By Pogo, a Trail Mix Contributor
Oh, the hand wringing and criticism of Michelle Wolf for her performance at the White House Correspondent’s Association dinner Saturday night. You would think she mailed envelopes of smallpox to Trump, Sanders, etc. She should be rending her clothes after getting bad reviews from SFB, Spicy and the rest of the conservative Washington elites, right? Well, not so fast pilgrim.
I think she got it right, and Washington Post opinion columnist Molly Roberts also thinks Michelle got it right.
“Thank you!”
That’s how comedian Michelle Wolf answered Sean Spicer’s declaration that her headlining stand-up set at the the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner was “a disgrace.” Her response is instructive: To Wolf, an insult from Spicer is an accolade – and accolades, surely, would be an insult. She’s right.
Wolf managed Saturday night to scandalize the majority of Washington’s tuxedo-clad intelligentsia with a barrage of bon mots that, in the eyes of much of the press and political establishment, weren’t really so bon at all. The speech, these pundits have argued, wasn’t amusing; it was lewd, and worse than that, it was mean.
Wolf faced particular criticism for (besides all that sex stuff) her satire of Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who apparently was a profile in courage for sitting still with pursed lips while someone told jokes about her — “to her face!” These commentators spun the strange narrative that Wolf went after Sanders for her appearance, when in reality Wolf’s barbs centered on the press secretary’s falsehood-filled performance on the White House podium.
“She burns facts, and then she uses the ash to create a perfect smoky eye,” Wolff said of Sanders. Correct, on both counts — and many would rejoice at such an endorsement of their eye makeup. Callous attacks on women for their looks, even after Saturday night, still belong to the president who refused to attend Saturday night’s event — not to the comedian who skewered his cohorts.
All the same, countless journalists rallied behind Sanders, the same woman who spends her days lying to them. And that says a lot more about them than it does about Wolf’s routine. Everyone who told Wolf to read the room is missing the point: The room, and the misplaced notion of a “special” night to celebrate the “special” relationship between the press and the presidency that brought everyone to it on Saturday, is precisely the problem.
* * *
That persistent chumminess is why Wolf’s performance, in the end, wasn’t really for the press. It was about us. “You guys love breaking news, and you did it,” Wolf said to CNN. “You broke it.” To everyone else, she said: “You helped create this monster, and now you’re profiting off of him.” Instead of listening — to that or to Wolf’s final line, “Flint still doesn’t have clean water” — we got grumpy on Twitter. Which means Wolf did a better job of defending the First Amendment than those who say that’s our business.
My favorite line of the night was, “I would drag him here myself, but it turns out that the president of the United States is the one pussy you’re not allowed to grab. He said it first. Yeah, he did. You remember? Good.”
Someone buy this woman a drink.
More Posts by Pogo
pogo, imo the line that fit the occasion (a press fest) best was her most pertinent put down:
“You helped create this monster, and now you’re profiting off of him.”
NPR:
John McCain Makes An Appeal For Civility And Humility
While Washington is consumed with the aftermath of yet another biting comedian’s performance at a White House Correspondent’s dinner, answers on bridging the political divide seem harder to come by.
Arizona Sen. John McCain, who is dealing with the effects of brain cancer, is out with an excerpt of his forthcoming memoir, The Restless Wave, that gives some of his philosophy on how to do it — and obliquely criticizes President Trump.
The sometimes cantankerous former presidential candidate and prisoner of war points out that he hasn’t at times lived up to his own standard, as he has “disagreed, sometimes too heatedly, with all of” the six presidents he has served alongside.
But, he writes, humility is key. He defines it as “the self-knowledge that you possess as much inherent dignity as anyone else, and not one bit more.”
He adds, “Among its other virtues, humility makes for more productive politics. If it vanishes entirely, we will tear our society apart.”
[…continues…]
“Paradoxically,” McCain writes, “voters who detest Washington, because all we do is argue and never get anything done frequently vote for candidates who are the most adamant in their assurances that they will never ever compromise with those bastards in the other party.”
oh, by the way, it’s may! it’s may!
May Day. Time to dance around the May Pole.
I said it yesterday. I liked Michelle’s performance. Still do.
Poobah, Best wishes for a good operation and quick recovery. If yours goes like mine did, even the first day when They first stand you up and make you walk toward the door, although you’ll still be experiencing postoperative pain you will not be experiencing the hip pain that you were experiencing before. It was like a cool breeze.
