I had to laugh listening to Trump’s statement yesterday as he explained how when he was crawling like a lamb in front of President Putin he misspoke. All I could think of is someone being interrogated about a crime and answering the cop: “all right, you got me, I was the one who pulled the gun” but during the trial said: “I meant to say, ‘all right, you got me, I was not the one who pulled the gun.'”
You do judge the person’s words by the context in which they are stated. If the person said: “wait, you got the wrong guy, I was not the one who pulled the gun,” that would make sense. If the cop testified he said, “wait,you got the wrong guy, I was the one who pulled the gun” you’d raise your eyebrows and think, “yeah, of course he said that.”
So as I listened to Trump’s lie yesterday I went back to look at the transcript of his statement. I wanted to determine whether he was just spinning out another lie or actually misspoke. It reads:
Question: “Just now President Putin denied having anything to do with the election interference in 2016. Every U.S. intelligence agency has concluded that Russia did. What – who – my first question is for you, sir, is who do you believe?
You have to admit that is a softball question. The US president is asked whether he believes his intelligence agencies over the word of Putin. Trump should have hit it out of the ballpark, no!
Trump: “So let me say that we have two thoughts. You have groups wondering why the FBI never took the server – haven’t they taken the server. Why was the FBI told to leave the office of the Democratic National Committee. I’ve been wondering that. I’ve been asking that for months and months and I’ve been tweeting it out and calling it out on social media. Where is the server? I want to know where is the server and what is the server saying.”
ME: Huh? He can only be suggesting that something is wrong with what the FBI did. How does that bear on what our intelligence agencies did? Is it because the FBI didn’t take the servers he does not trust the intelligence agencies? I’m confused. Why go there if he believes Russia interfered.
Trump (continuing): “With that being said all I can do is ask the question. My people came to me. Dan Coats came to me and some others, they say they think it’s Russia”
ME: Some others? Every U.S. intelligence agency told him it was Russia. We just saw indictments returned against 12 Russians which show how they infiltrated our electoral process.
Trump (continuing): “I have President Putin. He just said it’s not Russia. I will say this: I don’t see any reason why it would be.“
Trump clearly is supporting Putin’s statement. He then went back to the server and some other servers.
Trump (continuing):”What happened to Hillary Clinton’s emails? 33,000 emails gone — just gone. I think in Russia they wouldn’t be gone so easily. I think it’s a disgrace that we can’t get Hillary Clinton’s 33,000 emails.”
ME: He’s alleging the FBI or the intelligence agencies were somehow lax in not getting those emails. He points out how more efficient he believes the Russians would be. Clearly he’s putting Russia on a higher level than his own people.
Trump (continuing):”So I have great confidence in my intelligence people, but I will tell you that President Putin was extremely strong and powerful in his denial.”
ME: So obviously telling us that Putin was strong and powerful he believes him over our intelligence people especially since he can’t understand why Russia would be interested in interfering with our election. Everything follows along perfectly.
As we know, after the Helsinki Duet finished their act the Russia FM Lavrov declared the summit was “fabulous, better than super”
When Trump came home to a firestorm of criticism he told us he meant to say “I don’t see any reason why it wouldn’t be.” Put it into the context of his full statement and it reads like gibberish.
An interesting final debating point on politics for today: This from Rand Paul: Rand said. “The only (American) people who we actually know colluded with the Russians were Hillary Clinton who paid a British agent who paid Russians for information for the dossier.”
Always been a tree-hugger, Abe, since the Woods and Beaches of Savie and Southie, Revere Beach beauties, and Wollaston, Nantucket exotic beauties from such far flung places as Milton and Weymouth . . . .Plus, two of my best life-long pals, Paul and Charlie, were avid fishermen, plus Charlie and I chopped down trees for cash for a few years (and painted houses in the great outdoors from Reading to Yarmouth) plus had a full semester grad seminar in environmental policy and years later worked six years for an environmental agency(six of my ten years total working inside government as contract employee and straight out public servant on Fed, State, Local level, exclusively in health and/or enviro related fields) and know something about the seas within and the seas without and toxic chems and drugs . . .and I too haven’t swigged a cold one in nearly forty years now . . .all of which makes me and ordinary American who likes our land from California, the Redwood Forests to Blue Ridge Mountains of VA, WVA, to its deep sea waters off both coasts . . .”This land is my land, this land is your land . . . ” Peter, Paul and Mary, “Southcoast the wild coast . . .the lion still rules the bianca (sp) . . .” the Kingston Trio (Tree-o) and Free Byrd and Alabama by Lynyrd Skynnyr sums it up . . .
