20 thoughts on “Thursday Open Thread”

1. Of course, he still stinks.

   Great God almighty,

   Trump stinks!

    

   Log in to Reply

   1. Today, the *resident is saying that when he stunk in an interview with Lester Holt, it wasn’t him, but Holt or NBC, creating the odor of "fudge".

      Around my house, I often blame a dog.

      Log in to Reply

2. Demonstrating once again how the "fine-tuned" Trump White Clown House operates:

   President Trump surprised Donald F. McGahn II, the White House counsel, on Wednesday by abruptly announcing that Mr. McGahn will be leaving his job this fall, effectively forcing the long-anticipated exit of a top adviser who has cooperated extensively in the investigation into Russian election interference.

   The president made the declaration on Twitter without first informing Mr. McGahn, according to people close to both men.

   Mr. Trump had grown tired of seeing reports that Mr. McGahn might leave, according to people familiar with his thinking, and decided to take away any wiggle room he might have. Allies of Mr. McGahn said on Wednesday that he believed the story was planted by his critics to force the president’s hand and hasten the timeline of announcing his departure.

   Among those critics have been Mr. Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump and son-in-law, Jared Kushner.

   Mr. McGahn had taken to telling people that a day without a summons to the Oval Office was a good day

   Still, some Republicans reacted to the news of his impending departure with alarm. In a tweet, Senator Charles E. Grassley of Iowa, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, pleaded with Mr. Trump not to let him leave the White House.

   George T. Conway III, who withdrew last year as Mr. Trump’s choice for a top post in the Justice Department and is Ms. Conway’s husband, responded to Mr. Grassley by tweeting, “remember the eighth amendment, senator.” It was a reference to the prohibition in the Constitution against cruel and unusual punishment.

   Log in to Reply

   1. Also read that 3 Deputy Counsels have already left, one more has a last day tomorrow — leaving ONE Deputy Counsel in place. Overall number of attorneys working has dropped from 35 to 25.

      So, when on-his-way-out McGahn leaves, 83% of the leadership will be gone in less than 2 years.  "Only the best" will remain, I guess.

      Log in to Reply

      1. Well, if Kris Kobach loses the Kansas gubernatorial race, guess who Trump might hire given his crack legal history?

         Log in to Reply

3. I hope Michael has a nice, enjoyable vacation as Republicans continue to appoint more radical and incompetent judges throughout our system of justice. 

   Log in to Reply

   1. So what happened, Sappy? Yesterday, it was the Democratic leader whom you blamed for the lousy deal with McConnell. At least you were accurate then. 

      BTW, I'm sure SNL Michael Bennet will have a pleasant vacation.

      Log in to Reply

4. And now we learn that Caribou Barbie has also been left off the invitation list for John McCain's funeral. They are determined to make this a dignified and freak-free ceremony.

   Maybe she can spend the weekend at Camp David with You-Know-Who grousing and tweeting about how poorly they are being treated.

   Log in to Reply

   1. Frankly, not inviting Palin to the funeral is a bit churlish.  She never wavered in her support of him and helped re-elect him to the Senate.  Palin also sent a gracious note to the family upon his death.

       

      Log in to Reply

      1. Did you get a chance to see Game Change, V? 

         Log in to Reply

         1. And speaking of books, I just started reading First in Line which is the modern history of the vice presidency (from Nixon in the '50's through Pence today). 

            As scary as Mike Pence is, he's not the one we really need to fear. Much of his religiosity is derived from Karen who is the bigger holy roller of the two.

            Log in to Reply

5. I read the book, mike.  Obviously, Palin was a lightweight.  But she was mccain's lightweight and stayed loyal to him when his re-election was in doubt.   Dumping on her now just seems a bit churlish.

   Log in to Reply

   1. She did come through for him in 2010 when JD Hayworth was challenging McCain from the right. Palin provided him with cover.

      Log in to Reply

   2. I have a hunch she can manage the churlishness.  Isn't she just a pit bull with lipstick? In her defense I did sit at a lunch table with her at a renewable energy conference in Anchorage pre-2008 and in that setting she was a very congenial table mate (she was pregnant with Trig at the time).  

      Log in to Reply

6. Other scores are being settled this week, too……….

   https://www.politico.com/story/2018/08/30/john-mccain-funeral-campaign-aides-no-invite-804162

   Log in to Reply

7. WOTD from Eschaton: "Nobody Who Works Full Time Should Live In Poverty"

   This, or a version of this, has become some sort of crazy left idea (the real crazy left idea is "nobody should live in poverty") to the right. But how can this be some sort of crazy idea? We can argue about how to ensure it happens, or why it too often doesn't happen, but we're the richest damn country in the world (close enough) and if you work full time and still can't manage to eke out a basic stable existence then something is wrong with our grand economic model.

   Log in to Reply

   1. I have a slightly different crazy left idea: no-one who works full time should need to resort to our governmental social safety net. If we are paying to subsidize employment then our economic model is broken.

      And that probably means recognizing healthcare as a basic right and not a safety net issue, because I don't see low wage jobs offering full healthcare. Medicare for All would be a massive boon.

      Log in to Reply

      1. Here's the cost to us taxpayers just due to Walmart:

         Walmart's low-wage workers cost U.S. taxpayers an estimated $6.2 billion in public assistance including food stamps, Medicaid and subsidized housing, according to a report published to coincide with Tax Day, April 15.

         "The study estimated the cost to Wisconsin’s taxpayers of Walmart’s low wages and benefits, which often force workers to rely on various public assistance programs," reads the report, available in full here.

         "It found that a single Walmart Supercenter cost taxpayers between $904,542 and $1.75 million per year, or between $3,015 and $5,815 on average for each of 300 workers."

         And that is a permanent, annual expense to taxpayers before any local government tax incentives/subsidies granted to get Walmart to put up a store in their neighborhood.

         And Republicans like all the ones currently in office or running for office in Colorado gladly gave Walmart and corporations (and their stock holders) a $1.5 Trillion tax cut to boot? Talk about the ultimate Takers!

         Log in to Reply

         1. We're subsidizing the nation's richest family, but let's remember: it's not welfare if it's going to the rich.  

            Log in to Reply

   2. Does Pear have a letter from his alphabet to describe this scenario? 

      Log in to Reply