FBI Investigated over Conduct on Clinton Emails, More Trump Team Hearings, EpiPen Gets Competition: P.M. Links

• 

  Riccardo Savi/Sipa USA/Newscom

  The inspector general of the Department of Justice will be investigating the FBI and Director James Comey's conduct regarding how they handled the investigation (and public disclosures) of Hillary Clinton's private server scandal close to the election.

• Donald Trump's Secretary of Defense pick, Gen. James Mattis, called Russia one of America's principal threats at his confirmation hearing with the Senate, saying they want to break NATO.
• Trump's pick to head the CIA, Rep. Mike Pompeo said he agreed with the Intelligence Community's assessment that Russia had attempted to influence the presidential election. And while Pompeo had previously defended waterboarding, he told the committee that he would not follow an order to implement interrogation techniques that fell outside the Army Field Manual (meaning: no waterboarding).
• CVS has introduced a rival to the EpiPen at about a sixth of the price. The power of market competition!
• The Department of Justice unveiled 227 pages of police reforms and oversight agreements for the City of Baltimore.
• French far-right leader Marine Le Pen was at Trump tower Today. Aides to the Trump transition team said she was not meeting with the president-elect or any of his staff.

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Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

The inspector general of the Department of Justice will be investigating the FBI and Director James Comey's conduct regarding how they handled the investigation...

A little late to help or hurt Hillary.

[Domestic Dissident]

Sad!

[bacon-magic]

Freaking work, it's like I'm supposed to be doing something while I'm here.

[waffles]

Well they keep paying me, so I keep showing up.

[bacon-magic]

Same. Suckers!

[Rufus The Monocled]

Hello.

For eight years they sucked Obama's cock (no matter how poorly he treated the press) and now in an attempt to regain dignity they will try and fuck Trump in the ass.

[Playa Manhattan.]

That's not the whole story. There are several people who should have recused themselves for connections to Hillary's campaign that are also under investigation.

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

Because they failed to help her?

[ant1sthenes]

Uh... I notice one major name missing there, or is secretly meeting with the spouse of someone under federal investigation kosher now?

[Rich]

Pretty sure that was just "a reasonable mistake of law".

[bacon-magic]

Scott is the one to count on though for timeliness.

[Playa Manhattan.]

So Pompeo is in the middle of his confirmation hearing for head of the CIA. Freshman Senator Kamala Harris had a chance to ask a few questions. So guess what she asked about? That's right, climate change and gay marriage.

[Zeb]

?

Even if it were a serious national security threat (which is a stupid idea), what the fuck is the CIA going to do? Spy on the ice caps or something?

[Fist of Etiquette]

There were cameras, she had a shot and she took it.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

Well, she is replacing Boxer, the epitome of Senatorial intelligence.

[C. Anacreon]

I'm always amazed at how these non-scientists quote the "97%" number of climate scientists who purportedly agree on AGW, and then dismiss anyone who questions the climate change orthodoxy as 'anti-science' like Harris did in this CIA Director interview.

Have you actually looked at any of these 'consensus' papers, Kamela? Did you realize that there is high agreement that the climate is changing, and even that human activity may be contributing, but the degree of that effect is still highly debatable? Did you know that the one paper which has been cited the most on this included less than 80 'scientists', all of whom were personally known by the study author? (80 is not 'all climate scientists' as demagogues usually insist is the case, BTW.)

I wish just once when one of these grandstanding Congresspersons pulls out this supposed number, that the person they're criticizing would answer "just which study are you citing there, Senator?" And then watch the Kamela Harrises of the world stammer and say, "well, you know, it's well known that studies have shown this, um, eh..."

[Ted S.]

They mean "scienticians", not "scientists".

[esteve7]

These people are fascists. Believing in manmade Climate Change or whatever has nothing to do with running the CIA. It's more about ensuring you believe in every fucking tenant of progressivism.

Could you imagine if you were asked that in an interview to be a programmer? Yeah here I see you know Python, Perl, C++ and Java. But what do you think about Abortion?

----

These fucking hearings are a joke. It has nothing to do with seeing if they would be good at the job or not; it's just to spout their worthless opinions and grandstand. Must feel good to act as a witness and not be cross-examined

[Celexis]

Do you really think Silicon Valley isn't doing some version of this already?

[esteve7]

I'm in SV and have interviewed programmer applicants. No one cares about any of that 'so what are you going to do in 5 years', 'tell me how you're awesome', BS, it's all about if you have the technical skills.

I can honestly say the only thing outside the technical requirements to do the job I've asked about is what their favorite sports team is. I don't care what it is or if they don't like sports, just to see what they come up with.

[Bubba Jones]

Is it because you don't care if your programmer has no emotional intelligence, or because no programmer has emotional intelligence?

[esteve7]

lol, i can't tell if you are being snarky or not.

Screening for 'emotional intelligence' is just a blanket way to discriminate. Like how universities use 'leadership' as a knock against asian students who get higher test scores.

[Bubba Jones]

snarky but serious. I hire a lot of techies, but the biggest cause of failure is not that they can't do the technical work, but that they can't function on a team.

I had one candidate who explained a prior disagreement with a coworker. He has a long explanation about how this other guy was wrong, and how he got his boss to agree and all this BS.

And then he mentioned that the project he was opposing ultimately generated $1B in sales. And he still couldn't understand that maybe the other guy wasn't as wrong as he insisted.

In other words emotional intelligence is about solving the right problems.

A group that doesn't require emotional intelligence sounds like a sweat shop.

[esteve7]

I understand that. If you can fit in with the culture and understand others / work well with others, but too often those are buzzwords used by people that don't know anything (not you, obviously).

There are some I would never hire just because of their capacity to learn and function well in a team.

For example, the reason I was kept on at a previous company after a takeover was because I had experience working in pretty much every department there, and even now I have the operational side many IT folks don't.

[Mike Laursen]

More that no programmer has emotional intelligence. It's rare.

[Mike Laursen]

It isn't. It's hard to find technically competent developers. We're not going to ask about irrelevant stuff like that in an interview, and the HR department would be on your ass if you did.

[Swiss Servator]

Go on....

/CIA

[Playa Manhattan.]

Oh, there's no logic to it. This is just an example of the organized opposition to Trump. They are so fucked in the next election.

[John Titor]

Oh, Harris knows about the Reptilians, she expects the CIA to carry the message to our secret overlords.

[Episteme]

Perhaps send gay couples to spy on the icecaps?

[Not a True MJG]

Damn, beat me to it.

[Rhywun]

*laughs*

"Next question."

[Ayn Random Variation]

You know she's being groomed for 2024.

Damn it feels weird typing 2024.

[SimonD]

They'd better have her ready by 2020 (I assume this is ma'am's dumber replacement, Sen. Harris). By 2024, too many people may realize that she makes pond scum seem intelligent and mafia hitmen seem ethical.

[Red Rocks Dickin Bimbos]

The only Kamala that was ever worth a damn was Kamala the Ugandan Giant.

[SQWRLZ: Deplorable Woodchipper]

Jeessuss Christ!

