A.M. Links: Don Jr. and Russia, Joe Scarborough Quits GOP

• 

  Gage Skidmore / Flickr.com

  Donald Trump Jr. appeared on Sean Hannity's Fox News show last night to defend his meeting with a Russian lawyer offering information on Hillary Clinton during the 2016 campaign. "In retrospect, I probably would have done things a little differently," he said.

• Today on Twitter, President Donald Trump praised his son's performance in that interview. "My son Donald did a good job last night. He was open, transparent and innocent. This is the greatest Witch Hunt in political history. Sad!"
• Vice President Mike Pence appears to be distancing himself from the unfolding Trump Jr.-Russia scandal. According to Pence's press secretary, "the vice president was not aware of the meeting" and "is not focused on stories about the campaign, particularly stories about the time before he joined the ticket."
• Morning Joe co-host and former Republican congressman Joe Scarborough is leaving the Republican Party.
• Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell insists that there will be a vote on the Senate Republican health care bill next week.
• "A London-based monitoring group with a solid history of accurately reporting incidents from inside war-torn Syria said Tuesday that it had been able to confirm the death of Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi."

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Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

"In retrospect, I probably would have done things a little differently," he said.

"I would have put the email server in someone else's bathroom."

[DJF]

Its outrageous that Trump Jr tried to get dirt on Hillary from a Russian with ties to the Russian government!!!!! But did not get any. Foreigners interfering with US politics is evil

Its great that the Democrats and MSM got unsupported dirt about Trump and Russian hookers peeing from a British agent with ties to the British government and put it out to the US public. Its great that foreigners are interfering with US politcs

[CatoTheChipper]

When agents of the Russian intelligence services provide information (or disinformation) that disparages a Republican, Democratic Party operatives must avail themselves of that information in the interest of democracy and all that is good. And when Russians offer Democratic Party politicians $500,000 for a 20-minute speaking engagement, that is only because they are such engaging speakers, and it has nothing at all to do with politics.

[loveconstitution1789]

Notice how much of the media is careful to avoid saying that Trump or Trump, Jr. broke the law? They use terms like Donald Trump Jr.'s emails might be 'the smoking gun showing' he violated a critical campaign law [Business Insider]

Defamation suits are a bitch.

[Robespierre Josef Stalin]

The first paragraph is the BEST TRUMP BLOW JOB EVAH! If the second paragraph is not written sarcastically then I agree with it.

[loveconstitution1789]

What did Robespierre say to the guillotine?

[Dillinger]

a little off the sides...

[colorblindkid]

I just found out about the Chinese-fundraising scandal from the 90s when numerous Chinese nationals cozy with the Clintons and other Dems funneled large amounts of money into Democrat campaigns. Seriously, read up on it.

The Clinton administration shut down any possibility of an independent investigation.

Go ahead and impeach Trump. I don't care. But the fools who think Hillary is less terrible, corrupt, and sleezy than Trump are still delusional. They're just better at it. No qualms voting for gay Jay.

[Aloysious]

wrt that particular scandal, allow me to quote the Right Honorable Al Gore: "There is no controlling legal authority."

That's from memory. But you are right. Dirtbags.

[CatoTheChipper]

In his defense, Gore said he drank a lot of iced tea that day, and was in the toilet when the money was discussed. Seriously, that was his defense.

[Aloysious]

I believe you. There is no depth to which that creature will not sink.

[loveconstitution1789]

ManBearPig

swooosh....

[Scarecrow Repair & Chippering]

He's so bloated, he'd float and disrupt shipping.

[Ron]

even though they handed the check to Gore

[AlmightyJB]

That's not their last dance with the Chinese. As secretary of state, Hillary was selling lunch with the Chinese government to campaign doners.

[Bubba Jones]

IIRC, the Lewinsky scandal was leaked as a distraction from that crime.

[damikesc]

I just found out about the Chinese-fundraising scandal from the 90s when numerous Chinese nationals cozy with the Clintons and other Dems funneled large amounts of money into Democrat campaigns. Seriously, read up on it.

The one where the witnesses fled to China shortly after the election? Where they held a fundraiser at a Buddhist monastery (and where said Buddhists took a vow of poverty)?

People frequently forget how mind-blowingly SLEAZY the Clinton cartel is.

[Rufus The Monocled]

Hello.

[Rufus The Monocled]

"This is the greatest Witch Hunt in political history. Sad!"

Not even witches had it this bad!

[CatoTheChipper]

At least the Puritans in Salem actually believed in witches. Most in the MSM know this is bullshit.

[damikesc]

Morning Joe co-host and former Republican congressman Joe Scarborough is leaving the Republican Party.

Truly, a crippling blow.

[Mickey Rat]

I had thought that working for MSNBC was already a declaration of quitting the GOP.

[Red Rocks Baiting n Inciting]

That neocon shit-for-brains Max Boot did his Declaration of Independence yesterday, too.

[Radioactive]

that's certainly an insult to shit everywhere...

[Fist of Etiquette]

This is the greatest Witch Hunt in political history.

Hillary wants to challenge that assertion.

[Citizen X - #6]

Yes, but in her case they're hunting an actual witch.

[Chipper Morning, Now #1]

Hillary is a Wiccan? I always took her as more of a Shub-Niggurath girl.

[Citizen X - #6]

Yes, that is the kind of witch i mean. The Black Goat with a Thousand Young was her best friend in high school, though they've drifted apart since.

[Chipper Morning, Now #1]

Oh, the hijinks they shared.

"Hillary! Just answer the damn question! Stop scanning the faces of your classmates for what they want to hear! This is algebra, there is only one answer."

"And no, Black Goat, sprouting three vaginas on your forehead is not it!"

