The Neverending Thread for Political Shit

[John A Arkansawyer]

While questioning Sally Yates, Ted Cruz just did the seemingly impossible: he made himself look like even more of a slimy ratfuck than he usually does

How is that even possible?

[whatwouldcooleydo?]

While questioning Sally Yates, Ted Cruz just did the seemingly impossible: he made himself look like even more of a slimy ratfuck than he usually does

How is that even possible?

[Cole Younger]

On a lighter note, a buddy of mine from work thinks that dude that did that Gangum Style song a few years ago was Kim Jung Un.

[John A Arkansawyer]

Keep in mind I'm looking at from the view that most people have gotten this way. My team is more important than anything.

I've just gotten really depressed and cynical about the level of tribalism these days and have no faith in any group of people to do anything other support their team. It's not intended as a specific shot at the military as much as a comment on everything

I see the same thing, too. The divisions are real. The people feeling them are sincere.

I also see that a lot of it comes from anonymous and pseudonymous sources. We live in a manufactured world and it is called the Internet. It's a terrain on which people are fighting. The primary weapon is lying and deception and spin calculated to hurt you and degrade your capability to act. Fuck that shit and fuck those liars, all of them, even the ones on my side. Fuck them all by not letting them do it to you.

I keep hammering on this point because most people don't and won't get it. It's like some people work at not getting it. But it's here and it's real and it is done to us deliberately:

The great British Brexit robbery: how our democracy was hijacked

A shadowy global operation involving big data, billionaire friends of Trump and the disparate forces of the Leave campaign influenced the result of the EU referendum. As Britain heads to the polls again, is our electoral process still fit for purpose?

“That was before we became this dark, dystopian data company that gave the world Trump,” a former Cambridge Analytica employee who I’ll call Paul tells me. “It was back when we were still just a psychological warfare firm.”

Was that really what you called it, I ask him. Psychological warfare? “Totally. That’s what it is. Psyops. Psychological operations – the same methods the military use to effect mass sentiment change. It’s what they mean by winning ‘hearts and minds’. We were just doing it to win elections in the kind of developing countries that don’t have many rules.”

Why would anyone want to intern with a psychological warfare firm, I ask him. And he looks at me like I am mad. “It was like working for MI6. Only it’s MI6 for hire. It was very posh, very English, run by an old Etonian and you got to do some really cool things. Fly all over the world. You were working with the president of Kenya or Ghana or wherever. It’s not like election campaigns in the west. You got to do all sorts of crazy shit.”

On that day in June 2013, Sophie met up with SCL’s chief executive, Alexander Nix, and gave him the germ of an idea. “She said, ‘You really need to get into data.’ She really drummed it home to Alexander. And she suggested he meet this firm that belonged to someone she knew about through her father.”

Who’s her father?

“Eric Schmidt.”

Eric Schmidt – the chairman of Google?

“Yes. And she suggested Alexander should meet this company called Palantir.”

I had been speaking to former employees of Cambridge Analytica for months and heard dozens of hair-raising stories, but it was still a gobsmacking moment. To anyone concerned about surveillance, Palantir is practically now a trigger word. The data-mining firm has contracts with governments all over the world – including GCHQ and the NSA. It’s owned by Peter Thiel, the billionaire co-founder of eBay and PayPal, who became Silicon Valley’s first vocal supporter of Trump.

In some ways, Eric Schmidt’s daughter showing up to make an introduction to Palantir is just another weird detail in the weirdest story I have ever researched.

A weird but telling detail. Because it goes to the heart of why the story of Cambridge Analytica is one of the most profoundly unsettling of our time. Sophie Schmidt now works for another Silicon Valley megafirm: Uber. And what’s clear is that the power and dominance of the Silicon Valley – Google and Facebook and a small handful of others – are at the centre of the global tectonic shift we are currently witnessing.

Joe Strummer once said--I think. I've yet to find a source, but the quote stuck with me so hard--"At the top, they all drive big black Cadillacs." Except when they call an Uber. Then they drive us.