You ain't in Cali no mo, and this ain't a potential police chief you're interviewing.
Your impertinent questions are about as naive and vapid as I can imagine for you, personally, questioning someone who could (will) LEGALLY DRONE STRIKE AMERICAN CITIZENS WITHOUT A TRIAL.

>:|

[SQWRLZ: Deplorable Woodchipper]

Why is she even in this committee?

[bacon-magic]

FBI Investigated over Conduct on Clinton Emails
I knew it, Russkies again.

[CatoTheChipper]

Come on, guys, isn't it obvious that Comey is a Russian agent?

[Swiss Servator]

So he is Yuri!

[mad.casual]

No, you're thinking of Clinton and Abedin.

[Fist of Etiquette]

The Department of Justice unveiled 227 pages of police reforms and oversight agreements for the City of Baltimore.

Just in time as budget cuts had them running out of toilet paper.

[Swiss Servator]

What are they, the Venezuelan National Police?!

[Entropy Drehmaschine Void]

NO ONE EXPECTS THE VENEZUELAN NATIONAL POLICE!

Our chief weapons are:

1) toilet paper, beer and currency confiscation
2) Che' worship
3) and ....

Oh, bugger.

[Sevo]

Broken-window repair, SJW division:

"Pao pointed to an effort she has spearheaded called Project Include, aimed at gathering diversity research and providing tools for companies, as an example of the initiatives she would pursue.
"My work with Project Include was about calling out specific comprehensive solutions, and as I approach my role at the Kapor Center it will be about implementing these types of solutions at scale," Pao said in an interview."
https://www.yahoo.com/tech/ellen-pao

What a pile of baffle-gab! Maybe Jesse Jackson's protection racket will have an opening in the future.

[Playa Manhattan.]

"diversity research"

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

Researching different things.

[Swiss Servator]

"Give me money and we will say your firm is good to go"

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

"Give me money or you know what will happen."

[A Cynic's Guide to Zen]

"Social Justice Solutions, Cis-Anglo-Women's Division, this is A-A-ron, how may I direct your call?"

[Mad Scientist]

I'm trying to reach D-Nice.

[Greg Loves His Woodchipper]

I read in some liner notes that he is not down with BDP anymore and needs to stop frontin'! Hope that helps.

[waffles]

The drought is over in Northern California. And the Sierras have the goods!

[Playa Manhattan.]

Mammoth got way over 10 feet last week

[waffles]

So did almost all Tahoe basin ski areas. I'm so ambivalent about skiing this weekend what with the MLK traffic. I've said it before and I'll say it again. The worst thing about California is the Californians.

[Citizen X]

It is known.

[Playa Manhattan.]

The stairs DOWN to the slopes.

A lot of the stuff at the top was closed for blasting. Booms all night.

[Playa Manhattan.]

Bigger pic

[Ted S.]

For some reason they're bitching about flooding.

[Injun, as in from India]

See my below link. They didn't sent Kamala Harris to the Senate for nothing.

[B.P.]

We've had three resorts in Colorado close due to too much snow. I'm headed up this weekend to see what that looks like.

[Injun, as in from India]

CVS has introduced a rival to the EpiPen at about a sixth of the price. The power of market competition!

Still don't beat Single Payer. /progderp

[Playa Manhattan.]

"These treatments are stocked by schools "

Why???? It's a SELF RESCUE product.

[Swiss Servator]

"GASP! You think we would allow children to carry around a needle??!?!?!?!?!?!?"

[Heroic Mulatto]

^This^

Some schools make kids keep their fucking rescuer inhalers in the nurse's office.

[Heroic Mulatto]

*rescue

[A Cynic's Guide to Zen]

Better that then the tiny mice having to carry it around all day.

[A Cynic's Guide to Zen]

In my rash to be funny...

[Injun, as in from India]

Better get that rash checked out!

[Entropy Drehmaschine Void]

Might need an Epi-Pen for that rash ...

[Playa Manhattan.]

I just wouldn't trust a kindergartner to inject themselves in a life or death situation. Let the school nurse do it. And in such a case, an ampule of epinephrine is about $2. No need for a $600 self-rescue device.

[Ted S.]

Why do you hate the children?

(Oh wait, you're a libertarian. Of course you hate the children.)

[Enough About Palin]

(Oh wait, you're a libertarian. Of course you hate exploit the children.)

[flye]

They delayed the confirmation hearing for Puzder (Labor Sec.). Someone should ask him what he plans to do about the rising child unemployment rate.

[Bubba Jones]

They often require each kid to stock their own epipen.

Redundancy

[Dr. Fronkensteen]

No one needs more than one type of EpiPen.

[Mantis Toboggan, Jr.]

I'm going to have to deduct points for failure to italicize the word needs, Doctor., Otherwise, fine usage.

[Entropy Drehmaschine Void]

We need at least 23 types of EpiPen.

[Pay up, Palin's Buttplug!]

Single Payer fixes lack of supply due to the FDA banning competitors. /progderp

[Holger da Dane]

That's way too self aware, B-

[TheZeitgeist]

The inspector general of the Department of Justice will be investigating the FBI and Director James Comey's conduct regarding how they handled the investigation (and public disclosures) of Hillary Clinton's private server scandal close to the election.

Get the lumps in while you can Hillary; and then, finally, GTF off my screens.

[Libertarian]

Meanwhile, not a whisper about the Clinton Foundation investigation.

[rts]

Dontrell Stephens' attorney gets approval from federal judge to auction PBSO sergeant's property

A Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office Sergeant's personal property is now in the hands of the federal government, waiting to be auctioned to begin paying Dontrell Stephens, 23. In 2013, Stephens was shot and paralyzed by Sergeant Adam Lin after he was stopped for riding his bicycle into traffic.

He [President of the Palm Beach County Police Benevolent Association John Kazanjian] says this is sending a shocking message to law enforcement officers.

"Is this going to start a precedent now? Now, law enforcement officers are going to be watching over their back for any type of civil suits and you're going to lose your property?" said Kazanjian. "All across the country law enforcement officers are, you know, losing their lives, getting ambushed, getting run over, getting stabbed, all this and now this. Who is going to want to do this job? Pretty soon nobody."

[Shirley Knott]

He says that like it's a down side.
Some jobs shouldn't be done, by anyone.

[Ted S.]

Is it too much to hope that there's video of the sergeant being dragged kicking and screaming away from his stuff?

[Ted S.]

Is this going to start a precedent now? Now, law enforcement officers are going to be watching over their back for any type of civil suits and you're going to lose your property?

I bet the bastard thinks asset forfeiture of non-cops is a great idea.

[Tonio]

Bullshit. This is the first time I can recall reading about any LEO being held personally responsible for attacking a citizen. Immunity is bullshit, and a root cause of the mess we are in now.

Also, since LEOs regularly steal shit from "civilians" (asset forfeiture), it would seem that they are just getting a taste of their own medicine. Boo fucking hoo.

[Citizen X]

"Is this going to start a precedent now? Now, law enforcement officers are going to be watching over their back for any type of civil suits and you're going to lose your property?"