[Domestic Dissident]

The New York Times' David Brooks thinks that working class stiffs who never went to college are mortally terrified of capocollo. Apparently he has never been to Pittsburgh even once.

[Crusty Juggler - Double Great]

Socioeconomic background aside, how many people know what soppressata is, and how many know what it tastes like?

[Zeb]

Mmmm soppressata.

[Sevo]

"...how many people know what soppressata is, and how many know what it tastes like?"

How many care?

[Crusty Juggler - Double Great]

Someone get grandpa his prune juice.

[Rhywun]

I know exactly what it tastes like because the only available pizza in my Jersey City daytime food desert tries to pass it off as "pepperoni" and I don't like it. It's slightly nausea-inducing for me.

[Rhywun]

Oh and I grew up poor so he can take his classist BS and shove it.

[Crusty Juggler - Double Great]

I am not defending the piece at all, I am just amused by some making fun of Brooks assuming that a fairly obscure - obscure may not be the correct term, but you get it - Italian salami is commonly known. I grew up middle to upper-middle class frequently surrounded by Italians, and I didn't know what it actually was until a few years ago.

[Rhywun]

Oh, agreed. I had no idea what it was until recently either - I'm making fun of him because of the way he's characterizing his imaginary "friend" (who I don't believe for a moment exists).

[Crusty Juggler - Double Great]

And we are both tri-state area guys, so we probably should have seen more exposure to different Italian cured meats than someone in like Iowa or South Dakota or some other garbage state.

[Rhywun]

I grew up in upstate NY - basically zero exposure to Italian cured meats other than Oscar Mayer bologna. But I didn't freeze like a deer in headlights when an elite took me out to eat, either. Because I'm guessing that is a phenomenon that is entirely restricted to such people's guilt-ridden imagination.

[Crusty Juggler - Double Great]

I'm guessing that is a phenomenon that is entirely restricted to such people's guilt-ridden imagination.

Yes, I agree with this.

The specific food choices, however, interest me, because I am entertained when the reaction to the piece is about the food itself, as though if millions are frequently exposed to specialty foods.

[Mickey Rat]

No one took you to any of the local sub/pizza joints when you were growing up?

I do not think they used Oscar Meyer in the fried bologna sandwiches.

[Ride 'Em]

I grew up in Jersey back in 60's in a Slovak family and knew what it was. Couldn't spell it because my Italian friends called it "gobblegool" or something like that. Impressed the family of a college classmate when I correctly identified it as "gobblegool" and not capocollo.

[Eek Barba Durkle]

Are capocollo and capicola the same thing? I thought capicola was gabbagool (Thanks, Sopranos!)

[Citizen X - #6]

Educate yourself, girl.

[Stormy Dragon]

We're making fun of the assumption that because Brooks and his friend haven't heard of something, that means it must be some elitist plot to shame the common man.

If you're not from a very small part of Pennsylvania, you're not going to know what a Norristown Zep is. That doesn't mean a sandwich shop in that area is being snobbish by having one on the menu.

[Mickey Rat]

No, Brooks heard of it.

We are making fun of the idea that Brooks thinks he humiliated his friend by bringing her to a gourmet sandwich shop and she did not understand the menu.

[Citizen X - #6]

...when really it is far more humiliating to be seen in public with David Brooks.

[SRVolunteer]

I don't know what it is or what it tastes like, but who cares? (I guessed that it was some kind of cured meat from the context of the article)

I'm not afraid of food. Particularly food in a deli in New York.

I will make an exception for the bottle of ghee some impoverished Indian tried to sell to me when I ran into him while walking in the streets of Mayapur in West Bengal. He was not clean, the bottle didn't look clean, and it looked home-made by him, personally. I ain't buying your ghee, dude.

[Citizen X - #6]

You missed out. Vikram's ghee is the bomb, yo.

I mean, it comes with a little bubonic plague, but still.

[Rufus The Monocled]

"Recently I took a friend with only a high school degree to lunch. Insensitively, I led her into a gourmet sandwich shop. Suddenly I saw her face freeze up as she was confronted with sandwiches named "Padrino" and "Pomodoro" and ingredients like soppressata, capicollo and a striata baguette."

Jesus Christ anecdotal rubbish. What a pompous douchebag. I can't believe this is what passes as intellectualism at the NYT.

So what happens if the Mexican place wrote things in Spanish?

[Citizen X - #6]

Christ, what an asshole.

[DJF]

The friend face book page says, "Recently a pompous douchebag took me to lunch but he took me to a cheap Mexican place rather then the nice Italian restaurant that he promised That is why I call him douche bag"

[Citizen X - #6]

You know she was really thinking "Jesus, these prices. I know i agreed to let Dave treat, but how can he afford this? He has no marketable skills."

And that's if it happened at all, which i doubt, because even David Brooks isn't enough of an oblivious idiot to publicly refer to someone he actually likes as poor, ignorant trash.

[Red Rocks Baiting n Inciting]

You know she was really thinking "Jesus, these prices. I know i agreed to let Dave treat, but how can he afford this? He has no marketable skills."

"The fuck are they doing charging $25 for a ham and cheese on white bread?"

[Zeb]

Either it didn't happen or he completely made up or misjudged the reaction. Maybe that's just what her face looks like when she reads menus.

[pan fried wylie]

I too have a menu face, but I think it's related to my eyewear not working at the typical menu distance.

[damikesc]

Does Brooks not realize I could do the EXACT same thing to him here in my home in the Deep South? Do you think he knows shit about Southern delicacies?

[Rhywun]

He's not even pretending to be a token Republican any more, is he? This could have easily been lifted from Salon.

[loveconstitution1789]

ALL the RINOs have been outed anyway, so Scarborough FEELZ its time to join that Democratic Party.

