is gay.
John Henry"


Yeah... I'll pass on that one.

Seeing Red said...

Via Lucianne:

The FBI under James Comey underhandedly sent a senior member of the team investigating alleged collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign to conduct a standard official FBI security briefing for presidential campaigns with then-candidate Donald Trump and his then national security advisor, Michael T. Flynn. Unbeknownst to both Trump and Flynn, that FBI investigator memorialized that briefing, which included exchanges with Flynn and Trump, in an official document that was added to the Crossfire Hurricane case file probing the Trump campaign over unsubstantiated and ultimately discredited charges of Russian collusion. The FBI file documenting the August 2016 briefing describes two questions asked by candidate Trump as well as comments from Trump

Seeing Red said...


—Pete Buttigieg attacks Christian Trump supporters as violating their faith and Scripture.

"I cannot find any compatibility between the way [@realDonaldTrump] conducts himself and anything I find in Scripture."

What an utterly disgusting and false smear.—


Marxists nagging Christians using Christianity. He’s not the first.

Ruchi Pandey said...

I feel very grateful that I read this. It is very helpful and very informative and I really learned a lot from it.

Rajasthan tour package from Jaipur | Jaipur tour package for 2 days by car | Jaipur darshan tour by taxi

Bruce Hayden said...

“Regardless of the origin story, the plotters must have thought two things: that they could get rid of Trump one way or another, and that they could get away with a frame-up. They were wrong about Trump, but they were not wrong about getting away with it.”

They have gotten away with it so far, but that may not last. USA Durham has apparently expanded his investigation to include the Mueller SC investigation. He is apparently starting to interview some of the 40 FBI agents and analysts involved.

Bruce Hayden said...

As for Michael Milkin, his philanthropy did not start after his conviction. According to a Jewish friend, at the time, he was the largest contributor to Jewish causes in the country prior to forfeiting much of his fortune to the feds. And according to people who knew him then, he was one of the cleanest people on Wall Street, and only plead guilty to keep the feds from prosecuting his brother (if that sounds familiar- that is, of course, how Gen Flynn was pressured into his guilty plea - to protect his son, with a wife and infant at home).

Jews, who benefitted so greatly from his largess, should have demanded that Obama pardon him. Instead, they continued to support Obama and the Democrats, letting themselves continue to be taken for granted. I need to ask that friend why he continues to contribute to Democrats, and only Democrats, despite Dem Presidents refusing to pardon Milikin, leaving a Republican to do that. Won’t matter, of course.

gilbar said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
JMW Turner said...

Ok, see an opportunity here. Timothy B. Schmidt replaced Randy Meisner first in Poco (Pogo), then later in The Eagles. Always the bride, never the bridesmaid...

gilbar said...

Buttigieg reportedly touted 'partnerships' with black-owned South Carolina businesses they denied having

Buttigieg penned an op-ed in a South Carolina newspaper "The State" promoting his "Frederick Douglass Plan,"
"That begins with entrepreneurship, and our campaign has proudly partnered with local businesses like Diane’s Kitchen in Chester, Atlantis Restaurant in Moncks Corner
those businesses, Diane's Kitchen and Atlantis Restaurant, said they "only remembered welcoming Buttigieg's campaign as customers, not forging any sort of partnership with the candidate."
"It sounds like you're saying that I am your business partner. I'm only going to accept that you all stopped in while you were campaigning in South Carolina and I welcomed you all," Cole told the campaign in one message.


Pete's Campaign said: We're proud to live our values as a campaign by holding events and spending money at Black-owned businesses in South Carolina

Blacks are Pete's SERVANTS; And he's Proud to Pay them wages!

gilbar said...

the 'recanvas' results are IN! And; through the wonders of Vote Manipulation, the democrat party is STILL pretending the Bernie didn't win iowa; even though THOUSANDS more people voted for him than anyone else.

Latest spin is that Bernie is Still 0.004% behind Butifuc in SDE's or some such

Meanwhile....

Sanders surges into national lead in new Post-ABC poll

bernie 32% +9
Jo biden 16% -16
bloomberg 14% +6
lizzy warren 12% +-0
mayor pete 8% +3
Amy Klob 7% +4

rhhardin said...