[whatwouldcooleydo?]

Trump to Comey:

[beantownbubba]

From a Politico story on the Comey firing:

But the fallout seemed to take the White House by surprise. Trump made a round of calls around 5 p.m., asking for support from senators. White House officials believed it would be a "win-win" because Republicans and Democrats alike have problems with the FBI director, one person briefed on their deliberations said.

Instead, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told him he was making a big mistake — and Trump seemed "taken aback," according to a person familiar with the call.

By Tuesday evening, the president was watching the coverage of his decision and frustrated no one was on TV defending him, a White House official said. He wanted surrogates out there beating the drum.

Instead, advisers were attacking each other for not realizing the gravity of the situation as events blew up. "How are you not defending your position for three solid hours on TV?" the White House aide said."

The incompetence and lack of understanding of the basics of governance and the political ecosystem described here is breathtaking. At one level it merely confirms what many of us already thought about this Administration, but given the stakes, this is truly frightening, even dumbfounding.

[tinnitus photography]

Trump to Comey:

how Fox News saw it:

[John A Arkansawyer]

It's worth reading the whole thing, but this is the part that should scare the shit out of you:

Third: There is a lot of color tied to the mechanics of Comey’s firing. The most lavish and chilling in my eyes is the fact that Trump had his former personal bodyguard and in effect his current personal bodyguard, Keith Schiller, hand deliver the firing letter to FBI headquarters. Schiller was head of security for the Trump Organization for years.

[pearlbeer]

The incompetence and lack of understanding of the basics of governance and the political ecosystem described here is breathtaking. At one level it merely confirms what many of us already thought about this Administration, but given the stakes, this is truly frightening, even dumbfounding.

Arrogance + Incompetence is a toxic combination. There are so many reasons this firing is sketchy. However, if allowed to continue unchecked, we have a Constitutional Crisis on our hands.

[Tequila Cowboy]

Sean Spicer Spent Several Minutes Hidden in the Bushes

After Spicer spent several minutes hidden in the bushes behind these sets, Janet Montesi, an executive assistant in the press office, emerged and told reporters that Spicer would answer some questions, as long as he was not filmed doing so. Spicer then emerged.
"Just turn the lights off. Turn the lights off," he ordered. "We'll take care of this.... Can you just turn that light off?"

Spicer got his wish and was soon standing in near darkness between two tall hedges, with more than a dozen reporters closely gathered around him. For 10 minutes, he responded to a flurry of questions, vacillating between light-hearted asides and clear frustration with getting the same questions over and over again.

Let that sink in for a minute: the chief spokesperson for the president of the United States hid in the bushes, only to emerge after journalists agreed to talk to him in "near darkness."

[John A Arkansawyer]

Sean Spicer Spent Several Minutes Hidden in the Bushes

Let that sink in for a minute: the chief spokesperson for the president of the United States hid in the bushes, only to emerge after journalists agreed to talk to him in "near darkness."

My first thought is to quote John 3:20. My second thought is that near darkness is better than total blackout. My third thought is, "That poor fucker." My fourth thought is, "Fuck him. He knows what he's doing." And now I could use a fifth. Whether that's a bottle or an amendment, I'm not sure.

[tinnitus photography]

it was less of a press conference, more of a Wolves In The Throne Room concert.

[whatwouldcooleydo?]

Sean Spicer Spent Several Minutes Hidden in the Bushes

After Spicer spent several minutes hidden in the bushes behind these sets, Janet Montesi, an executive assistant in the press office, emerged and told reporters that Spicer would answer some questions, as long as he was not filmed doing so. Spicer then emerged.
"Just turn the lights off. Turn the lights off," he ordered. "We'll take care of this.... Can you just turn that light off?"

Spicer got his wish and was soon standing in near darkness between two tall hedges, with more than a dozen reporters closely gathered around him. For 10 minutes, he responded to a flurry of questions, vacillating between light-hearted asides and clear frustration with getting the same questions over and over again.