Well, one can hope so.

[Swiss Servator]

OH YEAH, WHEN YOU NEED SOMEONE BRUTALIZED, WHO ARE GOING TO CALL? A HIPPIE??

hth

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

"Is this going to start a precedent now? Now, law enforcement officers are going to be watching over their back for any type of civil suits and you're going to lose your property?" said Kazanjian.

Yes.

"All across the country law enforcement officers are, you know, losing their lives, getting ambushed, getting run over, getting stabbed, all this and now this. Who is going to want to do this job? Pretty soon nobody."

Nobody who shoots random unarmed bicyclists I'll bet.

[R C Dean]

Now, law enforcement officers are going to be watching over their back for any type of civil suits and you're going to lose your property?

Just like the serfs, you mean? Does he really think complaining about something normal people have had to put up with their whole lives is going to get him sympathy?

[ant1sthenes]

If it's good enough for doctors...

[Bubba Jones]

Can cops contract with the city as "Officer Lawenforcement, LLC" and shield their assets?

[mad.casual]

Who is going to want to do this job? Pretty soon nobody.

According to the FBI, in at least 65 (40.6%) of the 160 active shooter incidents they compiled, citizen engagement or the
shooter committing suicide nobody ended the shooting at the scene before law enforcement arrived.

Maybe after they get done pinning a medal on this Nobody's chest they can put him to work tracking down and putting an end to the nefarious reign of Notme.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Trump's pick to head the CIA, Rep. Mike Pompeo said he agreed with the Intelligence Community's assessment that Russia had attempted to influence the presidential election.

HACKED the election. HACKED.

[GILMORE?]

Joe Biden Awarded Medal of Freedom

"Heckuva Job"

[Rufus The Monocled]

Even the MofF Obama manages to ruin. Handed them out like stale Tootsie Rolls.

'Hey, know what you deserve?'
'No. What?'
'A MEDAL! Which would you like?'
'Not sure. It's like choosing ice-cream!'
'Take your time. I got access to loads.'

[bacon-magic]

Joe wanted the Trans Am key fob.

[Celexis]

He then formally resigned the presidency and told Biden "Now do me".

[Rufus The Monocled]

I lol'd.

[Not a True MJG]

I've seen it suggested that Obama step down on his last day, so Biden can be POTUS for a day.

[Rufus The Monocled]

Sure why not?

Michelle too!

[bacon-magic]

#bringbackourgirls

[TheDefendor]

Thats funny as hell.

[Aloysious]

Which aspect of the VP received the MoF?

"Sheriff" Joe Biden? or "Creepy Uncle" Joe Biden?

[Libertarian]

Creepy indeed. If it weren't for youtube, I wouldn't have believed it.

One instance is a slip. Several instances are a modus operandi.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sd8o3WUKP8M

[Playa Manhattan.]

Participation trophies for everyone.

[Rufus The Monocled]

"French far-right leader Marine Le Pen was at Trump tower Today. Aides to the Trump transition team said she was not meeting with the president-elect or any of his staff."

She was panhandling with a Mime.

[waffles]

Do they have mimes in Quebec?

[Rufus The Monocled]

Boh.

I'm going to guess yes. It's more of a Quebec City or Old Montreal thing I think.

BUT NONE IN MY FUCKEN AREA I can tell you that.

[Aloysious]

Obligatory, for me anyway.

[Tonio]

Thank you for that. One of my faves.

[Swiss Servator]

Rufus chased his neighborhood mime away ...with a pitchfork.

[Rufus The Monocled]

...in nothing but my underwear...and a clown mask.

[But Enough About Me]

Don't forget the ten-inch butcher knife and the hard-on. Accuracy's important.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

Just because you can't hear em, doesn't mean they ain't there, Rufus.

[Rufus The Monocled]

Are you trying to give me a nightmare?

[Swiss Servator]

Nice.

[Zeb]

Each town is required by law to have at least one mime.

[Swiss Servator]

Ah, yes. The Federal Mime Act of '68, wasn't it?

[Rufus The Monocled]

The Quebec Act of 1976 outlawed miming in English.

[Swiss Servator]

*pantomimes applause*

[Ted S.]

Don't you mean jazz hands?

[Sonoran Desert Rat]

The General Miming Act of 1872

[Rufus The Monocled]

Gee, there sure are a lotta acts. Seems like mimes are quite the ubiquitous existential threat.

[Jerryskids]

French far-right leader Marine Le Pen was at Trump tower Today. Aides to the Trump transition team said she was not meeting with the president-elect or any of his staff.

Just there to pee on the beds?

[Injun, as in from India]

The inspector general of the Department of Justice will be investigating the FBI and Director James Comey's conduct regarding how they handled the investigation (and public disclosures) of Hillary Clinton's private server scandal close to the election

This is still the IG appointed by Obama or his appointees, right?

[Tonio]

Michael E. Horowitz was confirmed as Inspector General for the Department of Justice (DOJ) by the U.S. Senate on March 29, 2012. He was sworn in as the fourth confirmed Inspector General on April 16, 2012.

[Tonio]

The above post is a quote from the DOJ OIG website to which I linked.

[Aloysious]

This is never going to end, is it?

Probably not anytime soon.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

It will probably look a lot different in about 8 days, though.

[Fist of Etiquette]

The power of market competition!

I wouldn't even use an EpiPen now if they gave it to me free. How effective could it be if its creators can't even master regulatory capture.

[Swiss Servator]

*ponders for a moment, then begins applause*

[rts]

'Doesn't seem right': Funeral home charges grieving families cremation 'carbon tax'

MacLeod was told her mother's cremation used enough natural gas to create five tonnes of carbon dioxide, or the amount of natural gas used to heat an average home for almost a year, leading to the $100 charge.

She sounds fat. Anyway, read on for how business and government in Alberta have no fucking clue how this tax is supposed to work at all.

[Injun, as in from India]

Taxed from birth to death. Also, after death.

[Zeb]

This is why I want to be eaten by wild animals when I die.

[Injun, as in from India]

+1 Tibetan funeral.
+2 Zoroastrian funeral.

[Not a True MJG]

Still have to charge you for the carbon output of the animals.

Should families get a carbon rebate for turning their loved ones into fertilizer?

[Playa Manhattan.]

Not if those animals get eating by animals too.

[Not a True MJG]

They gonna fart, aren't they?

[Holger da Dane]

They gonna fart, aren't they?

Timely article.

[Holger da Dane]

The short answer: It depends.

[Zeb]

Those animals are renewable.

[Rufus The Monocled]

"Denny O'Brien
@Darby Boon we are one of,if not the higheat per capita emitter in the world.

Canada needs be a leader in trying to help our planet live longer"

"Brad Spencer
@Nash Lagutin

So why bother right? Can I ask you a question? Why does the carbon tax bother you so much? Is it because you don't think your tax dollars will benefit you or because you don't believe in climate change caused by human activity?"

THAT'LL LEARN 'EM.

[John Titor]

we are one of,if not the higheat per capita emitter in the world.

