I Write Of Missing Persons

The failing NY Times circles back to Towergate. I trust neither Trump nor the Opposition Party, but Trump is not tweeting on this right now (or is he?!?) so we poke at whatever is in front of us:

WASHINGTON — President Trump has no regrets. His staff has no defense.

After weeks of assailing reporters and critics in diligent defense of their boss, Mr. Trump’s team has been uncharacteristically muted this week when pressed about his explosive — and so far proof-free — Twitter posts on Saturday accusing President Barack Obama of tapping phones in Trump Tower during the 2016 campaign.

The accusation — and the F.B.I. director, James B. Comey, and the former national intelligence director, James R. Clapper Jr., emphatically deny that any such wiretap was requested or issued — constitutes one of the most consequential accusations made by one president against another in American history.

Hmmph. Denials from Comey and Clapper? They forgot to mention Obama's non-denial denial so swiss-cheesy his own guys backed away from it; a tweet from Jon Favreau:

I'd be careful about reporting that Obama said there was no wiretapping. Statement just said that neither he nor the WH ordered it.

The Clapper denial is somewhat undermined by Clapper's track record on this sort of thing.

As to Comey, his 'emphatic denial' has been made to reporters or their sources, not the public, and seems to include a critical caveat. This is from earlier NY Times reporting:

WASHINGTON — The F.B.I. director, James B. Comey, asked the Justice Department this weekend to publicly reject President Trump’s assertion that President Barack Obama ordered the tapping of Mr. Trump’s phones, senior American officials said on Sunday. Mr. Comey has argued that the highly charged claim is false and must be corrected, they said, but the department has not released any such statement.

Mr. Comey, who made the request on Saturday after Mr. Trump leveled his allegation on Twitter, has been working to get the Justice Department to knock down the claim because it falsely insinuates that the F.B.I. broke the law, the officials said.

Trump's claim insinuates that the FBI broke the law? Taken absolutely literally, I suppose so - Obama can't legally order such a wiretap since it requires a court-issued warrant. But can Obama pound the table and demand his underlings apply for such a warrant, even on thin (dare we say 'Trumped-up?) evidence? Of course he can.

But why would he? Suppose it wasn't Obama himself but an Obama loyalist such as AG Lynch giving the orders. Maybe in addition to slow-walking the Hillary email 'investigation' Ms. Lynch made a bold effort to spin NSA intel about stray Russian chatter into political gold. If one day we learn that she ordered her team to apply for warrants against Trump and/or his associates, does that exonerate Obama? If we learn that the DoJ applied for warrants against Trump's associates but not Trump himself does that mean Trump's accusation was wrong, even though Trump would inevitably be captured as an "incidental collection" on the tapped lines of the people he regularly spoke with?

The original Times piece presents other puzzles:

It is not clear why Mr. Comey did not issue a statement himself. He is the most senior law enforcement official who was kept on the job as the Obama administration gave way to the Trump administration. And while the Justice Department applies for intelligence-gathering warrants, the F.B.I. keeps its own records and is in a position to know whether Mr. Trump’s claims are true. While intelligence officials do not normally discuss the existence or nonexistence of surveillance warrants, no law prevents Mr. Comey from issuing the statement.

Well, the FBI certainly ought to know what warrants they requested and what taps they implemented. But could the DoJ team on its own initiative apply for a warrant (criminal or FISA) without a request from the FBI? I have no idea and the Times sheds no light here. All that is clear is that Comey could deny this himself, but hasn't.

All that said, today's Times piece certainly captures Team Trump backpedaling from Trump's Saturday Tweetstorm. But as to concluding that neither Trump nor his associates were targeted by a lawful (although possibly an over-reaching) lawful warrant, well, I don't know why people would be sure that we know it didn't happen. Or did.

As to whether Trump should resolve this by asking the DoJ for a review of their warrant requests - OMG, wouldn't that potentially be interference with an ongoing investigation?

Trump's deplorable impulse control notwithstanding, kicking this over to Congress is a good idea. Or a special counsel, despite the ongoing lack of any there there.

Stephen Hayes is excellent on the fog at the heart of the fog. So is Byron York. And for our friends on the left, Masha Gessen warns of Russia: The Conspiracy Trap.

ERRATA: Mr. York includes this metaphor:

"There's a lot of smoke, but there hasn't been that smoking gun yet," Todd said. "At what point should the public start to wonder this is all just smoke?"