I hear May Day is big in Russia.
like I saud before, these comics have their marketing agenda, more interested in attracting the TV audience than the people in the room.
David driving me to hospital now, surgery moved to 10:15am
patd,
Your 6:24 comment is pure gold. Just as twitter allows one to “pin” a tweet, that passage should be pinned to the mast of Trail Mix.
Pogo,
Ms Wolf succeeded in whatever she wanted to accomplish, however anyone views this. She’ll be remembered.
Read Dana Milbank’s column about the journalists killed in war zones while this self-indulgent shindig took place. Good perspective on priorities & what truly matters. Media rehashes this brouhaha nonsense while colleagues are dying … to bring us the news.
Truth.
Pogo… bravo!
I LOVE an artist that shakes up the status quo… Ms. Wolf obviously did this in spades!
patd… I love that line… so true. And the media just can’t seem to turn it’s observatory powers on itself. They can’t admit that Wolf is right that they help create the trump presidency and it is providing them with riches. Suck it up…
I miss those Soviet Army hats that look as if the crown was the size of a cake plate.
I do not, however, miss the Soviets.
If you get a chance, seek out Canada Russia ’72, a CBC miniseries about the 1972 Hockey Summit series. Really well done & captures the political/social atmosphere of that era.
ny times via msn: Mueller Has Dozens of Inquiries for Trump in Broad Quest on Russia Ties and Obstruction
Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel investigating Russia’s election interference, has at least four dozen questions on an exhaustive array of subjects he wants to ask President Trump to learn more about his ties to Russia and determine whether he obstructed the inquiry itself, according to a list of the questions obtained by The New York Times.
[Read the questions here.]
The open-ended queries appear to be an attempt to penetrate the president’s thinking, to get at the motivation behind some of his most combative Twitter posts and to examine his relationships with his family and his closest advisers. They deal chiefly with the president’s high-profile firings of the F.B.I. director and his first national security adviser, his treatment of Attorney General Jeff Sessions and a 2016 Trump Tower meeting between campaign officials and Russians offering dirt on Hillary Clinton.
But they also touch on the president’s businesses; any discussions with his longtime personal lawyer, Michael D. Cohen, about a Moscow real estate deal; whether the president knew of any attempt by Mr. Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, to set up a back channel to Russia during the transition; any contacts he had with Roger J. Stone Jr., a longtime adviser who claimed to have inside information about Democratic email hackings; and what happened during Mr. Trump’s 2013 trip to Moscow for the Miss Universe pageant.
President Trump said on Twitter on Tuesday that it was “disgraceful” that questions the special counsel would like to ask him were publicly disclosed, and he noted that there were no questions about collusion. He also said collusion was a “phony” crime.
[…continues…]
wapo’s fix analysis: The 7 most intriguing questions Robert Mueller wants to ask Trump
[click link to see analysis comments]
1. “What knowledge did you have of any outreach by your campaign, including by Paul Manafort, to Russia about potential assistance to the campaign?”
2. “How was the decision made to fire Mr. Flynn on Feb. 13, 2017?”
3. “What did you think and do in reaction to the news that the special counsel was speaking to Mr. Rogers, Mr. Pompeo and Mr. Coats?”
4. “Did you discuss whether Mr. Sessions would protect you, and reference past attorneys general?”
5. “What did you think and what did you do in reaction to the news of the appointment of the special counsel?”
6. “What discussions did you have regarding terminating the special counsel, and what did you do when that consideration was reported in January 2018?”
7. “During a 2013 trip to Russia, what communication and relationships did you have with the Agalarovs and Russian government officials?”
pogo, x-r and any other of our legal experts,
can a claim of executive privilege stand to allow a president not to answer questions about discussion with aides and advisors put to him by a special counsel of the DOJ an executive agency?
Craig, never have surgery on an empty stomach–pig out at that place up the street! (Pre-op fasting, the worst part of surgery. Forget the place up the street. Have David bring you your tasty favorites as soon as the nurse says it’s okay.)
BTW, Stuart Eizenstadt was on MJ touting his new volume on Jimmy Carter. Even I ordered it this morning–has to be a must read for you.
Andy Marlette @AndyMarlette 20h20 hours ago
#Florida cartoon: Northwest Florida man and Congressman@mattgaetz (who invited a Holocaust denier to the State of the Union) accuses a comedian of being inappropriate…#Sayfie#FlaPol#MichelleWolfThe whole purpose of comedy such as Wolfe’s is to rattle cages. Sometimes it works and other times it doesn’t but they have to put it out there. My only complaint was that she kept stepping on her own lines.