...with less population than California, and massive carbon sinks via the whole 'goddamn we have a lot of trees' thing. If anything we're the ones who could do nothing and get away with it.

[Entropy Drehmaschine Void]

"tonnes"

Fucking Kanukistanis.

[GILMORE?]

Obama to end policy granting residency to Cubans entering US without visas

"We'd build a wall if we could, but, you know. Water."

Give us your tired, your poor, your tempest tossed democrat voters....

[Injun, as in from India]

Cubans immigrants are heavily Republican. Like Vietnamese immigrants. That explains it.

[Playa Manhattan.]

What a pathetic little man.

[rts]

And, because I hate you all, gaze on this. If you vomit, it's not my fault.

[lap83]

I'm conflicted...is it OK for Liberty to grab his m'f'ing leg if she has good intentions?

[Mantis Toboggan, Jr.]

It's not okay if she was part of a sorority of giant statue-women taking advantage of world leaders.

The Haven Monahan in this scenario isn't clear.

[bacon-magic]

Jr., are you Irish(as in the old commenter)?

[Mantis Toboggan, Jr.]

Oh, no. I'm a lot less racist. 😀

Seriously, no. I've taken on many, many handles over the past three-plus years, all of which end in Jr.

[bacon-magic]

Sorry.

[Not a True MJG]

It works as both glorifying and victimizing Obama; it's America pleading for Obama to stay, and America assaulting the innocent Obama. Top notch stuff.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

That looks like some pussy-grabbin' to me.

[Citizen X]

It's like mawkish and retarded fucked in my mouth. I hope you stub your toe really bad for posting that. Jesus.

[Zeb]

Ugh.

[Injun, as in from India]

Dang it, rts.

I wish I hadn't clicked on that link.

Why do we have some many authority fellaters?

[SimonD]

It's just proof than the avalanche of derp isn't going to end anytime soon.

I expect four years of weapons grade thermonuclear idiocy. It'll be so bad that you'll never hear the actual legitimate criticism of President PussyGrab through all the derp.

[Pan Zagloba "The Stickler"]

I had a sensible chuckle. Thank you.

[Ted S.]

Is it not possible with Imgur to link to just the picture, and not the picture with all the Imgur social networking crap around it?

[Mad Scientist]

All I see is the image.

[Bubba Jones]

https://i.imgur.com/cUBcmWY.jpg

[Fist of Etiquette]

...saying they want to break NATO.

They and his potential new boss have something in common!

[The Late P Brooks]

saying they want to break NATO.

I thought that was Trump's plan.

[Injun, as in from India]

Anyone posted this yet?

CIA nominee. Question on climate change.

She's half-Indian, so I'm going 100% RAYCISS and blaming the non-Indian half for this stupidity.

Freshman Democrat Kamala Harris grills CIA director nominee on climate change

[Chipwooder]

What a blithering idiot.

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

Yet she's senator and you're not.

[Injun, as in from India]

Yet she's senator and you're not.

I would argue that it's because she's a blithering idiot that she represents CA in the Senate.

[kbolino]

There is only one qualification to be Senator from California: the ability to funnel money.

[Chipwooder]

Hey, Colin Cowherd makes millions of dollars. The world is a twisted place.

[$park? is totally a Swifty]

That's like when your pants fall down on your first day at a new school.

[Tonio]

She was also quoted on my FB feed as saying that a repeal of ACA would deny people their human right to healthcare.

[Injun, as in from India]

What a stupid woman. And she's got a JD and is a former Attorney General of California?

[Tonio]

I'm going to go with mendacious rather than stupid.

[Entropy Drehmaschine Void]

Why can't it be both?

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

It is clearly a human right to healthcare be forced to pay for health insurance at increasingly exorbitant rates.

It has nothing to do with healthcare.

[Heroic Mulatto]

She's half-Indian, so I'm going 100% RAYCISS and blaming the non-Indian half for this stupidity.

-1 Indian National Congress

Let's not even get into the Naxalites, shall we?

[Injun, as in from India]

Screw the INC. The only congress I support is Sexual Congress.

[GILMORE?]

Intelligence Agencies Leak Details of Call Where They Asserted Vehemently to Trump that They Were Not Source of Leaks

WTF does it mean when you've got heads of subordinate departments jawboning the press as though they're members of the minority party in congress?

""In a Wednesday night statement [to media], Clapper, director of national intelligence, said that in a call with Trump he expressed his dismay over media leaks. Clapper added that he did not believe the leaks came from U.S. intelligence agencies.

Clapper said he emphasized to Trump that the report was not produced by U.S. intelligence agencies and that they had not judged whether the information was reliable. He did not say the document was false.

By contrast, Trump suggested in a tweet on Thursday that Clapper agreed that the report was untrue.""

I love how the media's new posture is "unsubstantiated claims are true until otherwise "proven false" (esp by Top People in Intel)

[Injun, as in from India]

So the leak was them claiming they were not the source of leaks about a news story involving leaks in a Russian hotel?

[gaoxiaen]

I quickly scanned the headline and figured it had something to do with golden showers.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

Clapper called to piss on Trump's neck and tell him that it was raining?

[Chipwooder]

Obama awarded Biden the presidential medal of freedom because....um....reasons, or something

http://tinyurl.com/jfm3vve

[waffles]

Maybe it was for this.

[Celexis]

If it was, then it was well deserved.

[Injun, as in from India]

It's officially a Participation Trophy.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

Well, he couldn't very well give him his Nobel Peace Prize, could he?

[gaoxiaen]

Best Trans Am in show.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Aides to the Trump transition team said she was not meeting with the president-elect or any of his staff.

Depends on what your definition of meeting is?

[Jerry on the sea]

Marine Le Pen went to Trump Tower and all she got was a golden shower.

[Libertarian]

Or your definition of staff.

[The Late P Brooks]

jynx

[GILMORE?]

Reuters, your pun-game is weak.

Trump 'Wades' into LL Bean Flap

[Crusty Juggler]

"It is reprehensible how progressives have bullied her and her family's company," LePage said. "I encourage Mainers and customers around the globe to continue their strong support of L.L. Bean."

D-Money and Pookie are souless.

[MythicalLibertarianWoman]

Greetings, commentariat. Some of you may recognize me as that one who posts comments really really late, after everyone has gone to bed and left the day's posts behind. Most of you probably are like, "who?" It's understandable. But I am making a concerted effort to join you all at a reasonable time of day, to present for your consideration the following new feature: The Derp of the Day.

You see, I made the unfortunate career mistake a few years ago of becoming an author of YA fiction. It seemed like a good idea at the time. Little did I know that, within a few short years, "interacting with my colleagues" would evolve into "immersing oneself into an ever-radicalizing, mandatory progressive indoctrination camp." And it doesn't seem fair that I should have to suffer enjoy this alone, without sharing all the derptastic hilarity that my oh-so-intelligent fellow authors spew on a daily basis.

"Because as artists, we have a moral obligation."