” exotic beauties from such far flung places as Milton and Weymouth . . . .”
That’s too funny.
Several of my uncles fished out of Boston and the oldest one, Al Spellman use to take me down to Castle Island back when you could spot a dime in 20 feet of water. He married Mae Cornelissen. His stepson, Joe Cornelissen, owned Four Seas down on the dock. If any of you knew Joe you knew an extremely tough guy. Another one of my uncles owner a Kosher butcher shop on Broadway (Or West B’way), Ed. I’m blathering.
I would like to see the patently biased Mueller resign, yesterday, and end this rabbit-hole fiasco of an investigation into Trump’s campaign collusion with Russia during the Campaign . . . .
then I’d like to see a Special Counsel appointed to investigate the Clinton’s collusion with Russian Banks, Russian-Ukrainian Uranium Cos., Saudi, Moroccan and other foreign donor to their campaigns, er I mean “charities” to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars over the years.
I must remind one and all about this Russian “interference” in the Campaign . . . as I read it, Hillary spent about $2 Billion Dollars on her campaign, advertising etc, . . . .a handful of Russians planted some rather neutral adds on Facebook etc (I’ve seen the actual videos) whose total value during campaign time amounted to $60,000 or was it $600,000 . . . .didn’t matter, it was less than a fraction of Hillary’s spending and you really couldn’t tell who the ads were supporting (you know, they were against police brutality or discrimination or in favor of more education) . .and the Official Conclusion? Those few Russian-paid Ads had ZERO effect on anyone’s vote . . . And the recently 12 indicted Russians? What effect did they have? ZERO. Their attempt to do something nebulous failed from the git go . . .in other words they broke into a store and took nothing and disturbed nothing and left empty handed . . .or they simply broke the lock or opened the door, thus exposing the laxness of DEM security . .
Finally, I want an exhaustive investigation of every other country’s soldiers, politicians, media, or elected officials in the World who attempted to influence any American vote in favor of Hillary, and a full listing of every person, American citizen or not, home ham operator or not, who tapped into any computer used by the Republican Party.
What we have here is another circus: It’s like Gore demanding a recount of dimpled ballots and hanging chads but only in that county that voted overwhelmingly for GORE . . . .of course, if errors were made, more would be in Gore’s favor . . . .and the MEDIA was apoplectic that the Supreme Court put an end to the charade . . .
Hutch, the joke is good . . .but once again we have the invocation of Stalin, or Hitler, in reference to President Trump . . . .I’ll press the red-alert button when I see photos of the gulags or when as Khalid speculates the red guard starts shooting the white guard . . .or Pols are put before firing squads .. .till then, it’s politics as usual . . .and we do have peace and prosperity . . .relatively speaking . . .Good things are happening, too, and the sky is still holding up and the ozone hole has gotten smaller . . .Cod’s depleted off the Northeast, and we need to protect the Herring, so there’s work to be done, too . . .
“Cod’s depleted off the Northeast, and we need to protect the Herring, so there’s work to be done, too . . .”
Oh, Bill! I knew you were a fellow tree hugger. Welcome to the fold.
My heart soars like a beagle! (Or is that suppose to be eagle?)
Either way, I’m feeling no different right now than I did 40 years ago, except, I, never, wake, up, with, a, headache.
Bill, Mueller in Lubyanka was a light hearted fantasy, not an accusation.
If you want to be serious, this whole Russian thing is a joke– pretending shock and horror at the possibility of one country interfering in the politics of another. Who are we shitting? Why the surprise?
US in Australia, South America, Viet Nam, everywhere. Israel in US and elsewhere. Why the big deal?
