As Stephen Colbert said, “We find out if we have a union — or states.”
Live thread for the big show.
Join us in Comments
User-Supported News Commentary Hosted by Craig Crawford
As Stephen Colbert said, “We find out if we have a union — or states.”
Live thread for the big show.
Join us in Comments
SOTU background music
Watching MSNBC, hoping it stays somewhat left of center.
Is it legal to monetize the SOTU with a paid ticker crawl?
I’ll be watching my recording of Scorpion while checking here to see if the White House Comrade says anything of even a modicum of interest. He he does the right thing and resigns, send up fireworks.
I LOVE the background music. I don’t think I will be able to listen to the speech. I will make an effort, but my stomach is already sick just thinking about having to hear his voice.
Ready to start watching Back to the Future II. Done with social media for the night. Enjoy. Best for those doing shots, may tomorrow be better. For those who want to have the destruction of America, fu.
I hope that Melancholia yells, “LIAR !” tonight.
It would be great if she wears a black dress and hangs a ME TOO banner from the hand rail.
It doesn’t start until 8? I’ll never make it. The highlight reel tomorrow, or maybe just Kennedy’s message in the morning.
Trump: We don’t need no damn FBI
Donna Brazile is part of the Faux Spews panel for the SOTU
Bid
It would be 7 for you I think. It’s 8:00 PM East Coast.
c-span has pleasant chatter right now
xrepublican,
The First Lady may be listening to you. She travels separately tonight.
Flatus
Yes I’m enjoying them until such time as I turn my back on El Presidente Loco.
One hard decision. “Demolition Man” on AMC. Demolition Man SFB everywhere else. What to do, what to do.
Click on Link for large protester sign.
Trump stealing Hillary line for the theme of the SOTU
Always fun to watch the suck-up line as president walks in. Some get there hours early to be first in line, like an Apple rollout
One of the networks should provide lip readers so we can find out what people are saying in these floor conversations
Putin’s Cabinet rolling out
Sorry to say, but Steve Mnuchin is one ugly fucker.
Melania not exactly beaming at the sight of her pre-nup contractee
I hate to admit it, but my curiosity has gotten the best of my common sense, and I’ll at least start watching the (cough cough) State of the Union (cough cough) Address by (cough cough) “president” SFB.
White suit, First Lady, white rose?
Her poll numbers rise.
My take, Poobah,she’s got a “close relationship “ with the bald escort, ummm bodyguard.
one SOTU I recall, women wore white to honor their rights, or something like that
Oh he’s basking in the adulation.
didn’t realize Tillerson has a comb over. Overhead cameras don’t lie.
He’s sniffling again.
I tuned for a few seconds. I just can’t take that smarmy ass delivery.
True confession: for the longest time I thought Tillerson wore a yarmulke & thought, wow, neat. Then I saw it’s just his hair.
Sj, LOL!!!
BTW if you don’t have a flag lapel pin I think you can get one in Times Square for about $2.
If there is Russian money, we launder it.
Is there a fact check channel?
Paul Ryan thought bubble…?
Why isn’t the CBC applauding? Because it’s ??
Does he think anyone believes this bullshit?
If all goes boom, Sonny Perdue will be #46.
Black working class guy, check.
Tim Kaine looks about 150 years old.
Jeff Sessions forgot his ‘possum.
Now he’s quoting MONEY?
Jesus, Paul Ryan, that heaven pointing thing was a bit much.
Honoring heroes only way Trump can get Dems on their feet
Who looks more smug, Pence or Ryan?
This is SOOOO painful. ?
Five Supreme Court Judges had other plans or commitments tonight.
HoneyDo List
My dog ate my calendar
Taco Tuesday
Went to the State of the Uniom instead
Giving veterans choice and their healthcare? Does that mean that they don’t get tri-care for life? Flatus, what say you?
He was pointing to the “In God We Trust” above his head, but it did look weird.
I gotta go to bed so I can go to a job where I won’t see the pay increase or bonus that Donny blathered on about.
Craig/rr – I think your drinking game is taking a shot every time he says beautiful.
He’s flanked by the adoring one on the left and the smug one on the right.
How long is that turd going to talk? And, tell him to stop clapping for himself.
Nite ‘all
Roaring back? Then why is job growth less than it was in 2016? I don’t understand ?
But Ryan has the most precisely done tie knot
Bezos & Buffet are figuring out healthcare for their employees. If it works for Amazon employees, get ready for something new in the marketplace. UHC CEO & others should be shaking in their shoes.
You’re on a roll, SJ. Wish I had remembered its Taco Tuesday.
It’s a clip on
Oh, shit. I agree with him on one thing – making experimental therapy available to the dying. Oh, and bringing prices of drugs down.
Clowns to the left of me
Jokers to the right.
