"Thorny" First Amendment Issues

Even for the Age of Trump this story by the failing NY Times is a bit of a "wow":

Investigators Focus on Another Trump Ally: The National Enquirer

President Trump has long had ties to the nation’s major media players. But his connections with the country’s largest tabloid publisher, American Media Inc., run deeper than most.

A former top executive of Mr. Trump’s casino business sits on A.M.I.’s four-member board of directors, and an adviser joined the media company after the election. The company’s chairman, David J. Pecker, is a close friend of the president’s.

And in the Trump era, A.M.I.’s flagship tabloid, The National Enquirer, has taken a decidedly political turn, regularly devoting covers to the president’s triumphs and travails with articles headlined “Trump’s Plan For World Peace!” and “Proof! FBI Plot to Impeach Trump!”

Since the early stages of his campaign in 2015, Mr. Trump, his lawyer Michael D. Cohen and Mr. Pecker have strategized about protecting him and lashing out at his political enemies.

Yeah, yeah - in consequence, the National Enquirer's decision to pay for but not publish former Playmate Karen MacDougal's story becomes a suspect campaign contribution. The Times really pounds the table in defense of editorial discretion:

The federal inquiry could pose serious legal implications for the president and his campaign committee. It also presents thorny questions about A.M.I.’s First Amendment protections, and whether its record in supporting Mr. Trump somehow opens the door to scrutiny usually reserved for political organizations.

"Thorny questions". My goodness, the Times was bailed out in 2009 by Carlos Slim, a wealthy Mexican. Does this raise "thorny questions" about their commitment to undocumented immigrants? Of course not, because they say it doesn't. 

Now obviously, Mr. Slim knew the Times was reliably progressive when he bought them, so he didn't need them to change their views on anything. But the National Enquirer has been making money off of Clinton scandals for decades. Maybe the AMI people simply decided that, in mirror image to the Times Upper West Side readership, their readers wanted material that bashed Hillary and praised Trump. They do tell the Times it was a business decision driven by the popularity of Trump with their readership. Plausible? Sure. Legal? Say what now?

If all AMI did was pick a side in pursuit of an audience, my goodness. That is well worth investigating because we all know that the mainstream media would never trade sympathetic coverage for access that can boost prestige, circulation and ratings. Please.

As to aggressive coverage of sex scandals by the mainstream media, well, that may be ideologically contingent - back in 2007-08, John Edwards and Rielle Hunter were a tabloid-based open secret (gullible Media Matters link) for months before the "responsible" media decided to jump in. Why they might today rush to bash Trump based on mere allegations is hard to understand. No it's not. Is the National Inquirer being investigated for spiking a story which the Times would never lower itself to touch? Too thorny!

At this juncture, I must glumly acknowledge that the DoJ, with some establishment Republicans at the top, did persuade a judge to issue a warrant because something was afoot. I just hope that whatever they find is serious and convincing.

As to the 'thorny questions', the Times concludes with this:

At the center of the campaign finance inquiries will be whether the ties between Mr. Cohen, Mr. Howard, Mr. Pecker, Mr. Trump and others led A.M.I. to act more like a political supporter than a news organization.

The group that brought the federal election complaint, Common Cause, claims the payment for Ms. McDougal’s story was not a “legitimate press function” and therefore was not protected by rules exempting news organizations from campaign finance regulations.

The question represents tricky terrain for federal officials, given the protection journalists have under the First Amendment. “We always worry when investigators are making those judgment calls about whether your editorial process is legitimate or not, or is this legitimate journalism or not,” said Alexandra Ellerbeck, the North America program coordinator for the Committee to Protect Journalists.

Yet even the staunchest defenders of the press say fraudulent activity is not protected by journalistic freedoms.

“We are not, as media organizations, immune from the civil and criminal laws of the country,” said Sandra S. Baron, a senior fellow at Yale Law School and the former executive director of the Media Law Resource Center.

Hmm. Is paying for stories a "legitimate press function"? That is how the National Enquirer broke the case of the murderer of Bill Cosby's son. They also paid Rush Limbaugh's housekeeper for the scoop that got Rush busted for his oxycontin habit - I bet that looked legit to Common Cause.

