Blumenthal Heads For The Hill

Tomorrow will see longtime Hillary Clinton pal Sidney Blumenthal in front of a Congressional committee.  From the Washington Examiner:

Divisive Clinton confidante Sidney Blumenthal will testify before the House Select Committee on Benghazi Tuesday as part of the same congressional probe that uncovered Hillary Clinton's use of a private email and server to hide her records at the State Department.

What is the committee looking at regarding Blumenthal?

Rep. Lynn Westmoreland, R-Ga., told the Washington Examiner Tuesday's interview will focus on uncovering the details of how and why Blumenthal obtained intelligence in Libya.

"The committee's interest in Mr. Blumenthal is based on a large number of emails regarding Libya to former Secretary Clinton," said Westmoreland, who is a member of the select committee. "We are looking for the facts: the depth of his involvement, why he had this information, who gave it to him, etc."

A batch of Benghazi-related emails between Clinton and her staff that were published last month revealed the significant influence Blumenthal wielded over Clinton when she led the State Department.

Perhaps because I am more cynical on Mondays than the rest of the week, here's a Bold Prediction: Blumenthal's testimony will mostly mirror Hillary Clinton's infamous Benghazi testimony: "What difference, at this point, does it make?"

And that will pretty much be that.

IF I WERE ON THE SELECTION JURY: Sarah Westwood would be a nominated finalist for a Pulitzer in investigative journalism for her work on the Watchdog Team at the Washington Examiner.  Her work is absolutely fantastic.

 

Link to Last Page of Thread.

Comments

[Jane]

Your neighbor committed suicide Janet? That is so sad. I'm sorry.

[NKonChrome]

Rachel-- is a little bit coo-coo. She's like the Robert Downey character in Tropic Thunder.

[Extraneus]

Obama administration cracking down on trans fats, tells food industry to phase them out

WASHINGTON – The Obama administration is cracking down on artificial trans fats, calling them a threat to public health.

The Food and Drug Administration said Tuesday that it will require food companies to phase them out almost entirely. Consumers aren't likely to notice much of a difference in their favorite foods, but the administration says the move will prevent thousands of fatal heart attacks every year.

To phase the fats out, the FDA is determining that artificial trans fats no longer fall in the agency's "generally recognized as safe" category. That means companies would have to petition the agency to add trans fats to foods.

Companies will have three years to phase out the fats or petition the FDA to use them. Many companies have already gotten rid of them.

WTFI.

[Marlene on the phone]

Janet,I'm so sorry.

[narciso]

so sorry to hear that janet,

what I was referring to last night, in part,

[NKonChrome]

henry- I gave up my 1999 Suburban last month and got a new SUV. I really don't drive the new one, the electronics intimidate me. For instance, when I bring my phone into, the 2 gizmos talk to each other like in the Terminator movies.

[DebinNC]

I agree with AP's description above that Dolezal "carefully constructed a life as a civil rights activist in the inland NW", especially the intentionality of "carefully constructed" and the importance of the spot she chose - areas with few if any black people, like Spokane's less than 2%.

[Beasts of England]

'Viciously inhumane'. Methinks she doesn't know the meaning of either word.

[James D]

I did see that, Janet. I'm so sorry.

[DebinNC]

I drive a 13 yo Honda CRV that's been trouble-free and is still going strong.

More telling tidbits from Dolezal the fabulist.

[narciso]

this passage from the bezos post, shows the category error of either the family, or the writer:

[He] watches his mother praying while listening to his father read an entire chapter of the Bible before dinner, “as is customary.” Lawrence Dolezal is reading about Joshua, he who slew Goliath.

[Jack The Trans-Former]

Pulling out in an hour or so.

Double locked the Thule, sbw.

Mrs. JiB's cabriolet is 11 years old and has 21K miles on it. She refuses to depart with it and get a new one.

Dolezal is one sick puppy.

[clarice]

THANKS, JANE. I'LL BE AROUND UNTIL LATER TODAY SO DON'T START MISSING ME JUST YET.

OL, BINGO! Maybe now with the pope on their side the warmunists will reconsider.

[Beasts of England]

I'm often at the tail-end of gadgets and their technologies, but I love Bluetooth™ as synced through my daily driver. My personal contacts come up on the dash; the phone rings through the stereo, with the number or contact displayed, and I can answer it from a button on the wheel and talk hands-free; my phone-stored or streamed music is displayed, controlled, and played through the vehicle's system.

