Pogo, bonjour or bonne après-midi as the case may be now.
Thank you for letting us know that “Al’s back. With a vengeance. He’s self-published now, but that should change. I hope he’s returning to the public eye from his Me Too exile.”
Welcome to AlFranken.com, the destination for cool people in the know.
When we launched the website in April, we featured our book drive for the new Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig School. That went crazy nuts! You and people like you (well-educated liberals and open-minded, self-taught free thinkers), bought all 2,500 books the school librarian had requested and donated another $81,000 on top of that so their library can fill its capacity of 20,000 books. Thank you.
Now on to the Al Franken Podcast, which Poddy, the podcast magazine that reviews podcasts with a focus on podcasts about podcasts, calls “the best new podcast not about podcasts.” This week, Jeffrey Toobin (CNN and The New Yorker) and Professor Nancy Gertner (of something called the Harvard Law School) talk about the pernicious Federalist Society. It’s scary, fascinating, funny, but mostly scary. Check it out.
One last thing. Frankly, I don’t think Poddy is a very good magazine. There. I’ve said it. It may hurt me, but that’s how I roll.
ANNCR. V.O.: Earlier today former White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders testified before the House Special Committee on Impeachment. Ms. Sanders was questioned by Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler of New York about various statements she has made to the media that she later acknowledged were not true.
FADE IN: HOUSE HEARING ROOM. SFX: CAMERA SHUTTERS.
SARAH SANDERS IS IN THE WITNESS CHAIR AND IS EXTREMELY UNCOMFORTABLE.
MR. NADLER: Ms. Sanders, thank you for responding to the court order that you appear.
MS. SANDERS: Well, it was a court order.
MR. NADLER: And had you not obeyed it, you could have gone to prison. Is that why you came today?
MS. SANDERS: …yes.
MR. NADLER: Ms. Sanders, the Mueller Report quotes you as acknowledging to the Special Counsel that you lied to the White House press corps about why the president fired FBI Director Comey. Is that correct?
MS. SANDERS: Yes.
MR. NADLER: You told the White House press corps that the reason the president fired Mr. Comey was that the rank and file of the FBI had lost confidence in Comey. Was that a true statement?
MS. SANDERS: No.
NADLER: And what did you tell Mr. Mueller about why you had told the press corps that “the rank-and-file of the FBI had lost confidence in Comey?
SHE IS SQUIRMING.
SANDERS: I told Mr. Mueller that I had said that, quote, “in the heat of the moment.”
NADLER: And was that statement true? That you lied to the press corps in the heat of the moment?
SANDERS: Yes. It…it was in the heat of the moment. That happens. People blurt out untrue things in the heat of the moment all the time.
NADLER: Now, you told the Special Counsel something else about that untrue statement, didn’t you?
MS. SANDER: Yes. I admitted that saying that Comey had lost the support of rank-and-file members was, quote, “not founded in anything whatsoever.”
MR. NADLER: You also told the Special Counsel that when you told the White House press corps that you personally had been contacted by “countless members of the FBI,” that had been, quote, “a slip of the tongue.”
MS. SANDERS: Yes. A slip of the tongue.
MR. NADLER: And, in fact, you told my staff in a pre-interview that you had not been contacted by countless members of the FBI complaining about their lack of confidence in Director Comey.
MS. SANDERS: Yes, that had been an outright lie. And I admitted that to Special Counsel Mueller and to your staff.
MR. NADLER: In fact, you admitted that you had been contacted by exactly zero members of the FBI.
SANDERS: Yes. Not one.
NADLER: And you also told us that you felt compelled to tell the truth to the Special Counsel because your testimony to him was given under penalty of perjury?
SANDERS: Yes.
MR. NADLER: And that the reason you told the truth in that instance was that you were afraid of going to prison?
SANDERS: Yes. Very much so.
MR. NADLER: And you know the testimony you’re giving before this committee is also under penalty of perjury.
SANDERS: Yes.
MR. NADLER: And the reason you are telling us the truth right now also is that you are afraid of going to prison?
SANDERS: Yes. I am very, very afraid of going to prison.
MR. NADLER: And yet, two days after the Mueller Report came out saying that you had admitted lying repeatedly to the media, you lied to the media again?
SANDERS: Yes. I lied to George Stephanopoulos.
MR. NADLER: You told Mr. Stephanopoulos that when you lied about the reason Director Comey was fired that, quote: “It was in the heat of the moment, meaning that it wasn’t a scripted talking point. I’m sorry I wasn’t a robot like the Democratic Party.” Am I quoting you accurately?