Cheating in a US election? Never! Kennedy/Nixon and all elections—a competition of finaglers. Why the nickname of “Landslide Lyndon”?
They all try to outcheat each other. People should grow up. (Tdazio- I know I’m not supposed to end a sentence with a preposition, so don’t bother.)
Trump would like nothing better than to have Mueller in the basement of the Lubyanka (?) being interviewed by Putin’s posse. You can take the kid out of the KGB but you can’t take……..
What did Yuri Andropov say to the Politburo after being unanimously selected as Secretary of the Party?
Thankyou very much gentlemen. You can put down your hands and step away from the wall now.
Wa-llahi! Glorious Leader, most likely, has a lengthy death list. I wonder what he, and, Putin, discussed. Blood purge? Trump could use the Italians in much the same fashion that Putin employs the Chechens. Journalists be warned. Our Glorious Leader is capable of anything.
It came out in the press, today, that, the Secret Service is refusing to take supeonas for Kushner. They’ve been stone-walling process servers since April. When the cops start shooting at each other, we’ll, finally, learn, what, constitutional crisis, really, means.
What’s with the commas? I’m just askin’.
The last sentence has two sub-clauses, and, two adverbs. The clauses each require a comma, the modifying adverbs need two. The comma parsing “what” establishes it as a place holder for the meaning of constitutional crisis (Chomsky).
Chomsky, smomsky . . .”Too many commas, too much clutter,” so says the Savin Hill Billy.
Here’s clean Chomsky-less prose: “When the cops start shooting at each other, we’ll finally learn what constitutional crisis really means.”
Now, the good thing about criticisms and corrections and opposing views is that free thinking human beings can ignore them, accept them, reject them or mull them over as they please and to their hearts’ content.
Disagree. Are “finally,” and, “really,” adverbs? If they are verbal modifiers, grammatically, they require commas. In academic, and, legal writing, commas are crucial. Academic arguments, and, legal cases, can turn on a comma. Periphrasis.
Using semi-colon can be tricky. Just remember, the clause that follows a semi-colon must be able to stand on it’s own as a complete sentence. I’ll make it a point to use more semi-colon, and, colon, and, explain the differences. Don’t give up on grammar. Without punctuation, writing descends into solipsism.
” I can smell the Trump supporters !!! ”
SAME OLD SHIT FROM THE BELTWAY BUMS .
Brilliant !!!
I think we need a ‘like’ button.
Yes, your Dad was right, Abe.
Two plus two equals four and it smells like a “like” button.
Elvis is leaving Helsinki !!!!!!!!!
Its unfortunate that in times like this there is no way to take a step back and take a deep breath and take a second look. The mud is well over the tops of our Wellies. The sewage, I should say. There really is no solid footing for anyone. My father use to say, “Two and two is four and I smell shit.” Maybe he said that because he was from Chelsea. In Dorchester it was, “Someone screwed the pooch.” If I had a nickel for every time I heard someone use that one.
So beyond the rhetoric, anyone got a plan? What’s next for this new-cue-lure relationship?
My wife and I just came back from two beautiful weeks in Newfoundland looking for birds and orchids. Little or no TV. No news! It was so clean and fresh. Icebergs, whales, fresh fish and lobster every single night. 65 degrees, low humidity. Moose were the closest thing to panhandlers on the roads. Why did we come back? Oh, right. For this.
You should try Newfie in the winter:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AeAREAR3frs
I remember one of Dick Nolan’s albums from the 60s. An aunt had it. Popular in the Maritimes and its diaspora.
Did you have any Screech?
Thanks for the music. We loved the fact that almost every small town pub had someone singing Gordon Bok-like songs and fingerpicking.
I would like to go up for part of a winter. Many friends have been up there for Christmas Bird Counts. It would be a worthy challenge. I like any kind of weather as long as I can get out of it before it kills me.
I didn’t have any Screech. A few weeks before we went up my wife read me a piece all about the rum ceremony. Its been 24 years without a drink for me so I told her she should try it. But is it really still done?