[MythicalLibertarianWoman]

Today's Daily Derp is from Twitter: "Look, the bottom line is: if you are in favor of taking away people's medical care, you are a bad person. That's it. Your parents did wrong."

[waffles]

Hi, if you download this you can't make links and stuff so those truly invested in derp can go straight to the source. As an added bonus it makes it extremely difficult to screw up the html.

[MythicalLibertarianWoman]

I don't see any screwed up HTML on my end? But I will note to include the link from now on. Here is today's.

[Heroic Mulatto]

Amanda, honey. Look, the bottom line is: if you are in favor of taking away peaceful people's wealth, under threat of deadly force, for the purposes of redistribution, you are a bad person. That's it. I don't blame your parents as I believe in individual responsibility and agency.

[Tonio]

[hockey rooting]

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

Waffles clearly said that 'you can't make links'.

You can clearly fuck up your English, though.

[waffles]

Oops. That's an error. I just wanted to pimp Reasonable. Was that wrong? Am I not supposed to do that?

[Tonio]

No, it is a good thing. Because friends don't let friends tinyurl. And italics and block quotes are so much easier to visually process than quotation marks. Thanks.

[Volren]

I never knew this existed. Is this why no one ever answers Hank Phillips?

[Bubba Jones]

I just installed it, but now I can't see anything I posted. WTF?!?!?!?

[R C Dean]

Look, the bottom line is: if you are in favor of taking away people's medical care, you are a bad person.

First off, I'd like to these people are who are in favor of taking away medical care. I'll wait.

[A Cynic's Guide to Zen]

Mad Lib? "I'd like to ___________ these people who are in favor of taking away medical care. I'll wait."

(Verb)

[Aloysious]

...grab by the pussy?

[flye]

peg

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

blow?

[C. Anacreon]

canonize?

[Get To Da Chippah]

sterilize

[R C Dean]

Dammit. Should be "know who".

[Zeb]

Welcome "woman", whatever that is.

[Pan Zagloba "The Stickler"]

Can you link us to your books, or would that drag you out of the closet, with all the petty, vindictive bullshit that would follow from your colleagues?

[MythicalLibertarianWoman]

You got it 😉 It's been really difficult to hold back screaming at them, but I fear the power of their gangs. So I'll just anonymously badmouth them behind their backs, haha. I can point you in the direction of the Libertarian Fiction Authors, though. They have some great stuff.

[Pan Zagloba "The Stickler"]

Awesome! Damn, you guys need to get Larry Correia in somehow.

[Zeb]

"All he wanted to do was sell burritos...All he got was a chance to save the world" must be the greatest thingy on a book cover (insert the appropriate trade term) I've ever seen.

[Aloysious]

cool. Thanks bunches.

[Crusty Juggler]

Tucille's book is on that list, which makes that list legit.

[John Titor]

Book pimpin' is totally acceptable behaviour in the H&R comments by the way, everyone and their dog here has apparently had something published. Except Sugarfree, because his editors' faces keep melting.

[Pan Zagloba "The Stickler"]

Can you link us to your books, or would that drag you out of the closet, with all the petty, vindictive bullshit that would follow from your colleagues?

[Ted S.]

Derpetologist is actually a woman?

[waffles]

I think we all are actually women.

[Crusty Juggler]

I think we all are actually women.

Pics, all?

[waffles]

Here you go, Crusty.

[Zeb]

Huh.

I'm not the crossfit tranny one.

[Crusty Juggler]

*reports spam*

[But Enough About Me]

O.M.G.

I'd totally do most of those! I might even throw a pity-fuck to the ones I'm not attracted to, just to say "thanks for being a libertarian female!"

[Zeb]

Tulpa is a woman?

[Heroic Mulatto]

If you take the term "bitch" literally, then yes.

[Rufus The Monocled]

That's what Justine Trudeau says.

[Swiss Servator]

I thought we were all Tulpa?

[PapayaSF]

No, I've met Derpetologist, and he's a man.

[PapayaSF]

Welcome, MythicalLibertarianWoman!

[Crusty Juggler]

'Sup. Pics?

[Domestic Dissident]

Some of you may recognize me as that one who posts comments really really late, after everyone has gone to bed and left the day's posts behind.

You're Michael Hihn?

[Swiss Servator]

BULLY!

[C. Anacreon]

You forgot to close quote /Teddy Roosevelt

[A Cynic's Guide to Zen]

Hard to lose arguments against the unconscious.

[B.P.]

I have a friend from high school (of the Facebook variety) who writes young adult fiction. She's a pleasant enough person, but terminally ill with social justice blather. It rules every thought and action of her life.

[one true athena]

Hello! I am new(newish. I mostly been lurking but I've been commenting lately, just because it's basically the only place I can), and also one of the unicorns (in my case a secret liberatarian woman in the land of the people who would not be caught dead in a neighborhood with any minorities living in it, but sure do talk about diversity a lot). My FB feed is nothing but derp all the way down, so I know exactly that feeling.

[Crusty Juggler]

Guys, Fist is pretending to be female libertarian commenters again. Stop it, Fist!

[Fist of Etiquette]

Like I would ever make a comment I couldn't take credit for.

[Crusty Juggler]

That's exactly what you want us to think.

[Fist of Etiquette]

You're going to be asked to prove your gender at some point, my dear. Probably when you least expect it. Be prepared.

[one true athena]

ha, some proof you don't want. I didn't claim to be a mythical hot liberatarian woman, after all.

[dschwar]

In a desert, any oasis looks inviting.

[Episteme]

As someone who posts infrequently, I suppose that it's only fair to cop to being a dude, indeed a very bearded dude?

[Playa Manhattan.]

Trump is getting a new presidential limo because of this.

[Chipwooder]

That may have played a role in the decision, but he also wanted something more suited to his tastes.

http://tinyurl.com/jnf6h7g

[Greg Loves His Woodchipper]

The ClassiMobile?

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

High centered, bitch!

[AlmightyJB]

That's what 5 tons of armor will do

[Crusty Juggler]

Yes.

[PapayaSF]

Just add an air suspension so that it can raise itself up when needed.

[gaoxiaen]

Those guys that build driveways think that everybody else drives four wheel drives too.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

Looks to me as if the air suspension went tits-up in that video.

[Libertarian]

"I know just how he feels."

/Dead Castro

[Mazakon]

Sault St Marie Immigration Partnership Asks Citizens to Pledge Against Racism and Discrimination

The Sault Ste. Marie and Area Local Immigration Partnership (LIP) is proud to launch the 'Take the Pledge against Racism and Discrimination' campaign.

Visit discoverthesault.ca to 'Take the Pledge' and print your certificate.

By taking this online pledge, supporters are making a personal commitment to understand, stand against, and act to eliminate racism and discrimination.

[Ted S.]

Will they stop their reflexive anti-American bigotry?

[Rufus The Monocled]

The Sault! Where the Esposito brothers hail!

It's been all down hill I guess by the looks of it.

[Swiss Servator]

Jesus Saves...Esposito puts in the rebound.

[John Titor]

As if I needed another reason to hate Sault Ste. Marie.