He never voted Democrat before, you see.

[Mickey Rat]

Well he is arguing for zoning deregulation. He just coming at it from the oddest, most condescending angle I have seen.

[Rhywun]

What are these rules he's arguing against? If he thinks rich people are only sorting themselves apart from poor people because of "zoning", he's even stupider than I thought.

[Mickey Rat]

He does not seem to go into that in any detail, true, but he does mention it.

[junyo]

And whoosh goes the point.
http://www.theamericanconserva.....ure-class/

[Rhywun]

I didn't think it was possible to take insufferable navel-gazing up to 11 but there it is.

[chemjeff]

I know, right? Look the man can be a pompous windbag at times. But he does have a point. Too many people would rather demonstrate the "correct" tribal virtues by mindlessly hating on that swishy David Brooks from the New York Times! than to actually read and comprehend the point he is making.

[Unlabelable MJGreen]

Plenty of us comprehended his point. But as always with Brooks, the point he was making was overstated and wrongly presented as some dangerous new cultural phenomenon.

Further, if the anecdote he uses to illustrate that point is so bad as to focus all attention on its badness, that's his own fault.

[Crusty Juggler - Double Great]

CIA director on Russian election meddling: "They've been at this a hell of a long time"

But Russian interference in U.S. elections is nothing new, Pompeo told an audience at an Intelligence and National Security Alliance dinner. Russians also intervened in the 2012 election and previous election cycles, he said.

More fake news.

[DJF]

So Obama is a Russian agent.

[loveconstitution1789]

Kenyan Candidate

[Chipper Morning, Now #1]

Good thing the CIA has never meddled in other countries' elections.

[loveconstitution1789]

Good thing the CIA has never meddled in USA elections.
FTFY

[BYODB]

Which agency committed B&E in Watergate at the behest of a sitting U.S. President again?

[DJF]

These people seem to have no problem saying Russia interfered with US elections but they never mention how.

The most specific answer I have seen is that the don't like what Russian sources like RT publish and even then they don't mention what articles

[Crusty Juggler - Double Great]

Exactly.

[Memory Hole]

Man the Russians hacked and released the Podesto and DNC emails. They ran an online influence campaign pushing fake news. They hacked into state election systems according to the NSA leak from Reality Winner. They have evidence of Putin ordering his govt to help Trump. And niw we have written evidencedl of Don Jr, Paul Manafort, Kushner meeting to accept the aid of the Russian govt. You two are fucking hopeless if you haven't figured this out yet.

[DJF]

That its all fake news?

[Eek Barba Durkle]

Man the Russians hacked and released the Podesto and DNC emails.

Not a shred of evidence for this.

They ran an online influence campaign pushing fake news.

I'm not sure - is there any evidence for this? I know there were some debunked stories trying to make this case, was there ever any factual evidence found?

They hacked into state election systems according to the NSA leak from Reality Winner.

Reality Winner's leak was basically one paper with one guy's opinion. Which is why literally nothing came of it except the end of her career and freedom.

They have evidence of Putin ordering his govt to help Trump.

Where is this evidence?

And niw we have written evidencedl of Don Jr, Paul Manafort, Kushner meeting to accept the aid of the Russian govt.

Well, that's certainly a fundamentally dishonest way to present the incident.

You two are fucking hopeless if you haven't figured this out yet.

You're spouting off straight-up unverified and unsupported rumor-mongering that has come exclusively from sources pushing a false narrative...but yeah, others are hopeless for not being as gullible as you are.

[GILMORE?]

- the Russians hacked and released the Podesto and DNC emails.

the FBI report on the "russian hacking" described 2 phishing expeditions which targeted 1000+ individuals, most of which had nothing to do with politics.

The first didn't compromise any information of interest to anyone because it happened in summer 2015, before the election was even really underway. The second of these (spring 2016) netted podesta's Gmail password, which yielded nothing except some too-familiar conversations between the press and the clinton flaks.

in short = chickenshit.

- They ran an online influence campaign pushing fake news.

point us at an example that changed anyone's vote

- They hacked into state election systems according to the NSA leak from Reality Winner.

lol, this is complete horseshit and there's a reason the press basically dropped this within days after it 'leaked'. There's nothing there.

There's no "state election systems" - it was 'some people who work for elections *might* have been exposed to malware, etc."

and if anything was exposed, it was public information to begin with.

- They have evidence of Putin ordering his govt to help Trump.

Where?

- accept the aid of the Russian govt.

the story you're citing says there was no aid

[Calidissident]

It's true that the from what we know the lawyer didn't actually have any aid to give, but Trump Jr. was told that she did and was willing to accept it. I don't think it's an important distinction in regards to Trump Jr.'s intentions.

[BYODB]

Why is Don Jr. meeting with a Lawyer from Russia criminal when they got no information, but the Hillary campaign meeting with Ukrainian's (proxy Russians) and getting information not criminal?

Honest question.

I think what most people are saying at this point is that we only want politicians who do illegal things one-step removed in the dark, as opposed to we don't want politicians doing these things at all.

[GILMORE?]

Trump Jr. was told that she did and was willing to accept it.

so?

If a Nigerian prince emails you and says they want you to take their Bazillions in blood diamonds, and you go, "Lol K sure let's see the money", that neither proves that the prince is in fact royalty or that you believe the claimed wealth exists.

Anyone involved with ANY presidential campaign would say "sure set up a meeting" with someone claiming to have bombshell dirt on their competitor.

Setting up a meeting is isn't proof that they "believed" what was being offered actually existed. That's why you have meetings = to vet potential sources.

People who are trying to claim that exchange of emails represents "evidence" of anything are fucking retarded.