My favorite was after comparing Sanders to Aunt Lydia, Michelle came up with the riff for my favorite phony:
‘‘And I’m never really sure what to call Sarah Huckabee Sanders, you know? Is it Sarah Sanders, is it Sarah Huckabee Sanders, is it Cousin Huckabee, is it Auntie Huckabee Sanders? What’s Uncle Tom but for white women who disappoint other white women? Oh, I know. Aunt Coulter.’’
Jamie, what bothered me about those scathing lines was that Ms Huckabee wasn’t afforded the opportunity to take the microphone and utter a FUBitch.
Ms Huckabee is given a microphone on the podium every Monday – Friday and uses it to basically say FU to the American people.
Slanders Suckabee has a big mike every day and she has used it to defame people and did not give them a chance to respond
Hooray Hooray the first of May
Outdoor f–king begins today
well not here it’s a little cold for that
Great post Pogo!
Senator McCain takes little Donnie to the woodshed in his new book
Renee, please understand that I am no fan of hers. I watch her conduct every day over MSNBC, a network that takes its freedoms to heart and challenges Ms Huckabee’s pronouncements with historical fact and topical commentary. That is as it should be and I applaud them.
If it were up to me, I would have insulted Huckabee by leaving her off the guest list.
Kentucky Derby Post position and morning odds
Post Position
Horse
Odds
Jockey
Trailmix
1
Firenze Fire
50 to 1
Manny Franco
2
Free Drop Billy
30 to 1
Robby Albarado
3
Promises Fulfilled
30 to 1
Corey Lanerie
4
Flameaway
30 to 1
Mark Casse
5
Audible
8 to 1
Javier Castellano
XR
6
Good Magic
12 to 1
Jose Ortiz
Renee
7
Justify
3 to1
Mike Smith
Craig
8
Lone Sailor
50 to 1
James Graham
9
Hofburg
20 to 1
Irad Ortiz, Jr.
10
My Boy Jack
30 to 1
Kent Desormeaux
11
Bolt d’Oro
8 to 1
Victor Espinoza
12
Enticed
30 to 1
Junior Alvarado
Jamie
13
Bravazo
50 to 1
Luis Contrares
14
Mendelssohn
5 to 1
R. Moore
Patd
15
Instilled Regard
50 to 1
Joel Resario
16
Magnum Moon
6 to 1
Luis Saez
17
Solomini
30 to 1
Flavien Prat
18
Vino Rosso
12 to 1
John Velazquez
Sturgeone, KGC, BB, BW
19
Noble Indy
30 to 1
Florent Giroux
Pogo
20
Combatant
50 to 1
Ricardo Santana
AE
Blended Citizen
50 to 1
Bloomberg:
Michael Cohen, already under pressure from a federal criminal investigation into his business and financial dealings, has been hit this month with more than $185,000 in new state warrants for unpaid taxes on his taxicab companies.
Added to his previous tab, that brings the total to $282,000 owed to New York state by 16 taxi medallion-holding companies owned by Cohen or members of his family, including Mad Dog Cab Corp., Smoochie Cab Corp., Golden Child Cab Corp. and N.Y. Futon Taxi Corp. A lawyer for Cohen declined to comment.
[…continues…]
Flatus
If Dotard hadn’t been such a coward and attended, he would have been offered the rebut speech. Cadet bone spurs sent Huckabee as a seat filler. She was photographed after the fact at the party whooping it up with left and right, so if her poor feels were injured it doesn’t seem to have done any lasting harm.
Great lines about Trump comments on the Iran deal:
pogo, something for you from the guardian:
Never felt more like singing the blues: Gibson guitar firm files for bankruptcy
The maker of a cherished rock mainstay is seeking bankruptcy protection after diversification led to ‘devastating’ financial fall
[….]
The turmoil afflicting the maker of guitars favored by Neil Young, Jimmy Page and Slash is a common story across the industry.
Over the past decade, electric guitar sales have plummeted, from about 1.5m sold annually to around 1m. In 2010, sales of acoustic guitars outstripped electric. Some industry analysts thank Taylor Swift for that shift.
Like Gibson, Fender, which had to abandon a public offering in 2012, has struggled under debt. The US’s largest retail guitar supplier, Guitar Center, recently had its corporate credit rating downgraded to junk status by S&P after racking up debts of $1.6bn.
According to Digital Music News, “younger buyers, who once drove the guitar surge, have now shifted towards [EDM], rap, and less guitar-driven indie music – even though interest in music itself has never been higher.”