[gaoxiaen]

Problem solved.

[Pan Zagloba "The Stickler"]

Good grief, someone is feeling frisky at the Beloved State Broadcaster, giving PM Zoolander a full broadside:

Can't Trudeau enjoy a secret island vacation with a friend whose foundation lobbies the feds?

OK, it looks bad. The Aga Khan is the head of a foundation that has received millions of dollars in federal foreign aid. The organization is also registered to lobby the federal government. But hear me out.

First of all, the Aga Khan Foundation does good, important charity work. This would all be much more nefarious if Trudeau spent his holiday sipping cocktails on the private yacht of the head of a foundation I didn't like ? someone who deals in oil, or banking or small-c conservative politics. But the Aga Khan is a good egg, therefore any obvious ethical or conflict of interest breaches ? including the appearance thereof ? should be forgiven.
...
Above all, let's remember that this was just a Trudeau family vacation; there was nothing political about it. OK, so the president of the Liberal Party of Canada and Liberal MP Seamus O'Regan and his husband went too ? a detail revealed only after further media pressure ? but those guys are kind of like family also, no?

I'm impressed! I guess true lefties are getting antsy about Zoolander and pining for late St Jack (the odds of writer being some kind of conservative are miniscule).

[Rufus The Monocled]

I didn't know, Pan. I didn't peg you for such an optimist!

[Pan Zagloba "The Stickler"]

Optimist? Zoolander was never the committed lefty that the wobbly NDPers and SJWs wanted. They're in for more disappointment than Trump voters!

[rts]

But he's soooo dreamy!

[Rufus The Monocled]

Oh he's committed alright....

/Kramer motion.

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

But you did peg him.

[Pan Zagloba "The Stickler"]

What happens in Montreal... (right, jesse?)

[Volren]

I remember reading that this morning and wondering how Ezra Levant managed to hack the CBC

[R C Dean]

This would all be much more nefarious if Trudeau spent his holiday sipping cocktails on the private yacht of the head of a foundation I didn't like

So, its still basically principals, not principles.

[Pan Zagloba "The Stickler"]

It's...it's satire. She's pointing out the very hypocrisy. The article is well worth reading.

[R C Dean]

Read the article? You mean, read it myself?

[The Fusionist]

Why is the PM of Canada nicknamed "Zoolander?"

[Crusty Juggler]

Rufus and Pan think he is the dreamiest boy ever.

[kbolino]

He's an empty-headed pretty-boy.

[Rufus The Monocled]

I'm pretty sure I was the first person on the internet to call him this waaaayyyy back before he was elected.

[Pan Zagloba "The Stickler"]

Call Obama. If true, you're more than deserving of the Presidential Medal of Freedom!

[Rufus The Monocled]

I'm on it!

I also just trade marked JUSTINE TRUDEAU!

[Pan Zagloba "The Stickler"]

I think Ezra Levant got you beat there, at least.

[Rufus The Monocled]

/snaps finger.

I'll be back.

[But Enough About Me]

I'm miffed that no-one ever uses my moniker for Justin: "The Hair That Walks Like A Man?."

You people suck.

[True Scottsman]

Pretty simple, although your nickname is clever and accurate, just count the syllables. Coke, FedEx, Amazon, 3 syllables is pretty much the max if you want the brand name to stick.

[John Titor]

Trudeau reminds us all of Derek Zoolander, in the sense that he's an extremely stupid pretty boy who's speeches are full of vapid emotional appeals that don't actually mean anything.

[John Titor]

Christ, I can't believe I forgot about Jackie Boy. Probably why the leftists jumped on the Trudeau wagon so desperately, they've been waiting for their next Messiah to take them to the Promised Land. And unlike Jack, Zoolander won, and they find him lacking.

[But Enough About Me]

"Hi. I'm Jack Layton. Most folks around here just call me 'Tug Job.' "

[Mazakon]

Home Secretary Amber Rudd's Speech Classified as Hate Incident by Police

Home Secretary Amber Rudd's speech to the Conservative Party conference on foreign workers was treated as a "hate incident" by police.

In her speech in October 2016 the Tory minister proposed tougher rules on foreign workers to stop immigrants coming to the UK "taking jobs British people could do".

Her comments were reported to West Midlands Police by Joshua Silver, a physics professor at the University of Oxford.

Warning: Autoplay video

[Citizen X]

"taking jobs British people could do"

So, NOT dentistry?

[flye]

Or chefs.

[Pan Zagloba "The Stickler"]

-6 Jamie Oliver's Italians.

[BearOdinson]

In Heaven:
The engineers are German, the lovers are Italian, the chefs are French, and the police are British.

In Hell:
The engineers are Italian, the lovers are French, the chefs are British, and the police are German

[Rufus The Monocled]

I never got that thing about Italian engineers. I-taly has an outstanding engineering heritage.

Police would be more suited.

[Pan Zagloba "The Stickler"]

Indeed, in this configuration:

engineer: French
lover: German
chef: British
police: Italian

[Rufus The Monocled]

I can always count on Pan.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

The Italians design beautiful cars, but they 'engineer' incredible piece of shit cars.

Fix It Again Tony is an appropriate joke.

[Pan Zagloba "The Stickler"]

Hail, Odinsson!

Missed this over the holidays, but here's a lovely animation of Crusader Kings II "song of yuletide", with lyrics in the comments. I thought you might like it.

[John Titor]

the lovers are French

I may have only sampled the colonial version of the French, but this is not a negative.

[Groovus Maximus]

sampled the colonial version of the French

Yes, the Quebbies are known for their virulent strep tease.

but this is not a negative

Neither was your most recent STD panel.-)

[John Titor]

I hope your KGB-mole wife gives you Ukrainian dickrot.

[But Enough About Me]

That's a thing? {looks around nervously}

[Zeb]

British food is great is you stick to fried things, sausage rolls, cheese and beer.

[flye]

In London I've stuck to Middle Eastern food.

[gaoxiaen]

You forgot beans.

[Pan Zagloba "The Stickler"]

Ten years ago, it took me hours to find a pub in London that served fish & chips. Had to settle for a lounge.
My Anglophile soul cried that day.

[C. Anacreon]

When we were in London last summer, my first trip to the UK in 20 years, I was shocked and saddened that you couldn't get fish & chips in rolled-up newspaper in a pub. I was told that serving food in newspaper was "banned by the E.U." What a crock, and something that eliminated a truly wonderful local tradition.

Perhaps this will return as part of Brexit.

[Heroic Mulatto]

I was told that serving food in newspaper was "banned by the E.U."

Wait, what?

Brexit couldn't have happened soon enough.

[Pan Zagloba "The Stickler"]

From the Express's hard-hitting dossier on fish & chips:

EU rules mean the term fish and chips is gradually disappearing from menus. These days restaurants are meant to specify the precise type of fish rather than using the more vague description, which could include any fish including cheaper substitutes such as pollock and coley.

Wrapping fish and chips in newspaper fell foul of health and safety watchdogs in the 1980s.

