"If you're not outraged, you're not paying attention." Trump threads continued [title edited by MNHQ]

[lionheart]

I'm paying attention.

Mrs Hoolies I saw that pic on Nov 9th last year and it made me cry- it still does! Obama had as many flaws and controversial policies as any two term president can expect, but underneath it all its plain to see he is One of the best of men. Off to have another little cry- it's obvious Ive had a couple of gins this evening.

I 'think' that you just have to accept that many people have been taken in by 45 - or cut him according to the pattern of their own lives. The polls show it.

The Aftermath will be HUGE.

Worth keeping an eye on the bots:

Sarah Kendzior
Sarah Kendzior @sarahkendzior
This Sanders/Stein bot attack was one year ago today. Interesting to review in light of what we know about bot election tampering.

[rest of thread here: mobile.twitter.com/sarahkendzior/status/900447551790493701 ]

Those lovely Obama photos.

husky I'm just having a small nightcap of Chardonnay. Sleep well 🍷

I've just finished my wine.

Sleep well MsH. < Horlicks (with slug of brandy, if needed).

Jonathan Lee Krohn
Jonathan Lee Krohn @JonathanLKrohn
While everyone was focused on the latest news from Trump World, 2 days ago Dr. Tom Hoffeller and NC's GOP put forward a redistricting plan.
The new plan was meant to remedy the 28 districts in 2011's General Assembly plan that had been deemed gerrymandered along racial lines.
So, sit back and relax as I take you line by line (pun intended) through #NCredraw2017, in comparison to the old 2011 plan.

[rest of the (developing) thread here: mobile.twitter.com/JonathanLKrohn/status/900452113167384576 ]

Oh those #MAGA people at the rally don't seem too bright.

Apols if posted before, I'm losing track of it all:

www.politico.com/story/2017/08/23/trump-senate-yell-phone-calls-241950

Trump clashed with multiple GOP senators over Russia

The conversations are evidence of rising tensions between the president and congressional Republicans heading into a critical legislative span.

Amy Siskind @Amy_Siskind
This is happening folks: Trump is fast becoming an authoritarian and eroding our democracy. Please read!

Evan Rosenfeld @Evan_Rosenfeld
BREAKING: Russia ambassador to Sudan, Mirgayas Shirinsky, dies in the capital Khartoum, per Russian Foreign Ministry [RUssia Today link:
t.co/YySxDsURB2?amp=1 ]

.@AlArabiya_Eng sources: Russian Ambassador in Khartoum was found drowned in the pool at his house

Caroline O. @RVAwonk
By my count, Shirinsky is (at least) the 9th Russian diplomat who has died within the last year.

Nope, nothing to see here... 👀

Interesting, they are mixing things up a bit. The defenestration was getting a bit obvious.

Pain Thanks for your perseverance. I am taking notice.

Me too.

Thanks, Pain.

Fuck. I feel like I should be memorizing all these facts and dates for my history exam

The thought that all of this will one day be history - and that there will still be exams on it - is quite pleasing.

Hope a calmer night was had by all. Here's some fun news to wake up to (and some more key dates to memorise!)

amp.cnn.com/cnn/2017/08/23/politics/donald-trump-rick-dearborn-email-russia-investigation/index.html

Exclusive: Top Trump aide's email draws new scrutiny in Russia inquiry

@SethAbramson
I'll say more on this later; for now I'll just say this is big—and further confirmation Trump knew about everything.

(2) If you think email conversations among a dozen top Trump staffers on Trump or aides meeting with Putin never made it to Trump—wake up.

(3) There's no chance Don, Kushner, Manafort, Lewandowski, Clovis, Sessions, Dearborn, Papadopoulos—and others—lied to Trump for a year.

(4) That Dearborn set up both the Mayflower event and the Kislyak-Sessions meetings confirms Trump was negotiating with Putin from the drop.

(5) Let me repeat that: (a) DONALD TRUMP, was (b) negotiating, with (c) VLADIMIR PUTIN, on (d) U.S. SANCTIONS, for (e) ALMOST ALL OF 2016.

(6) After August 17 (at the latest; that's the day Trump was first fully briefed on Russian hacking) those negotiations became criminal.

(7) But realistically, Trump knew/should've known by July 27 ("Russia, if you're listening...") or earlier the negotiations were criminal.

(8) I've been saying it for months: after Russian cyberwarfare was known, Trump negotiating sanctions with Putin was collusion and criminal.

(9) Remember, we learned in January 2017 that when Trump took office his already set plan was to drop sanctions without preconditions.

(10) Trump had no reason not to say privately to Putin what he planned publicly—he learned of the attacks then promised to drop sanctions.

(11) The name for that crime is Accessory After the Fact—and it's a major felony, collusion, treasonous, and an impeachable offense.

(12) We already have all the proof we need that from the Mayflower speech on, Trump's entire top brass was working on sanctions negotiation.