SANDERS: Yes.
MR. NADLER: But what you told Mr. Stephanopoulos was not true, was it?
SANDERS: No.
MR. NADLER: And it was a lie because, in fact, it had been a talking point, hadn’t it?
SANDERS: Yes.
MR. NADLER: And are you admitting that only because you are under oath here, and you knew if you lied, you could go to prison?
SANDERS CONSULTS WITH HER ATTORNEY
SANDERS: Yes. That is correct.
NADLER: And why, after admitting in the Mueller Report that you had lied to the White House press corps, did you lie to Mr. Stephanopoulos?
SANDERS: I misspoke because I was freaked out and didn’t know what I was saying.
NADLER: You were freaked out?
SANDERS: Yes, I was.
NADLER: Are you freaked out now, Ms. Sanders?
HER ATTORNEY LEANS IN AND WHISPERS IN HER EAR. SHE WHISPERS BACK. THERE ARE A FEW BACK AND FORTHS. NADLER WAITS IMPATIENTLY.
SANDERS: Let me clarify. I was freaked out when I lied to Mr. Stephanopoulos. I am a little freaked out now, but not as freaked out as I was when I was on with Mr. Stephanopoulos.
HER ATTORNEY NODS
NADLER: Ms. Sanders, you swore to tell the truth to this committee.
SANDERS: Yes. And I have. To the best of my ability. Really, Mr. Chairman. I am not good at this. And that is the honest truth.
NADLER: I believe you. But you know that being freaked out is not a legal defense if you lie to the committee?
SANDERS: Yes. And that is why I am just trying so very, very hard to be truthful.
NADLER: So you don’t go to prison?
SANDLER: Yes. That is why I’m freaked out. Because I so, so do not want to go to prison. And I am doing the very best I can to be every bit as honest as I know how. (CORRECTING HERSELF) I mean, even more honest than that. I really don’t want to go to prison.
NADLER: Well then just tell us the truth.
SANDERS: Okay. The truth is I am especially scared of people who do not look like me.
NADLER: Oh, no, no, no. No. You don’t have to bare your soul. Just answer the questions truthfully.
SANDERS: Oh. So, I probably shouldn’t have said that?
NADLER: Well…what you said is very ugly and sad. But I know it was honest.
SANDERS: Thank you. I can’t tell you how much that means to me.
NADLER: Right. Let me ask you something. You’re about to leave the White House, and I imagine you are looking for a job with some public relations firm or maybe setting up your own shop. Do you intend to continue lying to the public and to the media wherever it is you land?
SANDERS CONSULTS WITH HER ATTORNEY. THIS IS A LONG ONE. FINALLY…
SANDERS: Yes. But only if there is no other way to help my clients.
NADLER: Okay. Just know that if you lie again publicly that we reserve the right to call you back.
SANDERS: I understand.
NADLER: But it would be great not to have to call you again.
SANDERS: Tell me about it.
NADLER: You may be excused.
SANDERS: Thank you. Am I still under oath?
NADLER: Actually, no.
SANDERS: Great! (TURNS UGLY) This whole hearing is a witch hunt! The ones you should be investigating are the lefty SPIES in the FBI who bugged Trump Tower!
NADLER: Oh boy. We will stand adjourned until tomorrow morning.
HE HITS THE GAVEL. AS A FOX NEWS CAMERAMAN STEPS IN WITH HIS HANDHELD CAMERA POINTED AT SARAH…
SANDERS: You ought to be ashamed of yourself, Mr. Chairman! To insinuate that I had been lying when this president is presiding over the strongest economy in the history of humankind!
President Donald Trump is challenging his former White House counsel’s testimony to Robert Mueller, asserting that he never even so much as suggested firing the special counsel.
In an interview with ABC News, the president suggested that Don McGahn told Mueller of Trump’s supposed directive that he be fired in order to save face.
“The story on that very simply, No. 1, I was never going to fire Mueller. I never suggested firing Mueller,” Trump said.
Pressed on why McGahn would have told Mueller’s team during his more than 30 hours of voluntary interviews of the multiple times the president sought to have the special counsel removed, Trump pushed back.
“I don’t care what he says, it doesn’t matter,” he argued. “That was to show everyone what a good counsel he was.”
McGahn, who left the White House last fall, is a key witness in the portion of Mueller’s final report on whether the president obstructed justice.
[…]
The president also defended not testifying in person for Mueller. Though he submitted written responses to the special counsel’s questions, his legal team feared that the freewheeling, hyperbole-slinging president might perjure himself during a face-to-face interview.