President TelePrompTer looks ok- I wonder how President Tweetstorm will look tomorrow.
i can’t believe he’s resisting a nasty comment about Democrats sitting on their hands
This isn’t a SOTU address, it’s a goddam campaign speech.
Poobah, it’s not on the TelePrompTer.
Peeking in … GLURGE
Lovely platitudes are we giving odds on any of it getting done. I mean they are all Democratic proposals and policies. I suppose that is one way to bring about bipartisanship … steal the other guys ideas.
Whenever Trump says “Lets do …” this or that, he really means “Let’s not and say we did.”
Now he’s asking us not to punish Flynn after he gets out of prison?
Not to worry, RYAN is behind him standing up clapping thinking “Fuck You!”
Now he’s just making it up. Setup for immigration crackdown and The Wall!!!
What’s this “posting comments too quickly, slow down” nonsense. No live blogging allowed? WTF?
If only Trump could tweet while talking …
‘That lady justice looks like a man’
‘Only ten minutes to cheeseburgers’
‘Little Squirt Sessions not clapping loud enough’
Mike Pence is plastic – or is he one of those Westworld things? Very creepy.
Never heard of that Pogo. Didn’t know that could happen. Only thing I can imagine is if you post a new comment before the first one fully loaded. We don’t have a chat room system. Remember, I tried that a few years ago and most everyone hated it.
Worst Rolling Stones paraphrase I’ve ever heard.
Scorpion is finished and I’m stuck with Trump.
Word Bubble above Pence
“If I can avoid indictment, his job is mine.”
Just lied about the diversity visa lottery.
If only we had Trump’s merit based system before his unskilled German grandfather showed up. We wouldn’t be watching this.
Ending chain migration somehow supports the nuclear family? What the fuck is he talking about? Does he not understand chain migration or the nuclear family? Renee are you throwing popcorn at your screen? Hope it’s not buttered.
A man and wife plus 2 1/2 kids … no grandparents
My take is it is Steven Miller trying to sound moderate.
Does anyone think that this speech is very disjointed? Some thoughts:
He will allow experimental drug use, so does that mean cannabis is okay?
He is ending forced purchase of health insurance, but is going to force employers to give paid leave to families?
Getting rid of X13 and illegals is going to stop murders?
What cha want to bet that he will be tweeting in the morning about the applause when he took the podium being the longest ever?
White guy LE hero. Check
SFB cabinet- ugly white guys and a couple or three other campaign donors.
Why have I never noticed before that Paul Ryan’s ears look like Mickey Mouse ears?
We need to build a bigger, more powerful nuclear arsenal???? WTF????
MJ- you can never have too many.
Hi MJ
Welcome to the trail
MJ, ha — and the biggest SOTU crowd ever. Better TV ratings than Jesus.
American Aid now like one giant Popular Kids table in the Middle School cafeteria.
This Is nothing more than a verbal parade.
THANK GOD he has said the word ” Finally”
Skutnick’d.
This is a laugh break. You may never be able to get the image out of your mind. Save for all future unbearable events.
Sung Ho, “We’ve never met, but…”
… honest to god.
Jamie, thanks. I needed that.
Saratoga! Benedict Arnold!
Oops.
Just in time to bring back the Kennedys — Joe 3 next
My take: Lots of frosting, little cake.
I wonder if anyone sending them a copy of “Fire and Fury” open so he can’t say what it is and having him sign it?
How far has the New York Times fallen?
Lookie there folks, Trump is acting presidential … gag.
Smart though to go heavy on soldiers, flags, God. Great clips to use against dour Dems back home in Anytown, USA.
Wear your flag pin (I’m looking at YOU, Pogo)
“He was selling sweet tasting candy with poison in it.” Van Jones
Joe Kennedy, speaking from a city built by immigrants.
luv Joe 3’s working class set
Fall River, Massachusetts.
Great, first thought is Lizzie Borden.
All right! Pass the week old mutton.
Joe 3 needs to figure out a way to wipe the corners of his mouth. Too young to drool.
Nice antidote having someone who can actually make a speech and probably largely written by him.
Just checked all the broadcast networks and cable news. All Joe K III. No Bernie.
Poobah, I agree completely.
For some reason the set reminds me of a whistle stop campaign, which is not a bad thing. Give ’em hell, Harry.
Young Kennedy is earnest but wet behind the ears, like an eager collegiate. Your time will come, Grasshopper.
Well put, SJ
SJWNY
Agree. He did a great job. He could run for Governor but Baker is popular even if Republican. Senate locked in at present. I guess it’s stay in the House for seasoning and wait for a good opening.
Kamala Harris is starting to get on my nerves.
Presidents never lose a SOTU and Trump didn’t lose his. They’re also quickly forgotten, as will Trump’s.
Good night all
Watching the CNN rehash of the two speeches. What a weird bunch. There’s Jennifer Granholm sitting next to Rick (asshole) Santorum. They agree on exactly nothing.