[Kivlor]

"Man the Russians hacked and released the Podesto and DNC emails."

Yeah, about that... the metadata analysis of the DNC emails does not support that. In fact, it is more supportive of the Seth Rich theory. Regardless, it appears that the DNC emails were an inside job.

[damikesc]

Yeah, about that... the metadata analysis of the DNC emails does not support that. In fact, it is more supportive of the Seth Rich theory. Regardless, it appears that the DNC emails were an inside job.

The DNC seemed really interested in NOT allowing the FBI to investigate their servers as well. Doesn't seem like the actions of a wronged party.

[Kivlor]

Yeah, the DNC choosing to not let the authorities investigate further seems to point toward an inside job. Of course, that's speculative, as opposed to the metadata analysis, which proves it would have been nigh impossible for "Guccifer 2.0" or anyone in East-Europe to have accomplished the task with the speed it was done. Proximity was necessary.

[damikesc]

Man the Russians hacked and released the Podesto and DNC emails.

No evidence and leaking of documents from private sources is hardly the end of the world. Sony also was hacked and had embarrassing emails released. This is not different.

They ran an online influence campaign pushing fake news.

As opposed to the "legitimate" media who also run influence campaigns and push fake news? It's not like CNN has a great track record. Remember, it was ILLEGAL for you to view the Wikileaks releases of the emails, per CNN.

They hacked into state election systems according to the NSA leak from Reality Winner.

Literally zero evidence of that and would require agents at every polling place to pull off.

Now, DHS was "testing" election systems for no apparent reason. Wonder why.

They have evidence of Putin ordering his govt to help Trump.

That they have failed to produce thus far.

And niw we have written evidencedl of Don Jr, Paul Manafort, Kushner meeting to accept the aid of the Russian govt.

Using this logic, Woodward and Bernstein accepted the aid of the CIA to attack Nixon...

[Citizen X - #6]

Vice President Mike Pence appears to be distancing himself from the unfolding Trump Jr.-Russia scandal. According to Pence's press secretary, "the vice president was not aware of the meeting" and "is not focused on stories about the campaign, particularly stories about the time before he joined the ticket."

You just know Pence drinks a lot these days, and who could blame him.

[Rhywun]

He's freaking out because he's going to have to inform the #Resist crowd that it will in fact be him that is the new president.

[Citizen X - #6]

He begins every morning with a full hour of weeping and vomit.

[Rhywun]

His own or Trump's?

[Citizen X - #6]

Little of this, little of that.

[Fist of Etiquette]

According to Pence's press secretary, "the vice president was not aware of the meeting" and "is not focused on stories about the campaign, particularly stories about the time before he joined the ticket."

How's he going to pardon the Trumps without knowing the facts?

[Shirley Knott]

More easily?

[Fist of Etiquette]

Morning Joe co-host and former Republican congressman Joe Scarborough is leaving the Republican Party.

The Republican Party is shocked. They didn't know he had still been in it.

[DJF]

How soon before Scarborough claims he is a Libertarian?

[loveconstitution1789]

Scarborough is probably SEVO already.

[Sevo]

Still butt -hurt from being called on your bullshit, idiot?

[loveconstitution1789]

Still in tantrum mode?

I was just pointing out that Scarborough is a dishonest hack, as are you.

[Crusty Juggler - Double Great]

The F-35 Costs Even More When You Fly It

The cost of the program, already the most expensive weapons system the Pentagon has ever fielded, is estimated to climb further?to at least $406.5 billion. That's according to a scoop by Bloomberg's Anthony Capaccio, whose defense sourcing yielded advance access to a document called a Selected Acquisition Report. The report, which was submitted to Congress on Monday, estimates that procurement costs for the F-35 will come in about 7 percent higher than the last projection of $379 billion.

But acquisition?which refers to development and production of the futuristic planes?doesn't tell the whole story. When operations and maintenance of the F-35 are factored in, the total will likely exceed $1.1 trillion over the decades to come. That reflects an increase of more than $35 billion. And that larger number could rise significantly if the Pentagon and the jet's manufacturer, Lockheed Martin Corp., don't address the F-35's deteriorating reliability.

But at least it can fly, and that's something.

[Adans smith]

I guess pigs can fly.

[Chipper Morning, Now #1]

"I Built! My! Self! A! Me!tal! Bird! I! Fed! My! Metal! Bird! The! Wings! Of! Other! Me!tal! Birds!

And oh, how my baby flew!
With heart so high and aim so true!
Up to the roof and into the sky,
dumb as fire and twice as wise."

[Fist of Etiquette]

I had a Ford F-350. It wasn't cheap, either.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell insists that there will be a vote on the Senate Republican health care bill next week.

And, if not, blame the Democrats!

[Crusty Juggler - Double Great]

Why I'm never signing up for Amazon Prime

First up has to be the matter of deals. Deals suck. Discounted goods are bad for me, as a consumer, because they nudge me into buying things I don't need just to be frugal and collect the massive "saving" inherent in the discount. That's how I've ended up with a collection of pristine, totally unworn sneakers that seemed too cheap to pass up. Discounts are also bad for the supplier for the obvious reason that they cut into their income. There is, of course, the ideal scenario where a supplier looking to free up space cuts the price of seasonal goods that need to be replaced at the exact same time as I need a thing of that kind and caliber ? a win on both sides. But browse through Amazon even without the hyperactivity of Prime Day and you'll see that deals are the norm rather than the exception. We've come to expect discounts on everything.

I'm glad someone had the sac to say it.

[Citizen X - #6]

Discounted goods are bad for me, as a consumer, because they nudge me into buying things I don't need just to be frugal and collect the massive "saving" inherent in the discount. That's how I've ended up with a collection of pristine, totally unworn sneakers that seemed too cheap to pass up.

