We stand at a tipping point: do we fire up the popcorn maker or start digging a fallout shelter in the garden? (Trump cont)

[boatyardblues]

Old thread here: www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/3207431-When-a-nation-s-children-marched-and-their-President-ignored-them-Trump-cont

I’m all out of inspiration for the rest of this opening post. Send the St Bernard with the brandy please.

Puerto Rico is currently completely without power.

edition.cnn.com/2018/04/18/us/puerto-rico-mass-power-outage/index.html
Puerto Rico has suffered an island-wide power outage, Puerto Rico's power authority said Wednesday -- nearly seven months after Hurricane Maria destroyed much of the island's infrastructure and its electrical grid. The authority said it estimates power will be restored within 24 to 36 hours.

Which reminds me that I hope the next hurricane season is kind to Puerto Rico.

abcnews.go.com/Politics/comey-republican-party-left/story?id=54535829

'Former FBI Director James Comey was a registered Republican for most of his life, but now he believes "the Republican Party has left me and many others."

"I just think they've lost their way and I can't be associated with it," Comey said in an interview on the ABC News podcast “Start Here,” adding that he no longer considers himself a Republican.'

It officially starts in June, I 'think'?

Witch-hunting.

www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/4/18/17252290/desantis-letter-prosecute-clinton-comey

Only 11?

It's symbolic. The only way to counter 666-ism.

Disciples minus Judas.

Trump's approval rating in Texas via new Quinnipiac poll just out:

Approve 43%
Disapprove 52%
twitter.com/ryanstruyk/status/986660482525384706?s=21

Lordy.

Ted won't be pleased.

Thanks, lion. My 'Symbolism Gauge' is clearly not functioning so well.

I'll just pop Mr Whitehouse's marker down here.

www.whitehouse.senate.gov/news/release/whitehouse-signals-opposition-to-pompeo-nomination

Talking of symbolism, here is the other Whitehouse.

thehill.com/homenews/administration/383806-white-house-notifies-russia-no-new-sanctions-coming-report

EXCLUSIVE: National Enquirer Parent Co Letting Fmr Playboy Model Karen McDougal Out of Contract That Silenced Her During Campaign, Ending Suit, her lawyer @PeterStris Says

The tabloid news company American Media Inc. agreed to let a former Playboy model out of a contract that had kept her from talking freely about an alleged affair with Donald J. Trump, her lawyer said.

The settlement agreement, reached Wednesday, ends a lawsuit brought by the model, Karen McDougal, and protects the president from being drawn into a legal case involving efforts to buy the silence of women who had stories to tell about him during the 2016 campaign.

Under the terms of Wednesday’s settlement, American Media has the right to up to $75,000 of any future profits from her story about the alleged affair, which Mr. Trump denies. According to her lawyer, Peter K. Stris, Ms. McDougal can keep the $150,000 payment and the publisher will retain the rights to photographs of her that it already has.

“It’s a total win,” Mr. Stris said in an interview. “We got everything we were fighting for — she got out of the contract, gets the life rights back and owes A.M.I. nothing more.”

American Media indicated earlier this month that it would fight Ms. McDougal, asking the Los Angeles Superior Court to dismiss her lawsuit.

But that was roughly a week before federal investigators obtained email communications, audio recordings and other documentation from Mr. Cohen during their raid of his office, home and hotel room. Those materials included information about American Media and the McDougal suit, people involved in the case said.

www.nytimes.com/2018/04/18/us/politics/karen-mcdougal-american-media-settlement.html

Ted certainly won't be pleased.

Beto O’Rourke is within the margin of error of Ted Cruz in the Texas senate race.

Cruz 47
O’Rourke 44

MOE +/-3.6%
@QuinnipiacPoll
twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/986660665678016524?s=21

I hope he gets what he deserves.

www.prri.org/spotlight/white-evangelical-support-for-donald-trump-at-all-time-high/

"California's in a revolution".

He's so full of shit it comes out both ends.

I can't decide if he's delusional or just making shit up. Actually, he's probably being fed shit by his butt-buddy Devin Nunes whose District is in a 'red' area of the Central Valley.

Soooo many Sanctuary areas want OUT of this ridiculous, crime infested & breeding concept.

I think it's one of those 'Eats, shoots and leaves vs. Eats shoots and leaves' scenarios. It needs fixing;

Soooo many Sanctuary areas want OUT of this ridiculous, crime infested & [crime] breeding concept.

Wittes on Comey (quite a long read).

lawfareblog.com/behind-james-comeys-higher-loyalty

Newsweek on Comey. (I have't yet read the Wittes piece.)

What does Comey know......?

<a class="break-all" href="https://thinkprogress.org/kris-kobach-held-in-contempt-of-court-for-disobeying-judges-orders-2d1bdecc7c7d/thinkprogress.org/kris-kobach-held-in-contempt-of-court-for-disobeying-judges-orders-2d1bdecc7c7d/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">thinkprogress.org/kris-kobach-held-in-contempt-of-court-for-disobeying-judges-orders-2d1bdecc7c7d/thinkprogress.org/kris-kobach-held-in-contempt-of-court-for-disobeying-judges-orders-2d1bdecc7c7d/

That's a good piece by Wittes. I particularly agree with this passage:

"At the end of the day, I don’t know what I think of how Comey handled the Clinton email investigation. I go back and forth about whether the best of bad options worked out badly or whether this was a string of bad moves and unforced errors. My concern is that an inability to see whatever errors Comey made as the good-faith failings of a decent man trying his best under extraordinary circumstances affects the ability to process his interactions with Trump. Inevitably, your view of the Comey-Clinton story affects your ability to focus on the Comey-Trump story. It’s hard to focus on the Comey-Trump story if you believe the Comey-Clinton story is one of—at the extreme—partisan intervention by the FBI on Trump’s behalf. It’s hard if you believe it was a story of ego-driven showboating and moral vanity on the part of a man who loves the spotlight. It’s hard if you convince yourself that Comey’s action affected the outcome of the election. It’s really hard if you’ve persuaded yourself to ignore the many other factors that contributed to Clinton’s loss and Trump’s win—and all the other factors that contributed to the Justice Department’s handling of this particular case. It’s also really hard if you’re not open to grappling with the Kierkegaardian reality that Comey faced."

I only know that I like the man and trust him. I don't know what I would have done in his place - I hope I never find myself in that situation.

That link didn't work for me, lion.

www.wsj.com/articles/cohen-would-turn-against-president-if-charged-counselor-warned-trump-1524093151

A piece from Reuters on the delicate state of negotiations on the Korean Peninsula. One wrong move could set it off. I do feel, though, Trump is being played. He thinks he is in control, but somehow, I doubt it. North Korea and China have altogether different plans than the US, quite possibly.

www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-missiles/trump-hopes-for-successful-north-korea-summit-but-warns-he-could-walk-away-idUSKBN1HP35B