Which segues irresistibly to the old Russian proverb and Bob Hope's take on it.

Comments

[lyle]

Primero.

[henry]

Obama has shut up... that is not a minor Trump achievement.

[narciso]

neither carlos slims nor Molotov monthly is rarely anygood.

http://libertyunyielding.com/2017/03/06/back-door-trump-clapper-comey-right-wiretapping-trump-tower/

[-peter]

Henry priceless comment

[Roy Lofquist]

"Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 Amendments Act of 2008

The 2008 amendment of FISA gave telecoms immunity, increased the time allotted for warrantless surveillance, and adds provisions for emergency eavesdropping. On June 20, 2008, the House of Representatives passed the amendment with a vote of 293 to 129. It passed in the Senate 69 to 28 on July 9, 2008 after a failed attempt to strike Title II from the bill by Senator Dodd. On July 10, 2008, President Bush signed it into law."

The President does not need a warrant.

[maryrose]

My comment on the prior thread states he is reduced to rolling his eyes wrt the President Trump's tweets
Dem lawmakers walking out in support of women.
Can we dock their pay for the day?
It happens in the real world.
Should we demand doctor notes for their absence?

[the deplorable rich]

I thought all the surveillance requests were fairly well established ... 1 or 2 that were turned down then the one granted in October (and the FBI toady resigning quickly after it was approved).

and fall out from the vault 7 release (iirc they were teasing that release for months), the mole hunt begins ...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/fbi-prepares-for-new-hunt-for-wikileaks-source/2017/03/07/28dcb9e0-0356-11e7-ad5b-d22680e18d10_story.html?utm_term=.163defc0d0fe

[might want to ask the Awan brothers since they aren't too busy nowadays].

[Jack is Back (Again)!]

Don't know if this has been posted. It's daddy special.

http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/03/slaughter-bridge-uncovering-colossal-bronze-age-battle

Slaughter at the bridge: Uncovering a colossal Bronze Age battle.

FTA:

[Rocco]

Patrick Fitzgerald is Godfather to Comey's kid. There's no way Comey didn't know Libby was innocent. He's a partisan hack. Brennan's a confirmed liar.

Get the tin foil out...perhaps Comey is worried he might do time in the same federal system that he put the Gambino's in?

[Jack is Back (Again)!]

FTA:

“If our hypothesis is correct that all of the finds belong to the same event, we’re dealing with a conflict of a scale hitherto completely unknown north of the Alps,” says dig co-director Thomas Terberger, an archaeologist at the Lower Saxony State Service for Cultural Heritage in Hannover. “There’s nothing to compare it to.” It may even be the earliest direct evidence—with weapons and warriors together—of a battle this size anywhere in the ancient world."

[Having a rough day at the computer:]

[JimNorCal]

Great TM piece!
Lots of long JOM pieces this year.
And whose heart can't be won by starting with the phrase "failing New York Times"?

[cheerleader]

"failing NYT's," add my very big grin to the vbgs of others who respond to that phrase in the same way

Someone on TCT posted a snip from a recent BOR interview of Tom Cotton. BOR got Cotton to admit that they know who did the leaking. Then he got Tom Cotton to admit, that Trump has free access to that information.

[Threadkiller]

Get the tin foil out..

I don't understand why it gets put away.

[the deplorable rich]

I know, I have mine on right now.

[Another Bob]

I may be lost in the fog and smoke on this, but didn't the failing NYT tell us on Inauguration Eve that Trump aides at least were "wiretapped"?

Is all of this about Trump being collateral collection on those taps? That doesn't make sense to me.

The dogs that aren't barking tell me something is up, and it's likely that Trump has the goods, but nobody knows on who yet. (Or that Teams Clinton and Obama aren't coming to any satisfying conclusions on who will be the sacrifice.)

Roy Lofquist | March 08, 2017 at 12:26 PM: I've been trying to say that for a while now, without apparent notice. Loretta Lynch could have done it on her authority, claiming presidential authority to do so. Would Obama have to have signed the certification?

[Threadkiller]

My youngest continues to impress me. This morning she was watching the news and relayed to me that today is "a day without women" and wanted to know what it meant.

I told her that it is another group of slackers that hoped to get recognized for not doing a job that, at best, they would do poorly if they went in.

She said, "I hope Mrs. XYZ, my English teacher, participates. She seems like the type. I could use a day off from her."