"Nobody should get a discount ever because i'm a chump with poor impulse control and no sense of economics!"

[Eek Barba Durkle]

Nooooo shit.

I badly needed a new mower. I got a good one yesterday, plus a weedeater, with two day shipping, for less than what I paid for the current piece of shit making an abortion of my lawn.

But that's bad, because some people have no idea how to control their own money.

[Chipper Morning, Now #1]

BEST D*AL EVAH!

[Paulpemb]

But did they have any deals on woodchippers?

[Eek Barba Durkle]

Like I would ever get myself into a position where I needed another woodchipper.

[Rhywun]

I think we should pay full price for the things we want.

This has to be the dumbest thing I'll read this week.

No, I'll tell you why Prime sucks. I don't care about the delivery, because I don't order a lot and when I do I just combine enough things to get free shipping anyway. So that leaves "streaming" which is always garbage anyway but then when the stuff I want to watch (i.e. the whole point of a streaming service) comes and goes for no apparently rhyme or reason, why the hell would I pay anything for this?

[Crusty Juggler - Double Great]

Streaming works if you do research and want to catch up on shows. I go from provider to provider to watch shows I want to see, and in doing so I also get to watch a few movies.

[Chipper Morning, Now #1]

I don't even watch movies anymore.

[Citizen X - #6]

I'll just be getting off of your lawn then.

[Chipper Morning, Now #1]

Don't get off on my lawn!

[Citizen X - #6]

That train left the station a while ago, buddy. Why did you think your crabgrass was so lush?

[Mickey Rat]

Discounts may not be bad for the seller because it enables them to get rid of stock that is costing them money to keep in storage. Some people seem to judge te behavior of sellers based on an overly simplistic model of what their costs and income needs to be considered.

[Zeb]

And the "full" price of a lot of things is jacked up because manufacturers know that things are likely to be sold at a discount more often than not.

[BYODB]

RE: JC Penny when they hired an Apple executive to head the company, and how getting rid of false savings 'sales' almost (or actually did) ruin their company. It's a case study in consumer irrationality.

[Unlabelable MJGreen]

Brave of this author to share.

[Jerryskids]

"My son Donald did a good job last night."

For somebody who calls almost literally everything "fantastic", that's a sick burn from Trump. Sad!

[Fist of Etiquette]

...it had been able to confirm the death of Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

Cause of death? Poor life choices.

[Crusty Juggler - Double Great]

Gowdy fumes at Trump administration over latest Russia controversy

"If you had a contact with Russia, tell the special counsel about it! Don't wait until the New York Times figures it out!" an exasperated Gowdy said in a brief interview outside the Capitol Tuesday.

Gowdy said the "somebody needs to sit everybody down" to find out what happened.

lol.

[Crusty Juggler - Double Great]

UFC champ steals the show at his first press conference with Floyd Mayweather with a very controversial pin stripe

The UFC champion and boxing legend faced off for the first time ahead of the mega fight next month, with both McGregor and Mayweather trading endless verbal barbs.

But the biggest insult from the 28-year-old Irish-born fighter was hidden in plain view of Mayweather, with McGregor wearing a suit complete with pin stripes containing the words 'F**K YOU' throughout the press call

BEST S**T EVAH!

[Chipper Morning, Now #1]

That conference was such a shit show.

[Crusty Juggler - Double Great]

I find the fight fascinating, but I would like to avoid everything leading up to it. The suit amused me, though.

[Chipper Morning, Now #1]

Time for a "BEST F*CK EVAH!" pinstripe suit.

[John DeWitt]

It's going to be a shitty fight. If this was a UFC fight between those two...that would be fun.

[Crusty Juggler - Double Great]

I am fascinated as to seeing why McGregor thinks he can win.

[Chipper Morning, Now #1]

May be it will be a re-enactment of the election.

[John DeWitt]

Can't wait until he throws a bow or knees Mayweather in the groin out of "habit" when they lock up.

[Crusty Juggler - Double Great]

I am cynical, so I assume it's just a huge cash grab by McGregor.

Never trust the Irish.

[Chipper Morning, Now #1]

You are most likely right.

[Tom Bombadil]

Copper: What do you know about Pikeys?
Turkish: I know they're not to be trusted.

[Eek Barba Durkle]

It's going to be a shitty fight. If this was a UFC fight between those two...that would be fun.

A UFC fight would be shitty for the same exact reason.

Conor McGregor has absolutely no business in a boxing ring with Floyd Mayweather, Jr. - Floyd is one of the greatest boxers who has ever lived, and McGregor doesn't even have great boxing in his non-boxing sport. McGregor's entire pitch is "but what if he got lucky?"...against the best defensive boxer since a young Ali.

Meanwhile, Mayweather has absolutely no business in an MMA cage with McGregor. McGregor is legitimately one of the top P4P MMA fighters on earth, and Floyd has never done so much as a county jiu-jitsu competition.

It's not a terrible fight, it's an insulting gimmick. A spectacle. There is nothing remotely sporting about a boxing match between one of the greatest boxers to ever live, and a guy who got beat up and gassed on his feet TWICE by an MMA journeyman in the last couple of years.

[Crusty Juggler - Double Great]

and a guy who got beat up and gassed on his feet TWICE by an MMA journeyman in the last couple of years.

To be fair, those fights with Diaz were at 170, far above the weight classes McGregor had previously fought in.

[Eek Barba Durkle]

True, but he didn't have trouble because Nate was too heavy. Nate has spent half of his career at LW, too. He's a small WW. The only real time weight was in play in their fights was against the cage in the clinch, and Conor was able to manage positioning perfectly fine there.

