Bureaucrat Suing Trump Over CFPB Appointment, Al Franken 'Ashamed' But Sticking Around, Bali Airport Closed Over Volcanic Ash: A.M. Links

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  • MN Culture Club/flickr

    The deputy director of the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau is suing President Trump to block the nomination of Mick Mulvaney as interim director.

  • Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) said he was "ashamed" and "embarrased" about the revelations of his sexual misconduct, but said he would not resign. Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.), meanwhile, stepped down as ranking member on the House Judiciary Committee amid an Ethics Committee investigation into sexual harassment settlements. Conyers again denied wrongdoing in statement, saying he would like "very much to remain as Ranking Member."
  • Ivanka Trump is leading a delegation to India for a global entrepreneurship summit whose theme this year is empowering women.
  • Susan Sarandon said in an interview with The Guardian that she believes the U.S. would be at war had Hillary Clinton won the presidential election.
  • A mall in New York state was evacuated after a man shot a gun into the floor, possibly accidentally; he was caught on surveillance video but left the mall and hasn't been identified.
  • The crown prince of Saudi Arabia said a two-year-old counter-terrorist Islamic military coalition would continue to operate until it eradicated terrorism "completely."
  • North Korea is reinforcing its border where a defector crossed earlier this month.
  • The main airport in Bali, Indonesia, was closed due to volcanic ash from Mount Agung, the alert status for which was raised.

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Ed Krayewski is a former associate editor at Reason.

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  1. The main airport in Bali, Indonesia, was closed due to volcanic ash from Mount Agung, the alert status for which was raised.

    I blame AGW.

    1. Rufus The Monocled

      Hello.

      “Ivanka Trump is leading a delegation to India for a global entrepreneurship summit whose theme this year is empowering women.”

      Why, that little bitch!

      1. Would.

      2. CE

        You know who else led a delegation to India?

    2. DJF

      “””I blame AGW.”””

      Al Gore’s What?

    3. BYODB

      One thing is for sure, that eruption is going to lower global temperatures by a bit.

  2. North Korea is reinforcing its border where a defector crossed earlier this month.

    No doubt to keep South Koreans from defecting north when they hear how great the intestinal parasites are.

    1. Bra Ket

      Or to prevent anyone from delivering the bill:

      “South Korean military officials will question Oh as soon as he has recovered from his injuries. A decision has yet to be taken on who will foot his medical bills, which are expected to exceed 100m won (US$92,000).”

    2. GeneralWeygand

      Heh….nice

  3. The crown prince of Saudi Arabia said a two-year-old counter-terrorist Islamic military coalition would continue to operate until it eradicated terrorism “completely.”

    So, what, another three, four years?

    1. Conchfritters

      It’s those apostate Shia terrorists that need to be taken out. The Sunni terrorists are actually doing Allah’s work.

      1. Rich

        “And don’t even get us started on those fucking *Sufis*!”

        1. Or the Baha’i. They’re the Mormons of Islam.

          1. John C. Randolph

            More like the Quakers, I’d say.

            -jcr

          2. Bearded Spock

            Bah’ais like jello salads?

  4. A mall in New York state was evacuated after a man shot a gun into the floor, possibly accidentally; he was caught on surveillance video but left the mall and hasn’t been identified.

    I wondered what Plaxico Burress was doing these days.

    1. Anomalous

      If it had been Burress, there would have been blood.

    2. GeneralWeygand

      Wow…two zingers in the same comments section.

      /Giants fan
      //Fucking Burress…

  5. Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) said he was “ashamed” and “embarrased” about the revelations of his sexual misconduct, but said he would not resign

    Pussy-grabbing means never having to say you’re sorry, Al.

    1. It’s rude that Ed implies he’s only ashamed and embarrassed about the revelations, and not the acts themselves. I’m sure that Franken feels all sorts of shame about many things.

      1. Al is a cuck Democrat. A good conservative would just call the bitch a liar and go vote against contraception alternatives.

        1. BYODB

          Hard to call someone a liar when there’s a photo of the event itself, although I suppose one can say she was pretending to be asleep.

          1. Franken was hovering his hands over her tits play acting for the camera. Some evidence. Not.

            1. BYODB

              Eh, I have a hard time being outraged about any of it. You’ve already established yourself as a rape apologist, so it’s pretty tough to take you very seriously on the subject even if I happen to agree with you on his particular case.