Last year legendary Nashville guitar dealer George Gruhn told the Washington Post that the industry’s troubles stemmed from a flat market and competition from more numerous copies of the classics.
But fundamentally, he said, the generation that aspired to be rock guitar gods like Led Zepplin’s Page have lost their mojo. Despite the success of Jack White, Gary Clark Jr and analog-rock bands like Black Keys, the new generation of musicians are more likely to be masters of DJ technology like Ableton.
“What we need is guitar heroes,” Gruhn explained.
the week:
Trump reportedly considers moving Kelly out of the White House to lead the VA
Former Secretary of Homeland Security and current White House Chief of Staff John Kelly is reportedly under consideration for his third Cabinet post in less than two years. With White House physician Ronny Jackson’s decision to withdraw from consideration to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs, The Wall Street Journal reports that President Trump is considering Kelly as one of several candidates for the job.
“There have been discussions among the senior staff and the president directly about the possibility of Gen. Kelly going [to the VA],” an unnamed source “familiar with the matter” told the Journal. Other contenders reportedly include Anthony Tersigni, head of nonprofit health-care giant Ascension, and former Rep. Jeff Miller (R-Fla.), who chaired the House Veterans Affairs Committee and advised Trump about veterans issues on the campaign trail.
While Kelly’s military background and strong organizational skills might make him a reasonable choice, the timing of this news seems suspect: On Monday, NBC News reported the chief of staff called Trump an “idiot” in private. Former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson reportedly called Trump a “moron” and, well, he is no longer part of the Trump administration.
but did he (like rex) preface it with a f–king adjective???
Jamie, TY for the update as to what transpired later on.
A favor if I’m not too late. Could I mount #16 Magnum Moon? The 5th is my birthday and I just feel like a magnum.
Flatus… you are such a gentleman…
it’s ok if we disagree about the roasting of Huckabee from Wolf. I’ve been watching Ali Velshi on MSNBC at 3:00 est lately.
Also understand that every time I hear some journalist/pundit say that it was largely white women who put trump over the top… I flinch. I get that people think differently than me… but I don’t get how women could vote for a well known women abuser.
Molly Ivins. I miss her. Can you imagine how biting and yet somehow classy her commentary would be on the current admin?
Hope all is well in FLA & David drops in with a status report later.
How did the questions get leaked? Intentionally, to plant seeds in everyone’s minds, I suppose.
The mostly likely leaker of Mueller’s Qs for the deadbeat russian pervert is Julie Annie, the alcoholic crossdresser & periodic candidate for prez. The timing works perfectly.
Lock him up ! Hang him high !
BiD, bet the leak sprung from twit lawyers just as most of the wh leaks have come from twit staff & friends. Mueller’s people have played it real close to the vest.
x-r, you nailed it.
Flatus
I have you riding on a moonbeam. I’ve given up on the no riders after the draw rule. It never works, so as long as the race hasn’t been run yet, anyone who wants to can pick a horse. No handicapping after there are roses on the winner.
Ms Pat, I am not very learned outside of criminal – and less and less learned in that with each passing day. However, I have always thought that executive privilege was a traditional courtesy extended by Congress and the Courts to the Executive Branch, unsupported by article, amendment, or statute. It is difficult to imagine the Clinton or Obama Administrations operating effectively, especially in controversial matters such as forging treaties or waging war, without the executive privilege.
As in my opinion, generalissimo golden showers’ Administration has not shown itself capable of operating effectively, even without recourse to the privilege, neutralizing the very purpose for the privilege. However, I suppose that there is always the chance that, God forbid, this Administration could find a way of becoming effective. If that were to become the case, the kremlin agent-in-Chief would need executive privilege. As the upcoming Klobuchar Administration will undoubtedly need to keep certain matters secret until they ripen to fruition, Dem Congressfolks might be unwise to remove the executive courtesy, when they shall finally have enough numbers to remove the man himself in seven months.
Fellow Trail Mixers,
The doctor just called – Craig’s hip surgery was a success! His father and I are going to the hospital in a couple hours, when Craig should be more awake. Thank you everyone for your good wishes.
I am aware that I am supposed to take notes so that we can all enjoy his loopy comments later!
My latest musical discovery was self taught and played the guitar upside down. There is an introduction and then he starts singing and playing about 1:50
Great news, daveb.
Now take care of yourself. You are as important (if not more) to Mr Crawford’s healing as he is.
