41 thoughts on “Picture This”

  1. kgc & BiD,  texas heard you calling for Hil to shut up and go away.

    Texas’ Board of Education is taking Hillary Clinton out of textbooks and putting Moses in.

  3. That’s a very cool piece of woodworking!

    TX public schools are a joke.  They teach the test and that’s all.  Applying knowledge to an event in the real world…?

  5. new York mag:  A Rod Rosenstein Resignation Would Be a Disaster for Mueller and the Rule of Law

     

    President Trump has been itching for months to fire Rod Rosenstein, the Department of Justice official overseeing the Mueller investigation, but has been held back by the apparent reluctance of some leading Republicans. The New York Times has handed Trump his pretext: an explosive story alleging that Rosenstein proposed wearing a wire to secretly surveil Trump, and that he discussed recruiting officials to remove Trump from office via the 25th Amendment of the Constitution.
    It is difficult to evaluate this story outside the context of an impending threat to the rule of law and the crisis it may well trigger. Numerous sources have described Rosenstein as having been engaged in idle black humor. “I remember this meeting and remember the wire comment. The statement was sarcastic and was never discussed with any intention of recording a conversation with the president,” one source tells Politico.
     
    The Washington Post has even more detail that seems to cast doubt on the earnestness of the remark: “That person said the wire comment came in response to McCabe’s own pushing for the Justice Department to open an investigation into the president. To that, Rosenstein responded with what this person described as a sarcastic comment along the lines of, ‘What do you want to do, Andy, wire the president?’” The Post also notes that another FBI official, Lisa Page, attended the meeting and did not record the 25th Amendment remark, suggesting it was in jest.
     
    The Times has been spun by sources before — most infamously, in its 2016 preelection report declaring that the FBI saw no link between Russia and Trump, and that Russia was not trying to help Trump win. It is the greatest newspaper in the world, and I would urge everybody to subscribe, but its reporters are fallible. And because of its prestige, its errors have potentially world-changing consequences.
    […continues…]

  8. wapo:  Senate Judiciary chairman says he’ll give Kavanaugh accuser more time to decide whether to testify before committee
    […]
    “Judge Kavanaugh I just granted another extension to Dr Ford to decide if she wants to proceed w the statement she made last week to testify to the senate,” Grassley tweeted. An aide confirmed that he was granting her request for more time.
     
    Before that tweet, Debra Katz, an attorney for Ford, said committee Republicans’ arbitrary deadlines and ultimatums had created stress and anxiety for her client, who met with the FBI on Friday about the death threats she had received.
     
    “Your cavalier treatment of a sexual assault survivor who has been doing her best to cooperate with the Committee is completely inappropriate,” Katz wrote in an email to Grassley aides.
    Earlier in the day, Grassley had warned that he would move ahead with plans for his committee to vote on Kavanaugh’s nomination on Monday if his offer of a Wednesday hearing was rejected or ignored.
    […]
    Negotiations between Senate Republicans and Ford’s lawyers dragged into Friday evening and centered on whether Ford would testify and under what conditions.

    In a note from Grassley’s staff to Ford’s lawyers, the Republicans said they were willing to accommodate several of the professor’s requests for testifying before the committee. Those included ensuring that she had proper security and breaks during her testimony, that all senators get equal time to speak, that press access be limited, and that just one camera be allowed in the room. She also asked that Kavanaugh not be present as she speaks.

    But Republicans made clear they would not agree to some of her other requests. Among those were that Kavanaugh testify first and that the committee subpoena Mark Judge — a Kavanaugh friend who Ford says was present during the alleged incident — and call other potential witnesses to the hearing. The Republicans also offered a Wednesday hearing, rather than Thursday as Ford had asked for, and they wanted to reserve the option of having female staff attorneys on the committee do the questioning.
    The Senate Judiciary Committee sent its counterproposal to Ford’s attorneys Friday afternoon.

    “We want to hear Dr. Ford’s testimony and are prepared to accommodate many of your demands, including further delaying a hearing that is currently scheduled for Monday,” Grassley said. “We are unwilling to accommodate your unreasonable demands. Outside counsel may not dictate the terms under which committee business will be conducted.”

    Democrats protested the deadlines imposed by Grassley, saying they were tantamount to bullying. And Katz said she emailed his aides about Ford’s FBI meeting at 4:01 p.m. and heard back at 5:47 p.m., “insisting that we accept your ‘invitation’ for a Wednesday hearing by 10:00 p.m. tonight.”

    Sen. Dianne Feinstein (Calif.), the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, said in a statement that she was “shocked and appalled by the Republicans’ refusal to wait 24 hours for a hearing and instead rush forward with a vote.”
    […continues…]

     

  9. Rosenstein was being sarcastic according to another friend.  The Times was stupid to publish the article in such a manner that it sounds like it was a serious proposal. Of course it should have been true and should have been done.

  10. wapo’s editorial board:

    Republicans first said Christine Blasey Ford should be heard. Then they insulted and ignored her.

     

    THE DAY after Christine Blasey Ford detailed her sexual assault allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett M. Kavanaugh, White House counselor Kellyanne Conway said Ms. Ford should be “heard,” not “insulted” or “ignored.” It took less than a week for Republicans to insult and ignore her.