Van Jones is insufferable, Pogo. Actually more than one analyst at a time is useless & serves no point. Look at me! I must talk over you or say something outrageous to get attention!! A tower of babble!!! When you get to Brady Bunch Box numbers it’s insane. Why, TV gods, why?
Goodnight, Jamie.
Goodnight, John Boy.
Goodnight, Mrs. Calabash, wherever you are.
AP FACT CHECK: Trump’s claims in his State of Union address
Senator Sanders was on Facebook Live last night, Pogo. I didn’t know either, or care.
There is a line where this stuff crosses over to white noise mighty quick.
Interesting WAPO article on effect of Hillary email release on the election.
James Comey’s fateful decision on Hillary Clinton’s emails is slowly coming into focus
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2018/01/31/james-comeys-fateful-decision-on-hillary-clintons-emails-is-slowly-coming-into-focus/?utm_term=.c15677314d26
OK Dems, what’s your message?
A Better Deal fizzed.
Anti-Trump? Well, most are, so …. and …..?
DACA/immigration means little to most voters who aren’t in that group. Being honest here.
If the economy stays as it is (Thanks, Obama) why would the voters want to change? The here and now tends to win over tomorrow and beyond.
Waiting for Mueller? Tic..tic..tic.. ⌛
Any suggestions?
pogo, your senator today on cbs morning show:
Sen. Joe Manchin, D-West Virginia, is pleading with the president to not release a classified memo penned by the staff of Rep. Devin Nunes, R-California, that details alleged surveillance abuses by the FBI that targeted members of the Trump campaign during the 2016 presidential election. Manchin told “CBS This Morning” that Nunes has “neutered the credibility of this Intelligence Committee on the House” and it would be “wrong” to release the memo.
“I would definitely say Mr. President, please don’t do that, that is wrong, it is absolutely wrong,” Manchin said. “The Senate Intelligence Committee is the only thing we have left that can put confidence into the system and also into the investigation.”
[…]
But as the president was exiting the House chambers on Tuesday, he appeared to joke to Rep. Jeff Duncan, R-South Carolina about the prospects of him releasing the memo.
“Let’s release the memo,” Duncan told the president after the conclusion of the speech.
“Oh yeah, don’t worry, 100 percent,” Mr. Trump responded, waving his hand as he did.
Mr. Trump added, “Can you imagine that?” Then, pointing to another member of Congress, said, “He’d be too angry.”
As for the possibility of Mr. Trump firing Special Counsel Robert Mueller in the throes of his own Russia investigation, Manchin again said it would be the “absolute wrong thing” for Mr. Trump to do.
[…]
….an order by Mr. Trump to dismiss Mueller.
“I pray to God that doesn’t happen for the sake of our country and I would say for the presidency and his administration that would be the absolute wrong thing,” said Manchin.
He added, “then you will see Congress cohere around this system to protect the judicial system and protect Mr. Mueller. I really believe that, so I believe that would be a wrong move.”
[…continues…]
reuters: Mueller seeks to interview Trump legal team ex-spokesman: source
Special counsel Robert Mueller is seeking to interview the former spokesman for President Donald Trump’s legal team as part of his investigation into alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.
Mark Corallo was the spokesman for several weeks, representing Trump’s outside lawyers amid the federal and congressional Russia inquiries, until he resigned last summer.
No interview date has been set, according to the source, who asked not to be identified given the ongoing investigation. Mueller’s team is also investigating whether there was any collusion between Moscow and the Trump campaign.
Corallo’s departure in July came amid other staff changes and media reports that Trump’s legal team was reorganizing and considering ways to try to limit Mueller’s probe.
[…]
U.S. Senator Diane Feinstein, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, one of three congressional panels investigating Moscow’s activities during the campaign and links to Trump, has also asked Corallo for an interview next month.
Wow…. what a crock of crap that was last night.
SFB: let’s make America great again by spending lots of money while I brag about my tax cuts… and oh yeah… let me continue to say every bit of divisive crappola while calling for unity…. moron!
a real whiff of power-of-positive-think-speak in that sotu conclusion:
“As long as we are proud of who we are, and what we are fighting for, there is nothing we cannot achieve.
As long as we have confidence in our values, faith in our citizens, and trust in our God, we will not fail.
Our families will thrive.
Our people will prosper.”
can hear norman v peale in every line and no wonder when i remember this old story from politico:
….if you want to understand what goes on underneath the blond comb-over, you’d do well to look back to two crucial events in the early 1950s.