To paraphrase slightly, the dark night of fascism is always descending on the right yet arriving from the left.

Comments

[Porchlight]

If they are reduced to squabbles over whether the National Enquirer is a legitimate journalistic outlet, then I think we can conclude they have nothing on Trump.

But as long as we are discussing journalists assisting candidates, let's talk about how the entire MSM sat on the story of John Edwards's affair....until the Enquirer broke it.

[narciso]

So when the la times suppressed the khalidi tape, and other outlets the farrakhan tape.

[henry]

National Enquirer breaks more news than MSM. Think Jonathan Edwards.

[henry]

the ties between Mr. Cohen, Mr. Howard, Mr. Pecker, Mr. Trump

might as well investigate the ties between Mr. Howard, Mr Fine, and Mr Howard. As likely to turn up a Russian connection.

[Threadkiller]

Has Twitter TBeans given a 24hr 4D hypothesis on what Trump and The National Enquirer are really up too?

Will it be an end around, a reverse, or a double reverse?

Enquiring minds want to know.

[narciso]

Oh how mo dowd was rewarded with a column, imho
, for importing kitty kelleys trash re Nancy Reagan in 1987.

[Threadkiller]

...up to?

[narciso]

Of course Ms mcdougals backdated 'diaries' had nothing to do with. But after access Hollywood, the better part of valor was to shut down any venue.

[PDinDetroit]

New York Times coverage was 87 percent negative and 13 percent positive 100 days into Trump Presidency.

[Captain Hate]

"Thorny questions". My goodness, the Times was bailed out in 2009 by Carlos Slim, a wealthy Mexican. Does this raise "thorny questions" about their commitment to undocumented immigrants

Yes, I've made that point before; something the pseudo conservative media constantly avoids. We are living in samizdat times.

[narciso]

Also the times buried their own reporting with a pillow with uranium one and operation cassandra.

[Old Lurker]

PD, I would ask for proof on the 13%.

[Appalled]

At the center of the campaign finance inquiries will be whether the ties between Mr. Cohen, Mr. Howard, Mr. Pecker, Mr. Trump and others led A.M.I. to act more like a political supporter than a news organization.

Boy, that's a distinction that would have the drafters of the 1st Amendment exercising their 2nd Amendment rights. Free speech includes political support, and neither is subject to this kind of regulation.

[James D.]

So a newspaper giving largely positive coverage to a political candidate should be considered a campaign contribution?

How does that square with newspapers giving endorsements to candidates?

Oh, right. The rules only apply to conservatives.

[PDinDetroit]

Feds may drop Mich. songbird from endangered list

...
A victim of its own peculiar habitat requirements, the warbler – which has steel-gray back and tail feathers and a yellow belly – was among the first animals named to the endangered list, getting added in 1967. The population was estimated at 167 pairs in 1974, based on a census of singing males. It hit the same low point in 1987.
...
The warbler has recovered steadily since then, aided by a coalition of government agencies and nonprofit groups that conserved its breeding grounds. The most recent count, in 2015, turned up 2,383 singing males, which was well above the recovery goal of 1,000.

Kirtland’s warblers build nests each spring at the feet of jack pines between 5 and 23 years old and 5 to 15 feet (1.7 to 5 meters) high, which are abundant in the sandy soils of northern Michigan.

Wildfires historically swept through the region every few decades, burning down larger jack pines and popping open cones that produced new ones, ensuring an adequate supply of young trees for the warblers.

But modern fire suppression broke the cycle. As part of the warbler recovery effort, federal and state agencies developed a system of logging and replanting trees to imitate what nature previously did.

[narciso]

I know autoplay, but the caller is better at it:

http://dailycaller.com/2016/02/10/czech-prime-minister-defends-release-of-hezbollah-terror-suspect

[Captain Hate]

Appalled is right; the earliest newspapers were trashy highly politicized broadsheets that the Founders wanted the state not to come down hard on. They also knew they were lying piles of shit who didn't deserve a shield law to protect them from harmed individuals.