Challenged on the fact that he didn’t answer any questions pertaining to his potential obstruction of the probe — for which Mueller laid out evidence but did not make a final determination — Trump did not answer, but chastised Stephanopoulos for being a “little wise guy.”
C’est apres midi. We visited the Latin quarter and Versailles this morning. A modest home for 3 down to earth kings whose royal lineage ended with Louis XVI’s head in a basket. Tonight dinner in a cafe and a boat trip on the Seine. Tomorrow, back to America.
politico:California poll: Warren surges to second, Harris falls to fourth
Elizabeth Warren is threatening Joe Biden’s front-runner standing in California, and Kamala Harris is showing signs of weakness in her delegate-rich home state, according to a new poll.
A new UC Berkeley-Los Angeles Times poll found Biden leading with 22% of likely Democratic primary voters; followed by Warren and Sanders, who are at 18% and 17%, respectively.
Harris (13%) and South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg (10%) are the only other 2020 presidential contenders to exceed 3% in the survey, which was directed by pollster Mark DiCamillo, who for years led the venerable Field Poll.
Warren’s surge into a tie with Sanders aligns with other recent polls that show her cutting into Sanders’ support with liberal voters. But it’s particularly notable in the Super Tuesday state of California, where Sanders has set up camp since his 2016 loss to Hillary Clinton, and where his team has pointed to structural advantages that in mere months have seemed to dissipate.
Jamie I’m still down with the immersion therapy experience with a veritable deluge, an inundation, of old western movies….it’s been, and continues to be, quite an experience.
I know that so many of these I actually saw at the drive-in with the ‘rents when I was a squee liddle monkey. That was one of our main family excursions.
Sturg… as a kid, we lived between 2 drive-in theaters. My father brought us frequently. He was most partial to Elvis movies and the Beach Blanket series with Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon. I don’t think he liked westerns as I don’t remember any.
My parents seldom viewed movies. When they did, it would generally be something that earned a stellar review in the New Yorker. I don’t believe they ever went to a drive-in. They would support and attend the several playhouses in the Cleveland area. The last time Kumcho and I went to a movie was ca.1975 when we were stationed in the Canal Zone. With the girls turning 14 that year, we had enough drama at home.
When I was in elected office I had a couple of women employees make passes at me. I quenched their efforts immediately. My military training helped and was quite effective in a city hall elevator. Al didn’t have the benefit of my type of background; instead, he has taken the road that allows him to be a whole person. Good for him.
Fire update: No growth overnight. The southeast boundary, which would likely be the path towards us, is now cold with little fuel remaining and containment on track. Firefighters are working to herd the fire to the north. No percentages indicated for full containment yet, but firefighters have succeeded in keeping the fire moving away from state lands and personal property.
Kudos to Arizona firefighters! Indications are that it could be a busy wildfire season.
Good news Travis
SInce you mentioned it I have been watching – my niece and family live in the area
One thing about Franken. He did admit to the bottom pinching etc –in the tradition of George HW Bush.
Travis… so happy to read you’re probably out of danger.
Now that Rick is retired and I am semi-retired… we sometimes go to movies in the central Massachusetts city where we met. There is a Burger King right across from the movie complex. We will go there for lunch and then to a 1pm showing. There’s usually only gray hairs like us… but we can pick great seats.
The line up for the first Democratic debate has been established. All of my favorite candidates but one are on night one. Features: Booker, Castro, Kobuchar & Warren.
Biden and Sanders are on night two. I hope Kamala Harris eats them alive and leaves plenty of room for dessert.
What bothered me about the whole Franken mess is that all of the complaints seem to have come from USO style tours where the behavior of the women was just as suggestive as the men’s including Franken’s main accuser who spent a good part of her act practically climbing the body of another man. Sure it was raunchy, but that was the audience and the mores of the time. There was never any charge of infidelity or assault. He should run again and someone can give Gillibrand a sleeping pill until after the election.
travis, glad to hear it’s contained or semi-contained. has your area been affected by the utility co. outages or is the faulty wiring not a problem in those parts?
Jamie, “late Night” sounds great. from wapo’sIn ‘Late Night,’ Emma Thompson and Mindy Kaling deliver sparkling wit and surprising sweetness review of it:
Forget national treasure: Emma Thompson could rent herself out as a national utility. In the alternately sharp-edged and generous-hearted comedy “Late Night,” she is so radiant, so utterly in command of her instruments of voice, body and facial expression that she could light up an entire urban grid with slightest suggestion of a grin.