Event No. 1 occurred in October 1952, when a book appeared called The Power Of Positive Thinking. Written by Dr. Norman Vincent Peale and translated into 15 languages, it remained on the New York Times best-seller list for 186 weeks and sold 5 million copies. Donald was only 6 years old at the time and didn’t read the book until much later, but it quickly became important in the large Queens household in which he grew up, and it would play a critical role in his future. His parents, Fred and Mary, felt an immediate affinity for Peale’s teachings. On Sundays, they drove into Manhattan to worship at Marble Collegiate Church, where Peale was the head pastor. Donald and both his sisters were married there, and funeral services for both Fred and Mary took place in the main sanctuary.
“I still remember [Peale’s] sermons,” Trump told the Iowa Family Leadership Summit in July. “You could listen to him all day long. And when you left the church, you were disappointed it was over. He was the greatest guy.” A month later, in the same news conference at which Trump tossed out Univision anchor Jorge Ramos, he again referred to Peale as his pastor and said he was “one of the greatest speakers” he’d ever seen.
…..
Peale’s outlook, promoted through his radio shows, newspaper columns and articles, and through Guideposts, his monthly digest of inspirational messages, fit perfectly into the Trump family culture of never hesitating to bend the rules, doing whatever it took to win, and never, ever giving up.
“Believe in yourself!” Peale’s book begins. “Have faith in your abilities!” He then outlines 10 rules to overcome “inadequacy attitudes” and “build up confidence in your powers.” Rule one: “formulate and staple indelibly on your mind a mental picture of yourself as succeeding,” “hold this picture tenaciously,” and always refer to it “no matter how badly things seem to be going at the moment.”
Subsequent rules tell the reader to avoid “fear thoughts,” “never think of yourself as failing,” summon up a positive thought whenever “a negative thought concerning your personal powers comes to mind,” “depreciate every so-called obstacle,” and “make a true estimate of your own ability, then raise it 10 per cent.”
Peale’s philosophy fell on willing and eager ears in the Trump family.
[….]
wapo story for those who didn’t watch jimmy and stormy last night:
Stormy Daniels to Jimmy Kimmel: It ‘doesn’t look like my signature’ on Trump statement
Anticipation had been building for the interview that porn star Stormy Daniels was set to give late-night host Jimmy Kimmel on Tuesday night following President Trump’s State of the Union speech.
And then just a few hours before it hit the airwaves came a curveball: Daniels, who in 2011 gave an interview in which she claimed (in lurid detail) to have had an affair with Trump, apparently issued a statement saying she hadn’t actually had such a relationship after all. “The fact of the matter is that each party to this alleged affair denied its existence in 2006, 2011, 2016, 2017 and now again in 2018,” the statement read. “I am not denying the affair because I was paid ‘hush money’ as has been reported in overseas owned tabloids. I am denying this affair because it never happened.”
“I will have no further comment on this matter,” it continued.
All of which made her appearance on ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live” a little … awkward? Superfluous? What was left to talk about, then?
Kimmel opened his show with a quick sketch winking at the predicament. In the taped segment, Kimmel and Daniels were seated and appeared to be watching the State of the Union speech together.
“Okay, enough of this,” the comedian said, holding up a doll on a stick. “Stormy, show me on the puppet what he did to you.”
Daniels then held up her own doll, which had a piece of tape over its mouth. (Get it? She would talk, but she’d been gagged!)
“Kinky,” he replied.
[….]
Of course, Daniels’s alleged-then-maybe-denied affair has been denied by the White House, too, with a spokeswoman calling the allegations “old, recycled reports, which were published and strongly denied prior to the election.”
Still, Daniels has certainly capitalized on her newfound attention and her connection to the president, with strip-club appearances on her “Make America Horny Again” tour hyped by photos with American flag backdrops. Her apparent statement on Tuesday night concluded with another bit of self-promotion and an invitation to be seen but not heard: “Please feel free to check me out on Instagram at @thestormydaniels.”
Daniels will have more opportunities to not talk about Trump (and maybe promote her Instagram account again?) when she appears on ABC’s “The View” on Thursday.
kimmel’s intro
https://youtu.be/DAwr_zeGx2o
“Joe 3 needs to figure out a way to wipe the corners of his mouth. Too young to drool.”
craig, according to ap via msn:
No, that wasn’t drool on the lips of Massachusetts Rep. Joe Kennedy III. He says it was ChapStick.
Twitter lit up with jibes about the 37-year-old Democrat’s response to President Donald Trump’s State of the Union. In his televised speech Tuesday, Kennedy’s lips appeared wet and glistening, leading to tweets about Kennedy’s “drool.”
Kennedy joked on ABC’s “Good Morning America” Wednesday that he “decided to go a little bit light on the ChapStick this morning … which is probably a wise choice.” He told CNN that Tuesday’s ChapStick was “a little too much, apparently.”
better to drool, than foam at the mouth like a certain wh resident and some senators from vermont and texas do.
NEW THREAD
I will stop (just) short of outright calling SFB a liar in the SOTU address last night (ok, he was). What is extremely telling is how poorly he fared in the ABC and WaPo Fact Checkers this morning.