:-)

[Another Bob]

Nobody on Team Obama has issued a flat denial.

Not Rhodes, not Clapper, not Lynch, not Comey.

Do they think they're setting a trap for Trump, and are waiting on him to put the other foot into it?

[lyle]

That's pretty funny, TK.

[Dave (in MA)]

(Granted, I only walked around a little bit so far, but the only red clad "women" I've seen is one of the T members of our local LGBT bunch.)

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/03/08/man-accused-decapitating-mother-was-in-us-illegally.html

Doing the decapitations that Americans won't do.

[maryrose]

David:
So true about the former President Bush's interview.
Emphasis on division and discord just like Obama during his reign.

[maryrose]

Should be Davod

[sbw]

Draft editorial:

Headline: Thoughts on entitlements

The words “entitled” and “entitlements” are political mirrors that reflect wants. In America, citizens are not so much entitled to a free lunch as entitled to work for their lunch and for other benefits.

The Constitution is specific and limited. Citizens in this country are entitled to equal treatment under the law and basic public safety guaranteed. Beyond that, people are entitled to compete for what jobs are available, where those jobs are available.

What they earn can be used for any legal enterprise including providing basics for themselves and their families. They then are entitled to the satisfaction of knowing that they have contributed to the best of their ability to pay for basics like food, shelter, health care, and education.

Rather than “entitlements” Congress should call “wants” what people ask for. “Wants” should be handled accordingly. They might include:
• One example of a worthwhile project that is not an entitlement might be transition funds to support and retrain people moving from one job to another. Welfare, as a lifelong entitlement, has no future.
• Another example would be developing the capacity of disabled people to become self-supporting to the best of their ability. Everyone should be able to take pride in personal contributions.
• People are not entitled to use government to achieve free access to the earnings of others.
• People are not entitled to claim the savings of those who prepare for their old age, but who die before spending it. People have no real claim when those that die bequeath the savings that remain to their children, to others, or to charities of one’s choosing.

Government governs best when it encourages individual success that opens up individual choice.

The word “entitlement” muddies so much:
• When government considers health insurance for catastrophic emergencies, others try to turn it into health care of every cut, scrape, and sniffle.
• When government chooses to offer schooling, it often tries to build indoctrination into it.

Encouraging financial independence offers more liberty and opportunity than any so-called “entitlement”. Let’s work toward that.

[maryrose]

Another Bob:
They are in for a long wait.
Spicer says no more comments from the WH and it is in Congress's hands now.
I bet Bammy and company are scrambling to get their excuses and talking points in order to be on the same page.
My guess Lynch , Hillary and even Bill could be scapegoated.
Obama is just far enough away from the action to pull Pilate's routine.

[lyle]

Government governs best when it encourages individual success that opens up individual choice.

That little nugget of apostasy will get you run right out of the faculty lounge, right there.

[maryrose]

SBW:
Amen!

[Captain Hate]

I may be lost in the fog and smoke on this, but didn't the failing NYT tell us on Inauguration Eve that Trump aides at least were "wiretapped"?

Multiple times before and after and not just them; Amazon UnPrime did it as well.

[henry]

sbw... might repeat the word "want" in you listing of things the government might do. Gotta emphasize that more.

[cheerleader]

Sean Spicer press briefing 1:30 pm est

live feed on youtube

[Porchlight]

Trump's deplorable impulse control notwithstanding

Oh, TM.
One day you might just figure it out.

[henry]

Spicer link https://www.whitehouse.gov/live/press-briefing-press-secretary-sean-spicer-13

[lyle]

http://freebeacon.com/politics/womens-march-strike-organized-via-group-male-leadership/

Leaders of the "Day Without a Woman" strike are working with a group that does not have a single female in a leadership position.

Grrrl power.

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

--Trump's deplorable impulse control...--

TM is aware that "deplorable" is no longer a pejorative but a badge of honor, right?

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

Rats, Porch beat me to it.

[exdemocrat]

sbw - just a quibble. This thought: "The Constitution is specific and limited. Citizens in this country are entitled to equal treatment under the law and basic public safety guaranteed.", or, rather, its framing is subtly falso, imho.
The Constitution prohibits the Government from treating people unequally.
And 'public safety- this is not guaranteed by the Constitution unless defined as 'safety from Government unconstitutionality.'
(this is meant as constructive input)

[Captain Hate]

I'll give TM the benefit of the doubt for his word choices.