Please tell Father Crawford hello & hoping he & Toby are well.
Truest statement today, courteous of RebelliousRenee:
Flatus is such a gentleman.
Amen.
Gibson went under because every other country and their brothers started making decemt guitars cheaply.
Ms Wolf called S Huckabee Sanders a liar to her face. That’s good enough for me.
May they continue to point out the Lies, and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them…..whenever and wherever whomever may have the opportunity .
You tell ’em, Wolf. And if you get another chance, tell ’em again.
Good to hear the surgery went well. It will go down as a great medical decision by Poobah as he looks back on it without hip pain.
patd, rumors of the Gibson bankruptcy have been circulating for years and have gotten very active over the past year. Gibson skipped the NAMM show this year (Nat’l. Ass’n. of Music Merchants) for the first time. It is where almost all new models of guitars (and other instruments I assume) are introduced to the music merchandisers. I’ve been extremely pleased with the 2 Gibsons I have – a used faded SG (bought off EBay) and a newish Les Paul Studio – which is a freaking gorgeous guitar that plays like a dream. I’m glad to see that the filing is a Chapter 11 so at least for a few years the Gibson name will go on. I’ve also got 2 Epiphones that were manufactured in the Samick factory in South Korea. Epiphone is owned by Gibson. They are very nice guitars, but they aren’t Gibsons. Gibson remains one of the exclusively Made in USA guitars and has a hard time competing price wise with brands that have geographically diverse (i.e. Mexico, China, Indonesia, Korea) manufacturing plants.
Much of the article in the Guardian about the devolution of the popularity of the electric guitar is from another article that I read a while back in WaPo, that I see you linked. I hate to see the passing of melt your face guitar solos.
And, to parallel same as it ever was,same as it ever was, same as it ever was…….The Inner Groove.
In our Florida community we had a significant number of old-old people that were basically shut-ins. Our policy was to deputize volunteers as registrars, have them go to their homes and update their registrations when appropriate. If going to the polls would be difficult, we’d sign them up for mail-in absentee ballots. It didn’t bother me if one spouse helped the other mark his or her ballot.
Unfortunately it did bother the County Registrar who insisted disabled/bedridden individuals must appear in person to be registered and/or apply for an absentee ballot. We were forced to comply. Voting by people 80 and over dropped dramatically, a constitutional tragedy in a community where we had more citizens over 100 than under 21.
“May they continue to point out the Lies, and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them…..whenever and wherever whomever may have the opportunity ”
sturge, and may sen. franken continue to make a few bucks from his book on the subject
Sturge, you are right about decent guitars from other countries. In the US Fender kinda led that charge with their Mexican guitars that sell for about 50-60% of the Made in USA versions, and there ain’t twice the quality in the US guitars. Heck, Gibson competes with itself when it sells a $2,500 Gibson Les Paul standard and a $600 Epi Les Paul Standard. Liek I said, the Epis are nice but they aren’t Gibsons, but then again, the fingers that play them make much more difference than the instruments. Put a cheapo Squier Strat in Clapton’s hands and it will sound like Clapton. Put an expensive Fender Clapton Strat in my hands and it will sound like a cheapo.
Way back yonder had a Gibson Les Paul, Jr…..damn fine guitar as I remember, but I traded this friend for a Gretsch black Les Paul look-alike….another great one, which was stolen from the van up in Massachusetts somewhere…..pity, that…..afterwards was the Telecaster, never no more reason to roam, guitar-wise.
Good news about Mr Crawford.
Now that he’s had his hip rehipped, does he get to keep the old parts, to take home and place on the mantel ?
Dave
Thanks for the operation update. Tell Fearless Leader to stay off of trampolines for the duration.
The les Paul jr followed the Gretsch Tennessean, and the Sears Silvertone…..the LP Jr ran from 64 to 72, the Tennessean was 59 to 64 and the Silvertone was from 56 to 59 but got turned into a bass and lived a few yrs more.
XR, he’s too young to have them displayed in the Smithsonian
B.E. and A.E……..before Elvis and after Elvis……B.E. is was a plastic Roy Rogers model……hahaha…..what a horrid little thing it was……it’s how I learned to play piano……
Hey Pog…..as in “It’s a poor workman who blames his tools”?
I’ve noticed along the way that a good singer will sound good even over a shoddy sound system while all the speakers and amps in the world, and auto-tune, won’t much help a mediocre one…….a good singer could do a show over a cheap mike thru a single amp if he had to…..