[fdcol63 🇺🇸]

Strange how these mass shootings always happen in schools, and not in the newsrooms and broadcast studios of the MSM.

Such is our misfortune.

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

Twiggy or willowy or something. [That means from the last thread, right?]

--Iggy:

I think your view encourages and elects people who are intent on destroying basic liberties.--

Liberties such as?

-- It's little wonder we sometimes see each other as having become deranged.--

There are those "eyes" of yours again.
I don't see you as deranged or anywhere near it. I see you as hopelessly wrong and if you would only recognize that and adopt my world view the world would not only be a better place you would begin to experience the equanimity to understand people like me are not deranged any more than the Founders were.
Plus, you'd be much funnier. Maybe even better looking.

[henry]

Ah, the peaceful ride of the Trolley: (vid)

https://twitter.com/RebeccaKlopf/status/984116604928692224

[Old Lurker]

"Appalled is right"

Awww Cap'n, Please pass the Eye Bleach.

[Captain Hate]

The Feds always err on the side of caution on removals from endangered lists. My green daughter, when she was first in Santa Cruz, pointed out that Brown Pelicans were on the list even though they were as abundant as rats.

[PDinDetroit]

Did schools’ gun bans ‘subvert’ Michigan law?

Attorneys for the Ann Arbor and Clio districts noted the Michigan school code tasks districts with providing for the safety and welfare of students, a provision they argued that should allow for local gun regulations.

But Chief Justice Stephen Markman, in a series of pointed exchanges, pointed out the school code provides schools with that authority “except as otherwise provided by law.” The Michigan penal code, he continued, exempts concealed pistol permit holders from a misdemeanor penalty for carrying a gun on school property.

“It seems to me the only logical implication from that — and I could be wrong — but the most likely and logical implication is that such individuals can indeed carry weapons in a gun-free zone,” Markman said.

[Miss Marple the Deplorable]

Phil
‏ @pharaohfire
Replying to @_VachelLindsay_

Wow with 1 Tweet about smart missiles Trump got the Russian Navy to flee to sea, the Syrian airforce to flee to Iran and Hezbollah to skedaddle. That's truly amazing. Obama would have to mobilize the entire Marine Corp to do that.
===================================

Exactly right. Ha!

[narciso]

If you want a British take on the subject, about a century later, Trollope's offers Quentin slides peoples banner, a Tory leaning publication so suspect to a liberal

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

Diamond and Silk say Suckburger is lying about FB contacting them.

[PDinDetroit]

Trump could intervene in plans to build Gordie Howe bridge

"The saga might get more interesting," Bloomberg says. Aecon's "proposed takeover by a Chinese company is being reviewed by Justin Trudeau’s government on national security grounds. That raises the prospect of a bridge being built into Detroit by a Chinese company, for the Canadian government, under an exemption from Buy American rules, and over complaints from a U.S. company.

Thorny indeed...

[PDinDetroit]

MM - I was thinking the exact same thing.

The Empty Paintsuit, aka Tub Dive, would just have been laughed at.

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

There is a bit of truth to CH's contention Zuckerberg can't help the way he looks but he could certainly wash that undead pallor off his skin by getting outside his crypt once in a blue moon or try a hairstyle that doesn't look like something a resident of a mental hospital from the 1940s might have sported.

[PDinDetroit]

Posted by: Ignatz Ratzkywatzky | April 12, 2018 at 10:17 AM

Where is Anonymous at when they are "needed"? ;)

[henry]

Heh, nice one by RNC: https://lyincomey.com/

[Appalled]

Ig:

Just like with the President, Z could make different sartorial choices.

However, both of them seem to have done OK in life, and are good providers. So maybe it doesn't matter so much....

[Captain Hate]

OMG, the RNC got tech savvy!

Suck it, Queasy.

[Captain Hate]

Levin has come down hard on the Feds fucking with Zuck and Bezos.

[narciso]

Call me crazy, but the enquirer might take personal the way Mueller bollixed up the inquiry
Into tbe employee they had to bury and the building they had to gut.

