So now we know. Putin took over America. And just in time for the 100th birthday year of the Bolshevik revolution.
Not even Lenin could have conceived such a plot. He was too busy murdering the Czar and his family.
Putin is less obvious.
User-Supported News Commentary Hosted by Craig Crawford
let us toast (with a sip of glennfiddich of course) the fantastic mr. fox who tweeted:
Sr Trump, the intelligence report is devastating.Losing election by more than 3M votes and in addition this. Are you a legitimate president?
and
✔
@VicenteFoxQue
TRUMP, when will you understand that I am not paying for that fucken wall. Be clear with US tax payers. They will pay for it.
4:18 PM – 6 Jan 2017
The (White) House of Special Purpose.
Next up: Marine Le Pen in France.
Also a timely reminder that Jill Stein is a Puti-Pal too. Love those pics of her at the RT Gala. She cleans up good.
This quote from The Rutles explains Putin 101: All You Need Is Cash.
Badfinger seems relevant:
Did I hear you say that there must be a catch
Will you walk away from a fool and his money
(Shout out to “The Magic Christian” here. )
Why won’t the President-elect release his taxes?
If you want it
Here it is
Come and get it
……. Hmmmm ……
An observation on the weather in my part of Columbia. I’ve been up since 0600. The thermometer has been stuck at 33-deg F. Since late yesterday afternoon, we’ve had 1.69-in of rain on my back porch. Right now the precip is a most gentle drizzle. Dew point is 32-deg F and the barometer is 29.83 and rising. It is cloudy and the wind is 4-mph rising to 11-mph from the NE.
All-in-all we are exceedingly fortunate; we could very easily have been buried under a foot of the white stuff–knock on wood.
Oh, “cheese and onions”! -The Rutles
Putin did NOT cost Hillary the election.
She won millions more votes than Trump!
She won those votes from folks who were not bothered by ties between the State Department, The Clinton Foundation, and foreign donors.
Does Putin have a friend in the WH? Yes. If Hillary had won the EC vote, other foreign states would have a friend in the WH.
Now I’m gonna go do some tea.
flatus, beware those wet porch steps becoming icy
speaking of bewares, too bad the voting public weren’t better alerted on the fake news and trolling when it mattered but maybe now there will be “danger, troll ahead” signs on the internet highway.
this from the intelligence report confirms what we saw even here on the trail at times:
“Russia used trolls as well as [its state-funded television network] RT as part of its influence efforts to denigrate Secretary Clinton. This effort amplified stories on scandals about Secretary Clinton and the role of WikiLeaks in the election campaign.”
cnn:
Fox was not the only former Mexican president tweeting at Trump on Friday.
Felipe Calderon tweeted, “To @realDonaldTrump : The more jobs you destroy in México, the more immigrants the American people will have. Think a little!”
latimes:
“The President-Elect’s statement that the Russian hacking had ‘absolutely no effect on the outcome of the election’ is not supported by the briefing, report, or common sense,” said Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Burbank), the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, in a statement.
The report, which Obama had requested, is a joint product of the CIA, the FBI and the National Security Agency. The three agencies said they had “high confidence” in the findings except for the assessment that Putin had aspired to help Trump’s chances. The NSA said it had “moderate confidence” in that finding.
In addition to stealing and dumping embarrassing emails from the Democratic National Committee and Clinton’s campaign, Russian intelligence officials also used state-funded broadcasts and third-party intermediaries, and paid social media “trolls” to spread false information and disparage Clinton, the report says.
Debora Messing was right. 58% of the people did not want Trump. Due to the fact that we have the Electoral College rather than a pure one person one vote or a parliamentary system, we are stuck with a horrendous Chief Executive and his coterie of right wing crazies of a cabinet. However unfair this may seem, it is the chief danger that lurks whenever a third party candidate runs in the US.
However much I may deplore the deplorables, it was the low info, Bernie, and Stein voters who gave the election to Trump.
I don’t understand.
A hard fought campaign is one thing. But to support an enemy of this country because they are against your political opponent?