              Al’s biggest crime, that I’m aware of, is not being funny.

    2. Domestic Dissident

      It’s more like being a left-liberal democrat Weigelian scumbag means never having to say you’re sorry (unless they have you dead to rights with digital photos, text messages, and other incontrovertible evidence).

      1. CE

        Then you just apologize, say you’re in treatment, and run for some other office. Until they catch you with text messages again.

  6. Rich

    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is a U.S. government agency

    Hmm. The deputy director probably loses.

  7. Susan Sarandon said in an interview with The Guardian that she believes the U.S. would be at war had Hillary Clinton won the presidential election.

    Damn, some Bernie Bras can’t let it go.

    1. Bernie Bras: Strong Enough for a Schumer, and you only need one.

    2. John C. Randolph

      The US is already at war, but with clinton in charge I’m sure there would be more of them.

      -jcr

      1. NoVaNick

        The US is already at war, but with clinton in charge I’m sure there would be more of them.

        Yep- I have no doubt one of her first acts would have been to get into Syria, and now probably Burma/Myanamar too, for the right reasons of course! And Code Pink and the rest of the supposedly anti-war progs would say nothing.

        1. Ron

          Before the election Hillary was also talking pre-emptive strike against North Korea and i think she would have just to prove she has more balls than any male president would have. I’m speaking both literally not just figuratively

        2. GeneralWeygand

          Code Pink would be her Leibstandarte

      2. Bearded Spock

        Hillary would feel a personal obligation to prove she’s the butchest female leader since Maggie Thatcher.

        That, combined with the adoring, uniformly positive coverage of the Media would ensure we’d be sending troops all over the globe by now.

        1. Ron

          should have read all the comments before i posted

        2. Bubba Jones

          What’s the point of having this superb military that you’re always talking about if we can’t use it?

          Madeline Albright.

  8. Anomalous

    Susan Sarandon said in an interview with The Guardian that she believes the U.S. would be at war had Hillary Clinton won the presidential election.

  9. Rich

    a global entreupenrship summit whose theme this year is empowering women.

    Meh. That was the theme of “Lysistrata”.

    1. Also Xanadu. I think?

  10. Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) said he was “ashamed” and “embarrased” about the revelations of his sexual misconduct, but said he would not resign.

    As you are required to leave your shame at the door when entering the Capitol Building anyway.

  11. Conyers again denied wrongdoing in statement, saying he would like “very much to remain as Ranking Member.”

    IF YOU KNOW WHAT HE MEANS

  12. Bee Tagger

    Ivanka Trump is leading a delegation to India for a global entreupenrship summit whose theme this year is empowering women.

    I’m assuming the misspelling is ultimately going to reveal itself as a way for Ivanka to funnel money back to her dad.

    1. Rufus The Monocled

      Ed, you can borrow one of my orphans for editing help.

      1. gaoxiaen

        They can read? Shame on you!

        1. He didn’t say the orphans would make the copy better. Just that he’s going to force his orphans to work.

  13. The deputy director of the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau is suing President Trump to block the nomination of Mick Mulvaney as interim director.

    Sounds like someone was expecting the job for herself.

    1. Bearded Spock

      I have this mental image of an inebriated 40-something woman in a rumpled power suit sitting on her couch in the front room of her comfortable Silver Springs home, swirling a glass of Wild Turkey and screaming to her life-partner “That job was MINE, the bastard!!!”

      1. You don’t have to imagine. She does that on Television shows already.

  14. Rich

    Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) said he was “ashamed” and “embarrased” about the revelations of his sexual misconduct, but said he would not resign

    How about he just stops masturbating?

    1. NoVaNick

      That’s a lot to ask-at least let the guy squeeze one more out until the last Penthouse under his mattress is unreadable.

  15. Bee Tagger

    The deputy director of the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau is suing President Trump to block the nomination of Mick Mulvaney as interim director.

    I don’t think any of this helps our finances when consuming the government, unfortunately.

  16. Ivanka Trump is leading a delegation to India for a global entreupenrship summit whose theme this year is empowering women.

    Outsourcing our women’s empowerment to India, you mean.

    1. Rich

      Hey! That’s *diversity*, and you know it!

  17. Rich

    A mall in New York state was evacuated after a man shot a gun into the floor, possibly accidentally; he was caught on surveillance video but left the mall and hasn’t been identified.