Then again, Thompson’s Katherine Newbury, an acerbic talk-show host facing imminent replacement, is more likely to bare her fangs than turn the world on with her smile. As “Late Night” opens, she fires one of her writers — a new dad with concomitant family responsibilities — after he has the temerity to ask for a raise. Katherine lights into him with vinegary disdain, noting that the “good provider” role was used for decades to justify paying men more, and then drawing a tone-deaf analogy between parenthood and drug addiction. The defenestration is crisp, merciless and final.
For pure sang-froid, Katherine gives Meryl Streep’s Miranda Priestly a breathtakingly arrogant — and elegant — run for her money.
[continues]
sturge, while on your cowboy movie horse, hope you revisit one of my favorites
I never went to a USO show. Sensed they were using us to push their own careers (with exceptions such as Bob Hope.)
In Korea, the Red Cross Doughnut Dollies came to visit us in our bomb-dump once a week. They were thoroughly nice young ladies who were doing their service. They chatted with the troops individually for half an hour or so while serving them snacks and coffee. They were like their sisters visiting from home. Much more meaningful than any sort of USO show.
Paint your wagon I watch at least once a year……caught Cheyenne Social just the other day ….the searchers is coming up soon. Ballou I catch if it comes on.
what I’m mostly catching is the old oaters with weird names ….gunfight at Comanche Creek, escape from fort Bravo, Waco, bullet for a bad man, face of a fugitive, the charge at feather river, the command, the Jayhawkers, the golden stallion, bend of the river, Comanche station, wagon master, Fort Apache, Joe Dakota, Taza Son of Cochise, arrow in the dust, fort Osage, Canyon River, she wore a yellow ribbon……muchos etceteros
Jaime
Actually the majority of the complaints were about unwarranted kissing and not in the USO setting.
Butt pinching during photo sessions — very much like George Herbert Walker Bush. The USO stuff got the most attention. And Franken did admit to some of it….although not all of it.
I think Gillibrand was wrong not to let it go to the hearing.
The people at Monsanto must be delusional. They should stop making Round-Up
It’s banned by most municipalities in Cal and a few other states as well. The payouts in the lawsuits are huge
and more coming.
patd… I just sent you a video for Sunday morning… I think. If it didn’t go through… sorry… it’s been so long since I started a new post here that I haven’t any idea how to do it any longer.
Well, a fitting last night in Paris. We took a boat trip on the Seine at dusk and the Eiffel Tower lit up while we were turning beside it to head back to dock. Pretty special way to end the trip. Now up early, to the airport and back to the US.
The new VA under SFB is a disaster. 1430 appointment and I spend until 1700 before getting out of the building. Short of doctors and staff so appointments are rescheduled or waiting times extended. It is sad. I can say the other veterans were mocking SFB on television. We had a lot of time to watch television, primarily CNN. The sets tuned to faux snooze had no viewers.
2. I share Mr Flatus USO experience. I expect that he chose not to go. My prickly personality did not endear me to superiors. I didn’t care to see Joey Heatherton from 100 yards away and other sour grapes.
CNN whatever….thats Ted turner and The first 24 hour news network kujos go where kujos go……all the times we’s Riding in them old not air conditioned cars tween Charleston and Birmingham and back we’d see the billboards—-“TURNER”—-
Sturg, I remember the 50s. Green grass, blackberries, catching sunfish and snakes at the creek, baseball, sunburn, all that stuff. Mrs. P doesn’t remember it so much, being 4 months old when the 60s arrived. She’s heard the music (doesn’t like Elvis – weird) and kinda thinks she sorta remembers them.
Renee, thank you for the sunday thread. you did good. once a threader always a threader, like riding a bike, ‘cepting you forgot to give it a title. I temporarily titled it “the ways we were” awaiting your approval.
Pogo, bonjour or bonne après-midi as the case may be now.
Thank you for letting us know that “ Al’s back. With a vengeance. He’s self-published now, but that should change. I hope he’s returning to the public eye from his Me Too exile.”
Welcome to AlFranken.com, the destination for cool people in the know.
When we launched the website in April, we featured our book drive for the new Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig School. That went crazy nuts! You and people like you (well-educated liberals and open-minded, self-taught free thinkers), bought all 2,500 books the school librarian had requested and donated another $81,000 on top of that so their library can fill its capacity of 20,000 books. Thank you.
Now on to the Al Franken Podcast, which Poddy, the podcast magazine that reviews podcasts with a focus on podcasts about podcasts, calls “the best new podcast not about podcasts.” This week, Jeffrey Toobin (CNN and The New Yorker) and Professor Nancy Gertner (of something called the Harvard Law School) talk about the pernicious Federalist Society. It’s scary, fascinating, funny, but mostly scary. Check it out.