And, while the whole "taller and longer" thing has been used as an excuse by the McGregor camp, it wasn't striking from range that hurt Conor. He had trouble because Nate figured out his timing, and counter-boxed the shit out of him. By the third-round of both fights, Nate was landing 2 short counters and a cross on the exit for every lazy, lunging, unloaded haymaker McGregor was coming in with, as he was already gassed. Nate had clearly superior boxing, though the power and athleticism discrepancy allowed Conor to eek out the second fight (I had Conor 48-47, but it could have easily gone the other way).

Floyd will do anything he wants with Conor.

[Crusty Juggler - Double Great]

Emilia Clarke calls criticism of Game of Thrones sex scene "anti-feminist"

Unlike most film sex scenes, the woman takes the dominant role, directing the male character to take off his clothes, calmly watching as he removes each item.

"It's brilliant. I actually went up to [GOT co-creators David Benioff and Dan Weiss] and thanked them. I was like, 'That's a scene I've been waiting for!' Because I get a lot of crap for having done nudes scenes and sex scenes," she told US Elle.

"That, in itself, is so anti-feminist. Women hating on other women is just the problem. That's upsetting, so it's kind of wonderful to have a scene where I was like, 'There you go!'"

This almost makes me want to watch that boring show.

[Citizen X - #6]

Foolish Crusty Juggler think The Simpsons didn't get good until about four years ago. Sad!

[Chipper Morning, Now #1]

Wasn't that about the time that Marge refused to so any more full frontal scenes?

[Citizen X - #6]

She didn't refuse outright, she'll still do them if it advances the plot.

[Aloysious]

This almost makes me want to watch that boring show.

Don't bother. I'm sure you wouldn't enjoy looking at a beautiful young nekkid lady.

So... what's Lena Dunham up to lately?

[Crusty Juggler - Double Great]

Lena has recently donated some of her clothing for an auction to benefit a charity she supports.

[Chipper Morning, Now #1]

Save The Whales?

[Aloysious]

I did not know that you could donate clothing purchased from the 'frumpy and dumpy' section.

[Citizen X - #6]

"Excellent, i needed some new tarps."

[Zeb]

Are her dresses waterproof? Must be a joke in there somewhere.

[Red Rocks Baiting n Inciting]

"It's brilliant. I actually went up to [GOT co-creators David Benioff and Dan Weiss] and thanked them. I was like, 'That's a scene I've been waiting for!' Because I get a lot of crap for having done nudes scenes and sex scenes," she told US Elle.

It causes no end of amusement that these people are so far up their own ass, they honestly believe a hot chick with nice tits telling a dude to get nekkid is some expression of feminine GRRRRRRRL POWER independence. Sweetie, you're not doing anything that can't be found on an average porn site, you're not exactly breaking new ground here.

[Unlabelable MJGreen]

Claws in, cat.

And am I the only person here with consistently good taste?

[Chipper Morning, Now #1]

Yes.

[Citizen X - #6]

Well, it's consistent taste, anyway.

[Chipper Morning, Now #1]

Salty?

[Crusty Juggler - Double Great]

Morning Joe co-host and former Republican congressman Joe Scarborough is leaving the Republican Party.

LOL someone is whipped.

[loveconstitution1789]

Morning Joe co-host and former Republican congressman Joe Scarborough is leaving the Republican Party.
He was never a Republican. He does not have a conservative bone in his body.

The correct question is how many people are leaving his show viewership?

[Free Society]

"A London-based monitoring group with a solid history of accurately reporting incidents from inside war-torn Syria said Tuesday that it had been able to confirm the death of Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi."

I'm guessing the ISIS embassy in London? Perhaps they have a little enclave somewhere in London, a home away from home where they can rape English girls with impunity.

[Crusty Juggler - Double Great]

Teacher gets jail time for skipping school to film sex with teen student

Ekatherine Pappas, 25, pleaded guilty to three counts of misdemeanor fourth-degree sex offense last month and was sentenced in a Baltimore court Monday, though the judge suspended all but a year and a day of her sentence, the Baltimore Sun reported. The state dropped additional felony counts.

Police investigated after a sexually explicit video of Pappas and the 16-year-old made its way around the school in January.

"I cannot begin to explain the terror of being notified that my son had been sexually abused and it was on videotape that had been circulated throughout the school for others to see," the victim's father said in a statement to the court, adding that his son had not returned to school afterward.

lol.

[Chipper Morning, Now #1]

Crusty, how did you miss this one?

[Crusty Juggler - Double Great]

I don't condone any homosexual activity.

[loveconstitution1789]

How about asexual activity?

[Chipper Morning, Now #1]

Fun fact: Crusty's climax scream is "I don't condone this!!"

[Free Society]

sexually "abused"

[Unlabelable MJGreen]

it was on videotape

Calm down, grandpa.

And if the teacher was the one recording, that was massively stupid of her.

[BYODB]

I'm sure that if it was a male teacher having sex with a 16 year old girl the sentence would have been the same, right? Or if it was a black male teacher and a white 16 year old girl? Sure. I believe it.

[Michael Ejercito]

You seem to be implying sex discrimination in this context.

[BYODB]

Your sarcasm-meter appears to be working perfectly!

[Ken Shultz]

"On Jun 3, 2016, at 10:36 AM, Rob Goldstone wrote:

Good morning

Emin just called and asked me to contact you with something very interesting.

The Crown prosecutor of Russia met with his father Aras this morning and in their meeting offered to provide the Trump campaign with some official documents and information that would incriminate Hillary and her dealings with Russia and would be very useful to your father.

This is obviously very high level and sensitive information but is part of Russia and its government's support for Mr. Trump ? helped along by Aras and Emin.