[JM Hanes]

TK:

"Has Twitter TBeans given a 24hr 4D hypothesis on what Trump and The National Enquirer are really up too?"

You can explain yourself up one side and down the other, but I really don't see the point of beating up on TomR for a routine observation that people [See, also: Instapundit], make all the time with regard to breaking news. I think there's even an Internet rule about that immortalized somewhere. Please tell me that is not your new dead horse!

[henry]

And a pile on:

https://pzfeed.com/trump-had-child-with-an-employee-according-to-reports/

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

Wretchard's Latest.

[James D.]

President Trump has long had ties to the nation’s major media players. But his connections with the country’s largest tabloid publisher, American Media Inc., run deeper than most.

A former top executive of Mr. Trump’s casino business sits on A.M.I.’s four-member board of directors, and an adviser joined the media company after the election. The company’s chairman, David J. Pecker, is a close friend of the president’s.

Yeah, and...?

How many members of the Clinton and Obama administrations were married or otherwise related to high-profile MSM personalities or executives?

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

What's the matter with how Trump dresses?

[Rocco]

I want the CAPS to win it all this year - Ovie needs a Stanley Cup under his belt.

And Carlson needs a great big new contract! Of course I'm rooting for the Big Bad Bruins but I can't help root for my wife's cousin! I hope he has a great play off and secures that multi million dollar contract.

[maryrose]

JamesD:
Ben Rhodes is one person who has newspaper ties and I know there are many others.
JMHanes:
Beating a dead horse comes naturally to some people.
Like my defense of Paul Ryan.

[James D.]

I want the Caps to win it all, too. But what I expect is another soul-killing defeat at the hands of the Penguins.

[Tom R]

You can explain yourself up one side and down the other, but I really don't see the point of beating up on TomR

What makes you think TK is beating up on me? TK is the one who misunderstood the points being made by both myself and tracybeanz, evaded answering a simple question, and then (intentionally?) misstated my point to try and put me on the defensive and defend a point I never made in the first place.

[narciso]

Oh and John schindler still crazy, maybe when shut down comments wee a clue.

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

maryrose finally admits Paul Ryan is an old nag.

[narciso]

They've been peddling a spec script too ridiculous for sHonda rimes

http://.powerlineblog.com/archives/2018/04/washington-lies-in-a-parallel-universe.php

Interesting on the series quantico, the puppetmaster behind all the mayhem is a speaker of the house who uses all the prog buzzwords.

[Appalled]

Ig:

Hair, odd tan, and the too long ties.

But, again, he has a lot more money than me, so who am I to say....

I wish I had that last Paul Ryan line of yours....

[Boatbuilder]

Exactly why the phony “good government” shills want campaign finance laws and government funding of elections. The power to control spending is the power to control. This new “campaign contribution “ scam is aa transparent effort to revoke the First Amendment.
Is everything that ABC,NBC, CBS, the NYT and WAPOboat published for the past 50 years unreported campaign contributions for the Dems?
If those organizations don’t roundly condemn this then we will know for certain that we are doomed as a country. I am not holding my breath and am contemplating getting a gun.

[JM Hanes]

PD:

Hope you're still here, because I wanted to mention a family member's experience with migraines, which she suffered through for years. She tried all sorts of medications, and even some kind of dreadfully painful type of accupuncture, to no good effect. She finally went to a doctor who suggested that she might be dairy intolerant, which apparently includes more than just lactose intolerance. It's astonishing just how many surpising products include dairy based ingredients, like whey, for example, so you really have to read the labels. When she eliminated any form of dairy, it dramatically reduced the incidence of her migraines. It didn't eliminate them entirely, but it made a huge difference in her life.

Perhaps you've already eliminated that possibily, but if not, it might be worth trying, considering the kind of pain you're dealing with, even if it justs provides an ounce of mitigation. Along the way she has also discovered a gluten intolerance (which is like the double whammy diet wise!). She doesn't have celiac's, thank heaven, but gluten intolerance can affect the brain neurologically, so I just mention it as a potential part of the chemical puzzle as well.