[sbw]

Thnx xdem.

[Account Deleted]

Defying the Inspectors General from “Clean House” by Tom Fitton
The cavalier and obstructive attitude of the Obama administration and its Justice Department was also demonstrated by the fact that agencies within the executive branch like the FBI have started refusing to comply requests from the government’s own inspectors general (IGs) to provide requested records, information, and documents the IGs need to conduct their investigations of fraud and abuse by government officials.

In 2014, a majority of the IGs signed an unprecedented letter to Congress complaining about the Obama administration’s actions.

This included IGs from the National Security Agency, the Department of Homeland Security, and even the Justice Department.

The IGs asked Congress to use “all available powers” to enforce access to agencies that refuse to comply with the Inspector General Act of 1978, the federal law that requires agencies to provide the IGs with any records the IG deems necessary for their investigations.

In fact, the Obama administration compounded this problem when the Office of Legal Counsel at the Justice Department, which is headed by a political appointee, issued a legal *OPINION* in 2015 justifying this defiance of the law. The opinion told DOJ *employees*-- as well as the employees of other federal agencies--- that they could withhold information at their discretion from the IG.

To evade audits and investigation of possible misbehavior, the officials only had to claim the information was protected or privileged based on various federal statutes.

As the Heritage Foundation explained in a detailed legal analysis, this was a misinterpretation of a straightforward text of the Inspector General Act, and the clear legislative intent of Congress in passing it.

But it is another sign of how intent the Obama administration was in trying to hide what it was doing from taxpayers, voters, and even our elected representatives in Congress….

…. All of this has created a transparency crisis in the nation’s Capitol.

Never in our history has so much money been spent with so little accountability. Frankly, all of Congress should focus on government reform and oversight, instead of assigning it to just one or two committees.

Americans are rightly worried that they are losing their country. We have the form of democracy--- elections, campaigns, votes, political fund-raising, etc.--- but when Congress recently authorized $1.5 trillion in spending after just 3 days of debate, and the executive branch won’t tell you much unless you are willing to make a federal court case out of an issue, that isn’t democracy and it isn’t self-government.

[daddy]

Good Morning. Interesting point brought up by Neil Cavuto's guest:

Cavuto: Real quickly, these latest Leaks the Wikileaks, whenever they did become available, and however they did become available, do you think it was someone from the inside of these Agencies rather than sort of like a rogue Snowden type?

Gillian Turner: Well it could have been a contractor, and people have been drawing comparisons to the Snowden Leaks all along for good reasons. I put it this way, I doubt its any kind of a Foreign Government because if you think about it logically if they gained access to (garbled) information of this value, they wouldn't want it to be publicly known. They would want to keep it hidden for as long as possible to divert it to their own purposes, so it is likely an American and it's likely someone who has a major beef with the Intelligence Community.

[lyle]

http://nypost.com/2017/03/06/why-dems-will-regret-a-probe-into-russian-election-hacking/

I was reading this and nodding along with almost everything until I almost stepped in this pile of merde:

WikiLeaks, which dumped hundreds of thousands of Democratic emails onto its site, never had one email that came from Hillary or was sent to her.

WikiLeaks had promised what it called the fourth phase of email dumps the week before the election, but that’s the only promise it didn’t keep. So what happened? My guess is that President Obama’s stern warning to Vladimir Putin caused the Russian president to stop the promised leak of Hillary’s personal emails.

Any investigation of the Russian hacking is liable to result in Hillary’s emails being read, and perhaps released.

The other possibility is even more likely. Putin could get annoyed by the firestorm over his interference in the US election and decide to have the surrogate he had do the hacking release Hillary’s emails.

Imagine how quickly attention will shift if we suddenly have Hillary ’s emails about Obama, Bill Clinton, donations to the Clinton Foundation and many other topics.

Our former punk prez getting "stern" with Vlad. Uh huh...

[Captain Hate]

It might take another wikileaks dump to uncover how much jack Stedman and LoLy sent off to leftist trash from out of court "settlements" from spurious prosecution shakedowns. That this spigot is being shut down is what's driving some of these cooter hysteria parties.