One last thing. Frankly, I don’t think Poddy is a very good magazine. There. I’ve said it. It may hurt me, but that’s how I roll.
here’s his masterpiece yesterday:
In the Heat of the Moment
OPEN ON C-SPAN LOGO OVER CAPITOL:
ANNCR. V.O.: Earlier today former White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders testified before the House Special Committee on Impeachment. Ms. Sanders was questioned by Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler of New York about various statements she has made to the media that she later acknowledged were not true.
FADE IN: HOUSE HEARING ROOM. SFX: CAMERA SHUTTERS.
SARAH SANDERS IS IN THE WITNESS CHAIR AND IS EXTREMELY UNCOMFORTABLE.
MR. NADLER: Ms. Sanders, thank you for responding to the court order that you appear.
MS. SANDERS: Well, it was a court order.
MR. NADLER: And had you not obeyed it, you could have gone to prison. Is that why you came today?
MS. SANDERS: …yes.
MR. NADLER: Ms. Sanders, the Mueller Report quotes you as acknowledging to the Special Counsel that you lied to the White House press corps about why the president fired FBI Director Comey. Is that correct?
MS. SANDERS: Yes.
MR. NADLER: You told the White House press corps that the reason the president fired Mr. Comey was that the rank and file of the FBI had lost confidence in Comey. Was that a true statement?
MS. SANDERS: No.
NADLER: And what did you tell Mr. Mueller about why you had told the press corps that “the rank-and-file of the FBI had lost confidence in Comey?
SHE IS SQUIRMING.
SANDERS: I told Mr. Mueller that I had said that, quote, “in the heat of the moment.”
NADLER: And was that statement true? That you lied to the press corps in the heat of the moment?
SANDERS: Yes. It…it was in the heat of the moment. That happens. People blurt out untrue things in the heat of the moment all the time.
NADLER: Now, you told the Special Counsel something else about that untrue statement, didn’t you?
MS. SANDER: Yes. I admitted that saying that Comey had lost the support of rank-and-file members was, quote, “not founded in anything whatsoever.”
MR. NADLER: You also told the Special Counsel that when you told the White House press corps that you personally had been contacted by “countless members of the FBI,” that had been, quote, “a slip of the tongue.”
MS. SANDERS: Yes. A slip of the tongue.
MR. NADLER: And, in fact, you told my staff in a pre-interview that you had not been contacted by countless members of the FBI complaining about their lack of confidence in Director Comey.
MS. SANDERS: Yes, that had been an outright lie. And I admitted that to Special Counsel Mueller and to your staff.
MR. NADLER: In fact, you admitted that you had been contacted by exactly zero members of the FBI.
SANDERS: Yes. Not one.
NADLER: And you also told us that you felt compelled to tell the truth to the Special Counsel because your testimony to him was given under penalty of perjury?
SANDERS: Yes.
MR. NADLER: And that the reason you told the truth in that instance was that you were afraid of going to prison?
SANDERS: Yes. Very much so.
MR. NADLER: And you know the testimony you’re giving before this committee is also under penalty of perjury.
SANDERS: Yes.
MR. NADLER: And the reason you are telling us the truth right now also is that you are afraid of going to prison?
SANDERS: Yes. I am very, very afraid of going to prison.
MR. NADLER: And yet, two days after the Mueller Report came out saying that you had admitted lying repeatedly to the media, you lied to the media again?
SANDERS: Yes. I lied to George Stephanopoulos.
MR. NADLER: You told Mr. Stephanopoulos that when you lied about the reason Director Comey was fired that, quote: “It was in the heat of the moment, meaning that it wasn’t a scripted talking point. I’m sorry I wasn’t a robot like the Democratic Party.” Am I quoting you accurately?
SANDERS: Yes.
MR. NADLER: But what you told Mr. Stephanopoulos was not true, was it?
SANDERS: No.
MR. NADLER: And it was a lie because, in fact, it had been a talking point, hadn’t it?
SANDERS: Yes.
MR. NADLER: And are you admitting that only because you are under oath here, and you knew if you lied, you could go to prison?
SANDERS CONSULTS WITH HER ATTORNEY
SANDERS: Yes. That is correct.
NADLER: And why, after admitting in the Mueller Report that you had lied to the White House press corps, did you lie to Mr. Stephanopoulos?
SANDERS: I misspoke because I was freaked out and didn’t know what I was saying.
NADLER: You were freaked out?
SANDERS: Yes, I was.
NADLER: Are you freaked out now, Ms. Sanders?
