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U.S. Politics: Moscow on the Potomac


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The title is pretty amusing. Have you heard of the phrase "Kremlin on the Charles"? Many years ago, people used it to refer to Harvard University so as to criticize its allegedly leftist views. It's funny to see a similar reference used to criticize a right-wing administration.

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2 minutes ago, Altherion said:

The title is pretty amusing. Have you heard of the phrase "Kremlin on the Charles"? Many years ago, people used it to refer to Harvard University so as to criticize its allegedly leftist views. It's funny to see a similar reference used to criticize a right-wing administration.

It's just a play on the old Robin Wiliiam's movie, Moscow on the Hudson, but yes, the irony is interesting. The GOP has gone from "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down that wall!" to "I wonder if Putin will be my new best friend?" 

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2 hours ago, Manhole Eunuchsbane said:

"I wonder if Putin will be my new best friend?" 

Damn. I bet Putin's actual best friend has got it made. 

Edit: I mean, if someone annoys him, he can just ask is bro Vlady (he calls him Vlady) to send that person to the gulag in Siberia.

Edit 2: Khaaaaaan!

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2 hours ago, Kalbear said:

Rosenstein threatened to resign after being put on as 'the guy' for firing Comey.

This is increasingly looking actually important.

 

How so? It jibes with the narrative described in articles from both NYTimes, WaPo and Politico - that the firing was yet another act of impulsive incompetence from Trump more than anything else. Pinning the unexpected backlash on someone sounds like exactly what the administration would follow up with.

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3 hours ago, denstorebog said:

 

How so? It jibes with the narrative described in articles from both NYTimes, WaPo and Politico - that the firing was yet another act of impulsive incompetence from Trump more than anything else. Pinning the unexpected backlash on someone sounds like exactly what the administration would follow up with.

They shouldn't piss him off too much though as he has the authority to appoint an independent special prosecutor. The political pressure is going to be immense now as no one will believe he can make an impartial judgment since "he was the one initiating the firing of Comey".

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Four things:

1. These Quinnipiac numbers are damning:

Quote

American voters' opinions of several of Trump's personal qualities are down:

  • 61 - 33 percent that he is not honest, compared to 58 - 37 percent April 19;
  • 56 - 41 percent that he does not have good leadership skills, little change;
  • 59 - 38 percent that he does not care about average Americans, compared to 57 - 42 percent April 19;
  • 66 - 29 percent that he is not level-headed, compared to 63 - 33 percent last month;
  • 62 - 35 percent that he is a strong person, little change;
  • 56 - 41 percent that he is intelligent, compared to 58 - 38 percent;
  • 64 - 32 percent that he does not share their values, compared to 61 - 35 percent.

https://poll.qu.edu/national/release-detail?ReleaseID=2456

2.

6 hours ago, Kalbear said:

Rosenstein threatened to resign after being put on as 'the guy' for firing Comey.

This is increasingly looking actually important.

Multiple sources are reporting that Trump made the decision spur of the moment without notifying most of his staff and Cabinet.

3. The pictures of Trump and the members of the Russian envoy are very telling. He was clearly sucking up to them.

4. @Manhole Eunuchsbane, WTF man? I gave you a much better title than this.

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Today in "Lock Him Up":

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/5/10/15611522/comey-trump-obstruction-justice-impeachment

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Anonymously sourced journalism is not the same thing as sworn testimony or hard evidence. But it’s also indispensable to uncovering official wrongdoing. And Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning already brought forth plenty of evidence of wrongdoing:

The New York Times reports that “days before he was fired, James B. Comey, the former F.B.I. director, asked the Justice Department for a significant increase in money and personnel for the bureau’s investigation into Russia’s interference in the presidential election.” NBC News says it can confirm that story, as have several other outlets.......

But, if the Orange Swamp thing got locked up, wouldn’t that be cruel and unusual punishment for the other inmates? Would we have to build the Orange Swamp thing his own prison swamp?

Stuff I think deeply about.

Now take a seat.  A big shocker is coming. This is going to be a dirty little secret about the Party O' Bidness, deficit reduction edition.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/rampage/wp/2017/05/08/the-good-old-days-when-men-were-men-and-republicans-cared-about-deficits/

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The same poll question was asked again last week. Somewhat improbably, Democrats’ responses are…exactly the same. Republicans, however, are now more likely to say government should prioritize tax cuts over deficit reductions:

 

Hoping that some people will wake up and figure out that Trump isn't their friend.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/05/10/what-a-new-report-reveals-about-white-economic-hardship-and-trumps-big-win/

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ndeed, when it comes to policy details, the white working class supports many economic proposals associated with Democrats, not Republicans. Fifty-three percent of those surveyed supported increasing the minimum wage to $15 an hour, and 58 percent said the rich should pay more in taxes. (Those figures are similar to the results for the general population.)

 

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Many folks — they can’t wait for a white paper, or a 12-point plan. They need help immediately," Cox said. There was, he said, "a recognition that there was some danger with it too, but that it was, sort of, worth the risk."

Well immediately help could have been provided by raising the minimum wage and improving health insurance and expanding the EITC, even if the longer term structural issues are harder to solve.

But you know, tax cuts for rich. Let's just hope some people wake up.

And the Swamp just keeps right on getting swampier.

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/comey-requested-more-money-russia-scandal-probe-firing

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There’s a great deal of interest in why Donald Trump chose yesterday to fire FBI Director James Comey. There’s new reporting today that may shed some additional light on the subject.

A senior Congressional official with direct knowledge told NBC News that James Comey briefed Congress in recent days that he had requested more staff and money for the Russia investigation from Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.

Comey’s request, which was first reported by the New York Times, sharpens the questions about whether his firing as FBI director on Tuesday was intended to quash the investigation.

 

Hatin on your conservative favorites, Lucas Critique Edition:

http://equitablegrowth.org/working-papers/lucas-sargent-critique-contradictions/

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The PIH is derived from models based on neoclassical micro-foundations where economic agents optimize in a stationary environment in ‘logical time.’ Experiencing and learning in ‘logical time’? In this paper, we take historical time seriously; that is, we investigate what economic agents actually experience regarding the effectiveness of expansionary macroeconomic policy in ‘historical time.’ We conclude that even if neoclassical micro-foundations are rigorously applied, if economic agents behave as assumed in the Lucas/Sargent model but that they move through time, the economy will not settle at the predicted long run equilibrium. Instead expansionary macroeconomic policy will be perceived as a virtue.

 

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This column is one I largely agree with at the moment:

http://theweek.com/articles/696013/most-clueless-man-washington

A paragraph I particularly like:

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There is no "real" Trump. There is only this Trump — the Trump saying or doing whatever he's saying or doing at any given moment, which has no rational connection to what he said or did in the recent past or what he might be saying or doing even a single moment from now.

 

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14 minutes ago, Manhole Eunuchsbane said:

Hey man, you snooze you lose. ;)

 

I like my title. :P

You're wrong!!!!

Also, it's been a year since you lost our bet. I release you from your debt. Remove that stupid Trump hat. It's not funny anymore.

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16 minutes ago, Tywin et al. said:

You're wrong!!!!

Also, it's been a year since you lost our bet. I release you from your debt. Remove that stupid Trump hat. It's not funny anymore.

That's just a testament to my technological ineptitude. That said, I think I'll leave it up until Cheeto Benito gets run out of town on the rails. I kind of feel like it's a good luck charm at this point.

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