Great news, Dave, coach and caregiver. Thank you for keeping us updated. Hello to Craig!
One more comment on the comedian, wolf and her routine at the dinner. She said (I am paraphrasing here) that the WHCA should have researched her more before hiring her when she was starting to get groans. And she was able to get the house to chant…”how broke is trump?”
It draws parallels about the media and their lack of research on trump. How easy it is to get a gullible media believe that a buffoon is presidential material. As for the chant? It is so easy to fool humans into chanting anything…”lock her up.” To the gag-worthy “nobel” at trump’s weekend rally.
wolf is a serial abuser…she has gone after hillary on an hbo special, but the gop is so corrupt, transparent and non-funny anymore. Liars and thieves and easy targets. Wolf had guts to say the things she said standing just inches from the target who was replacing her coward boss…’cause he can dish it out, but he sure can’t take it.
Nice, post, pogo. Comedians are taking a big hit these days as trump kills humor. And the ones who are to be serious like our WH spokeperson? Snake around the truth and pretend to funny when they say snarky and mean things to the citizens. Comedians are all about free speech, first amendment — just what the dinner was to honor. Our current WH? Just the opposite. Sneaky, snarky and opaque and that is just the public mouthpiece.
Orthodox nra worshippers are claiming that the tyrannous, Big Gov, Secret Service forced them to make their convention firearm free, so that pence could speak. Of course, the nra or pence could have put a stop to such liberal snowflake fascist nonsense. The nra could have demanded, “No guns, no pence !” Or, pence could have waived Sec Serv protection. However, neither one knuckled under to nra religious values. Rather, both embraced mommystateism as exemplified by the dictatorial, anti-Second Amendment, Secret Service. That’s how it came to pass that conventioneers had to surrender their pieces to attend the convention. Obviously, hamsters have gonads larger than those of pence and the nra.
Twitter has an “How Broke Is He” meme going. My contribution was
“Trump is so broke he can’t even afford the ties made in China”.
nbc news: Trump doctor Harold Bornstein says bodyguard, lawyer ‘raided’ his office, took medical files
In February 2017, a top White House aide who was Trump’s longtime personal bodyguard, along with the top lawyer at the Trump Organization and a third man, showed up at the office of Trump’s New York doctor without notice and took all the president’s medical records.
The incident, which Dr. Harold Bornstein described as a “raid,” took place two days after Bornstein told a newspaper that he had prescribed a hair growth medicine for the president for years.
In an exclusive interview in his Park Avenue office, Bornstein told NBC News that he felt “raped, frightened and sad” when Keith Schiller and another “large man” came to his office to collect the president’s records on the morning of Feb. 3, 2017. At the time, Schiller, who had long worked as Trump’s bodyguard, was serving as director of Oval Office operations at the White House.
“They must have been here for 25 or 30 minutes. It created a lot of chaos,” Bornstein said, who described the incident as frightening.
A framed 8×10 photo of Bornstein and Trump that had been hanging on the wall in the waiting room now lies flat under a stack of papers on the top shelf of Bornstein’s bookshelf. Bornstein said the men asked him to take it off the wall.
Bornstein said he was not given a form authorizing the release of the records and signed by the president known as a HIPAA release — which is a violation of patient privacy law. A person familiar with the matter said there was a letter to Bornstein from then-White House doctor Ronny Jackson, but didn’t know if there was a release form attached.
[….]
Bornstein said the original and only copy of Trump’s charts, including lab reports under Trump’s name as well as under the pseudonyms his office used for Trump, were taken.
Another man, Trump Organization Chief Legal Officer Alan Garten, joined Schiller’s team at Bornstein’s office, and Bornstein’s wife Melissa photocopied his business card. Garten declined to comment on this story.
[….]
Bornstein said that Trump cut ties with him after he told the New York Times that Trump takes Propecia, a drug for enlarged prostates that is often prescribed to stimulate hair growth in men. Bornstein told the Times that he prescribed Trump drugs for rosacea and cholesterol as well.
The story also quotes Bornstein recalling that he had told Rhona Graff, Trump’s longtime assistant, “You know, I should be the White House physician.”
After the story ran on February 1, 2017, Bornstein said Graff called him and said, “So you wanted to be the White House doctor? Forget it, you’re out.’ ”
Two days after the story ran, the men came to his office.
“I couldn’t believe anybody was making a big deal out of a drug to grow his hair that seemed to be so important. And it certainly was not a breach of medical trust to tell somebody they take Propecia to grow their hair. What’s the matter with that?”