HER ATTORNEY LEANS IN AND WHISPERS IN HER EAR. SHE WHISPERS BACK. THERE ARE A FEW BACK AND FORTHS. NADLER WAITS IMPATIENTLY.
SANDERS: Let me clarify. I was freaked out when I lied to Mr. Stephanopoulos. I am a little freaked out now, but not as freaked out as I was when I was on with Mr. Stephanopoulos.
HER ATTORNEY NODS
NADLER: Ms. Sanders, you swore to tell the truth to this committee.
SANDERS: Yes. And I have. To the best of my ability. Really, Mr. Chairman. I am not good at this. And that is the honest truth.
NADLER: I believe you. But you know that being freaked out is not a legal defense if you lie to the committee?
SANDERS: Yes. And that is why I am just trying so very, very hard to be truthful.
NADLER: So you don’t go to prison?
SANDLER: Yes. That is why I’m freaked out. Because I so, so do not want to go to prison. And I am doing the very best I can to be every bit as honest as I know how. (CORRECTING HERSELF) I mean, even more honest than that. I really don’t want to go to prison.
NADLER: Well then just tell us the truth.
SANDERS: Okay. The truth is I am especially scared of people who do not look like me.
NADLER: Oh, no, no, no. No. You don’t have to bare your soul. Just answer the questions truthfully.
SANDERS: Oh. So, I probably shouldn’t have said that?
NADLER: Well…what you said is very ugly and sad. But I know it was honest.
SANDERS: Thank you. I can’t tell you how much that means to me.
NADLER: Right. Let me ask you something. You’re about to leave the White House, and I imagine you are looking for a job with some public relations firm or maybe setting up your own shop. Do you intend to continue lying to the public and to the media wherever it is you land?
SANDERS CONSULTS WITH HER ATTORNEY. THIS IS A LONG ONE. FINALLY…
SANDERS: Yes. But only if there is no other way to help my clients.
NADLER: Okay. Just know that if you lie again publicly that we reserve the right to call you back.
SANDERS: I understand.
NADLER: But it would be great not to have to call you again.
SANDERS: Tell me about it.
NADLER: You may be excused.
SANDERS: Thank you. Am I still under oath?
NADLER: Actually, no.
SANDERS: Great! (TURNS UGLY) This whole hearing is a witch hunt! The ones you should be investigating are the lefty SPIES in the FBI who bugged Trump Tower!
NADLER: Oh boy. We will stand adjourned until tomorrow morning.
HE HITS THE GAVEL. AS A FOX NEWS CAMERAMAN STEPS IN WITH HIS HANDHELD CAMERA POINTED AT SARAH…
SANDERS: You ought to be ashamed of yourself, Mr. Chairman! To insinuate that I had been lying when this president is presiding over the strongest economy in the history of humankind!
SHE ADDRESSES THE FOX CAMERAMAN
SANDERS (CONT’D): You got that?
AS HE GIVES HER THE THUMBS UP…
FADE
see more at
alfranken.com
https://alfranken.com/
politico:
President Donald Trump is challenging his former White House counsel’s testimony to Robert Mueller, asserting that he never even so much as suggested firing the special counsel.
In an interview with ABC News, the president suggested that Don McGahn told Mueller of Trump’s supposed directive that he be fired in order to save face.
“The story on that very simply, No. 1, I was never going to fire Mueller. I never suggested firing Mueller,” Trump said.
Pressed on why McGahn would have told Mueller’s team during his more than 30 hours of voluntary interviews of the multiple times the president sought to have the special counsel removed, Trump pushed back.
“I don’t care what he says, it doesn’t matter,” he argued. “That was to show everyone what a good counsel he was.”
McGahn, who left the White House last fall, is a key witness in the portion of Mueller’s final report on whether the president obstructed justice.
[…]
The president also defended not testifying in person for Mueller. Though he submitted written responses to the special counsel’s questions, his legal team feared that the freewheeling, hyperbole-slinging president might perjure himself during a face-to-face interview.
Challenged on the fact that he didn’t answer any questions pertaining to his potential obstruction of the probe — for which Mueller laid out evidence but did not make a final determination — Trump did not answer, but chastised Stephanopoulos for being a “little wise guy.”
C’est apres midi. We visited the Latin quarter and Versailles this morning. A modest home for 3 down to earth kings whose royal lineage ended with Louis XVI’s head in a basket. Tonight dinner in a cafe and a boat trip on the Seine. Tomorrow, back to America.
nytimes:
How the Raptors Won Their First N.B.A. Championship
Toronto held on despite a late push by the Golden State Warriors and won its first title.
on another front
and from mother jones:
Elizabeth Warren Has a Plan for Winning the White House, and Right Now It’s Working
How the Massachusetts senator engineered her surge in the polls.