It's spiffy.

[narciso]

have a great trip, clarice, to france right?

[Cispigmented Heteronormative Microagressive Ignatz]

-- The area between the individual & the law has become cluttered with busybodies, committees, regulations, citizen groups, forms, hearings, certificates,....--

We are learning firsthand the difference between a nation of laws and a nation of men.

[narciso]

that was from this piece,

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/06/16/rachel-dolezals-brother-author-joshua-dolezal-faces-trial-for-alleged-sexual-abuse-of-a-black-child/?tid=hp_mm&hpid=z3

[Cispigmented Heteronormative Microagressive Ignatz]

Mrs Iggy loved her bluetooth GMC Acadia.
After she died I sold it to some friends.
Promptly self destructed in myriad ways.
Fortunately they were sufficiently good friends that the friendship survived where the car did not.

[DebinNC]

In our family a car with 21,000 mi is still "new".

[Jeff Dobbs]

Janet:
That party the Obamas threw that is in the news now really gets me for the same reason. Why didn't they donate their money to the poor instead of throwing a party?

Is this the Bible thread?

“6 While Obama was in DC, 7 he threw a party with very expensive food and drinks, which were served on his plate and poured into his cup as he was reclining at the table.

8 When the peons saw this, they were indignant. “Why this waste?” they asked. 9 “The food and drinks for this party could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor."

10 Aware of this, Obama said to them, "Why are you bothering me, your president? The parties are a beautiful thing. 11 The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me."
--The Gospel of Obama 26:6-11

[Jeff Dobbs]

NK:
I gave up my 1999 Suburban last month

Deb:
I drive a 13 yo Honda CRV

Amateurs! My SUV is 17 years old - a 1998. I won't ever give it up (unless it's to hit and run junior in a few years).

[clarice]

Not this time, narciso. Flying to London, then Venice for a trip to Croatia, Corfu,the Ionian Islands and then to Athens. I wonder how Greece will be when it's out of funds?

[narciso]

my first car, an 86 nova, lasted till 2001, after the engine was flooded out in the no name storm that fall, I thought I was the only one, who held on to the bitter end,

[clarice]

I drive a 1997 Toyota. When I take it in to be serviced they never can believe that I haven't fiddled with the speedometer. (I don't drive it much.)

[Janet]

Thanks all...
I wondered if James had seen it because of the gun store discussion going on around our neighborhoods.

[narciso]

wonderful clarice, I was reminded of corfu, because of one of the bond films, they were playing the other day, that was filmed off their coasts,

Helen Caldicott, snorfle.

[Janet]

My motorcycle is a '93 Honda Nighthawk.

[DebinNC]

Sounds marvelous, Clarice. Hope the Wolverine will be along.

[DebinNC]

I bet none of y'all drove a car as a adult that was such a wheezing, battered rattle-trap that you dubbed it "The Pride-Killer".

[narciso]

and venice seems like such an intriguing place, from everything I've read,

[narciso]

the alphom group, is not difficult to find out, now the source of their stovepipe is another matter all together,

[DublinDave]

Good to see Sam Brownback's conservative experiment of lowering taxes on the extremely wealthy fail in such epic and humiliating fashion.

Brownback admitted that the central premise of conservative ideology"lowering taxes to stimulate economic growth" was a hoax and couldn't be applied to the real world.

Brownback has agreed to raise taxes on the wealthy again.

[rse]

I drive a 17 yo suv as well--a 1998 470. I had it looked at while I was gone to see if it was up for ATL to dc to Pittsburgh to atl. It got new brake pads and was blessed.

I love a v-8 that handles well in a vehicle that I needn't worry about if it picks up dents. It also will hold all 3 of my kids in 2nd row even though though are adults now. Hubby took and picked all 5 of us up in it from train to and from the airport, which sure beat two runs or two cars. Been awhile since the diva rode in the back, but it gave me an excuse to vacuum it all out.

[narciso]

murray and drumheller, decamped from the Company, to set up this outfit, after running interference for the OFF crowd, one of their clients happens be NewsCorp this is why the story is kept nebulous,

[narciso]

management slots are fluid in this organization:

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/new-al-qaeda-yemen-leader-qassim-al-rimi-key-terrorist-n376141

[Eric in Boise]

dubbed it "The Pride Killer"

No, but I fondly refer to my 14 year old Escort as the "Scratch & Dent Express". Do I get partial credit for that?