Mind boggling. Stupid doesn’t even enter in to it.
Yet that is what we see. Both with Trump, BiD. and evidently half the Republican party. I think you have to go back to the thirties when the American left blindly supported Stalin to find greater stupidity.
Jack
I’m NOT supporting Putin.
He did not, however, cost Clinton the election. Millions more voted for her.
No, that’s not a photo of Mike Pence. It’s Robert Shaw as Spectre assassin Red Grant in “From Russia With Love.” James Bond dispatched him in that classic train brawl. Now, that’s a movie to watch on Inauguration Day as an alternative to the Trump Trainwreck. Followed by “Dr. Strangelove,” “The Manchurian Candidate” (Laurence Harvey version) and “Seven Days in May.”
Sigh. Why didn’t more of us just say “Nyet” to Trumputin?
Yes, you are, and you are doing it for the most idiotic reason.
The Russians interfered with our elections, but from your posts, that is OK because they were doing it against Clinton.
If that is not the case then you really need to explain yourself. Because right now your comment look very much as if you are a Trump/Putin supporter.
Jack
puzzlement: why do media keep saying hillary was/is so disliked and hated in face of her popular vote and the record total of 21 times being designated “most admired woman”?
in all the synonyms of “admire” (a verb usually meaning to hold in high regard), are words like adore, applaud, appreciate, cherish, commend, credit, extol, hail, honor, idolize, laud, respect, revere, treasure, approve, esteem, value, venerate etc. no where are the words dislike and hate. either the dislike poll is wrong or the 21 most admire ones are wrong. hard to reconcile the two concepts.
This is about Putin and Exxon making deal for lots of money.
And everyone else is going to get screwed.
Jamie
in a close election such as this one can point to any number of reasons for HRC’s loss.
The lunatic left/Bernie bros ect are very far down on the list. I might as well blame the snow for the cold weather.
I would place these way above and in order of their influence
1. No doubt at all, the FBI’s October surprise
2. Team Clinton’s clueless East coast arrogance
3 The cyber attacks by the Russians and the steady drip drip release to wiki leaks, with the news media playing the role of useful idiot.
4 all the big money spent by billionaire right wingers to destroy HRC over the last 30 years.
Jack
Whatever happened to “ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country”
Too many people are refusing to understand what it means to be in a community. They care only about their own way and are quite willing to bite off the founding fathers’ noses to make everyone else as miserable as they are
I can’t say why Clinton lost as a matter of fact but I do know the Comey announcement breathed life into the falling Trump campaign…and crushed her momentum
She had a lot going against her.
jack, bid in her dislike and hatred of hillary and the twit wanting to win at all costs may only be following the advice of an old saying.
from wiki: The enemy of my enemy is my friend is an ancient proverb which suggests that two opposing parties can or should work together against a common enemy. The earliest known expression of this concept is found in a Sanskrit treatise on statecraft, the Arthashastra
and wki continues to explain:
All means to win a war are appropriate in the Arthashastra, including assassination of enemy leaders, sowing discord in its leadership, engagement of covert men and women in the pursuit of military objectives and as weapons of war, deployment of accepted superstitions and propaganda to bolster one’s own troops or to demoralize enemy soldiers, as well as open hostilities by deploying kingdom’s armed forces
plus personal hatred and ambition often win out over communal loyalty to country
Sigh, true. I always hope for better but it doesn’t look like it is happening.
I think it may be something about our current culture “win at all cost, if you’re not first you’re last”
decadence has set in with all it’s mind numbing glory.
Jack
Happy New Year – The more things change, The more they stay the same.
Craig – Bla Bla Bla……. So if Putin stole the election he did it with the TRUTH ! A Truth that the fourth estate choose to hide, lie, cheat and in coordination with the DNC tried to steal to protect the chosen one Princess Hillary. Such creative single sided banter found once again on the trial.