The first full day we went out on a boat trip from Bay Bulls to the seabird colonies on the close islands. It was a great trip and we saw about two million or so birds. Puffins and Common Murres were the most abundant. After a few hours when heading back the naturalist announces on the speaker that she has five people who volunteered to become official Newfoundlanders. They came up on deck and did the whole thing. They say a little line or two, gulp down a double shot of Screech Rum and kiss a plastic Puffin on the arse. They are suppose to kiss a dead Cod on the mouth but they didn’t have any on board.
Years ago I would have done that in a heartbeat. As an ex drunk I enjoyed it a lot more from the sidelines.
So I have two questions for you. Have you been in a Newfie winter and have you had some Screech?
No and maybe. Not all my drinking daze memories are clear enough to say.
Lemire seized his moment and tersely delivered his crisp word … So to say. It was a witless thrust at the two men, especially so considering that one of those two men, Vladimir Putin, has unabashed supporters whose reach is global, whose memorys are long, and whose means are proveably lethal . This is just Politics … Putin rootin’ tootin’ Politics, dumbass ” Journalist.”
We will see just how long life is for the intrepid reporter with the prim and sanctimonious delivery, the disgustingly inappropriate question to two World Leaders on the World stage, and the penchant for sending KGB PITBULLS cum RUSSIAN PRESIDENTS poisoned steak !!!
Never a good idea, Lemire .
Sounds like you are recommending your own “nuclear” solution for the journalist.
Watching the entrance into the media area, Trump looked like a whipped dog and Putin was skipping rope. Not at all Reaganesque. Not exactly “Tear down this wall.”
No Mum, that is not a bottle of perfume.
Nuclear solution? You betcha. Lemire has forfeited his right to be given access to high government officials. If a kicker drops drops the ball another kicker replaces him. Self-aggrandizing asshole Lemire is unworthy of of being entrusted with the privilege that can only be given to a few. He does not make the cut. He needs a change of career. Puffed up jerk journalists will benefit by the example as will society. Lemire will quickly be replaced by a more worthy applicant. No second chances in the big leagues. Why should a potentially better man be held back by keeping in place this smirking, irresponsible employee?
Not Trump’s finest hour, but it bears noticing that he was was put in a delicate position by an irresponsible provocateur ‘journalist’. The object of the questioner appears to be an international public blow-up by means of getting Trump to insult his host. This would not be a good thing.
The hysteric hatred of pink hatted, democracy rejecting, teary cheeked Hilliaryites has reached a point where they would rather plunge humanity into a nuclear holocaust than admit that the the Smartest Woman In The World was too stupid to figure out how the Electoral College works. Clinton lost. Period.
The question posed was irresponsible and out of place. It was incendiary. Trump skated over it at the joint news conference. In a sane world that should have ended the matter. The next day, after an unprecedented media assault, he dismissed it with some Clintonian balderdash about just what the meaning of “is” is. In this case is was “would be” or “would not be”. Is that the question?
The cards on the table can clearly be seen. The haters are so frenzied that they would ignite a nuclear confrontation by any means available. Pussymarchers are becoming a menace to American security and global peace. They have to be reined in somehow. But there is no leadership coming in that direction from the Democrat party. They revel in the blood lust of the Never Trumpers. This could end very badly.
Abe has mentioned that “life is too short….for some”. The ones it would be short would be those who serve in the military, both regulars and guards. The chickenhawks playing with firecrackers have no more intention of being on the front line any more than they were in Iraq. Life is to be too short for others, not for the cowards.
Just a note on Freedom Of The Press. Every American is entitled to say and print whatever he can and wishes to. He is not thereby entitled to any special access or privilege. Jonathan Lemire should have his credentials withdrawn from the White House. Any organization having him in its employ should likewise have all access canceled. Warmongering should have consequences. By their actions you shall know them. They have no place in polite, civilized society.
For a minute there when I saw the word whopper
I thought Matt was going to talk about a Italian
Climatologist.