    Perhaps this man?

    1. Quo Usque Tandem

      They call it “Glock leg.”

      1. The safety is you keeping your finger off the trigger.

        1. Plus three internal safeties.

    2. Man, Orgish. That takes me back.

  18. Rich

    Conyers again denied wrongdoing in statement, saying he would like “very much to remain as Ranking a throbbing Member.”

    FTFH

  19. Rufus The Monocled

    “Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) said he was “ashamed” and “embarrased” about the revelations of his sexual misconduct, but said he would not resign”

    But I’m good here. Thanks.

  20. Susan Sarandon said in an interview with The Guardian that she believes the U.S. would be at war had Hillary Clinton won the presidential election.

    Well, MORE at war, anyway.

  21. House Ethics Committee member is definitely one of those jobs you go home from and just drink.

    1. It’s going to be one of those situations where someone goes to investigate the House Ethics Committee warehouse, and they discover a Jonestown situation inside. Everyone has been dead for 20 years or so, but no one bothered to call up and find out.

      1. That, or the final shot of Raiders of the Lost Ark – thousands upon thousands of dusty crates of evidence, sealed away, never to be touched again. It is implied that Top. Men. are on the case but we all know that’s not true.

  22. So what is it w all these sex harrassment accus’ns? Are people in certain walks of life just highly prone to it, or is sensitivity too great?

    1. Rich

      It’s an idea whose time has come arrived.

    2. Mysterious things, that no one could have predicted, happen when you combine tremendous amounts of power and influence, with no consequence or reaction.

    3. It’s a combination of actual events, perceived events, Munchausen syndrome and opportunistic self-promotion.

      1. But why didn’t those things come together 10 or 100 yrs. ago? Seems there’s some bandwagon/fad/panic/snowball effect.

        1. MarkLastname

          I’m sure much or most of the surge is due to the media reporting things they use to ignore, as every accusation is now considered national news.

        2. mad.casual

          But why didn’t those things come together 10 or 100 yrs. ago?

          Twitter does a great job distributing blather, factual or otherwise, and suspending disbelief.

          Is there a Kennedy who wasn’t a philandering lech?
          Do the names Anita Hill, Monica Lewinsky, or Chandra Levy mean anything to you?
          You do realize it’s been almost a decade since the first allegations against Weiner surfaced, right?

          1. BYODB

            ^ This.

            Frankly, the real reason is because the media has been making sexual assault allegations into such a huge deal that they’re caught in their own web. This was a rather dumb decision for them, though, since most of the allegations have always been on ‘their side’.

            I think the Moore issue finally made the Alinsky rules work for the right, which is sort of funny.

    4. NoVaNick

      Think its generational-when I was in college in the early 1990s, date rape was a big deal and we guys were all told that “NO means a big fat NO!” Note that most of the accused are over age 60.

      1. lap83

        I doubt your father/uncles/grandfather thought date rape was fine. It’s the fact that those in power often think the rules are for little people. Although part of the reason for the timing is undoubtedly political

        1. Bubba Jones

          They were taught that no means maybe.

  23. Many of you were missing this weekend. My thanks to all those who appeared, Sevo, DD, T the W, Fist, all who came out this weekend.

    For those of you who took the last 4 days off and spent it with their family: you should be ashamed. Do you think this is a fucking game?

    1. Thanksgiving is the time to come out. That’s for sure. It’s tradition.

      1. I finally felt comfortable enough to let my family know I’m a libertarian. They disowned me, of course, but that was expected.

        1. “Jesus Christ, boy, why couldn’t you just be one a’ them homos?”

        2. CE

          Second generation. My parents voted for Ed Clark in 1980.

    2. For reasons related to continuing to be married, i spent more time driving than sleeping over the last four days, so FUCK YOU YOU FUCKING FUCK.

      ASS.

      1. I POST WHILE DRIVING YOU CAN TOO!!!

        1. Hey, I’m sorry. I guess I’m still upset about how shitty Amazon’s Black Friday was.

    3. I was around, but what the fuck was there to talk about?

      1. Don't look at me.

        Perfect time to talk turkey.

      2. what the fuck was there to talk about

        THAT’S BESIDES THE POINT

    4. Arizona_Guy

      I would have posted, but Ajit Pai stole my computer.