Also saying the chosen Princess won the popular vote is meaningless. Had it been a popular vote contest President Elect Trump would have run a different campaign. Funny as Hillary might have gone to Wisconsin in that type of race. It is like bringing a cake to a pie eating contest. Close but meaningless.
Hillary is a Flawed, once again Failed candidate. Time for 99.9% of you on the trail to get over it and stop your self serving one sided, missing the facts and void of the truth as you are wallowing.
Next we talk about the fear you have that Trump will succeed and also let’s talk about Barack Obamanation and his narcissistic concern for his legacy and not the average American.
Happy New Year !
Love – Ping
Shrub was such a great success – we are only now recovering from the last Republican disaster
what is happening now will be far worse and in terms of environmental issues we may never recover
As if NBC wasn’t bad enough now they have added Megyn Kelly and Greta Van CessPool
it looks like they have totally given up pretending to be a news sources.
And there are a lot of fat unfit people in Trump world (I’m fat and unfit myself) the world will be much different in Trump world. A lot of take out and no fun. Trump doesn’t know how to simply have fun since there is no deal in that and we are all going to more miserable because of it
Just in case anyone here has forgotten we don’t do business with Putin’s Russia because they a big violators of human right where ever they go. That is why the sanctions exist.
How are you going to feel when we start doing business with Idi Amin …I meant Putin of course silly me
Can’t wait for the gooper reaction when the Putins start releasing Trump documents
Law of unintended consequences.
Just as everyone who voted for Nader actually elected Bush. Everyone who voted for Bernie actually elected Trump. Like it or not that’s the system. Until such time as we fix or get rid of the Electoral College, it will only get worse.
“So now we know.”
We already knew, dipshit, it was all over the news for months.
Jack
While I agree with all of your points, number 3 with its constant iteration by the likes of National Enquirer, Breitbart, and Drudge of the Wikileaks and Russian distortion of same by both Trump and Bernie really was the biggest factor. That the Bernie people kept up the crap all the way to the Convention and then afterwards played right into the hands of Putin/Trump.
Sure the 30 years of slant, lies, etc.; the arrogance of Clinton; the missteps of the campaign, and the Comey factor that kowtowed to right wing branch of the FBI all were factors, but going from the most admired woman in the world in 2008 to evil incarnate in 2016 took concentrated effort.
To be fair, one election wasn’t going to redeem this country of morons. Let them have their President.
House Republicans revived the 1870’s Holman Rule, which would allow them to slash the pay of an individual federal worker down to $1, which is as good as firing the federal employee without actually having to fire him or her. The rule could put the nation’s 2.1 million civil servants in danger of losing their jobs over the political whims of the GOP.Why revive this if you don’t want to prevent dissent? This is not what a democracy does.
But it is what Trump does – contract with people and then cheat them out of the money
cnn:
“Having a good relationship with Russia is a good thing, not a bad thing. Only ‘stupid’ people, or fools, would think that it is bad, We have enough problems around the world without yet another one. When I am President, Russia will respect us far more than they do now and both countries will, perhaps, work together to solve some of the many great and pressing problems and issues of the WORLD!” Trump tweeted.
“going from the most admired woman in the world in 2008 to evil incarnate in 2016 took concentrated effort”
jamie, really takes talent to simultaneously be “most admired” and “evil incarnate”
I think we can say Trump is the worst president elect ever …
LOL
A rule in the House ain’t law of the land.
So who is more idiotic, The Republicans proposing a useless rule that has already been outlawed by legislation for the last 150 years or the Democrats for squawking about it. In the end it is all a bunch of faux outrage. Business as usual for the Congress.
Jack
I doubt if Putin is going to President, but that begs the question.
Who is going to be our acting president? The Trump family? That is my guess, they have done a good job of managing him during the election or at least as good as you can when an elderly family member has early senility. The VP elect is trying to grab power as are a number of staff. It is looking worse than Al Haigs power grab after Reagan got shot. A lot of total confusion. But Some Cheney- esc type person will win out. The question is just who?