What do you think is the best way to handle this information and would you be able to speak to Emin about it directly?

I can also send this info to your father via Rhona, but it is ultra sensitive so wanted to send to you first.

Best

Rob Goldstone

http://tinyurl.com/ychqktj4

[Ken Shultz]

This email is exculpatory to the extent that it suggests the Trump campaign didn't know about whatever the Russians were doing before they did it. Going by this email, the Trump campaign didn't conspire with Russian intelligence services to hack the DNC servers, etc.; the Russians offered up dirt on Hillary Clinton that they already had.

I.e., I can't be guilty of conspiracy to commit armed robbery if I didn't find out about the robbery until after it happened.

This email only reflects badly on the Trump campaign to the extent that it contradicts the suggestion that they didn't know the Russians were digging up dirt on Hillary Clinton.

[Paulpemb]

"the Russians offered up dirt on Hillary Clinton that they already had."

And then didn't deliver, because the meeting turned out to be a con, and the lawyer in question just wanted Trump to let Americans start adopting Russian babies again.

[Calidissident]

I don't really see how it indicates that one or the other (and for the record, I think it's unlikely that the Trump campaign actually coordinated the hack with Russian officials). The email says that a Russian government official has incriminating information on Hillary that is "part of Russia and it's government's support for Mr. Trump." That doesn't necessarily mean there was nothing prior to this meeting. Also, I suspect that in the event that there was coordination before, there would be a very limited number of people who would know about it in the Trump campaign. I wouldn't be surprised if Jr. wasn't in the loop if that was the case. Again though, I'd be surprised if there was actually any direct coordination of the hack.

[Crusty Juggler - Double Great]

This is obviously very high level and sensitive information but is part of Russia and its government's support for Mr. Trump ? helped along by Aras and Emin.

"I love it!

[Unlabelable MJGreen]

I love it!

[Aloysious]

I had to google 'Crown prosecutor of Russia'. The term caused some confusion for me, in the context of Russia.

[Ken Shultz]

He's just a brit making sense of the world in brit terms.

An American might refer to parliament as the "British congress".

It gets worse. They call cookies "biscuits"; they refer to fries as "chips", and they call potato chips "crisps".

And that's if you can understand what they're saying (never mind what they mean by the words they use). I have to watch Benny Hill for like ten minutes before I can start to make out what he's saying. Making sense of Shakespeare is easy compared to trying to understand what's being said on Coronation Street.

P.S. Diedre's a slag.

http://tinyurl.com/y8g47k35

[Tom Bombadil]

Ask Crusty about their spotted dick.

[Mickey Rat]

I was wondering if Putin had secretly restored the Romanovs.

[Robespierre Josef Stalin]

Hey guys,

Dear Leader is complaining that his son is being attacked through the use of anonymous sources when, in fact, the stories being printed are based upon things released by Jr. Dear Leader on twitter. LOL! Does this get any better?

[loveconstitution1789]

I though FatBoy-Un was playing with his new ICBMs and does not use twitter.

[Robespierre Josef Stalin]

I can't figure out which government run by a weird cult I like better. Ours or his.

[loveconstitution1789]

Be honest, you likey the Commie cults.

In fact, you love them.

[Robespierre Josef Stalin]

Well, they're both democratic in name only.

[loveconstitution1789]

Correct, the USA is representative constitutional republic.

[John DeWitt]

Thank God. I have no more use for 180 million tyrants than I do for 1.

[Sevo]

Why, look here! Our lefty shitbag still claiming that Trump is guilty of something, but, being retarded, he's not sure what.
Hint: You LOST, loser!

[Ken Shultz]

Hey guys,

Robespierre thinks we can't find the emails Trump's son is being attacked for, but the email in question has actually been linked posted and linked here in comments.

Meanwhile, Robespierre makes assertions about what Trump is saying--without any quotes or links to what he's talking about.

Sad!

[Robespierre Josef Stalin]

Sorry, man, I just thought everybody knew what Dear Leader was saying. You guys are all so close.

Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump

Remember, when you hear the words "sources say" from the Fake Media, often times those sources are made up and do not exist.

[Ken Shultz]

Well, we've found that to be true, right?

Didn't CNN recently have to fire three reporters for making shit up about someone connected to the Trump administration?

Oh, that Trump--going around telling people they shouldn't believe everything they read online. He's so crazy!

"Believe none of what you hear, and only half of what you see."

----Benjamin Franklin

http://tinyurl.com/ybkg8hf8

See, that's the way you do a quote.

[Ken Shultz]

"A London-based monitoring group with a solid history of accurately reporting incidents from inside war-torn Syria said Tuesday that it had been able to confirm the death of Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi."

At some point, someone should probably tell the American people that there's a limited ceasefire happening in Syria. It's been holding for 72 hours, which is a nice start . . . fingers crossed for good luck.

I'm guessing the media doesn't want to emphasize the ceasefire at this point because it might look like Donald Trump did a good thing (in coordinating policy with Putin, no less), and obviously we can't have that.

They're probably waiting for the ceasefire to fail, so they can blame Trump for that, too. It must make progressive foreign policy reporters miserable, waiting around, hoping for a massacre in the ceasefire area or something equally appalling.

[loveconstitution1789]

I'm guessing the media doesn't want to emphasize the ceasefire at this point because it might look like Donald Trump did a good thing (in coordinating policy with Putin, no less), and obviously we can't have that.

They're probably waiting for the ceasefire to fail, so they can blame Trump for that, too.
That sounds like typical media M.O.

Everything Trump does well is 100% random.

[loveconstitution1789]

I'm guessing the media doesn't want to emphasize the ceasefire at this point because it might look like Donald Trump did a good thing (in coordinating policy with Putin, no less), and obviously we can't have that.