[DublinDave]

On other"Republicans admit Liberal policies work" news, more and more Republican Governors are signing onto medicaid expansion. A recent report stated that redneck states that don't expand medicaid have more rural hospitals close down as a result AND more unnecessary deaths.

And the question that has to be answered by American christians in the face of empirical evidence that your political beliefs and political parties actions kill Americans is;what would Jesus do?

Conservative Christians are having a hard time justifying killing human beings because they don't like the skin color of the President.

[jimmyk]

I bet none of y'all drove a car as a adult that was such a wheezing, battered rattle-trap that you dubbed it "The Pride-Killer".

If being a grad student counts as "adult," back in the 80s I drove a 12-year-old Volvo with about 130,000 miles on it, more rust than steel, might have put my foot through the floor if I'd stepped to hard. Once when I was in a roundabout the brakes completely failed when I slammed on them because a pedestrian tried to cross. Fortunately I wasn't going very fast and the initial hit on the brakes (before the brake pedal just flopped to the floor) must have slowed the car enough that I didn't kill anyone.

[henry]

Well, I had the "urban assault sales vehicle" from 1981 through about 1996 (a 1972 Lincoln Mark IV with 200k miles and "slight" upgrades to the Ford big block under the hood) followed by my '93 Jeep which ran 325k miles until the driver side door rusted off.

[henry]

Fun stuff in LA from our Chicago friend.

[DebinNC]

Clear proof that God exists, jimmyk.

[narciso]

this is why they wear masks:

http://abcnews.go.com/US/opm-hack-probe-hindered-digital-trail-erased-us/story?id=31784335

[rse]

henry just wants to make sure no one is tempted to carjack what he is driving.

Who, me, affluent? Do I look affluent to you?

Seriously, I knew a healthcare lawyer who moved from Nashville to Dallas to become a General Counsel. He said his neighbors actually complained about his driving an older Honda as inconsistent with the calibre of the neighborhood.

[maryrose]

My husband drives a 1998SUV and I drive a 2002 Buick Century
My dream car is a Cabriolet or a Beetle
Janet I am so sorry about your friend I will keep her family in my prayers

[maryrose]

RSE the same thing happened to my brother in law

[henry]

rse, the Lincoln came in handy when I was investing in inner city real estate in the 80s (Philadelphia). The locals would not mess with that car.

[narciso]

chuck lorre didn't learn his lesson from 2 1/2 men,

[narciso]

then again fox hired charlie sheen for 91 episodes! so the lesson apparently is act like a jackalope and you will be rewarded.

[Cecil Turner]

The woman who would be king . . . by proxy can't decide whether she supports TPA or not:

WALLACE: We're talking about in the context of how to negotiate a deal and give it to Congress. Why can't she say whether or not she's for or against it?

FINNEY: But I think you may hear -- again, we're going to talk about a lot of issues. I think you may hear her talk about it sooner rather than later. I’m going to let her be the person to speak about that.

WALLACE: But there's a vote this week in Congress, doesn't she have to weigh in pretty quickly? Because if there's no fast track trade authority, the president can't make the deal.

FINNEY: Well, we’ll see, won’t we? We'll see if they decides that she wants to go ahead and, you know, tell us what she wants to say about it. [emphasis added]

Well, that was illuminating. So then she took a position, sort of:

"There are some specifics in there that could and should be changed. So I am hoping that's what happens now -- let's take the lemons and turn it into lemonade," Clinton said.

But unless Congress grants Obama trade promotion authority, even the most optimistic free trade advocates admit, the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations have no path forward.

I think we get it: she's flashing back to her days as a young poor black girl, with visions of her lemonade stand. Or she wants to negotiate the TPP first, and then give the President authority to negotiate it . . . or something like that.

Brendan Buck, spokesman for the GOP-led House Ways and Means Committee, tweeted: "Either Clinton isn't familiar with the very basics of [trade promotion authority] debate or she is being incredibly disingenuous."

Might be both. Obviously her talking head couldn't even spell TPA, and she apparently has no opinion. But if she were president, she'd be leading. I guess we have to elect her to find out.

[Jane]

Wait til you guys see what Ann just sent me.

Harrumph!

[James D]

For instance, when I bring my phone into, the 2 gizmos talk to each other like in the Terminator movies.

http://gizmodo.com/you-can-now-get-your-waze-directions-directly-from-the-1711540175#_ga=1.123141771.1076234105.1433963738

[Jeff Dobbs]

Important update from Trey Gowdy...

