Ann_Hedonia:
REALLY ?? By all accounts? Where do you come up with this stuff? …checks to make sure this is the pit thread…this is BY ALL ACCOUNTS the stupidest thing I’ve ever read on this board, surpassing another one of your classics. Do you even think before you write crap like this?
By the accounts I’ve read, Vladimir Putin is a murderous and corrupt gangster running a criminal enterprise that has nuclear weapons. He has business owners tortured and killed in order to steal their assets, and is backed up with paperwork issued by a totally corrupt legal system that answers to him. This is the crux of the Magnitsky Act. He’s been known to poison foreign business executives. He imprisons, tortures and kills his political opponents and journalists that speak out against him.
Now, I know that you and your ilk have a hard-on for him because he foments hate for minorities and persecutes gay people. Plus he had Pussy Riot attacked by bull-whipped wielding Cossacks. So conservatives are all in love with this democracy hating asshole.
And because he’s such s major league bully that actually completely destroys then kills everyone that opposes him, Trump has a schoolgirl crush on him. ( “Maybe he’ll give me a present” ). And Putin knows this and spent a long time playing hard to get.
And Putin’s just playing with him ( and the rest of the world). And Trump is still desperate for his attention. It’s so ridiculous, they’re both like comic book villains.
And for those that still doubt that Putin, at heart, is a common criminal— remember that he literally stole a Super Bowl ring from NE Pats owner Robert Kraft.
Here's how Vladimir Putin stole a Super Bowl ring from the Patriots' Robert Kraft - CBSSports.com
Or are you going to defend Putin?
Are you stupid? He’s got approval ratings of 80% plus. IMHO, because he’s a murdering thug.
friedo
February 10, 2018, 1:37am
2423
Ann_Hedonia:
REALLY ?? By all accounts? Where do you come up with this stuff? …checks to make sure this is the pit thread…this is BY ALL ACCOUNTS the stupidest thing I’ve ever read on this board, surpassing another one of your classics. Do you even think before you write crap like this?
By the accounts I’ve read, Vladimir Putin is a murderous and corrupt gangster running a criminal enterprise that has nuclear weapons. He has business owners tortured and killed in order to steal their assets, and is backed up with paperwork issued by a totally corrupt legal system that answers to him. This is the crux of the Magnitsky Act. He’s been known to poison foreign business executives. He imprisons, tortures and kills his political opponents and journalists that speak out against him.
Now, I know that you and your ilk have a hard-on for him because he foments hate for minorities and persecutes gay people. Plus he had Pussy Riot attacked by bull-whipped wielding Cossacks. So conservatives are all in love with this democracy hating asshole.
And because he’s such s major league bully that actually completely destroys then kills everyone that opposes him, Trump has a schoolgirl crush on him. ( “Maybe he’ll give me a present” ). And Putin knows this and spent a long time playing hard to get.
And Putin’s just playing with him ( and the rest of the world). And Trump is still desperate for his attention. It’s so ridiculous, they’re both like comic book villains.
And for those that still doubt that Putin, at heart, is a common criminal— remember that he literally stole a Super Bowl ring from NE Pats owner Robert Kraft.
Errrr…yeah. And he’s a pretty popular guy in Russia. If you’re going to be a shitlord dictator you need to make sure people like you. Or at least don’t have enough contempt for you that they think stabbing you is a good idea.
Trump is blocking the release of the Democratic response to the bullshit Nunes memo.
andros
February 10, 2018, 1:44am
2425
And the overwhelming majority of Americans don’t understand and don’t care. Jesus wept.
jasg
February 10, 2018, 2:17am
2426
Fiveyearlurker:
The number three person, Rachel Brand, (number two behind Rosenstein, ie the person that would replace him if he is fired) is stepping down .
Whispered at Davos - “That’s a nice associate attorney general you have there. Sure would be a shame if someone offers her a private sector job she can’t refuse.”
Who wouldn’t want to work for Walmart?
Those blue vests are so cute.
I’m gonna go out on a limb and guess that she’s not gonna be a greeter.
asahi
February 10, 2018, 2:54am
2430
Aspenglow:
Re Rachel Brand…
Sooner or later, Rosenstein is going to have to step aside when he becomes a witness in the primary obstruction charge that is surely heading toward Trump for firing Comey. So there is no question that Brand would have had to assume the position (however one wishes to take that) at some point. You can’t really blame her for not wanting to be in the middle of the ensuing nightmare, being savaged by Trump and his supporters.