They're probably waiting for the ceasefire to fail, so they can blame Trump for that, too.

That sounds like typical media M.O.

Everything Trump does well is 100% random.

[John DeWitt]

I'm a bit more shocked that Trump hasn't taken to the Twitter waves to claim permanent peace in the Middle East.

[Ken Shultz]

Yeah, well, obviously, if Trump managed to negotiate that, we couldn't give him any credit for that either.

[BYODB]

What, kind of like how the 'daily count of soldiers killed in Iraq' disappeared the second Obama took office, as if him becoming President put an invisible bullet-shield around our heros?

Something like that?

[Robespierre Josef Stalin]

Don't blame me. I voted for Jill Stein.

[loveconstitution1789]

As we all knew. You're a confirmed Socialist.

[Chipper Morning, Now #1]

So it is you. How do you manage to keep getting banned?

[Citizen X - #6]

Here's the poop: this human colostomy bag lost the "american socialist" moniker when somebody used an ASCII exploit to poach it. He briefly continued posting his retarded bullshit under the name "california socialist," until that one got poached as well. For some reason he blamed GILMORE, despite no similarities whatsoever between the writing styles of GILMORE and the poacher, and so he poached GILMORE's handle in turn. Then he disappeared for a while, presumably to nurse his wounded butt. Now he's back with a screenname consisting of famous mass murderers from history, which he claims is his way of poking fun at "Trump-supporting fake libertarians," but of course like everything else he's ever said here there is no sense or logic involved.

[Robespierre Josef Stalin]

There are numerous inaccuracies in this fake news. First, I never blamed GILMORE for anything since I took the whole thing as a joke. Second, I didn't poach anyone's handle and had every intention of returning it after I used it for a couple of hours. However, it was so much fun watching Gil melt down and run to the mod that I had to step it up a bit. You know, to have a bit of fun. Gil didn't like it though. Sorry, man.

[Citizen X - #6]

I like how the "numerous inaccuracies" turn out to be two in number, you basically walk back your correction of one of them, and the other turns out to be rooted in your misunderstanding of the word "joke."

[Red Rocks Baiting n Inciting]

Why would we blame you for leftists having a real-time meltdown?

[Dillinger]

Jill Stein didn't vote for Jill Stein.

[Sevo]

BTW, if you use Firefox, you'll get a face-full of propaganda for web price fixing ('net neutrality' in gov-speak).
It seems that Firefox could fix its own pricing without anyone from the government telling them to do so, which means three's a heaping helping of hypocrisy in there somewhere.
Like those twits griping that taxes aren't high enough, but never paying more than they have to (Buffett, for example).

[John DeWitt]

The problem with my libertarian leanings on net neutrality (it's a bad thing to regulate commerce in this way), is that way internet delivery is built largely upon an infrastructure that also runs contrary to my libertarian leanings (government enabled cable monopolies). Choice is required for the market to prevent the terrors that net neutrality guards against, but we largely lack that.

If an internet provider was not part of some crony capital monopoly, then I would support them not being restricted by net neutrality. But if their company is benefiting from government protectionism, then net neutrality should be enforced upon them.

[John DeWitt]

I write the above assuming that removing government sponsored monopolies is outside the scope of the discussion...that would be option #1.

[Mickey Rat]

Not everywhere has monopoly internet providers. Throwing the wet blanket of Net Neutrality over the entire country is a bad solution to that problem.

[Red Rocks Baiting n Inciting]

Not everywhere has monopoly internet providers. Throwing the wet blanket of Net Neutrality over the entire country is a bad solution to that problem.

Sort of like passing Obamacare to fix the exponential price inflation of the healthcare industry. States and even the fedgov could easily fix both issues through existing anti-monopoly legislation (even making a la carte cable available could be done this way, with the added benefit that bigcorp media entities like Disney, Fox, and CNN would see their revenues plummet), but it's telling that they refuse to do so.

[John DeWitt]

Yeah, which is why'd I prefer the litmus test so that the areas with a functioning free market (like here in Atlanta) can remain a free market.

[Dillinger]

Joe Scarborough was a Republican?

[Citizen X - #6]

That threw me at first too, but then i remembered that i don't care.

[Crusty Juggler - Double Great]

He was a congressman back in '94 when Newt Gingrich slayed.

[Dillinger]

i fucking loved Newt back in the day.

[Tony]

His show on Headline News was basically Sean Hannity lite. He moderated over the years.

[mysmartstuffs]

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell insists that there will be a vote on the Senate Republican health care bill next week.

And, if not, blame the Democrats!

My recent post: AscendPages Review
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[mysmartstuffs]

I had to google 'Crown prosecutor of Russia'. The term caused some confusion for me, in the context of Russia.
My recent post: Traffic Problem Solved Review

[Tony]

"The greatest witch hunt in political history."

You idiots voted for this moron.

[Citizen X - #6]

Who are you talking to, Tony? The voices in your head don't actually visit this website, you know.

[Tony]

Oh, so you voted for Hillary?

[BYODB]

You idiots voted for this moron.

Mmm...no. I wanted to vote for Rand Paul but accepted Gary Johnson as the lesser evil.

[BYODB]

Oh, and an important thing to say this I suppose, but if the Democrats continue to pursue their insane Russian fear mongering I will probably end up voting for Trump next time around just because I don't like the idea of their made-up conspiracy madness being used to oust a sitting U.S. President.

This obviously assumes that no smoking gun materializes to legitimize their witch hunt, but so far it seems that there will be no smoking gun.

So, by all means continue to push false narratives. It's going to make a lot of 'independents' vote for Trump next time around. That is the result you're looking for, right?