Anybody for some Italian ice?
in other rectal themometer news
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/capital-weather-gang/wp/2018/07/17/scorching-scandinavia-record-breaking-heat-hits-norway-finland-and-sweden/?utm_term=.56957035d075
Scorching Scandinavia: Record-breaking heat hits Norway, Finland and Sweden
By Jason Samenow
July 18 at 10:55 AM
also see
https://robertscribbler.com/2018/07/13/aiming-for-1-5-c-part-ii-this-is-your-home/
Aiming For 1.5 C Part II: This is Your Home
In achieving any kind of real progress toward an important end, it’s necessary to set goals that are difficult to attain. To aim further than you think you can go. And that’s even more important for a climate crisis that will produce catastrophic outcomes if we don’t set some very serious renewable energy, emissions reduction, and sustainability goals.
RIP OFFICER CHESNA !!!
#KEEP ENABLING THESE ANTIFA A-HOLES.
#GOT YOUR NUMBER , CHARLIE.
Hey … A-HOLE …. FU !!! … You are dedicated to taking me down so, again, GO F YOURSELF !!!
This Russian Collusion crap is nonsense and dangerously exposes our Democracy to the prospect of a coup d’etat engineered through the minions of the Intelligence agencies, sympathetic to Democratic Party interests, who have recently dragged their stinking, tainted, and ragged resumes of rancid and recalcitrant misconduct, against a duly elected sitting President, before the Congress. Why hello, Inspector Ephraim “Strzok” Zimbalist Jr. … Clearly this ain’t our Mother’s FBI anymore.
Matt, start flipping your pencil at the Prosecution table and let it fly at the Judge when your colleague for the Defense gets too close to the truth about the case: THERE IS NO ” THERE ” THERE .
There is only an antagonist who is out to screw you over, who masks their avarice for power in the ANTIFA bandanna of the Communist Left, and who tells us … incredibly ….. that a rock throwing cop murderer in carefully manicured Muslo-trash beard and spewing Anti-Trump vitriol in a taped harangue as he stalked his killing ground two days previously, is a …. Palestinian Freedom Fighter !!!
Matt, This is your Constituency .
SCREW !!! ( Constituency, of course )
“Just saying . . .stream of consciousness and rightful indignation . . . .”
Molly Bloom ain’t got nothin’ on ya.
But, Bill. Who doesn’t want peace? You know who. Its not going to change. Like I said, Life is too long….for some.
Abe, but we can always try and try to make it a little better . . .hope springs eternal .. .nothing ventured, nothing gained. . . .we got to roll the dice sometimes, and stand up and call it like it is . . . .
call out the war mongers . . .call out the Big Gov liberals and neocons, Dems and Repubs, who want the FEDs FINGER IN EVERY PIE . . . .
So, as Americans we speak out and live to fight another day, until we win or fade away and dissolve . . .until THE END, let’s fight the good fight, call a spade a spade . . . .the truth, the Truth, will out . . .
Oust bums like Brennan who use the word “traitor” like he’s Alice in Wonderland and words are infinitely malleable . . .Oust bums like Brennan who tells Congress our Spy Agencies don’t collect mass data on American Citizens . . .fry the power-usurping Bastards, who deliberately maliciously lie to and deceive the American People for Political Purposes .. .usually their own political preferences, oftentimes for political grudges, oftentimes to advance a neo-con interventionistic or leftist big-government “we FEDs are morally, intellectually superior, and know better than the Founders or you ordinary Folks” mentality . .
I’ll end there . . . .the DOJ and FBI at the top needs a housecleaning and the patently biased Mueller who doesn’t think he’s biased and who’s riding a high horse like he thinks he’s George Washington leading a Nation, also has to be swept out of power . . . .I must repeat Mueller hired a biased team of pro-Hillary, pro-Dem lawyers to investigate “Russian Collusion by Trump’s Campaign” and Mueller, the ham, intentionally released the ham-stringing indictment of Russians two days before Trump’s Trip to Russia to meet with Putin . . . .Mueller tried to force the President’s hand and compromise our President during an International meeting of heads of states . . . .Mueller lacks self-awareness into how biased he is and what his limited role was supposed to be . . .a role he should have self-terminated about a year ago . .
I beg to differ wholeheartedly and heatedly with the bulk of America’s leftist, liberal and left-leaning MSM . . .
Make America Great Again: Make Russia an ally and friend.
Make peace.