[Zeb]

Sure. What problem could there possibly be with criminalizing taking part in a currently relevant political debate?

[GILMORE?]

Europe =

Its always "Far Right".

[Ted S.]

I prefer "non-far-left".

[AlmightyJB]

I kinda like "better than you"

[BakedPenguin]

Strache also denounced "a political Islam that seeks world domination" - using the kind of language that the Nazis once directed at Jews.

Yeah, except radical Muslims have actually stated that.

[Free Society]

And I don't recall the Jews being renowned for gang-rapes and terrorism and violent crime in general, outside of Third Reich propaganda that is.

[Heroic Mulatto]

You forgot Hamas propaganda.

[Pan Zagloba "The Stickler"]

Difference being...style of hats?

[Groovus Maximus]

Yeah, except radical Muslims have actually stated that.

On the ground in Euro-landia, BP, the line b'twixt "radical" and "moderate" has blurred so much (and skews towards "radical" very heavily), the distinction is, for all intents and purposes, non-existent. Where it used to be militant protesting, it's now simply and calmly stated as a statement of inevitable fact that this will happen, and The West will do willingly.

[Drake]

Attention, Ladies: Semen Is An Antidepressant

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/a.....depressant

[AlmightyJB]

Sex makes you happy? That can't be right.

[????? ????]

When applied to the face?

Anyway, as described, the study sounds like confound city. Though it's Psychology Today, so goodness knows what the study actually says.

[gaoxiaen]

I tell them it works better as a suppository.

[Juvenile Bluster]

Obama actually doing something good on his way out of DC

US scraps 'wet foot, dry foot' policy for Cubams. For those unaware, there was a special rule for Cubans that doesn't apply to any other immigrant. If a Cuban refugee makes it to US soil they're automatically legal residents. Or they were until now.

[R C Dean]

What difference would it make? I didn't think we were deporting immigrants anyway.

This one is a safe bet to be reversed by Trump early on, I think.

[Chipwooder]

that was the first thing I thought of too - it'll revert back in about 10 days.

[paranoid android]

Now instead, presumably, they'll be returned to Cuba to be shot or caged, whichever the regime deems appropriate. What a win for freedom!

[GILMORE?]

I don't know if its good or bad, but its being done to appease the Cubans, and provide disincentives to migrants.

It wasn't part of any pre-conditions for ending the cuban embargo, AFAIK.

i think "people fleeing communist hellholes" is a decent category of immigrant to offer asylum to. particularly if they have generations of success integrating.

[Juvenile Bluster]

It's been done to buy votes from the Cuban refugee community. Which is why Obama waited til the end to kill it.

One of the issues with it is the danger it creates, as a result of what happens when the Coast Guard spots a boat a few hundred yards from shore. Been more than a few deaths as a result.

[GILMORE?]

It's been done to buy votes from the Cuban refugee community.

I honestly don't get how that works. The Cuban refugee community wants to dissuade people from continuing to escape? That doesn't sound right.

[This Machine Chips Fascists]

The original policy was in place to appease FL Cubano voters. Refugees caught at sea are routinely returned to Cuba to face the music.

[GILMORE?]

I thought former refugees welcomed new refugees?

Wasn't it cuban voters who encouraged the US to maintain the economic embargo and do everything possible to undermine the Castro regime? Encouraging people to flee would seem to fit into that.

[GILMORE?]

Wait, sorry - you seem to be agreeing w/ me.

My point was that obama was probably doing it to appeal to the Cuban govt (*or perhaps had even agreed to change that law outside the details of dropping the embargo )

[Rufus The Monocled]

They're the sort of people you want because they *know* and can spot bull shit from a mile away.

[gaoxiaen]

But I got octopus coming out of my fucking ears.

[GILMORE?]

Black guy who burned down black church and spray painted "Vote Trump" on it launches defense strategy = "Nuh Uh"

its notable how quickly cops identified the guy, for what's normally a nearly impossible crime to 'catch' people @.

The FBI was helping local police. And the FBI has, notably, not been as easily arm-twisted as other aspects of Justice. This should be a fun one to watch.

[R C Dean]

So, does this qualify as a hate crime? Or, given the political comment, as terrorism?

[GILMORE?]

the FBI got involved because it was assumed to be a hate crime. they may have handed off the case entirely to local cops after catching the guy.

[waffles]

I think it actually qualifies as performance art and this man is owed a grant.

[Groovus Maximus]

Ask Rahm Emmanuel. I'm sure he can clarify this question about black-on-black crime.

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

And his last name is McClinton. You can't make this up.

[flye]

Sounds made up. Maybe the FBI contact is Agent Manfredgensenden.

[Groovus Maximus]

Parliament Funkagaelic.

[Unicorn Abattoir]

he told the committee that he would not follow an order to implement interrogation techniques that fell outside the Army Field Manual (meaning: no waterboardingTrump to Revise the Army Field Manual).

FTFY

[Crusty Juggler]

"Have some classy Russian whores shower the terrorists with big league pee."

[Crusty Juggler]

"Make the terrorists read my book...twice."

[GILMORE?]

Russia = they want to break NATO.

so does NATO, mostly.

[GILMORE?]

The Department of Justice unveiled 227 pages of police reforms and oversight agreements for the City of Baltimore

AND THATS HOW EVERYTHING WAS FIXED, THE END.

did anyone actually read the thing yet? forgive me if i'm not going to take CNN's gloss at face-value

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

Next thing you know, Putin is hacking the reforms.

[Crusty Juggler]

Cosmo harms minors:

Cosmopolitan Magazine glamorizes things like public, anal, group, violent and risky sex in nearly all of their monthly issues throughout 110 countries across the globe in 35 languages. We are asking that Cosmo be sold to adults only and have the cover wrapped like all other porn magazines in retail shops.

The fight is being fought by Victoria Hearst, of the Hearst family. Apparently this has been an ongoing crusade of hers.

[GILMORE?]

Cosmopolitan Magazine glamorizes things like public, anal, group, violent and risky sex

Weird, all i saw was cosmetics ads. Is there some hardcore version if it i missed?

[flye]

The fight is being fought by Victoria Hearst, of the Hearst family

Hearst, is she Caesar? To have fights to the death for diversion, murder her workers at whim, smash passages in the fucking wall? A woman of less wealth would be in fucking restraints!

[Crusty Juggler]

No, she is Patty Hearst's sister.

[Not a True MJG]

Tell your god to ready for blood.

And other assorted fluids.

[PapayaSF]

In case anyone doesn't know, Cosmopolitan was purchased by her grandfather, William Randolph Hearst, in 1905. It has gone through various permutations, its current one beginning in 1965 when Helen Gurley Brown took over as editor.

[Bubba Jones]

In my hood they already put a black cover over the magazine...

[GILMORE?]

I'm not going to link to the video where i just saw this, because i think its idiotic, but i have to give credit to whomever coined the name "Talcum X" for Shaun King.

[Crusty Juggler]

I approve of that nickname.

[Swiss Servator]

OK, that is funny.

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

Credit? Hx deserves the Medal of Freedom!