(13) And unless Trump's campaign was the site of the biggest intra-camp conspiracy in history—with everyone lying to Trump—Trump knew.

(14) And every action and every statement Trump has made since April 27 confirms what is already obvious—that he knew about it all.

(15) This CNN story simply adds another piece to a clear narrative: the top Trump brass was negotiating sanctions with Russia from April on.

(PS) I'm being charitable, here; the effort began, it appears, with Kushner's still-denied (but IC-confirmed) call to Kislyak in April 2016.

(PS2) So by the time Flynn/Kushner were finalizing the details of the sanctions negotiation in December 2016, the effort was 8 months old.

(PS3) This all started when Manafort came on the campaign—after which he/Kushner planned the Mayflower event (and Kushner invited Kislyak).

(PS4) I think the only doubt the FBI still has as to this facet of things is if Trump was also getting oil money—or just the presidency.

(PS5) All of this comes from media reports, transcripts of Congressional testimony and knowledge of criminal investigations. It's not magic.

Different story but just as welcome:

@SethAbramson
BREAKING (MSNBC): Grassley agrees to vote for release of Simpson transcript, all but ensuring we'll learn EVERYTHING about Steele's dossier!

brexitential that's a very interesting article about Trump supporters views. There was so much in there that was just untrue, they are normal decent people I feel, but they've just been brainwashed.

www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2017/08/23/donald-trump-is-deteriorating-before-our-very-eyes/?utm_term=.3a7e4701e45c

Any choice para in that WaPo article Rousette? I really needvvto ge subscription sorted.

If you look at it in 'private browsing' or 'incognito' you can see it all. Otherwise there's a pay wall, but I seem to manage to get round that by private browsing

Basically the article says his self absorbtion, ranting about injustices, and wallowing in his perceived persecution is turning even his supporters off. People were on their phones, leaving, and more and more were un-engaged with what he was saying. Then the article says this aspect of him is only going to get worse as time goes on!

I liked the compRison to Lenny (haven't seen it so don't know if it holds up but I think I understand the point being made):

But without minimizing the dangers that Trump still poses, it’s worth considering Trump’s act in a somewhat less alarming light, by comparing it with another, similar performance: Dustin Hoffman’s powerful depiction of the public deterioration of legendary political satirist and comedian Lenny Bruce, in the movie “Lenny.” And this hints at where this could — could — all end up.

It is true that Trump’s performance did energize the crowd at key moments, such as when he hinted that the Arpaio pardon is coming and when he attacked the media (“CNN sucks! CNN sucks!” chanted the crowd). But The Post’s Jenna Johnson captures another side of the audience’s reaction with this memorable description:

As the night dragged on, many in the crowd lost interest in what the president was saying.

Hundreds left early, while others plopped down on the ground, scrolled through their social media feeds or started up a conversation with their neighbors. After waiting for hours in 107-degree heat to get into the rally hall — where their water bottles were confiscated by security — people were tired and dehydrated and the president just wasn’t keeping their attention. Although Trump has long been the master of reading the mood of a room and quickly adjusting his message to satisfy as many of his fans as possible, his rage seemed to cloud his senses.

Obviously, the comparison between Trump and Lenny Bruce, as portrayed by Hoffman, is imperfect in all kinds of ways. But not in this one way. Bruce was arrested for various low-level charges, including obscenity and drug possession, and in the movie “Lenny,” Hoffman depicts Bruce’s later performances as public displays of increasing grievance, resentment and self-absorption over his legal plight, and deteriorating awareness of his audience.

In one of these, Bruce is muttering to himself unintelligibly as audience members shift uncomfortably and begin to leave. “Where you going?” Bruce says, despairingly. Then he slips into sardonic self-pity over his persecution for obscenity: “Hey, where you people going? Oh, come on, man! I haven’t even said [expletive depicting sexual act] yet!”

In another, Bruce is reading to his audience from documents involving his legal troubles, and he is so deep in the legal weeds (and in his self-absorption) that people again begin leaving. “Oh, come on, man!” Bruce says to the departing patrons. “Where you going? No, I don’t wanna do t––– and a––!”

There were hints of this sort of deterioration from Trump last night. There was the self-pity, the self-absorption, the outsize resentment and grievance. And it could get worse. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky) reportedly has confided that he isn’t sure Trump’s presidency can be saved. Degenerating relations with congressional Republicans could imperil other pieces of his agenda, leading to more anger and frustration. Special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s probe continues, meaning more revelations lie ahead.

Last night, Trump actually read aloud from his previous comments on Charlottesville — just as Bruce did from his legal documents — to illustrate how unfair the media is being to him. It’s not hard to imagine the dynamic that Johnson describes above getting worse over time, with Trump increasingly wallowing in the details of his persecution while his audiences increasingly lose interest.

After seeing the fantastic pics of Obama with children (he's a natural) I have to link this one that came up on my feed this morning.

He is driven by hate of Obama's popularity and one thing he will never ever be able to emulate will be O's naturalness around children.