[exdemocrat]

ubet

[narciso]

I update my post from last month,

yes its most likely a greenbadger

[cheerleader]

Maybe I'm imagining things, but the press seems to be asking much more serious and relevant questions and being much more polite

[Rocco]

kim.com pipes in

http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2017/03/hacker-kim-dotcom-wikileaks-cia-documents-donald-trump-spied-24-7-phone/

[Porchlight]

so it is likely an American and it's likely someone who has a major beef with the Intelligence Community.

For what it's worth, from the Wikileaks press release yesterday:

The archive appears to have been circulated among former U.S. government hackers and contractors in an unauthorized manner, one of whom has provided WikiLeaks with portions of the archive.

According to Wikileaks, the person who shared the information with Wikileaks does not appear to be the same person who "liberated" it. In other words, the whistleblower does not appear to be the hacker.

[Beasts of England]

'Missing Persons' would be a great name for a band...

[Captain Hate]

Cate Blanchett: My moral compass "is in my vagina"

Maybe she wasn't acting in Blue Jasmine.

[Captain Hate]

More ridicule for Clown News Network:

http://tammybruce.com/2017/03/video-cnn-loses-feed-when-gop-rep-notes-refugees-involved-in-terrorism.html

[daddy]

Well this blows. Just found out that today is National "A Day Without Women Day," and it's also "National Women's Day", yet I have to go to work in a couple hours and my co-pilot is a Woman!

Figures:(

So what am I supposed to do? Should I give her the landing, or should I forbid her from touching the controls? Should I turn on Michael Savage and Mark Levin Show on the ADF and make her listen to them at full volume, or should I wear a Vagina Hat in solidarity? Should I stop at the 7/11 before work and get a Playboy, or a copy of Vogue instead?

These and other tough decisions are racing thru my mind even as I type.

The co-pilot always has to make the coffee, so I usually say "Please get me a cup of black while while you're up," but where does that fit in today on the sexism scale? Do I have to get my own cup o' mud? And usually I tip the cabbie but...shouldn't that be her job? And when we hit the ground running and hustle over to Kilroy's for last call at 3 AM, should she buy or what? And if she does a crappy job landing, should I tell her so?

Geez. It's like being married, but without the fringe benefits.
I am open to suggestions from Team JOM---even from the women.

[Porchlight]

Creepy Kaine Jr. graduated from my alma mater, class of '14.

How embarrassing, and yet unsurprising. Let me guess, he was Inspired By Paul Wellstone.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/03/08/sen-kaines-son-arrested-at-trump-rally-in-minnesota.html

[daddy]

Jack,

That is an amazing article on the Bronze Age Slaughter. I definitely need to read that at leisure later. The stuff we learn...

[Porchlight]

daddy,

Treat her exactly the same as you would if she were a man.

Done!

[Peas full of it.]

re p's link @ 2:11: Senator Kaine said of his children "They fully understand the responsibility to express those concerns peacefully."

Something does not compute. Why can't he see that?

[Captain Hate]

Treat her like we Terp thugs treat those douches in pussy blue.

[Jane]

According to Judge Napolitano there is an exception in the law (I think the FISA law) which says presidents can directly order wiretapping.

(Porch you think Kaine is embarrassing? That bitch AG who destroyed Baltimore was on the front page of my law school magazine right before she prosecuted those cops!)

[Porchlight]

Jane, yes, she's definitely worse. Yikes.

[henry]

Pikers... Kerry just set up shop at my alma mater.

[Captain Hate]

Kaine's kid looks like he was brought up with Manson family values. Keep him behind bars.

[exdemocrat]

that's right, jane.

btw, it occurred to me that the oft-repeated statement that the 'second FISA' application was 'more narrowly tailored' appears to suggest it was 'better' by being more accurate.
it could just as easily indicate that it was deliberately deceptive by leaving out (and thus obscuring) the intended target

[Porchlight]

it could just as easily indicate that it was deliberately deceptive by leaving out (and thus obscuring) the intended target

This must have been the case, because they ended up with info on Trump (or at least his aides) captured via wiretap.

[Captain Hate]

This winning never gets old:

http://www.weaselzippers.us/328177-big-layoffs-coming-to-financially-struggling-espn/

[lyle]

http://hotair.com/archives/2017/03/08/report-former-president-obama-was-livid-over-trumps-wiretapping-tweets/

Whattya gonna do about it, punk?

[jimmyk]

On that gender-switching experiment at NYU, Asche Schow put it thusly:

"Female politicians get away with more than their male counterparts"

http://observer.com/2017/03/her-opponent-trump-clinton-debate-sexism/

I commented to her: "Get away with" presumes Trump did something wrong. Maybe [the real] lesson is that liberals are more open to hearing truth from a woman.