You are in my thoughts, and I hope that some form of relief is on your horizon.

[Threadkiller]

Who says I'm beating up on Tom, JMH?

[Maryerose]

This is me. Watch out!

[maryrose]

It worked!
Just thought I would start the day on a happier note.

[derwill]

Paul Ryan got where he is today by claiming to be a champion of fiscal conservatism and entitlement reform. In the end he not only betrayed his party, he ended up betraying himself.

"To thine ownself be true and it follows as the night the day, thou cans't not be false to any man."

[maryrose]

Iggy and OL:
Please report to the front of the classroom!

[fdcol63 🇺🇸]

maryrose .... LOL

[Dave (in MA)]

Now I know why I could barely hear myself think this morning while walking into work after parking my car.
A Message from the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency Regarding Security Preparedness Around the 2018 Boston Marathon

Sad that it's necessary.

[JM Hanes]

narciso:

From a previous thread:

"Prigotin is not taking this lying down as befits an oligarch who runs his own security company, he is cjallrnging Mueller in court for discovery including the computer forensics that Mueller relied on." [sic :-)]

Wouldn't it be the mother of all ironies if a Russian took Mueller down?

[Miss Marple the Deplorable]

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/anchorage-voters-nation-reject-bathroom-bill-54411566

[maryrose]

Dave:
Is the Marathon today?

[PDinDetroit]

JMH - Thank you for the kind thoughts!

I am Lactose Intolerant, found out when I was 15 and 52 now. Even now, Lactose is NOT required to be listed in the ingredients separately (way too often listed as "Corn Syrup"). And yes, other Milk Components do affect such as Whey, Caseinates, etc. It is worth a look again.

My mom and I spent MONTHS calling manufacturers back in 1981 and getting them to find out and release information on Milk Products in their Products. It about drove wife #1 crazy reading labels at the grocery store trying to make me dinner for the first time.

McDonalds French Fries are browned with Lactose, what makes them taste SOOO GOOOD...

A quick peek shows that some of my daily medications may actually have LACTOSE in them... Time for an "investigation"!

[Dave (in MA)]

Sister Maryrose,
No, it's on Monday.

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

Yike!
Think I'll play hooky today.

[Miss Marple the Deplorable]

https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/04/12/uber-to-up-its-background-checks-for-drivers/

[JM Hanes]

Appalled:

"But, again, he has a lot more money than me, so who am I to say…."

I'd call that an admission against interest. If you've got more money than Appalled, just raise your hand.

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

--Ig:

Hair, odd tan, and the too long ties.--

Of the three, only the ties are sartorial.
OTOH you are welcome to claim my Paul Ryan gag as your own. :)

[JM Hanes]

TK:

"Who says I'm beating up on Tom, JMH?"

Looked that way to me, but then, one of you might have more money than me, so per Appalled, "who am I to say...."?

[Marlene]

LOL,maryrose. One of hubby's really mean nun teachers was Sister Irma. He named the hurricane last fall "Sister" Irma. I noticed her name was retired from the hurricane name list.

[Porchlight]

From the last thread:

Porch:

To believe Ryan thinks the country is going down without electing a Trump-type makes his actions only explicable by simple, willful, evil that knows itself to be evil.

In my experience with the people I have known and encountered, there are evil people out there, and they are not that self-aware. Most evil is selfishness that doesn't recognize that it is self-destructive.

Posted by: Appalled | April 12, 2018 at 09:44 AM

I don't believe Iggy stated that Ryan knowingly perpetrated evil acts. I believe he said that Ryan acted dishonorably.

Yes, evil is often unknowingly perpetrated but people knowingly screw others over all the time, too. None of us can read Ryan's mind. You simply don't know what Ryan did or did not plan to do.

[Tom R]

Paul Ryan got where he is today by claiming to be a champion of fiscal conservatism and entitlement reform.