Bornstein said he is speaking out now after seeing reports that Ronny Jackson, who has allegedly been called “the candy man” for loosely prescribing pain medications as White House doctor, will not return to his post after being considered to run the Veterans Administration.
[….continues…..]
Craig (and his support team)
You are on the road to recovery. Take it easy you will be up and about soon.
Take the drugs — it is better to manage the pain then let it get out of control.
It’s a time to indulge yourself — favorite foods, entertainment or whatever!
It isn’t going to last that long, you might as well take advantage of it while you can.
I certainly hope you are not a cranky pants patient
pence’s doc rats-out dr. ronny.
Jamie, maybe they can do a sequel meme called “how bald is he”
“Julie Annie, the alcoholic crossdresser & periodic candidate for prez.“
…you left out ‘cousin ——-r”
flynn ‘junior’s’ odd tweet.
American Patriot @GenFlynn did not lie to Pence (or anyone else in the admin) about his perfectly legal and appropriate conversations w Russian AMB Kislyak in Dec 2016. Why would a highly decorated military intel officer lie about something legal?
Funny thing, junior and dad also went to russia together in 2015. flynn was in Montana (tester’s home state) doing a political rally this weekend…I am sure he owes the rnc a lot of money.
BW, given the story you linked and the one I linked about the raid on twit’s former doc, seems the candy man isn’t up to snuff on HIPPA law.
BW, Military people who have had access to very, very highly classified information are placed under onerous travel and job restrictions that can last from years to forever. Flynn was Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency; he would have been subjected to such restrictions. As the man would not have been a fool to have risen to his 3-star position, he must be/have been something worse .
andrew guiliani in the WH…after dealing with Dr. ronny?
Bratty Giuliani Son Is The Trump Administration’s Idea Of A Drug Policy Expert
The trump nepotic swamp filled with family and couples.
paging bobby III, if you haven’t already you might want to inquire about those “pseudonyms” the doc mentioned as reported by nbc:
Bornstein said the original and only copy of Trump’s charts, including lab reports under Trump’s name as well as under the pseudonyms his office used for Trump, were taken.
the hill via msn:
Michael Zeldin, a CNN legal analyst and former assistant to Robert Mueller, said Tuesday he believes President Trump leaked the list of nearly 50 questions the special counsel allegedly wants to ask Trump.
“I think these are notes taken by the recipients of a conversation with Mueller’s office where he outlined broad topics and these guys wrote down questions that they thought these topics may raise,” Zeldin said on CNN’s “New Day.”
“Because of the way these questions are written… lawyers wouldn’t write questions this way, in my estimation. Some of the grammar is not even proper,” he continued. “So, I don’t see this as a list of written questions that Mueller’s office gave to the president. I think these are more notes that the White House has taken and then they have expanded upon the conversation to write out these as questions.”
[….continues…]
(ocotillo blooms)
In keeping an eye on the disintegrating trumpence junta as the generals disappear?…pompeo is the clear winner. He is looking at run in 2020. trump’s campaign and the rnc will be out-of-money for legal bills associated with trump by that time. trump is taking everyone down with him except pompeo. pence, ryan, haley out-of-the way.
Pogo – very good post. Important too.
Dave – thank you. Hippy, hippy, shake shake
BlueBronc…
ROTFLMAO! It sounds just like the early Beatles.
No wonder I know nothing about this most interesting plant:
Fouquieria splendens
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
“Ocotillo” redirects here. For the census-designated place, see Ocotillo, California.
Fouquieria splendens
Ocotillo near Gila Bend, Arizona
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Plantae
Clade:
Angiosperms
Clade:
Eudicots
Clade:
Asterids
Order:
Ericales
Family:
Fouquieriaceae
Genus:
Fouquieria
Species:
F. splendens
Binomial name
Fouquieria splendens
Engelm.
Synonyms[1]
Fouquieria spinosa Torr.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Fouquieria splendens.
Fouquieria splendens (commonly known as ocotillo American Spanish: [okoˈtiʝo], but also referred to as coachwhip, candlewood, slimwood, desert coral, Jacob’s staff, Jacob cactus, and vine cactus) is a plant indigenous to the Sonoran Desert and Chihuahuan Desert in the Southwestern United States (southern Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas), and northern Mexico (as far south as Hidalgo and Guerrero).[2][3]
Ocotillo is not a true cactus. For much of the year, the plant appears to be an arrangement of large spiny dead sticks, although closer examination reveals that the stems are partly green. With rainfall, the plant quickly becomes lush with small (2–4 cm), ovate leaves, which may remain for weeks or even months.