Let that sink in for a minute: the chief spokesperson for the president of the United States hid in the bushes, only to emerge after journalists agreed to talk to him in "near darkness."

At least Spicer answered questions

[4sooner]

So they trotted Sarah Sanders out to face the press today. I did not get in on the beginning of the presser. did they fire spicer? Did he spontaneously combust?

[tinnitus photography]

So they trotted Sarah Sanders out to face the press today. I did not get in on the beginning of the presser. did they fire spicer? Did he spontaneously combust?

he's still in the bushes.

[whatwouldcooleydo?]

So they trotted Sarah Sanders out to face the press today. I did not get in on the beginning of the presser. did they fire spicer? Did he spontaneously combust?

Supposedly he is off fulfilling his Navy Reserve obligation

[whatwouldcooleydo?]

this is a great look........and timely

[John A Arkansawyer]

I was wondering when Slate would get around to continuing this series, or if they'd decided reality had surpassed them:

If It Happened There: Political Chaos as Regime Purges Powerful Security Chief

WASHINGTON, United States—The surprise dismissal of a powerful security services chief Tuesday night is widely seen here as a part of strongman President Donald Trump’s efforts to sideline critics and consolidate power, raising concerns about the state of democracy and the rule of law in this fragile but strategically vital North American country.

James Comey was the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, a vast domestic intelligence agency with extensive surveillance powers. For much of the 20th century, the agency operated with near impunity and little accountability. Even presidents feared its vast powers. In recent years, the democratically elected state has managed to rein in the bureau, but it can still play an influential role in the country’s political system, as shown by Comey during the United States’ most recent presidential election.

[pearlbeer]

this is a great look........and timely

I mean, it is just so smug and arrogant. Fire Comey, meet with Lavrov, then fucking joke about it?

How much fucking shit are people willing to eat? This is beyond fucked up. This is dangerous.

It is time.........

[whatwouldcooleydo?]

How much fucking shit are people willing to eat?

You asked.....

[whatwouldcooleydo?]

So, Comey meets with Rod Rosenstein (deputy A.G.) to request more funding for the FBI's investigation into Russia’s interference in the presidential election, then just a few days later Rosenstein pens the letter to Trump advocating Comey's termination.

Sounds legit

[John A Arkansawyer]

How much fucking shit are people willing to eat?

You asked.....

"there is some shit I will not eat"

[whatwouldcooleydo?]

It is time.........

for Steve Earle to accept that he's a bald motherfucker and rid himself of that fuck awful combover

[pearlbeer]

So, Comey meets with Rod Rosenstein (deputy A.G.) to request more funding for the FBI's investigation into Russia’s interference in the presidential election, then just a few days later Rosenstein pens the letter to Trump advocating Comey's termination.

Sounds legit

It isn't legit. Suggesting a move like that would require much more than two weeks of involvement. It is clear (and somewhat documented) that Trump (and his closest advisors) wanted Comey out and created a paper trail. It was cute to try to tie that to Hillary Clinton, but I think they've gotten too cute here. We need a lot of folks (Republicans and the Media) to step up. If ANY President is allowed to purge senior 'independent' leaders (Comey had a 10 years appointment under Bush Jr.)....then our Democracy is at stake.

[tinnitus photography]

It is time.........

for Steve Earle to accept that he's a bald motherfucker and rid himself of that fuck awful combover

[sactochris]

It is time.........

for Steve Earle to accept that he's a bald motherfucker and rid himself of that fuck awful combover

When did Steve start losing his hair? I hadn't noticed.

[Smitty]

It is time.........

for Steve Earle to accept that he's a bald motherfucker and rid himself of that fuck awful combover

When did Steve start losing his hair? I hadn't noticed.

around 1999.

[whatwouldcooleydo?]

It is time.........

for Steve Earle to accept that he's a bald motherfucker and rid himself of that fuck awful combover

When did Steve start losing his hair? I hadn't noticed.

[John A Arkansawyer]

Theme music for current events:

[tinnitus photography]