Countless number of GOP politicians campaign on the promise of promoting fiscal conservatism. Very few of them actually believe in it. Even Freedom Caucus members who promote fiscal conservatism do whatever they can to bring home the pork. I like Mo Brooks and voted for him. He is in the Freedom Caucus. He advocates for fiscal conservatism but just not in his district, which includes Huntsville AL home of Redstone Arsenal. Gazillions of dollars in Federal funding flow into Brooks district thanks to NASA and Missile Defense Agency programs. Brooks wont ever oppose any of that federal spending because it directly benefits his constituents.

AFAIK Newt is the only fiscal conservative who actually tried to keep his Contract With America promise to reduce federal spending. All of his GOP peers who campaigned as fiscal conservatives showed they were actually like Mo Brooks is now. Their re-election chances improved the more successful they were at bringing home the pork. IMO that is one of the main reasons they turned against Newt. Newt stuck to his principals and they didn't so his own party got rid of him.

[rse]

jib--either mit or harvard and stanford as well are ground zero for the formation of the cybernetic template, but my recollection may have been wrong. That particular note is in my basement office down the dreaded stairs, but the kochs are clearly funding the Third Wau HKS now. http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2018/2/27/koch-hks-donations/

http://invisibleserfscollar.com/stripping-away-the-veneer-of-the-imperious-autonomous-self-to-create-cathected-identities-instead/ is why Koch came back on my radar as he funds McCloskey's work and the Institute for Humane Studies with its Learn Liberty visos I just covered.

[Old Lurker]

Porch "None of us can read Ryan's mind. You simply don't know what Ryan did or did not plan to do."

Agreed. But we sure can see what he wanted us to see of him and then we can see what he actually did and did not do.

[Thomas Collins]

Re who has more money than whom: Anyone here who wants to show off on how much money they have is welcome to take me to L'Espalier in Beantown and pay for the appetizers, wine bottles, rye whiskeys, main courses, salads, after dinner drinks, desserts, and then a bottle of champagne to end the L'Espalier portion of the evening. Then of course the exclusive limousine service you have hired will drive us to Havana Cigars in Warwick, RI, where you will purchase the best cigars for you and me to enjoy! The limousine will then drop me off at home. I'll certify on JOM that you are a true big spender!

I know, it's quite a sacrifice on my part to give up an evening of my life for this, but I'll take one for Ole JOM!

[JM Hanes]

PD:

I can't imagine what a nightmare it must have been trying to track down lactose (or any other) ingredients back then! Totally apart from the nightmare of having to deal with the results. Fortunately for folks on gluten free diets, at least there are now a fair number of gluten free substitutes for such basics as flour, so that's one fad I have to thank the trendy folks for. Apparently there's a fortune still waiting for the person who can come up with a dairy free "cheese" that looks, acts and tastes like the real thing.

[henry]

I can afford to ignore such displays of ostentation. ;)

[GUS]

When do they start investigating THRILL up my LEG and FINELY CREASED TROUSER ass lickers?

[Old Lurker]

TC, you sent us there on one of our visits and I think I am still paying for it.

So, no.

BTW I meant to ask you yesterday if you had lost your mind by suggesting you could wait until 2020 for evidence of justice.

:-)

[Threadkiller]

2020 is chronologically well after 24hrs, OL, making TC's play a legal 4D chess move.

[JM Hanes]

OK TK, LOL!

[Extraneus]

Did I miss Appalled's list of fundamental liberties the right is attempting to overturn?

Just over the past week, the has waged an all out attack on the 1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th and 6th amendments.

[fdcol63 🇺🇸]

Why Can't We All Just Get Along?

https://beat.10ztalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/social-media-why-cant-we-all-just-get-along.jpeg

[Thomas Collins]

OK, henry, no ostentatious displays. Instead of a limousine, you'll drive me to the cigar bar in a Honda Civic you have rented!

I figure if the prog dominoes haven't fallen by 7/1/2020, OL, even the strongest adherent of 4-D chess will concede there was a little Alan Greenspan like irrational exuberance in the 4-D chess theory. By the way, as to mind loss, when I ask my work colleagues if they think what I have pronounced on a legal issue proves I am crazy, they usually say not at all, but that I am certifiably nutso for other reasons!