In the interest of staying away from anything serious, is anyone going to the movies this week. I’m torn between Toy Story 4 and Late Night.
I’m tellin’ ya, Old Joe’s just innit for the yucks, and to draw fire.
Jamie I’m still down with the immersion therapy experience with a veritable deluge, an inundation, of old western movies….it’s been, and continues to be, quite an experience.
I know that so many of these I actually saw at the drive-in with the ‘rents when I was a squee liddle monkey. That was one of our main family excursions.
for those of you who don’t subscribe to the Washington Post….
Run… Al… RUN!
Sturg… as a kid, we lived between 2 drive-in theaters. My father brought us frequently. He was most partial to Elvis movies and the Beach Blanket series with Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon. I don’t think he liked westerns as I don’t remember any.
I always thought Franken should have had the investigation and hearing and was hounded out
My parents seldom viewed movies. When they did, it would generally be something that earned a stellar review in the New Yorker. I don’t believe they ever went to a drive-in. They would support and attend the several playhouses in the Cleveland area. The last time Kumcho and I went to a movie was ca.1975 when we were stationed in the Canal Zone. With the girls turning 14 that year, we had enough drama at home.
When I was in elected office I had a couple of women employees make passes at me. I quenched their efforts immediately. My military training helped and was quite effective in a city hall elevator. Al didn’t have the benefit of my type of background; instead, he has taken the road that allows him to be a whole person. Good for him.
Fire update: No growth overnight. The southeast boundary, which would likely be the path towards us, is now cold with little fuel remaining and containment on track. Firefighters are working to herd the fire to the north. No percentages indicated for full containment yet, but firefighters have succeeded in keeping the fire moving away from state lands and personal property.
Kudos to Arizona firefighters! Indications are that it could be a busy wildfire season.
Good news Travis
SInce you mentioned it I have been watching – my niece and family live in the area
One thing about Franken. He did admit to the bottom pinching etc –in the tradition of George HW Bush.
Travis… so happy to read you’re probably out of danger.
Now that Rick is retired and I am semi-retired… we sometimes go to movies in the central Massachusetts city where we met. There is a Burger King right across from the movie complex. We will go there for lunch and then to a 1pm showing. There’s usually only gray hairs like us… but we can pick great seats.
The line up for the first Democratic debate has been established. All of my favorite candidates but one are on night one. Features: Booker, Castro, Kobuchar & Warren.
Biden and Sanders are on night two. I hope Kamala Harris eats them alive and leaves plenty of room for dessert.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/14/us/politics/democratic-debates-2020.html?smtyp=cur&smid=tw-nytimes
KGC
What bothered me about the whole Franken mess is that all of the complaints seem to have come from USO style tours where the behavior of the women was just as suggestive as the men’s including Franken’s main accuser who spent a good part of her act practically climbing the body of another man. Sure it was raunchy, but that was the audience and the mores of the time. There was never any charge of infidelity or assault. He should run again and someone can give Gillibrand a sleeping pill until after the election.
travis, glad to hear it’s contained or semi-contained. has your area been affected by the utility co. outages or is the faulty wiring not a problem in those parts?
Jamie, “late Night” sounds great. from wapo’s In ‘Late Night,’ Emma Thompson and Mindy Kaling deliver sparkling wit and surprising sweetness review of it:
Forget national treasure: Emma Thompson could rent herself out as a national utility. In the alternately sharp-edged and generous-hearted comedy “Late Night,” she is so radiant, so utterly in command of her instruments of voice, body and facial expression that she could light up an entire urban grid with slightest suggestion of a grin.
Then again, Thompson’s Katherine Newbury, an acerbic talk-show host facing imminent replacement, is more likely to bare her fangs than turn the world on with her smile. As “Late Night” opens, she fires one of her writers — a new dad with concomitant family responsibilities — after he has the temerity to ask for a raise. Katherine lights into him with vinegary disdain, noting that the “good provider” role was used for decades to justify paying men more, and then drawing a tone-deaf analogy between parenthood and drug addiction. The defenestration is crisp, merciless and final.
For pure sang-froid, Katherine gives Meryl Streep’s Miranda Priestly a breathtakingly arrogant — and elegant — run for her money.
[continues]
sturge, while on your cowboy movie horse, hope you revisit one of my favorites
loved jimmy stewart’s Harley character
I never went to a USO show. Sensed they were using us to push their own careers (with exceptions such as Bob Hope.)