Drudge headline link
Barr has told those close to Trump that he may quit if president keeps tweeting about investigations

Means Barr is part of the swamp.

Big Mike said...

"I cannot find any compatibility between the way [@realDonaldTrump] conducts himself and anything I find in Scripture."

I dunno. There’s lots about smiting your enemies in the Old Testament.

Michael K said...

ARM: "So much for the rule of law, already under siege by the Trump administration, and the notion that no one, no matter how rich or powerful, is above it."

The burning hatred is exquisite.

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

Trump is dirty, and the entire country is now a swamp. No respect for the law. Never had any, never will.

Kai Akker said...

Becoming a millionaire is not exactly difficult these days.

Easier these days, true, when a dollar is really only worth a nickel, pre-Federal Reserve Act.

Putting that aside, it does depend a lot on two aspects. On the income side, cushy salaries and benefits must stay cushy. And pensions and related benefits must actually be paid out.

On the wealth side, housing values and stocks must stay high and not go down.

How certain are those propositions? Not as certain as your post presumes, IMO. In fact, uncertain in each particular category and exceedingly uncertain, if not impossible, as a package.





Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

JaimeRoberto said...
what's all the hullabaloo about income inequality?


Math is hard. Here, try some reading with pretty pictures instead.

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

Under Trump, the party of law and order has become the party of crooks and thieves.

jaydub said...

ARM regarding Bernie's wealth: "Two smart people in a stable marriage working good jobs most of their life are going to be multimillionaires."

Except Bernie didn't have a steady job until he was elected mayor at age 40. The mayor was paid squat until he was elected to congress eight years later. While mayor he was able to supplement his income by creating a unpaid city job for his girl friend, now wife, then converting it to a paid position. In addition to his congressional salary, then senate salary, he was able to get his wife paid positions on his campaigns and congressional staffs. I guess this equates to two smart people working good jobs in ARM's circle.

https://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/politics/item/34743-how-bernie-sanders-and-his-family-got-rich-via-government

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

Bernie and his wife are members of the cognitive elite. Given their respective IQs they have almost certainly under-performed financially.

Should society favor the cognitive elite so strongly financially relative to everyone else? I would argue no, but given how our financial rewards are currently set up, making an issue of Bernie's modest wealth is clueless.

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

jaydub said...
Except Bernie didn't have a steady job until he was elected mayor at age 40.


He is currently 78 and still working. His wife was a college president. It would be hard not to be a millionaire under those circumstances.

Kai Akker said...

Bernie and his wife are members of the cognitive elite

Bernie is a yenta. His cognition is average, to make a politely generous assessment. His social skill is relentless grifting and he is way above average in that category.

dustbunny said...

Best photo so far in this project.

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

Kai Akker said...
His cognition is average


This is untroubled by reality. The guy is 78 years old and still runs rings around much younger smart people. Not a lot of stupid college presidents out there either.

Gahrie said...

Ok, see an opportunity here. Timothy B. Schmidt replaced Randy Meisner first in Poco (Pogo), then later in The Eagles. Always the bride, never the bridesmaid...

Correct.

Kai Akker said...

This is untroubled by reality. The guy is 78 years old

Untroubled by reality is the definition of your posts on this, I'm afraid. Bernie is 78 and had not had a new idea since he was 18. Not a good testimonial to his cognition there.

The one idea he has had is to like and promote communism, even as the course of human history has displayed its destructive failures in the most dramatic living color. No evidence of cognition there either.

Bernie is a yenta, a relentless yenta. America is so great in its freedom and opportunities that even he has become a millionaire with his worn-out schtik.

jaydub said...

ARM: "Bernie and his wife are members of the cognitive elite. Given their respective IQs they have almost certainly under-performed financially" and "He is currently 78 and still working. His wife was a college president. It would be hard not to be a millionaire under those circumstances."

The article I brought to your attention, which you obviously didn't read, describes exactly how elite their cognition happens to be, at least in so far as garnering public money:

"Jane served as “media buyer” for Bernie’s campaign despite having no apparent experience in the field. Since media buyers typically earn a commission of roughly 15 percent on all media purchases, Jane could have netted a tidy sum from her position. It’s impossible to know exactly how much either she or Bernie earned from these arrangements because they were merely required to report that they had earned “more than $1,000” from their businesses, but critics charged that Jane and her daughter raked in over $150,000 between 2000 and 2004.