  24. OK, going after the CFPB may be my new favorite Trump action. It’s a sign of how out of control the bureau is that a deputy director would try to sue the president over selecting an interim director, particularly after the CFPB General Counsel agreed that with the president.

    1. damikesc

      OK, going after the CFPB may be my new favorite Trump action. It’s a sign of how out of control the bureau is that a deputy director would try to sue the president over selecting an interim director, particularly after the CFPB General Counsel agreed that with the president.

      Didn’t SCOTUS already place the CFPB in very iffy constitutional legality as is?

      Why would a director think that naming a deputy who takes over if the director is “unavailable” would work when the director QUITS? That is a vastly different thing and the CFPB isn’t a hereditary monarchy.

    2. CE

      College Football Playoff Bureau? Someone needs to get them in line.

  25. Bra Ket

    “South Korea and its allies have sought to exploit the defection. Gen Vincent K Brooks, commander of the UN command, awarded army commendation medals to six South Korean and US soldiers for their role in the operation to rescue Oh.

    They include the three soldiers who went to his aid as he lay injured, according to the US Forces Korea Facebook page”

    Kind of a dickhead way for the Guardian to word it. Giving medals to soldiers who risked their lives to save the defector as “exploiting” the defection.

    1. Zeb

      I think it’s more just awkward juxtaposition. Seems like South Korea and allies exploiting the defection (which is exactly what I’d expect them to do) and the medals for the soldiers are separate topics.

      1. Bra Ket

        That possibility occurred to me, but it wouldn’t be just awkward, it would be an outright screw-up given the lack of a paragraph break or any kind of transition.

        One thing is clear though, those soldiers have no future in law enforcement.

  26. John C. Randolph

    Interesting question… Does a bureaucrat have standing to sue if he doesn’t like whoever the winner of the last election wants to appoint as his boss? Didn’t the teleprompter-in-chief, the only recipient of a Nobel Prize for Wishful Thinking, say something about elections having consequences?

    -jcr

    1. CFPB has been an odd and frightening bird from its inception. It really does have less oversight than normal bureaus. This seems a bit much even for them.

      1. Because it is tucked into the Federal Reserve so that a 2008 financial disaster never happens again. Banks are quasi public entities that should not be allowed to cheat the system with fake loans that taxpayers back.

        There will never again be a free-bank era. Only thieves/conservatives want to game the system with shit loans that taxpayers back.

        1. Domestic Dissident

          It was Bill Clinton and the lefty scumbags like you who mandated by law that loans be given to unemployed deadbeats and losers without two nickels to rub together that the banks knew perfectly well could never possibly be paid back.

          1. Quit lying, you ignorant hick. No bank was ever forced to make a loan.

            1. Domestic Dissident

              They were all being forced to make loans, you filthy lying piece of garbage. It started with the Community Reinvestment Act, got pushed further with the Housing and Community Development Act, was enforced by bureaucratic mandates from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and all this was being backed via Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

              1. Well, technically, either make those loans (or loans like them) or get out of the lending biz.

            2. Rufus The Monocled

              http://bit.ly/2A9Yt4C

              “It is popular to take low lending standards as proof that the free market has failed, that the system that is supposed to reward productive behavior and punish unproductive behavior has failed to do so. Yet this claim ignores that for years irrational lending standards have been forced on lenders by the federal Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) and rewarded (at taxpayers’ expense) by multiple government bodies.

              The CRA forces banks to make loans in poor communities, loans that banks may otherwise reject as financially unsound. Under the CRA, banks must convince a set of bureaucracies that they are not engaging in discrimination, a charge that the act encourages any CRA-recognized community group to bring forward. Otherwise, any merger or expansion the banks attempt will likely be denied. But what counts as discrimination?”

              1. All wingnut CT. Not surprised you and Mikey shit from the same wingnut asshole.

                https://goo.gl/t8JiUv

                The GOP head of the FDIC:

                Point of fact: Only about one-in-four higher-priced first mortgage loans were made by CRA-covered banks during the hey-day years of subprime mortgage lending (2004-2006). The rest were made by private independent mortgage companies and large bank affiliates not covered by CRA rules.

                You’ve heard the line of attack: The government told banks they had to make loans to people who were bad credit risks, and who could not afford to repay, just to prove that they were making loans to low- and moderate-income people.

