R_P wrote:

But CNN is the real threat.

"Jeanine Pirro is the 23rd Fox News employee that Donald Trump has named to his administration."

 Steely_D wrote:

As Justin Wolfers pointed out, the UK accounts for about 3% of our trade. Tariff levels on UK side were at 1%. The UK is our 11th-largest trading partner. 

So, just a pointless PR stunt. 

Nobel winner Paul Krugman:
So “Trump” just made a “deal” with “Britain.” Trying to emulate his style, with random quotation marks. I GUESS I SHOULD ALSO INCLUDE A SENTENCE IN BLOCK CAPS.

Anyway, the deal was almost substance-free. The goal of policy seems to be to goose the market for a few days, with no long-term plan.

 Steely_D wrote:

Well, they can (did through trade acts) cede that authority to him (as they are doing), they can also take it back (not doing yet). 

 Steely_D wrote:

I don't know how the wound happened, but if it was 2cm long and open, we would have a better picture. This guy loves to brag, and there is clear precedent in the office: 

After being called a 'short fingered vulgarian', he spent 25+ years sending media pictures with his hands circled to the offending reporter.  This guy cares about image. 

Chris Hayes: “Something I hope everyone covers this tomorrow notes is that...the President has no authority whatsoever to make trade deals without congress. None. Not even the pretext of one.”

 VV wrote:

Correct. I'm only speaking to how it's totally in character for him. If you told me someone pitched the idea in a meeting at some point, again: totally in character. 

 islander wrote:

Bleeding once his hand reached up, before being tackled. 

 Lazy8 wrote:

I like how you love to latch on to things not said. Very clearly I said it's not a conspiracy. He fell down and got a scratch and bled a lot - you yourself mentioned something similar in recent history.  He's also a braggart and a showman, and a liar, so he exaggerated and dramatized the situation for his benefit.  If we are taking odds that trump is lying about a topic, I'll put my money on yes every time, and I'll ride that a long way.

 Lazy8 wrote:

i'm not making up my mind until a comrade posts the alex jones take
preferably with rachel maddow or tucker carlson
because bohemian grove
please pass the kool-aid

edit: don't forget to laugh after reading

 ScottFromWyoming wrote:
Look, I’m as anti-Trump as you can get but even I can’t buy into a conspiracy where two lives were lost (the man in the crowd and the shooter’s) to boost Trump’s chances in the election. For me that is a bridge too far and one that would involve too many people to stay under wraps. Trump’s people love to leak info and this would definitely get out.

 Lazy8 wrote:
To the TOP, baby!

My take on the whole thing is that like the doctor said, it got skin and fat, no mention of cartilage. I don't think it's unreasonable for it to be basically invisible after a couple of weeks, especially considering he's got a team of makeup artists. 

The only reason this has any legs at all is because it's 100% within reason to think he would do something like that. 

 islander wrote:
Why don't you take out full-page ads in major news media demanding to see it, insist that his election wasn't legitimate without it, start a nationwide movement of similarly-obsessed people (some of whom will be dangerously unhinged) and when you're shown insist that you need to see more detail, and when you're shown that never acknowledge it and just keep muttering under your breath, affirming the true believers who still insist that Trump's ear was born in Kenya?

You could ride that a long way.

 GeneP59 wrote:

 Steely_D wrote:

Now you’ve gone and done it. You left off the Skinheads and the Brotherhood.  

 islander wrote:

Oh jeez. Now I have to pick a state or region?
I'm just gonna go with the south, and include the Klan with the Nazis. I hate them all 100% of the time, just to make sure I'm ticking off all the boxes. This is getting complex.
Is you is or is you ain't my constituents?

The Trump administration is preparing to quietly cut a check to the family of Ashli Babbitt, the woman who was shot and killed while trying to breach the Speaker’s Lobby during the violent insurrection on January 6. Her family originally demanded $30 million, and now Trump’s team is reportedly settling the case to avoid a public trial — despite the fact that Babbitt was part of a domestic terrorist mob and that the officer who shot her was cleared after multiple investigations found he acted in defense of Congress.

Let’s be crystal clear: Ashli Babbitt was not a tourist. She wasn’t peacefully protesting. She was storming the Capitol as part of an effort to overturn a democratic election. Her death was tragic — but it wasn’t unjustified. She wasn’t shot for her beliefs. She was shot for attempting to break through a barricade with armed officers on the other side and lawmakers in danger. That’s not martyrdom. That’s the predictable result of turning politics into war.

But of course, Trump and his enablers need a martyr. They need a symbol they can hold up while rewriting the story of January 6 into a patriotic fantasy instead of what it really was: a violent, fascist attack on democracy. So they’ve elevated Babbitt from rioter to saint, pushing conspiracy theories, holding vigils, and now — arranging payouts that make her family richer than most of her fellow insurrectionists could ever dream of being.

This is where the outrage deepens. Because while Babbitt’s family may walk away with millions, Black and brown families who lose loved ones to actual state violence still wait. No settlements. No justice. No presidential condolences. This country has a long, ugly habit of deciding whose deaths matter — and it seems you get a better shot at a payday if you died trying to help a wannabe dictator seize power than if you died with your hands up or a knee on your neck.

The double standard is staggering. Protesters for racial justice were called thugs. Students protesting for peace were maced and beaten. But a woman who joined a violent coup attempt is now on track for a taxpayer-funded windfall — because the man who incited it all doesn’t want the trial to remind people of the truth. This isn’t about closure. It’s about optics, about silencing the legal process that would shine too bright a light on what really happened that day.

This settlement is more than a legal maneuver. It’s a political message. One that says if you bleed for the Big Lie, we’ll call you a hero — no matter how many laws you break, no matter who you threaten, no matter what democratic institutions you try to destroy. Meanwhile, the rest of America is left to ask the same question over and over: where’s the justice for those who didn’t storm the Capitol, but were killed for simply existing?

~Brent Molnar

And kurt is totally fine with this, I'm sure.

 geoff_morphini wrote:

Like 100%?  I think it's the percentage of sincerity that is in question. Heck when I heard Nazis were breathing air, I gave a little thought to giving that up to show some more distance between us.   Then I figured it out, they aren't breathing, they just suck.