Jack
Our first snow of the season. This was probably the only time we open the front door all weekend.
lol
Trying to understand what is going on in the Trump transition team is a little like trying to decipher the moves of the old Soviet politburo or more recently then machinations of lil Kim .
Jack
I’m quite certain that Putin’s spying and manipulations weren’t just reserved for the election results alone. It will come as no surprise to many of us to find out that he has a large, damaging dossier on trump ready to spring into view the minute his puppet gets out of line!
As for new house rules, Fuhrer trump & his billionaire cronies just got a step closer to privatization of our federal lands.
Good morning, comrades. And please, let us not be so hard upon the trump supporters & pawns and the hillary haters & saviors for the non-Clinton years. We owe them for that. I accept the results of the popular vote and the electoral college. For sure, Clinton was a flawed candidate. She was also weakened by Sanders as he did not make her a better candidate. His words eventually used by trump against her and they were all influenced by assange. I now realize it may take many attempts for a women to become President of the US of AA. Misogyny is tougher to fight because it camouflages so well.
I continue to build a firewall and work locally. I am fortunate that I am old and in the last quarter of my life. My concern continues to be healthcare and I realize I am not alone. I have been very surprised that it has taken so long in this country to enact human and humane laws…the push back from repugs is unrelenting. So, here we are again…in the hands of repugs with a guy who is costing us so much a day and handing us the bill. Make America Great Again.
Remember the best defensive weapon is a sharp mind. I did comment last year that I was expecting artificial intelligence to take over this election cycle….instead artificial stupidity was released. Stupidity is an awfully powerful weapon. I never saw if coming….and it makes me feel stupid, too. But, not for long.
Alec Baldwin does it again! An instant hat hit.
🙂
new yorker:
“I try to be careful about superlatives,” Talbott said, “but I cannot think, going back to the Soviet Union or since, that there’s been a Moscow-Kremlin-instigated gambit that was so spectacularly successful as what they have done with our democracy. All of those assets that they tried to use on us over the years were far less by comparison; this was like winning seventeen jackpots all at once.”
What’s old is new again.
Adlai Stevenson, “egghead” that he was, was a better man than Trumputin. But then, so am I, and I am not a man (more akin to an assortment of fox terriers).
Anyway, Stevenson turned down a direct Soviet offer of help if he decided to make a 1960 run for president. The Kremlin didn’t view Nixon as friendly, but they thought Stevenson might be.
I don’t know if Trumputin is a Soviet stooge or spy, but he is a lousy human being. We’ll see what develops, but I suspect that America, as Keith Olbermann predicts, will ultimately kick Trump’s ass.
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/how-adlai-stevenson-stopped-russian-interference-1960-election-180961681/
All of this talk of Adlai put me in a mood for this classic
Looks like trying to hustle them through before anyone notices the crooks.
Senate Confirmation Hearings to Begin Without All Background Checks
My thoughts are that sooner rather than later something about drumpfs fealty to the KGB officer putin and his debts will be known. And it will not be on Wikileaks.
Not being a scotch drinker I have a question. Somewhere around here is a bottle of Johnny Walker Black or Blue, is that worthy of a salute to another drumpf failure?
oh yeah baby…. the machination of politics…. it’s hard to keep up lately.
Craig… you are getting more snow than I am. It’s mostly a southern event. OSH might get as much as 18 inches on Martha’s Vineyard…. while Rick and I are getting only about 3 inches (much to Rick’s lament).
BlueB… I don’t drink scotch… but I buy it occasionally as a present for Rick. I do know that here in NH, Johnnie Walker Blue is kept in a locked cabinet as it goes for somewhere between $250-$300 a bottle. I suspect you be looking for a bottle of black. Worthy?…. Rick likes it.
https://youtu.be/0myL6HPpy-c
RR – I will go digging around the non-American whiskey bookcase to see if it is still here.