                Let me ask you: where in the CRA does it say: make loans to people who can’t afford to repay? No-where! And the fact is, the lending practices that are causing problems today were driven by a desire for market share and revenue growth … pure and simple.

                1. damikesc

                  Let me ask you: where in the CRA does it say: make loans to people who can’t afford to repay? No-where!

                  Where did Title IX DEMAND quotas on female and male athlete ratios?

                  Nowhere.

                  …yet it did precisely that.

                  Where did Title IX say that colleges HAVE to flush men’s due process rights if accused of sexual assault?

                  Nowhere.

                  …yet it did precisely that.

                  1. chemjeff

                    Non-sequitur.

                    Title IX =/= CRA

                    1. damikesc

                      Non-sequitur.

                      Title IX =/= CRA

                      Yes, government legislation rules being used in ways not initially intended is such a foreign concept. Really.

                      I provided an example to disprove PB’s idiotic post.

                    2. chemjeff

                      No you didn’t. You tried to argue that because the government misused Title IX, then it also misused the CRA. Why don’t you try to argue the specific claim instead of constructing a faulty analogy.

                    3. damikesc

                      No you didn’t.

                      I’m not surprised that you didn’t notice.

                      You tried to argue that because the government misused Title IX, then it also misused the CRA.

                      As a direct response to:

                      where in the CRA does it say: make loans to people who can’t afford to repay? No-where!

                      You know, the post RIGHT before mine. The emphasis was PB. Arguing “Where does it say to do this” is meaningless because laws — most of them — frequently are used in ways unimagined by their authors.

                    4. chemjeff

                      ” laws — most of them — frequently are used in ways unimagined by their authors.”

                      Fine, then show this was what happened in the case of the CRA. Saying “oh it happens all the time so it happened here too” is a fallacy of false generalization.

                2. MarkLastname

                  Buttplug, you don’t know what you’re talking about.

                  Banks bought over 3 times as many MBSs than other investors because of capital adequacy regulations (that only applied to banks) over-weighted them at the expense of other forms of credit. Look up the recourse rule.

                  The MBS crisis is a classic case of a regulation distorting behavior. Much of the credit crunch that caused the depression was also the result of regulator-mandated mark to market accounting. Regulations are not the solution, they’re the problem.

                  1. Wall St banks had NO MORTGAGE regulations, you idiots (except for Jeff).

                    Tell me how Bear Stearns was forced or coerced to buy all those crappy loans that Countrywide and IndyMac dredged up. At least Fannie Mae got repaid for non-conforming loans later.

                    And until 2004 there was something called the Net Capital Rule that prevented Wall St banks from over-leveraging. That got killed off.

                    Mark, you don’t know this shit. I do. I worked in the industry at the macro level.

        2. John C. Randolph

          it is tucked into the Federal Reserve so that a 2008 financial disaster never happens again.

          That’s the same line of bullshit that got us the Fed in the first place.

          -jcr

        3. MarkLastname

          You like nationalized banks and yet you call yourself a libertarian?

          1. There are no nationalized banks today. Obama privatized the ones purchased with TARP in 2008.

            Now they are just called SIFIs and must meet capital tests every year.

        4. cheat the system with fake loans that taxpayers back.

          If only there was a way…

  27. The Conservative War vs the NFL is hilarious to watch:

    http://www.breitbart.com/sport…..-football/

    If you don’t kow-tow to Team Red they act like butthurt snowflakes (their term fits them best). Fuck these faggy conservative pussies.

    1. Domestic Dissident

      We know you’re fired up because your Eagles are in the midst of one of of their best runs ever, dipshit.

      But frankly, I’m amazed anyone would spend even ten cents to go watch the Cleveland Browns. Jesus Christ.

      1. Rufus The Monocled

        He’s an Eagles fan??!!

        Damn.

        /stares down at Eagles jersey considering allegiance.

        1. Remember, Simple Mikey thinks that shreek is Dave Weigel. Depending on your opinion of Weigel, you might be okay.

    2. Don't look at me.

      Football is dead and too dumb to fall down.

  28. John C. Randolph

    Franken and Conyers would most likely be replaced by another couple of leftards, so I don’t really care if they get bounced out of the congress or not. I just want the upshot of this to be that neither of them get to harangue anyone else about racism or sexism ever again.