My understanding:
Trump can appoint someone to the position, but that person must be confirmed by the Senate. With such a narrow margin now, Trump would need to tread carefully . I don’t think he’d be able to appoint a crony. Flake, McCain, Corker, Collins and maybe even a few others won’t toe the Trump line if he tries.
Alternatively, he can choose someone already confirmed as a U.S. Attorney – not someone who is merely acting. Remember, he’s been pretty involved in picking those people. If he goes this route, he might be able to slither someone handpicked into the position.
All this would change if Dems prevail at the mid-terms.
It’s going to be so ugly between now and then.
Pfff…what you and others don’t want to bring yourselves to admit, don’t want to understand, is that every single day that Trump is in office, every day that he and his allies remain in power, is a day that they are wearing down the good, civic-minded bureaucrats. This is not what Rachel Brand signed up for. I’m guessing that this government is not what many of the career bureaucrats signed up for – but this is what they’ve got at least until January of 2021. A change of Congress - if it even happens and that’s an entirely different thread of discussion – won’t change that. Trump and his billionaire plutocratic alliance is making the bureaucracy an uncomfortable place for people who actually care about preserving institutions for the public. This is an irreversible trend.
What? No blue vest? I wouldn’t take that stupid job then.
asahi:
Pfff…what you and others don’t want to bring yourselves to admit, don’t want to understand, is that every single day that Trump is in office, every day that he and his allies remain in power, is a day that they are wearing down the good, civic-minded bureaucrats. This is not what Rachel Brand signed up for. I’m guessing that this government is not what many of the career bureaucrats signed up for – but this is what they’ve got at least until January of 2021. A change of Congress - if it even happens and that’s an entirely different thread of discussion – won’t change that. Trump and his billionaire plutocratic alliance is making the bureaucracy an uncomfortable place for people who actually care about preserving institutions for the public. This is an irreversible trend.
Please don’t tell me what I don’t want to admit, don’t want to understand. You have a perspective, just as I do – nothing more. I’m not telling you that you’re wrong. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t attack me as being wrong, either. We neither of us know the end of this story.
I appreciate how grim things look just now. I’m well aware of how many forces are arrayed against our institutional norms of government. But I’m not willing to just give up and cave to some nihilistic vision of our future, and I don’t think that means I “don’t want to admit, don’t want to understand.”
Your perspective reminds me of people who go from climate change denial to, “We’re all gonna die and there’s nothing we can do!” There’s a lot in between, and if you’re right, we’ll all know soon enough. Meantime, I intend to fight and see what can be done. Your Cassandra routine is getting rather tiresome.
asahi
February 10, 2018, 3:40am
2433
Aspenglow:
Please don’t tell me what I don’t want to admit, don’t want to understand. You have a perspective, just as I do – nothing more. I’m not telling you that you’re wrong. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t attack me as being wrong, either. We neither of us know the end of this story.
I appreciate how grim things look just now. I’m well aware of how many forces are arrayed against our institutional norms of government. But I’m not willing to just give up and cave to some nihilistic vision of our future, and I don’t think that means I “don’t want to admit, don’t want to understand.”
Your perspective reminds me of people who go from climate change denial to, “We’re all gonna die and there’s nothing we can do!” There’s a lot in between, and if you’re right, we’ll all know soon enough. Meantime, I intend to fight and see what can be done. Your Cassandra routine is getting rather tiresome.
It’s not my Cassandra routine that’s tiresome; it’s reality that’s tiresome .
Whatev’s, bro. I guess you have your hands full being the self-appointed Oracle of The Straight Dope. All the best.
andros
February 10, 2018, 3:57am
2435
:shrug: I get it. The reality is tiresome. It’s real easy to be pessimistic. I am.
If you decide you’re already beaten… you are.
asahi
February 10, 2018, 4:10am
2437
I have a hidden (or not so hidden) agenda: I’m trying to strip the bark off of our cultural propensity for confidence. I fully confess: I want you to be scared. The first step to solving a problem is acknowledging that we, in fact, have a very serious problem and acknowledge the complete scope of it. Even among progressives, I get the sense that the feeling is that this can, and will, be corrected in the next election. However…I’m not so confident. Our confidence, our arrogance, our complacency is killing us.
asahi
February 10, 2018, 4:11am
2438
How far are you willing to go?
What are you willing to sacrifice?
According to you, it doesn’t matter. It won’t be enough.
andros
February 10, 2018, 4:57am
2440
Oh, I’m not beaten. Our particular political experiment has run its course, that’s all. It happens.
Of course, one should never forget that Everest is strewn with the corpsicles of motivated, determined people who wouldn’t let anything stop them.