You get a pass on L'Espalier, OL. I know after that wedding you are having clarice run up the tab for, you are ending the celebration by taking the wedding party to L'Espalier!

[JM Hanes]

Extraneus:

"Just over the past week, the has waged an all out attack on the 1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th and 6th amendments."

Playing name that party, are we? :-)

[Extraneus]

Just from today we have TM's thread and here's the ACLU applauding a raid on the president's lawyer:

http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2018/04/12/aclu-celebrates-raid-on-trumps-lawyer-the-rule-of-law-is-alive/

[Threadkiller]

:-)

[JimNorCal]

PD, last thread: "Here in the "D", "Raise A Little Hell" is played at every DRW home game. So is Journey's "Don't Stop Believing", "

Oddly, new college grad daughter loves Journey
As does the 13 year old daughter.
And many of their friends.

Out of all the 70s/80s/90s music, who would pick Don't Stop Believing as the piece surviving to the next generation?

[Old Lurker]

Porch, speaking of Evil.

I think that the vast majority of the left is not evil. I think they are just dupes of those who are, and those evil ones fall into two categories. Those who truly want to rule and control the masses. And those who just want the money, power, and (phony) ego gratification that comes with tagging along with the first group.

But most of their troops are just unthinking, unread, intellectually lazy lemmings.

In wars, they were called cannon fodder.

[JM Hanes]

Extraneus:

Appalled is a bottomless well of false equivalincies.

[Extraneus]

Yeah I LEFT out the worst part.

[RattlerGator]

Just got a robocall asking wifey to call our Senator to stop confirmation of Mike Pompeo.

Hmmmmmm . . . his potential effectiveness really has them scared I guess.

[GUS]

Appalled is a clown.

[narciso]

Next week it will be the 3rd amendment, it doesn't get much use anyways.

So the opcw did not confirm the novichok came from Russia, they still haven't bothered to identify the method of delivery to dogma as they did from khan sheykoun last year. Does evidence not matter anymore.

[Porchlight]

Agreed. But we sure can see what he wanted us to see of him and then we can see what he actually did and did not do.

That is my view, OL, and I think what Iggy was trying to express as well.

[Miss Marple the Deplorable]

We have opened the windows here for the first time since October. Beautiful sunshine and WARMTH!

[Porchlight]

But most of their troops are just unthinking, unread, intellectually lazy lemmings.

I agree.

The useful idiots don't know they're useful idiots.

[Old Lurker]

TC, "when I ask my work colleagues if they think what I have pronounced on a legal issue proves I am crazy, they usually say not at all, but that I am certifiably nutso for other reasons!"

Two similar stories.

My kids both claim, as Clarice does with her Binder, they set aside certain of my emails they can use to get me committed.

My sailing buddy on Nantucket is an amazing now 86 (87 this summer?) year old emeritus head of everything important in the Boston medical world. To his everlasting chagrin (because he would rather be sailing), they still make him practise and teach and sit on boards. Since he turned about 80, he decided he would always make one of the Harvard Fellows follow him around with instructions to call his wife when the Fellow decided he was more dangerous than useful.

[GUS]

Yes Pompeo is ok for CIA, but he's not quite John Kerry material for the CIA. Maybe if he arrives at the hearings with a RESET BUTTON, and JAMES TAYLOR, they'd ok him.

[gus]

not quite John Kerry material for the STATE DEPT.

[PDinDetroit]

Posted by: JimNorCal | April 12, 2018 at 12:08 PM

My 25 yo daughter knows a whole lot of music from that time period. Surpisingly, my love of RUSH did not rub off!

[Tom R]

I think that the vast majority of the left is not evil. I think they are just dupes of those who are, and those evil ones fall into two categories. Those who truly want to rule and control the masses. And those who just want the money, power, and (phony) ego gratification that comes with tagging along with the first group.

Agree with every point you made 100%. We are on the same team in this existential fight for the future.

Do you think Trump and his team are actively doing things to defeat those on the left who are in control and indeed evil? How exactly would someone go about defeating that evil? How long should it take? Should Trump and his team be transparent about what they are doing or keep it under wraps?