Sanders’ 2016 presidential campaign paid nearly $83 million to Old Towne Media LLC, which Schweizer describes as “a mysterious limited liability company with no website, no phone number, and no office space” that “was registered to a private home on a cul-de-sac in suburban Virginia.” Two people connected with the company also worked with Jane as media buyers for Bernie’s 2006 senatorial campaign. The company may have earned $12 million on these ad buys, assuming they held to the industry standard.

Did Jane — who once more reported only that she’d earned more than $1,000 from professional work — get a cut of this? She isn’t saying. “When a highly respected Vermont reporter named Jasper Craven, working for the nonprofit VTDigger.com, asked Jane about Old Towne Media during a phone interview, she replied, ‘I have no idea what Old Towne Media is,’” recounts Schweizer. “Then she hung up the phone.”

Jane was hired as president of Burlington College, a very small private school that nevertheless received millions of dollars in federal money, in 2004. “One of the board members of the college admitted that Jane’s marriage to Bernie played a big role in her hiring because they thought that it would help with fundraising,” notes Schweizer.

In 2009, the college established a carpentry program, making a backroom deal with the two-year-old, for-profit Vermont Woodworking School. Vermont Woodworking School would ultimately wind up with more than $500,000 of the college’s cash, not to mention at least one grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, whose finances were overseen by the Senate Budget Committee, on which Sanders sat. Oh, yes. The school’s owner just happened to be Jane’s daughter Carina.

Throughout this period, Burlington College struggled to make ends meet, but Jane’s salary kept growing. “By 2009,” pens Schweizer, “she was making $160,000, including benefits.” Two years later, she was asked to resign — with $200,000 in severance pay. Five years after that, the school closed.

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

A lot of liberal arts colleges have struggled financially. In the current era it is not a stable financial model.

Your efforts to make Sanders sound sleazy sound desperate. I don't particularly like Sanders politically but he is a very smart guy who could have made a lot of money in many different fields. You seem more jealous, than convinced by your own arguments.

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

You also seem a little vague on the average salary for a college president.

Seeing Red said...

One country, 2 movies.

jaydub said...

ARM: "Your efforts to make Sanders sound sleazy sound desperate. I don't particularly like Sanders politically but he is a very smart guy who could have made a lot of money in many different fields. You seem more jealous, than convinced by your own arguments."

No, My net worth considerably more than Sanders' is reported to be, but so what. I'm merely pointing out that Sanders and his family made their money like every other socialist in every other country has made his/hers. Specifically, they work the system from the inside to enrich themselves and their families. As for Sanders' intellect, there is nothing in his employment history in the 20 years of his adult life before becoming mayor (preschool teacher, psychiatric aide, carpenter, radical group organizer for SNCC, Core, etc and gig worker (writer, radical film producer.)) There's nothing in his legislative career that indicates any great intellect either - in over 30 years, only 7 bills have been passed that he introduced and two of these were to rename a post office and a third was to declare some kind of special status for a town in Vermont. Basically, he was occupying a seat for 30 years.

BTW, regarding his wife, how many presidents of liberal arts colleges drop out of the University of Tennessee in the early 70's, finish their BA in social work some years later at a small VT school then spend another 15 years finishing their PhD through Union Institute, a for profit college that "specializes in limited residence and distance learning programs." I suspect that the sorority of college presidents which includes social workers with an online PhD would be rather limited in size. And I don't know about the average college president, but Sanders' wife made $160K/year, not bad for driving her college into bankruptcy through some ill advised land purchases. Add in the bank fraud investigation associated with the land purchase and we're talking about a very small sorority indeed. But, no doubt a cognitive elite all the same.

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

This is ridiculous, at no point do you discuss anything other than people doing their jobs - senator and university president. These are well paid positions and you would reasonably expect a couple who have held those positions to be well off, which is all Sanders is. Sanders is one the least well off senators, especially taking account of his advanced age. This is his financial peer group. You are barking up the wrong tree - and it looks desperate. Why not focus this hatred on the actual crooks that Trump just pardoned?