Who doesn’t want peace? The perpetual jingoists, imperialists, war mongers like McCain, Brennan who feed on and live off of perpetual war mongering . . .that’s why the Intelligence Agencies are overstocked why lifelong war mongering FED bureaucrats . .it keeps them in power, with good salaries, benefits and nifty retirement salaries and if like the sleazes Brennan and Schlock (whatever that duplicitious two-face who thinks he can hate someone but objectively investigate them . . .no self-knowledge; no understanding of psychology, of subconscious biases . . .two of them, lacking insight into basic human psychology . . .and Brennan castigating Putin for trying to influence foreign politicies/politics . .what does he think Radio Free Europe was? What has the CIA been doing since WWII? The phony bastards.
3. On a related note, of how they trip on their own logic and egos, I was thinking of Fred Wyshak’s Office, a.k.a. the Sterns Gang, for they were assassins, character assassins, as every false, wrongful, overwrought indictment is an assassination of an innocent persons character . . .and how Wyshak’s Office boxed themselves in with the phony labelling of John Connolly as a ROGUE AGENT, because when the CIVIL SUITS came Wyshak’s Office couldn’t defend them and perpetuated the lie that all the FBI agents, or many of them, were ROGUE, and the whole TEI program (Top Echelon Informant program) was a ROGUE operation operated by ROGUE agents, when in fact WYSHAK’s OFFICE and the STERNS GAng (STerns, Wyshak, Durham and other federal prosecutors) knew fully well that the TEI program was a good, necessary program and WYSHAK’s OFFICE should have been defending the FBI agents who risked their lives working it . . .instead he was selling them down the drain, falsely portraying them as rogues.
4. The same false portrayals poison America’s geopolitics as the CIA, Intelligence Agencies, McCain, Brennan and others try to portray RUSSIA as the perpetual enemy, as Orwell’s 1984 portrayed Goldstein . . . .who has killed more human beings in the last fifty years, including Vietnam, the Middle East, Africa, et al, Russia or the USA-instigated by its Intelligence Agencies like the CIA who gave us VIETNAM, WEAPONs of Mass Destruction, Libya, the starvation to death of 650,000 Iraqi Children, (it was worth it said Albright) and its Intelligence Agencies and CIA prop up DICTATORS like in Saudi Arabia and Turkey, while BRENNAN, MCCAIN et al denounce Putin as a Dictator . . .half of the world’s governments are led by autocratic governments which we openly support and call friends, but the jingoists have to stop every attempt to advance friendship with Russia . . .why? Because it keeps the jingoists in power in DC, because the DEEP STATE thrives on perpetual Orwellian war-mongering
President Trump is right to try to improve relations with Putin and the great Russian People who have given so much to the world in literature, the arts, music, ballet, Olympics, sports, science, etc, etc, etc
Make Peace . . .stop the war-mongering . . .get rid of unpatriotic war mongerers like McCain, Brennan, Comey (a usurper of power) and Mueller ( who tried to tie Trump’s hand by releasing the names of indicted Russians two days before Trump’s visit with Putin.) These men and war-mongers like them are unpatriotically attempting to solidify power in DC and the FEDs and take power away from We the People . . .
Elect Public Servants . . .Reject the Big Government Interventionist Neocons and Leftist War Mongerers . . Reject the Orwellian Jingoists of the left and right, Republicans and Democrats . . .Vote for true small government non-interventionist candidates . . . Speak Softly, carry a big stick, avoid excessive foreign entanglements, GUT THE ANTI-AMERICAN POWER DRUNK POWER USURPING INTERVENTIONISTIC DEEP STATE . . . .
Just saying . . .stream of consciousness and rightful indignation . . . .
Wa-llahi! The President of the USA is a Russian asset. Poor Ukraine. Does this mean all the little blue men are being withdrawn? In what coin will Glorious Leader pay for Putin’s friendship? Kiev must be very worried.
By the way, the MSM was yelping, “Putin has a tape of the meeting! What’s on that tape? How do we get that tape????”
This was a neutral site encounter. Don’t we have our own tape of the meeting? Why would Russia tape the meeting and not us?
Good God. Life’s too long.
I always wanted to see Stenella longirostris. They and Orcas are on my bucket list.