I think the reaction has overlooked the fact that this was a liberal audience. The experiment might not work in reverse. My interpretation (shamelessly self-serving) is that conservatives can hear truth whether from a man or a woman, liberals are sexists (in the sense of favoring women over men).

[anonamom]

Exactly what porch said.

These people soooooo need to get religion, and quit making religious rites out of their politics.

[Old Lurker]

So I was wondering about all this focus on FISA warrants etc, and am reminded that I have seen lots of movies and shows where the government listens first the gets warrants when they want to use what they heard.

If one imagines all those frat boy like Obamiacs hanging around all that technology, do you really think they waited for proper paper before they tried to outdo each other snooping on Trump and other enemies of the Obama state?

Me neither.

[lyle]

Pikers... Kerry just set up shop at my alma mater.

Makes me glad I went to a remote state school in flyover country...

[Old Lurker]

A-mom "These people soooooo need to get religion..."

I disagree. If they got religion, they might get into heaven and then we will have to spend all eternity with them. I'm happier thinking of them all burning in Hell.

What? You say I am assuming things not yet proven?

[Captain Hate]

Whattya gonna do about it, punk?

Who is this John Sexton gelding from the Clown Hall stable? He makes Morrissey seem like Poppin' Roids.

[lyle]

These people soooooo need to get religion, and quit making religious rites out of their politics.

Too late. Politics IS their religion. Well, progtard politics, anyway.

[lyle]

I wasn't able to actually read the article, CH. This desktop let's me access the site but not the posts for some strange reason. Not that I'm all that upset about it.

[cheerleader]

All in all an excellent press conference imo. Spicer was firm, controlling, explicit, on track, gracious and charming.

[lyle]

http://nypost.com/2017/03/07/jim-comey-asserting-power-like-no-one-in-history/

I did read this one, though. I still can't understand why Trump is keeping this cat on his admin.

[sbw]

+1 cheerleader

The jackals still chase tainted meat. Squirrel meat, too.

[daddy]

And here I thought they liked Tylenol.

[Porchlight]

lyle, so he can be compelled to testify? ;)

[lyle]

Best headline of the day:

http://www.weeklystandard.com/lucille-ball-meets-lysistrata/article/2007121

[lyle]

I like your style, Porch. But then you already knew that.

[daddy]

Cheerleader,

I thought Spicer did a fine job pointing out the Press's continual hypocrisy of demanding proof from Trump for everything, while simultaneously ignoring any need for proof from their own sources. And he left with a smile on his face. Well done, Sean.

[cheerleader]

More than that lyle, he seems to like and respect Comey, just like he recently spoke very well of Ryan, even defended him, saying it was unfortunate that Ryan was getting so much heat.

I think his reasons are related to his goals of wanting to negotiate more national unity.

[Sandy --First 100-- Daze]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Here in 49242 we are under a wind warning:

"west winds increasing to 30 to 40 mph by mid to late morning. Gusts to 50 to 60 mph possible late morning through this afternoon."

Hundreds of thousands of state residents are without electricity, downed electric wires everywhere, becasue of the downed trees. So much rain recently, the ground is very soft, and with the warmer weather we have had, the frost is all but gone (although several below freezing days and more snow is coming this weekend).

The top of our chimney, a flat piece of stone, has blown off, and so far two trees and lots of branches are down around the homestead.

And, the emergency generator has failed to kick on, so onward.

At least it is a very bright sunny day !

[Porchlight]

:)

I've been a big lyle fan ever since this comment:

Howard Baker, you h8ters. Howard freakin' Baker! Have you no decency? Who's next? George Herbert Walker?? Where does the madness end?

Posted by: lyle | September 16, 2010 at 04:31 PM

[cheerleader]

daddy, that smile is one of big assets. As is his courtesy.

[boatbuilder]

Both of my (and TM's) U.S. Senators have been stating publicly for months that Trump colluded with the Russians to "hack the election." Those fact-free pronouncements are apparently based entirely on the reporting of such alleged hacking and alleged collusion by "respected" "news" outlets, primarily the failing NYT, which in turn offer no "proof" except the alleged word of unnamed "sources."