You refuse to acknowledge that small liberal arts colleges are going bankrupt all over the country. It is something of a mystery how so many still survive.

walter said...

"The guy is 78 years old and still runs rings around much younger smart people."
Perhaps around AOC.

Narr said...

Thanks for the summary, jaydub.

The Sanderses are hacks. No other conclusion is possible.

IQ is irrelevant, though I would bet neither one of theirs is much above average.

Narr
The great thing about America is that even mediocrities can succeed

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

jaydub said...
My net worth considerably more than Sanders' is reported to be


How many US senators in your family? How many university presidents? Your argument is self-refuting - a very ordinary family, such as yours, is richer than a family in the 0.1% of professional achievement.

jaydub said...

ARM: "How many US senators in your family? How many university presidents? Your argument is self-refuting - a very ordinary family, such as yours, is richer than a family in the 0.1% of professional achievement."

Well, there are no senators (no socialists or communists either as far as I know) and no one who got a degree from a on line paper mill, either. I would say any success I had or wealth I have achieved is partly due to the fact that I started in the workforce at 10 years old instead of 40 like the good senator, so I had a 30 year head start on him as regards building wealth. I suspect that my masters degrees in chemical engineering and in Operations Research/Systems Analysis, both from established schools with real professors and real degrees, have also stood me in good stead. Now, I didn't serve as a college president like Ms Jane did, but neither did any of the board members of any of the companies I worked for state that I was hired because they thought my relationship to a specific senator would help with fund raising as was the case with Burlington College and Miss Jane. Neither did any of the companies I ran purchase a woodworking course from one of my daughters with $500K of the company's money or provide her a grant courtesy of her father's senate committee membership as was the case with the Miss Jane and her daughter Carina (full disclosure: when I was working in Japan I did own a Toyota Carina.) Now, along the way I did establish a consulting company that built greenfield chemical and manufacturing plants, plants that are still in operation and employ a few thousand workers, which is quite ordinary in ARM's circles but somewhat unusual in my own humble environs. True, if my IQ had been a point or two lower perhaps I would have pursued a degree in sociology instead of engineering/ORSA and maybe it would have taken me the better part of 25 years to do it instead of the six it did take and, like Miss Jane, I could have reached that 0.1% of professional development. But, fortunately for me, I was not as cognitively elite as Miss Jane or the good senator for that matter. Or, perhaps if I had not been so ambitious I would have delayed starting a career until I was 40, too, but I just don't like rabble rousing like the good senator so that wouldn't have worked for me, either. No, I just feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to perhaps provide some of the tax base that the good senator will use to establish his version of Venezuela right here in the old USA. Not like the current disaster that is Venezuela, of course, but one that employs real socialism, that kind that has never been tried before, except, perhaps, in Denmark. Plus, I feel really fortunate to receive the advice and counsel of my betters like ARM who is obviously much better placed to judge success than me and the rest of us ole 99.9% who are vainly struggling to keep up with those government teat suckers in Burlington VT.

jaydub said...

BTW, ARM, my avatar is a photo of me in East Berlin paying my respects to a couple of statues of Karl Marx and Fredrick Engels. It pretty well sums up my opinion of socialists and communists in general.

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

There are an estimated 63,749 chemical engineers in the United States.

There are 100 senators.

You do the math.

Big Mike said...

Not a lot of stupid college presidents out there either.

Not many commit fraud and bankrupt their institutions, either.

Big Mike said...

Bernie is unique in being the only US Senator to have been expelled from a commune for refusing to do his chores.

jaydub said...

ARM: "There are an estimated 63,749 chemical engineers in the United States.

There are 100 senators.

You do the math."

The number of people involved in something is not "math." They taught us that in engineering school.

There is also one president. That's the number you seem to have a lot of trouble with.

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

Amongst those 100 senators Bernie is one of very few who is capable of mounting a credible presidential campaign so the math actually gets a little steeper, yet still he has accumulated considerably less wealth than jaydub. Wouldn't a better question be - what corrupt things did jaydub do to accumulate such wealth out of proportion to his actual achievements?

Jim at said...

Leftists complaining about Trump's pardons.

History truly does reset every 15 minutes for these idiots.

«Oldest ‹Older   1 – 200 of 206   Newer› Newest»