    -jcr

    1. So they should keep their mouths shut like Clarence Thomas has?

      1. Re: Peter Caca,

        Clarence Thomas didn’t keep his mouth shut: During his confirmation hearing, he denied everything Anita Hill claimed plus he brought character witnesses (a score of them, all women, who worked with Thomas over the years) to counter her claims and all much more credible than Hill. And whatever happened between Thomas and Hill is on a much different plane tham what Conyers did considering his accuser received a FUCKING SETTLEMENT and what Franken did was ASSAULT a couple of women.

        You sound desperate, Peter.

      2. John C. Randolph

        When did Thomas ever harangue anyone about their insufficiently collectivist sins?

        -jcr

    2. Franken and Conyers would most likely be replaced by another couple of leftards, so I don’t really care if they get bounced out of the congress or not.

      If their charges are true than I would say there is inherent value in removing them from office. Some justice is served that way. Congress may be a garbage pit, but cleaning it a little is better than not at all.

    3. damikesc

      Kinda makes the demand to dissociate from Moore harder to swallow. The Dems NEVER do that. Ever. Don’t see why the GOP should not abide by similar rules.

      1. chemjeff

        If the GOP really does want to be just another sleazy amoral political party which cares only about power, then sure. But in that case, don’t try to claim the moral high road ever again.

        1. damikesc

          If the GOP really does want to be just another sleazy amoral political party which cares only about power, then sure. But in that case, don’t try to claim the moral high road ever again.

          Why not?

          Being a sleazy amoral political party has never slowed down the Dems on proclaiming themselves as being on the moral high ground.

          1. chemjeff

            That’s fine. Go ahead and drag your tribe into the mud. But you’re going to have to come up with some palpable reason to vote for Republicans, because “we’re not immoral heathens” isn’t going to cut it anymore.

            1. damikesc

              That’s fine. Go ahead and drag your tribe into the mud.

              Playing by a universal rule set is the only way to actually get anything done. If the GOP decided to take foreign donations — as Obama did — I wouldn’t care about that either. One set of rules. All follow.

              But you’re going to have to come up with some palpable reason to vote for Republicans, because “we’re not immoral heathens” isn’t going to cut it anymore.

              Why the fuck would I vote for a Republican? Pathetic losers incapable of doing anything. If both parties died, it’d be a benefit to society.

              “Give us Congress and the White House and we’ll repeal Obamacare” — well, until they are given it. Then they cannot be bothered.

              Fuck the lot of them.

              1. chemjeff

                Oh come on. You’re a Team Red tribalist, your posts here at H&R more or less confirm it.

                1. damikesc

                  Shall we discuss the number of Republicans I’ve voted for?

                  It’s dramatically smaller than you think.

                  I’ve voted for more Libertarians for President (yeah, I’d vote Bush. Or McCain) than Republicans. But I don’t vote all that often as the choices are rather terrible.

            2. BYODB

              … because “we’re not immoral heathens” isn’t going to cut it anymore.

              You still can’t seem to grasp that the claim is entirely separate from the reality. Nothing has stopped the Democrats from claiming the moral high ground in numerous situations where they haven’t had it, and they have suffered very little from doing so.

              Why would the GOP not do exactly the same thing since they see there is little to no downside in gross and blatant hypocrisy? That amounts to saying that Republicans are uniquely required to be moral, but that’s pretty obviously not the case. That, or we’re saying Democrats are uniquely hypocritical.

              This is exactly the goal, in fact, of the Alinsky types who want revolution.

              1. chemjeff

                “That amounts to saying that Republicans are uniquely required to be moral”

                Umm, that has been an important part of the Republican brand for a while now. They are supposed to be the God-fearing church-going types, remember?

                1. BYODB


                  They are supposed to be the God-fearing church-going types, remember?

                  Yes, and they can continue to claim that sans any evidence with no likely downside. Just like how Democrats claim to be the party of racial equality while actively exterminating the race.

                  Not sure why this is any kind of surprise to you, but it appears that your central problem is that you do indeed hold the Right to a higher standard than the Left. That’s amusing to me.

  29. damikesc

    The deputy director of the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau is suing President Trump to block the nomination of Mick Mulvaney as interim director.

    She’s going to lose. Badly. The director isn’t unavailable. He QUIT. Therefore, the President replaces him…not the fucking bureaucrat himself.

  30. North Korea is reinforcing its border where a defector crossed earlier this month.

    The North Koreans are building a tall and beautiful wall.