[narciso]

splunge, but she's not being indecisive,

[DebinNC]

45 times HC pushed the trade bill she now opposes ... Senility?

[Cecil Turner]

Senility?

Pandering and mendacity.

[Stephanie]

Trump. Could be entertaining. He's not exactly known for shading his criticisms.

[henry]

Trump. Makes Bernie's hair look good.

[Extraneus]

April 15, 2011:

Poll: Donald Trump Leads 2012 GOP Field

Trump leads with 26 percent, followed by former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (17 percent), former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (15 percent) and ex-Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich (11 percent).

Rounding out the bottom of the list were former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (8 percent), Texas Rep. Ron Paul (5 percent), Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann (4 percent) and former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (4 percent).

Trump, whose potential candidacy has for weeks had many pundits snickering, has ridden his loud but debunked concern that President Obama wasn't born in America to the top of the GOP heap.

[DublinDave]

Trump. The great conservative hope.

roflmao....how bout pat sajack?

[narciso]

this is why I subscribe to Doug Adams 'wrong lizard theory of governance,

[JIB]

I am truly surprised Trump is jumping in this time and releasing his financials.

[Cecil Turner]

The GOP needs a process that weeds out the obviously unsuitable before the primary process. A national debate with Donald Trump in it would be a national embarrassment. (And, speaking of which, a series of debates is a terrible way of choosing a candidate . . . a problem grossly exacerbated by having a hostile press corps run it . . . I just can't come up with a better one.)

[Beasts of England]

You vacuumed it out for the Diva but not for me, rse? ;)

[Extraneus]

I don't see how Trump could qualify for the debates.

Btw, what's wrong with Pat Sajak?

[Stephanie]

Stupid politicians, political hacks, LOL

He's scatterbrained but he's effectively skewering the DC establishment.

[Beasts of England]

I think Trump just wanted to show off his $9.0B net worth. For once, I'm not kidding...

[jimmyk]

Janet, sorry about your neighbor.

New thread.

[glasater]

So sad about your neighbor, Janet. God bless you for trying to help her.

I drive an '03 Chevy pickup 4x4 with a shooting platform on the top of the cab for photography. Has all of 39k on the odometer. The most comfortable seats that newer vehicles just don't have.

I do have a cute little red awd Suzuki that's new but access to camera gear is not as handy :-)

[Cispigmented Heteronormative Microagressive Ignatz]

How sad is it that an eccentric, vulgar, barely competent blowhard with a personality disorder and a bird of paradise perched atop his head is not only far less corrupt but also miles better in every metric than any likely Dem nominee?

[clarice]

deb, she is! All that time with the Wolverine!

[DrJ]

wheezing, battered rattle-trap that you dubbed it "The Pride-Killer".

My previous car, near the end of its life, was dubbed "The Deathmobile" by a Tokyo friend. Beat that!

My Benz is 28 years old (as I have often mentioned) and MrsJ's Toyota pickup is 19 years old. We are not much into new vehicles.

[anonamom]

Outpatient staff is loving Donald--full lounge as it's lunchtime, and they are enjoying his show.

They just got their new health care insurance "choice options," so when he was dissing Obmacare, they were calling out support.

[DublinDave]

"A national debate with Donald Trump in it would be a national embarrassment"

Maybe it's because I'm a little drunk ,maybe it's because I'm in a bad mood....perhaps it's a little of both, but I honestly can't allow you to go out into the world without knowing the truth;any man who advocates having an implement rammmed up his daughters vagina just for the fun of strange, weird christian men is a national embarrassment.

Actually, you're an embarrassement to humanity.

Added to that your need to throw thousands of innocent people off of chemotherapy because you simply don't like the notion of a black president....is just downright evil.

I'm not sure that's a political party that can hold.It's only advocates are scumbags and weirdos.......I'm not sure it can hold.

[Cecil Turner]

. . . but also miles better in every metric than any likely Dem nominee?

Let's see, on the ability to take a position on TPA:“The voters understand the country is going to hell” vs. "let's take the lemons and turn it into lemonade," Clinton said.

Okay, that one is easy. Advantage: Trump.

[Stephanie]

I'm fascinated by the little white flick of spittle or toothpaste in the corner of his mouth.

[Txredneckgrl]

Drive a 95 Lexus with 106K miles. She refuses to go past the airport (or north of Beltline for those of y'all who know Big D). Imputed income is a WONDERFUL thing!