I have a lot of booze, you see a recipe and buy a bottle or you buy a bottle at a tasting and put it away, somewhere, and never touch it again. Doing that I ended up with a lot of stuff I don’t drink, but others do. Eventually I had to find somewhere to put the bottles. So one bookcase, bottles make good bookends, has non-American whiskeys in it. Another rums. Another cognacs and brandys. Another has vodkas. Another liqueurs. The daily consumptions are in the kitchen, the ryes, bourbons, gins and companions such as Campari and vermouths on the counters and on the baker’s rack. Oh, just remembered, the absinthe’s and things like that are in another bookcase in the spare bedroom with the party stock.
It is a good thing I like to read otherwise I would not have enough bookcases. But, I could use another one.
“Do you drink?”, asked the doctor. “Yes sir!” replied the veteran. “Do you drink to excess?” “No Sir, just enough.” “Thank you for being honest. Too many veterans lie about drinking.” And with that, I think a nice martini is in order. Tonight will be a nice American dish, mushrooms, onions and beef in a sour cream sauce. I think it is called Sauté de Boeuf à la Parisienne.
Blue Bronc, I love bookcases and liquor bottles and labels. How could I not? I’m a fan of Nick and Nora Charles and all their drinkin’.
As for actual liquor consumption, I abide by one drink: the G&T. However, I once saw Nigella Lawson get rosy about a drink named Advocaat. She specified it was something she only drank during the Christmas holidays. It may be akin to a bottled boozy egg nog. Do you have any experience with that?
I do not know anything about it. Looking it up online says I would not. I do have a recipe for a Suburban, but I do not serve that unless my guests are staying overnight. I tend to avoid things where the main ingredient is not booze (I try to avoid fillers, like eating bread at an all you can eat buffet). In the summer I break that pledge with a nice Mai-Tai, daiquiri or Singapore Sling.
Anyone know what Alec’s hat says? I’m guessing some variation on “make America great again”
Speaking of great…There was a march and rally in Pittsfield, MA (Norman Rockwell country) today in support of FDR’s Four Freedoms and against trump & the GOP! And guess what? There was even a Roosevelt among ’em! There are some snippets of other speakers too but I thought you trail hands would appreciate this one 🙂
His hat has a Google translate version of “Make America Great Again”. It does not read that way in Russian though. It is an issue many of us have with Google translate, it has issues with translation. It is good enough, but if you know the language either translated from or to, it is not that great. Bing Translator is another one to use. Each has good translations and not so good. Personally, I prefer translation programs which do include Klingon.
Jamie, thanks for the Carol Burnett classic, which you just introduced to me. Wonder if Trumputin is making a fool of himself over Vlad? Of course he is. It’s just not very funny.
Granny, thank you for that little bit of James Roosevelt. He spoke at s small function in Tallahassee this past Halloween and I was lucky enough to meet him afterward. He spoke about health care, Social Security, his grandparents and Trump. He said that he went to a Halloween party in costume as Trump in 2015 and everyone thought it was hilarious. By Halloween 2016, he found the threat of a Trump Presidency frightening.
Mr. Roosevelt was nonetheless witty, engaging, brilliant and charming. I could catch hints of his grandfather in his gestures, cadence and manner. A Halloween (my favorite holiday) for the record books.
Stay inside! I remember that pic of David scooping snow last year. It worries me. Maybe you & the neighbor’s can pitch in on a co-op snowblower. Stay safe.
mrdoodlesdog: Thanks for that look at what Mr Roosevelt is like. Good genes tell the tale 😉 Would have loved to see him in that costume LOL!
blueINdallas,
The joys of the PreFab Four.
Should anyone who chooses to attend this Inauguration be considered an enabler in legitimizing a President with ties to an unfriendly foreign country? Or am I asking too much from career Politicians of either Party: same church, just different pews.
Where is Fanny Kaplan when we need her ?
So, Renee, give Rick my condolences. It’s an alternate universe when the Vinyard get pounded and inland NH gets dusted.
Blue Bronc, as a scotch drinker, no Johnny Walker is bad. Most would say blue is better, but none of it is bad – if you like scotch. As the old joke goes, toast him but pass it through your kidneys first.