    Ivanka Trump is leading a delegation to India for a global entrepreneurship summit whose theme this year is empowering women.

    Better over there than believing their claims against Moore over here.

    1. damikesc

      You’re aware Pelosi has no problems with Conyers PROVEN accusation claims, right?

      1. Actually, she does have a problem. A question I do have is: why would YOU think it is relevant to bring Nancy Pelosi up?

        1. Tony

          Any Democrat, anywhere, being remotely imperfect means it’s OK for Roy Moore to molest children. That’s what I gather.

          1. chemjeff

            Yup, it’s the New Rule for the Right:

            If Al Franken and John Conyers did it, then it’s okay for anyone to do it!

            1. damikesc

              If Al Franken and John Conyers did it, then it’s okay for anyone to do it!

              That is actually correct. Republican voters see no reason to act differently than Democrat voters. Hard to argue against that.

              1. Tony

                I see your John Conyers and raise you a Strom Thurmond. Better hope I don’t have a Hastert up my sleeve!

                1. We are at a very tragic level of political nihilism and partisanship here. We have people literally counting rapes to see which side wins.

                2. damikesc

                  I have Biden

                3. damikesc

                  Clinton.

                4. damikesc

                  Dodd.

                5. damikesc

                  Kennedy, Ted

                6. damikesc

                  Gore

                7. damikesc

                  Studds

                8. damikesc

                  Do you wish to continue this here, Tony?

          2. damikesc

            The proof that Moore “molested children” is where?

            Conyers had to have US pay his settlements for his issues. So, we know he DID what he was accused of.

            1. Tony

              Did he admit guilt as part of the settlement?

              The evidence that Roy Moore molested children is the testimony of the victims.

              1. damikesc

                Did he admit guilt as part of the settlement?

                Yes, giving out cash — admittedly not his, but he IS a politician — isn’t a sign of guilt at all. Why, he does that for ALL of his employees who leave, right?

                Right?

                He DOESN’T?

                Stunning.

                The evidence that Roy Moore molested children is the testimony of the victims.

                So, the victims of Conyers testimony is nothing? Got it.

                Senile old fool gets all kind of perks with you, doesn’t he? Let me guess, you don’t think darker skinned folks can be held to any standards, right?

        2. damikesc

          Actually, she does have a problem.

          She was asked about it Sunday.

          She expressed no desire to do anything about an “icon”.

          Which indicates that, no, she has no issue with it.

          Actions speak louder than words.

          1. Tony

            Then she forced his resignation as ranking member.

            Also: still not OK to touch young girls.

            1. damikesc

              Then she forced his resignation as ranking member.

              No. She did not. Somebody else did — it was not Pelosi.

  31. Stormy Dragon

    Diplomats Sound the Alarm as They Are Pushed Out in Droves

    Of all the State Department employees who might have been vulnerable in the staff reductions that Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson has initiated as he reshapes the department, the one person who seemed least likely to be a target was the chief of security, Bill A. Miller.

    Republicans pilloried Hillary Clinton for what they claimed was her inadequate attention to security as secretary of state in the months before the deadly 2012 attacks in Benghazi, Libya. Congress even passed legislation mandating that the department’s top security official have unrestricted access to the secretary of state.

    But in his first nine months in office, Mr. Tillerson turned down repeated and sometimes urgent requests from the department’s security staff to brief him, according to several former top officials in the Bureau of Diplomatic Security. Finally, Mr. Miller, the acting assistant secretary for diplomatic security, was forced to cite the law’s requirement that he be allowed to speak to Mr. Tillerson.

    Mr. Miller got just five minutes with the secretary of state, the former officials said. Afterward, Mr. Miller, a career Foreign Service officer, was pushed out, joining a parade of dismissals and early retirements that has decimated the State Department’s senior ranks. Mr. Miller declined to comment.

    1. damikesc

      The State Dept has a poor track record of doing anything worthwhile.

      Trimming the ranks by more than half isn’t a bad thing.

      …and a Libertarian should applaud that.

      1. Stormy Dragon

        I’m sure China and Russia are applauding it too.

        1. damikesc

          I’m sure China and Russia are applauding it too.

          Can you explain why?

          They were checked by a more robust State Dept?

          Can you name when that happened?

          1. Tony

            I don’t believe your implied claim that you have vast knowledge of the history and actions of the State department.