In Korea, the Red Cross Doughnut Dollies came to visit us in our bomb-dump once a week. They were thoroughly nice young ladies who were doing their service. They chatted with the troops individually for half an hour or so while serving them snacks and coffee. They were like their sisters visiting from home. Much more meaningful than any sort of USO show.
Sturgeone
Make room in that lineup for The Searchers if you haven’t already. One of the few where Wayne isn’t the good guy.
The recent remake of True Grit is much better than the original.
Patd – No issues with utilities at this time in my area. I haven’t heard about any problems, but now that you mention it I’ll check that out.
sturge, in addition to Cheyenne Social Club, be sure to rewatch Cat Ballou and Paint Your Wagon
great character actors in them
Paint your wagon I watch at least once a year……caught Cheyenne Social just the other day ….the searchers is coming up soon. Ballou I catch if it comes on.
what I’m mostly catching is the old oaters with weird names ….gunfight at Comanche Creek, escape from fort Bravo, Waco, bullet for a bad man, face of a fugitive, the charge at feather river, the command, the Jayhawkers, the golden stallion, bend of the river, Comanche station, wagon master, Fort Apache, Joe Dakota, Taza Son of Cochise, arrow in the dust, fort Osage, Canyon River, she wore a yellow ribbon……muchos etceteros
Rio grande, dodge city, San Antonio, lots of railroad building movies like Kansas Pacific
Yes……Al should have had an investigation like he called for.
as far as the famous photo, he was clearly not actually touching leeann tweed em.
Tv shows: Dock Powell’s Zane Gray Theater, Death Valley days, Laramie, and Wyatt Earp show……I like them for the range of their guest stars
Jaime
Actually the majority of the complaints were about unwarranted kissing and not in the USO setting.
Butt pinching during photo sessions — very much like George Herbert Walker Bush. The USO stuff got the most attention. And Franken did admit to some of it….although not all of it.
I think Gillibrand was wrong not to let it go to the hearing.
I bet Slanders Suckabee runs for the Senate in Ark.
or maybe Alabama — the porker fits right in either place
The people at Monsanto must be delusional. They should stop making Round-Up
It’s banned by most municipalities in Cal and a few other states as well. The payouts in the lawsuits are huge
and more coming.
patd… I just sent you a video for Sunday morning… I think. If it didn’t go through… sorry… it’s been so long since I started a new post here that I haven’t any idea how to do it any longer.
Loved Zane Gray theater, Wagon Train, and of course a soft spot in my heart for Wyatt Earp since I got to kiss Hugh O’Brien.
Reading my way through all of the Zane Gray novels make me a hopeless addict for the discovery of L’Amour & McMurtry.
Well, a fitting last night in Paris. We took a boat trip on the Seine at dusk and the Eiffel Tower lit up while we were turning beside it to head back to dock. Pretty special way to end the trip. Now up early, to the airport and back to the US.
That must have been lovely
It was. And on the hour it sparkles.
I used to sparkle on the hour but now it’s like maybe twice a week.
The new VA under SFB is a disaster. 1430 appointment and I spend until 1700 before getting out of the building. Short of doctors and staff so appointments are rescheduled or waiting times extended. It is sad. I can say the other veterans were mocking SFB on television. We had a lot of time to watch television, primarily CNN. The sets tuned to faux snooze had no viewers.
1. I haven’t sparkled since 2014.
2. I share Mr Flatus USO experience. I expect that he chose not to go. My prickly personality did not endear me to superiors. I didn’t care to see Joey Heatherton from 100 yards away and other sour grapes.
I’m proud to say that I wasn’t quite in the stockade.
CNN whatever….thats Ted turner and The first 24 hour news network kujos go where kujos go……all the times we’s Riding in them old not air conditioned cars tween Charleston and Birmingham and back we’d see the billboards—-“TURNER”—-
Turner let Burma Shave do all their location research.
It seems that most of the kids don’t remember the fifties…..see? That’s weird.
How could you NOT remember the fifties?
Sturg, I remember the 50s. Green grass, blackberries, catching sunfish and snakes at the creek, baseball, sunburn, all that stuff. Mrs. P doesn’t remember it so much, being 4 months old when the 60s arrived. She’s heard the music (doesn’t like Elvis – weird) and kinda thinks she sorta remembers them.
Renee, thank you for the sunday thread. you did good. once a threader always a threader, like riding a bike, ‘cepting you forgot to give it a title. I temporarily titled it “the ways we were” awaiting your approval.
NEW THREAD thanks to sturge