Cugalabanza

Our legislators aren't very good at legislating, but they seem to have a natural talent for pointing fingers at their enemies and demanding investigations. Reminds me of that great Schoolhouse Rock song about the long journey a memo takes to finally become an indictment.

Just because the dossier is unverified and the FISA warrant was approved, that doesn't mean that the dossier was the only evidence submitted to the court. It's possible that Comey (and the court) dismissed the dossier yet still considered other information as sufficient for the warrant. I'm not saying that's what happened, but it's a possibility, no?

Just a thought: If the topic of the thread is to not stay on topic, then by always consciously going off topic... isn't that ultimately staying on topic and therefore contrary to the spirit of the thread, inasmuch as it is consistent with it?

Ah, you're right. I was thinking that line was meant to be the VT / NH border, but I see now it's NH / ME. I also like how they just plop Pittsburgh right in the middle of PA.

I just realized that the globe in my office has some funny mistakes on it. They got Buffalo wrong by about 3 states and 400 miles. From Boston, just drive north about an hour--you can't miss it. It's right there on the ocean in New Hampshire.

It was stupid from the beginning to call it a memo. They should have at least referred to it as a report or something like that. A memo is like, "Hey everyone, whoever finishes the last of a pot of coffee, can you PLEASE start a new pot? Thanks bunches, Dev"

I think you're right.

I'd like to see all the info come out. And it's certainly possible that some individuals may face some consequences. However, I'm not feeling the whole conspiracy thing. I see it all as Russia having achieved just what they intended. They fed stuff to both sides and exert their influence insidiously every way they can. The chaos we're seeing now is making Putin very happy I'm sure.

More and more, I’m beginning to think that the reason for the delay in releasing the memo is that the White House is still brainstorming how to best finesse it all because it’s their last ditch chance to quash (or dampen or diminish) the Mueller investigation, probably because Mueller actually has some damaging stuff.

Boy, this is gonna be some memo

Wasn’t it signed by Trump in August, 2017?

Oops, typo. ...NK

is it not a little odd that Russia is not mentioned at all? Sanctions, overwhelmingly approved by Congress, not being followed through on. overall a good speech, but that’s a conspicuous omission.

When has the world (or media) been favorable to NJ?

Or is it...

You have a real talent for oversimplifying things in a tediously partisan manner. I think you will go far around here.

It totally doesn't matter if McCabe was fired or forced out or saved up his vacations days or whatever. There won't even BE an FBI by the end of the week, after Devin Nunes unleashes his Necronomicon Ex-Mortis upon the world. [Note: I get to decide later whether this post is considered sarcastic or prescient]

That’s the stupidest load of bull **** I’ve ever seen in this place.

Clearly, our economy is strong overall. And Trump will, rightly, make that the theme on Tuesday. How much of that is due to Trump’s policies is subject to debate. And of course, when the heart of your economic policy is cutting corporate tax rates and deregulation, that is going to stimulate GDP. That’s the conservative bread & butter that Gives Paul Ryan wet dreams. It’s great to know that the USA still has a great engine for making wealth. The greater discussion should include how that wealth gets shared among all Americans. It’s no secret that real wages for the middle class have been stagnating for decades and that the concentration of wealth among the very top of that table is problematic. The trend of some big companies lately making public commitments to raising salaries & giving bonuses is a positive sign. I’d like to see some attention paid to that as something of a national priority.

Yeah, just like Chauncey Gardner was a genius when he predicted there would be growth in the spring.

Ivanka will probably only get one term. She rubs women the wrong way for some reason. She opens her mouth and they immediately think "b-word." Baron will of course rule for life.

I don't know the answer to your question. But do you agree that if Trump had pulled the trigger and fired Mueller, that it would have been a very bad play for him?

Clearly the TIMING of these things is no coincidence. That part of it is obviously intentional and meant to distract. That stuff is going on all over the place. But this story, Trump wanting to fire Mueller. I don't doubt for a second that it happened this way. It's 100% consistent with everything we know about Trump. Hothead, impulsive, ego-hurt. Lucky for him, there was at least one cooler head available at the time. Anyway, it's not really all that damaging or revelatory. It doesn't really tell us anything we didn't know already. I don't think it implies that Trump was trying to obstruct. I think Trump wants to fire just about everybody who's not a member of his family. Ok, that's enough food metaphors for now, at least until we see how this pudding crumbles.

It's not how many scoops you get, it's how many NUTS you throw in.