    […]

    Is it any wonder Ms. Ford is hesitant to testify before a committee that Republican senators control? They have rejected the route most likely to get at the truth. Ms. Ford asked for an FBI investigation into her allegations that Mr. Kavanaugh fondled her, attempted to undress her and covered her mouth when she tried to scream at a high school party 36 years ago. Federal investigators could have brought professionalism and expertise to gathering what evidence exists corroborating either her claims or Mr. Kavanaugh’s denials. Republicans fought back, despite the fact that the FBI is asked routinely to reopen background-check investigations on matters far less concerning and for nominees far less important.

     
    Instead, Republicans proposed that Ms. Ford and Mr. Kavanaugh offer testimony before the Judiciary Committee just a week after senators learned about the details of the alleged assault, and without the due diligence any self-respecting investigator would have conducted. Mark Judge, the man Ms. Ford claims was in the room when the assault occurred, has not been subpoenaed. The same is true of other potential witnesses, all of whom the FBI could have identified and interviewed, subjecting them to criminal liability if they lied.
    Whatever the underlying truth, Republicans have endeavored to make it a “he said, she said” matter they could quickly bury. Indeed, they spent Friday pressuring Ms. Ford to make a decision on whether or not she would appear before the committee, and on what terms, establishing an arbitrary deadline for a decision and threatening to vote on Mr. Kavanaugh’s nomination on Monday if she rejected GOP terms.

    Ms. Ford’s lawyers were negotiating with the Judiciary Committee on Friday. The committee should not pressure Ms. Ford to make an immediate decision on when and how to testify. As for Ms. Ford, if she is telling the truth, she cannot allow Mr. Kavanaugh to repeat his ringing denials unanswered, which would only play into Republican attempts to sweep her accusation under the rug. Republicans may not want to listen, but the country needs to hear from her.

  14. Sturg, Sometime I’d like to see pics/video of the craftsman at work.

    Jamie, we’re a taking a house guest to National Arboretum today. Is it correct the eagles are not there right now?

  16. Craig

    Not nesting now.  Every once in a while either Mr. P or First Lady will come, but it is getting really rare and the area to walk near the nest is not closed off.

     

  19. Beto is definitely worth watching.  He’s done well in the House.  With luck he can squash Ted.  Win two terms in the Senate and look at 2028.  At 55 is a great age for a Presidential run.  Lots and lots of hurdles between now and then.

  20. So today it feels like fall is here. Cool morning, no humidity to speak of and I’m starting to see just a hint of yellow in the maples. And Bama is No. 1 and hopefully will stomp Texas A&M in Tuscaloosa this afternoon. Life is good.

  21. One of my favorite Face Book people came up with the following potential 2020 candidates.  I really can’t disagree with any of it including her number one.  Would anyone like to cross out or add to the list:

    Amy Klobuchar (ticks off ALL the boxes for me)
    Either Julian or Joaquin Castro 
    Kirsten Gillibrand 
    Deval Patrick
    Corey Booker
    Kamala Harris
    Maisie Hirono
    Tammy Duckworth (takes nothing from anyone)
    Adam Schiff
    Beto O’Rourke (only if he beats Ted Cruz)

  23. Happy First Day of Fall.  It’s chilly here but still no fire-making…not until the first heavy rain.  No one wants to start another forest fire.

  25. Just say no to Joe.  I don’t want the senator from MBNA training anyone.

    And he is unelectable as president  if you think Clinton had baggage – he has a car load and more

    He’s a mansplainer

  30. interesting background story here

    wapo:

    Kavanaugh accuser Christine Blasey Ford moved 3,000 miles to reinvent her life. It wasn’t far enough.

  32. you can’t go home again goper style
    wapo:
    Families are complicated, their private tensions and political disagreements often kept under wraps.
     
    That’s not the case with Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.), whose opponent in the midterm election just got a boost from Gosar’s siblings.
     
    Six of them.
     
    The brothers and sisters — Tim, Jennifer, Gaston, Joan, Grace and David — appeared in campaign advertisements for David Brill, the Democrat hoping to unseat Gosar in Arizona’s 4th Congressional District in the upcoming midterm election.
     

    The Gosar siblings framed their endorsement of Brill as a matter of values, saying their brother, who has long drawn headlines for his far-right views, and his politics were simply too much for them to stomach.
     
    “We gotta stand up for our good name,” said brother David Gosar in the advertisement. “This is not who we are.”
    “I couldn’t be quiet any longer, nor should any of us be,” said sister Grace Gosar.
     
    “I think my brother has traded a lot of the values we had at our kitchen table,” said another sister, Joan.
     
    In an interview with The Washington Post, David Gosar, 57, a lawyer in Jackson, Wyo., said he felt obligated to speak out against his brother because of his views, though he wished it weren’t the case.
     
    “There isn’t a kooky, crazy, nutty thing that he isn’t a part of,” he said. “What are we supposed to do?”
    […continues…]

  34. Good for them.    Whenever people falter in standing up – they should remember Malala and suck it up!

  39. craig, I recommend our Thursday’s thread be entitled “J’Accuse”

    usatoday:

    Dr. Christine Blasey Ford has tentatively agreed to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday about her allegations of sexual assault by Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, according to a source with knowledge of the talks. 

    […continues…]

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