Individual stems may reach a diameter of 5 cm at the base, and the plant may grow to a height of 10 m (33 ft). The plant branches very heavily at its base, but above that, the branches are pole-like and rarely divide further, and specimens in cultivation may not exhibit any secondary branches. The leaf stalks harden into blunt spines, and new leaves sprout from the base of the spine.
The bright crimson flowers appear especially after rainfall in spring, summer, and occasionally fall. Flowers are clustered indeterminately at the tips of each mature stem. Individual flowers are mildly zygomorphic and are pollinated by hummingbirds and native carpenter bees.
david, thank you for the bulletin and as others have said better get some rest while you can.
the guardian:
Paul Manafort asks judge to investigate leaks after Mueller questions revealed
Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort has asked a judge to investigate leaks about his case, after a list of questions that Trump could face from prosecutors, published by the New York Times, indicated that authorities may have new information linking Manafort to Russia.
Attorneys for Manafort complained in a court filing on Monday evening that “numerous unidentified government officials” had prejudiced his case by leaking information about the inquiry by special counsel Robert Mueller, who has charged Manafort with several crimes.
“Such leaks impugn the character of the individual under investigation and substantially undermine a fundamental principle of our judicial system; ie, the right of the defendant to have the case determined by an impartial jury on the facts,” said the filing to a federal court in Virginia, where Manafort is charged with bank fraud and filing false tax returns.
[….]
The Times reported that the questions had been read by Mueller’s investigators to the president’s lawyers, who compiled them into a list.
“That document was provided to the Times by a person outside Mr Trump’s legal team,” it said.
John Dean, a White House counsel to Richard Nixon who was jailed for his part in the Watergate scandal, said the leak could itself amount to an “act of obstruction”, by alerting others to what Mueller was investigating.
Dean told CNN late on Monday a Trump ally may have leaked the questions “to try to somehow disrupt the flow of information, the tipping off of witnesses in advance to what the question was going to be”.
[…continues…]
wapo: Texas, six other states sue Trump administration to force an end to DACA
Texas and six other states are suing the Trump administration over its failure to terminate an Obama-era program that provides work permits to hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children.
The lawsuit signals growing GOP frustration with President Trump’s struggles to advance his immigration policies and could lead to conflicting federal court decisions that would put the fates of 690,000 immigrants known as “dreamers” in the hands of a deeply divided Supreme Court.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Brownsville on Tuesday. It asks the court to rule on whether President Obama’s 2012 decision to grant deportation protections and two-year work authorizations to young undocumented immigrants — without congressional approval — was lawful.
[….]
Joining Texas in the DACA lawsuit are the Republican attorneys general of Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Nebraska, South Carolina and West Virginia.
“Our lawsuit is about the rule of law, not the wisdom of any particular immigration policy,” Paxton said in a statement. “Left intact, DACA sets a dangerous precedent by giving the executive branch sweeping authority to ignore the laws enacted by Congress and change our nation’s immigration laws to suit a president’s own policy preferences.”
The Justice Department and DHS declined to comment.
The suit asks the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas to “declare DACA unlawful” and block the federal government from issuing any more work permits.
Paxton said the lawsuit does not ask the Trump administration to deport immigrants or rescind existing permits.
[…continues…]
BW, “wolf is a serial abuser…she has gone after hillary on an hbo special, but the gop is so corrupt, transparent and non-funny anymore.“. I’d say she’s an equal opportunity abuser. If you’re stupid she’ll come after you and point that out.
Sturge, I started with a silvertone. 2 pickups, Black with white binding. I thought I was George. Painted it yellow once. Don’t know what happened to it. My first “real” guitar was a Squier II fat Strat. Pearl white and weighs a ton. Well, almost 10 pounds. Replaced the pickups, crappy bridge and junk tuners and it’s a very nice guitar. The neck is as smooth as silk – but then I sanded a bunch of extra finish, wood and dings off, so it should be.
Let’s hear some licks, pogo… post up on soundcloud.
Bink, ain’t happening. I love guitars but don’t play for shit. I’m a decent guitar tech though. My kid on the other hand … if I knew how to get stuff up online he sends me by text I’d happily show where the talent in the family is. I’m by far the least musically talented of the three of us.
The music one makes is like money, pogo- you can’t take it with you, and it’s selfish not to share it while you can. But fine, be that way.