[bacon-magic]

Awesome. Rachel Dolezal would be _________?

[flye]

Mayo Angelou

[bacon-magic]

^Winner

[Heroic Mulatto]

Brutal. Savage. Rekt.

[Mantis Toboggan, Jr.]

*standing ovation*

[GILMORE?]

Damn son, you've got chops.

[Pan Zagloba "The Stickler"]

He's like...anti-Mike.

[flye]

Thanks. Beats work.

[R C Dean]

Oh, bravo,flye.

[Pan Zagloba "The Stickler"]

Jackie Brown?

[bacon-magic]

Sweet, sweet Jackie Brown.
She knows how to get down.

[A Cynic's Guide to Zen]

Rosa Parkowitz?

[Groovus Maximus]

Sistah Chowdah

[Libertarian]

That reminds me. . . . what is Melissa Harris-Perry doing these days?

[Juice]

Very funny, but ... who?

[The Fusionist]

Some lawyers think Trump can still be stopped, if only Obama would sue Trump to prevent him from becoming President

Apparently, a legal memorandum signed by Laurence Tribe and others said that earning money from sales to foreign government entities, even at fair market value, would mean getting "Emoluments" from foreign states, which the Constitution prohibits federal officeholders from doing.

"The [Emoluments] Clause would thus be violated whenever a foreign diplomat stayed in a Trump hotel, for example, or a foreign-owned bank loaned money to a business in which Trump had an interest, or whenever a Trump entity made a profit on a business transaction with any foreign government or foreign-owned organization."

So why doesn't Obama just sue to stop Trump from taking office? "It's impossible to know whether such a lawsuit would succeed, but President Obama is so committed to what Politico's Michael Grunwald calls his "no-drama reluctance to pick defining public fights," that he seems unwilling to even try to stand up to the Article II version of the schoolyard bully."

[GILMORE?]

"its not a stupid idea even though no one would ever try it, for fear of looking stupid"

[Rich]

"It rubs the emoluments on its skin or else it gets the hose again."

[R C Dean]

It's bullshit. Emoluments doesn't cover fair market value transactions.

[Tony]

Trump is literally picking winners and losers among American businesses via Twitter. Where's the article? Haven't figured out how to blame it on Obama yet?

[bacon-magic]

*Collects more tears
Tony,
You're going to have to slow down production of the tears, it's bottoming out the market.

[tarran]

Tony, I know you are a retard, so I won't mock you, I'll just help you out.

Paste this into your browser:

http://reason.com/search?q=trump+crony

You're welcome.

[Crusty Juggler]

It's like a Friar's Club roast in here!

[waffles]

Buy the rumor, sell the tweet.

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

The Democrats finally have something to love about Trump: He's picking winners and losers among American Businesses via Twitter, and the fact that Reason is against it, must mean it's good.

[Enough About Palin]

The Department of Justice unveiled 227 pages of police reforms and oversight agreements for the City of Baltimore.

It's well known here for more than a decade that I hate cops, but that is fucked up.

[Ken Shultz]

"The inspector general of the Department of Justice will be investigating the FBI and Director James Comey's conduct regarding how they handled the investigation (and public disclosures) of Hillary Clinton's private server scandal close to the election.

Yeah, I hear there's a new sheriff coming to town.

Incidentally, the inspector general at the Department of Justice is one of the ones that's appointed by the President.

"Presidentially appointed IGs can only be removed, or terminated, from their positions by the President of the United States, whereas designated inspectors general can be terminated by the agency head.[11] However, in both cases Congress must be notified of the termination, removal, or reassignment."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Office_of_Inspector_General_(United_States)

Surely, there were people at the FBI and Justice Department who were disgusted by the politicization of the FBI and what that has done to tarnish the agency's image. I remember reading at the height of the scandal that Comey tipped his hand on announcing new emails for fear that the FBI's rank and file were about to go into open rebellion against him.

"Be sure your sins will find you out".

Numbers 32:23

[sloopyinTEXAS]

[Ken Shultz]

I smell squirrel.

[sloopyinTEXAS]

[sloopyinTEXAS]

Aw, fuck it.

[bacon-magic]

Hang on, Sloopy.

[Ken Shultz]

Sloopy hang on.

[sloopyinTEXAS]

The inspector general of the Department of Justice will be investigating the FBI and Director James Comey's conduct regarding how they handled the investigation (and public disclosures) of Hillary Clinton's private server scandal close to the election.

I was saying (twice) that if the investigation wraps in the next week, it will prove Clinton was wrongly and maliciously targeted by the FBI. If it ends in 2 or more weeks, it will prove Clinton should have been prosecuted. And either way, they won't even mention the Bill Clinton-Loretta Lynch tarmac meeting.

[Groovus Maximus]

And either way, they won't even mention the Bill Clinton-Loretta Lynch tarmac meeting.

But Saccharin Man, OTOH...

[Ken Shultz]

What I'm hoping is that Obama fires the inspector general at the Department of Justice.

That would put a really nice cherry on top of Obama's "most transparent administration ever".

[Ken Shultz]

"The Department of Justice unveiled 227 pages of police reforms and oversight agreements for the City of Baltimore.

It was the 227th page that fixes everything.

228 pages would have been too much.

[This Machine Chips Fascists]

Perfectly tuned for success!

[Ken Shultz]

"French far-right leader Marine Le Pen was at Trump tower Today.

The latest polls have her winning the first round but losing the second round by a two-to-one ratio.

These pollsters are probably having the same complications that made Silver and others say that Hillary had an 85% chance of winning. You're not supposed to support Le Pen in polite society, and when people call you up and ask who you're voting for, you either say goodbye or tell them what you think they want to hear.

Meanwhile, the problem with the Thatcherite is that Thatcherism is unpopular in France--from an economic policy perspective. Her likely opponent in the runoff is on the record, I understand, for wanting to privatize social security and other things that a libertarian like me would love--but don't necessarily play well with average people in France.

If and when the center left (aka Socialists) are eliminated from consideration after the first round, there will be a bunch of unionists, government employees, etc. splitting their votes between Le Pen, who's like Donald Trump on trade and economic nationalism, and the Thatcherite, who has campaigned against France's restrictive labor laws in the past.

I know what the polls say. After Trump, I wouldn't bet against Le Pen.

[PapayaSF]

I endorse this analysis.

[sloopyinTEXAS]

They still have elections in Europe? I thought they just waited on Brussels to send their unelected overlords to their countries once a year.

[flye]

Expand on that a bit, drop in a beat, and you've got yourself a Eurovision song entry.

[Pan Zagloba "The Stickler"]

That's for provincials. France and Germany bend EU any way they want to.

[Pay up, Palin's Buttplug!]

Donald Trump in Resurfaced 2013 Interview: 'I Do Have a Relationship' With Vladimir Putin

In response to Thomas Roberts's (MSNBC) question, "Do you have a relationship with Vladimir Putin? A conversational relationship or anything that you feel you have sway or influence over his government?"

Oddly, the question is not in the video, just the answer and Trump doesn't say Putin's name until well into his answer.