            The overall point is that we’re taking American diplomacy out of our toolbox, leaving us with explody things and Trump’s rhetorical genius.

            1. damikesc

              I don’t believe your implied claim that you have vast knowledge of the history and actions of the State department.

              Feel free to enlighten me.

              The overall point is that we’re taking American diplomacy out of our toolbox, leaving us with explody things and Trump’s rhetorical genius.

              So…you cannot point to the State Dept actively keeping Russia or China in check. Got it.

    2. BYODB

      Diplomats are, generally speaking, 3rd sons and daughters of rich donors so you’ll excuse me if I don’t clutch my pearls.

      Also, when it comes to Benghazi, part of the problem was that security was too light considering that they were running guns out of the embassy. Normally, I’d say that’s less of a problem.

      1. Stormy Dragon

        Well that an Benghazi was just a cynical ploy to get votes and the Republicans really couldn’t care less about embassy security.

        1. BYODB

          Bringing Benghazi into it at all seems like a political canard where they’re trying to play gotcha. I’m not going to weep over a lot of useless sons and daughters of political donors being fired, personally, and if you have 50% less staffing one assumes you need less security.

  32. This CFPB drama is making for a fun Monday morning. I’m hoping it climaxes with a street fight this afternoon.

  33. Rebel Scum

    The deputy director of the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau is suing President Trump to block the nomination of Mick Mulvaney as interim director.

    Don’t these a-holes all serve at the pleasure of the president? Fire him/her.

  34. Rebel Scum

    Susan Sarandon said in an interview with The Guardian that she believes the U.S. would be at war had Hillary Clinton won the presidential election.

    Aren’t we already? Or does she mean a larger war, like with the ruskies. That I could agree with.

  35. Tony

    Susan Sarandon said in an interview with The Guardian that she believes the U.S. would be at war had Hillary Clinton won the presidential election.

    Instead we simply surrendered. A position she’s supporting by regurgitating talking points known to have been propagated by Russians. HRC will start WWIII! was the rallying cry of every Steiniac on the internet, real or invented. I wonder why Ms. Sarandon doesn’t want to be better than that.

    1. NoVaNick

      You are tedious

      1. Don't look at me.

        More like hopeless.

    2. damikesc

      Instead we simply surrendered.

      Tony, a thought experiment.

      North Korea — why would they EVER give up their nuclear weapons?

      They saw what happened in Libya under Clinton and Obama’s policies.

      1. Tony

        Why indeed, considering we all just witnessed Trump get called on his absurd bluff to totally destroy NK. If that crazy orange fuckface isn’t going to challenge them, why should they ever fear us again?

        1. damikesc

          Why indeed, considering we all just witnessed Trump get called on his absurd bluff to totally destroy NK.

          He made no claim out of the ordinary of prior Presidents. He didn’t claim any plan to invade or nuke North Korea. He did vow serious repurcussions if they try something — you know, something everybody has said to date.

          If that crazy orange fuckface isn’t going to challenge them, why should they ever fear us again?

          They fear us now? Based on what?

        2. damikesc

          Also…am I seeing an Obama acolyte commenting on somebody getting “called on his absurd bluff”?

          Really?

          Red lines and all, amirite?

    3. I have to give you credit. You’ve finally pointed to one erstwhile Hillary supporter who went for Trump… wait, I mean, didn’t go for Hillary based on an animated Gif on Facebook.

      1. Tony

        I waded through that bog of “Hillary is so mediocre” rhetoric that stretched on endlessly in every political discussion. Then people tell me she lost because she wasn’t likable enough. Almost as if it were self-fulfilling. You’d think the Steinaics and precious snowflake nonvoters would jump at the chance to blame Russia for their ignorance, because god knows they’ll never blame themselves for anything.

        1. damikesc

          You’d think the Steinaics and precious snowflake nonvoters would jump at the chance to blame Russia for their ignorance, because god knows they’ll never blame themselves for anything.

          Man, irony is lost on you.

    4. Rebel Scum

      HRC will start WWIII!

      She is on camera stating that nuclear first strike is a viable option. Is that what you are referring to?

      1. CE

        Maybe it was the no-fly zone in Syria the Russians were flying in.

    5. BYODB

      For someone who wanted Hillary Clinton to win, you seem marvelously uninformed on what she actually campaigned on in terms of foreign adventurism and war. Maybe there’s a connection there.

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