Nobody charged that the accusations of said senators against the sitting President of the United States are "outrageous" or "dangerous;" in fact as far as I can tell there have been zero negative consequences for the senators; nor have either of them apologized or retracted their accusations now that the "news" reports have been proven to be baseless. Indeed, they are still pushing the same narrative.

Trump's tweets, based on the reports of those same "respected" "news" outlets, have forced those "respected" "news" outlets to admit that their "sources" are not very reliable. That in itself is a major service to the Republic. Perhaps when an "apology" (along the lines of the grossly disingenuous "apology" of the failing NYT to its readers for not being hard enough on the Bush Administration about Iraq) for the use of unnamed sources to further a false narrative in support of a political agenda is forthcoming, those who seek the truth about what is going on will place some credence in "news" reports. Until then not so much.

[maryrose]

Lyle:
I think President Trump's decision wrt Comey will be revealed in good time.
How come Lynch has not responded that she didn't seek a FISA warrant?
Who has muzzled her?
The fact that Obama is pissed just made my day!
His efforts to take down President Trump also took a hit.
Remember all that Obama touches turns to crap, including the Dem Party.

[Pagar, a bacon, ham and pork chop supporter]

Copied from the end of the "don't know much" thread.

"Thanks asw.

For anyone looking at coconut oil, I'm using a tablespoon and a teaspoon a day. I couldn't stand the taste until someone suggested mixing it with hot coffee. Now it goes down easily.

Pagar

[cheerleader]

maryrose, the reverse of the midas touch is the sadim touch.

pagar, does the coconut oil make the coffee taste like coconut?

[Captain Hate]

There are really high winds here too with the temperature about to nosedive.

[Jack is Back (Again)!]

The "deep state" could have initiated the e avesdropping without a FISA. Wikileaks just showed us how. The FISA could have been a smoke screen for the real SignInt. Maybe Zippy didn't know. Brennan isn't necessarily a "loyal" democratic party apparatchik. He and others could be in this for their own gain.

Blackmail on a multi-billionaire who gets elected leader of the world? The Dossier originated somewhere and a good clandestine operation always needs a dupe (McCain) to leave their fingerprints and not the operatives on the package.

Its just too damn coincidental that Trump tweets out what had been reported. General Kelly notes he has "compelling evidence" and bingo Wikileaks shows us how it is done. Really?

[henry]

I don't recall who asked earlier... Vizio sued for TV's spying on consumers.

Vizio's $2.2 million settlement with the FTC indicates that the company at no time thought it might be a good idea to inform customers this was happening.

Tech plus an elitist attitude towards customers... sounds like pretty much everything Silicon Valley these days.

[cheerleader]

I don't recall Trump ever promising to be the most transparent president in history, but when Spicer today described how O'care was passed, unread, in the middle of the night, etc. etc., and compared it to how Trump is managing the process of Repeal and Replace, it's abundantly clear who is the most transparent.

[lyle]

LOL, Porch! A comment from Sept. 2010? That's the equivalent of a petrified wood archeological nugget in internet time!

[jimmyk]

Best headline of the day:

Hey, I made a 'Lysistrata' allusion here yesterday, what do I win?

Though there was no 'Lucille Ball' in my comment.

[jimmyk]

There are really high winds here too with the temperature about to nosedive.

We usually get your weather a day or two later, so thanks for nothing.

[Porchlight]

Totally, lyle. It cracked me up so much it was easy to remember (and google).

The "h8ters" spelling didn't hurt, either.

[-peter]

Well the Ancient Greeks had other outlets

[Buford Gooch]

"I do not think [that word] means what you think it means"

Definition of errata
: a list of corrigenda; also : a page bearing such a list

[All along the watchtower.]

Speaking of missing persons, is Christopher Steele peeping his head over the parapet?

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

Sneaks are like liars. The more a guy tells you how honest he is the more you better check the silver before he leaves.

The more some chump tells you how transparent he is the more you know he's hiding something big.
[I somehow resisted the urge to say "the more you know the audacity of his opacity"]

[Pagar, a bacon, ham and pork chop supporter]

cheerleader, it makes the coffee taste a little like coconut and a lot like oil; but since i am determined to drink some each day--It is better than anything else I tried.

[Miss Marple]

Been working at the old house.Got home about 1/2 hour ago and had only been home about 10 minutes and power went off again! I called and they said it will be off about 2 more hours. Can't cook vacuum or do laundry.

Typing on my phone. Back later. I hope.