Friday, June 09, 2017

Professional Left Podcast #392



"Only don't tell me you're innocent. Because it insults my intelligence and makes me very angry."
-- Michael Corleone


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7 comments:

jim said...

The lurking memetic terminal cancer that is nationalism can create synergy by feeding on its own malfunctions, its victims rallying more lovingly around their Judas flags the more their FUBAR burns - so conservative factions can rest assured that they will always be able to exploit - & prosper from - recycled ideological treacle, even in the face of its perpetually abysmal track record. Liberal smugness can perhaps be gently tempered by the memory of the popular liberal Kennedy coming within two winks & a cunt-hair of ending human civilization.

James Comey is a true Obi-Wan: much more dangerous to Combover Caligula now as just another citizen than he was heading the FBI, with a meek demeanor to compliment his steel-trap memory. The damning memcons of the failed Flynn whitewash are a major tell - he didn't even do that shit during PlameGate for a boss who was an obviously dry-drunk headcase in loyal service to his clan's Great Warrior Spirit Chang, nor heading the G-Men for the most secretive Administration ever with its own Kill List, saying under oath that it had never even been a consideration. Beaucoup sauvage!

That Trump's "tapes" bluff was the firing pin for Comey to dox him is irony on steroids.

One can muster a chuckle speculating on the theoretical ambiance of Nixon's Tweets circa July 1974.

Phil said...

I think you are too quick to let Comey of the hook and make him a hero in this narrative. Comey did more to get Trump elected than almost any individual. Trump certainly knows that, and that fact cannot be allowed to disappear down the memory hole.

The conversations between Trump and Comey are not as much an effort to obstruct justice as they are Trump's invitation to Comey to join a conspiracy. The conspiracy is the Russian collusion that is still ongoing. Trump, Flynn, Sessions, Tillerson, Pence, and others are part of this kabal. The Director of the FBI would make a great addition.

Comey knows how Trump and his ilk operate. This is dime store detective novel stuff. Besides, he is a former US Attorney and the director of the FBI. He is not someone who is afraid to lose his job and be unable to feed his family. Comey is part of the Washington elite. My problem with Comey’s actions are that he is intentionally coy in with Trump when he knows better.

When Trump said “I hope…” Comey should have said “Sir, I don’t understand are you ordering me to stop the investigation?” But Comey knows exactly what Trump means so he doesn’t have to ask for clarification. As soon as Comey knew that Trump wanted him to stop the investigation, he should have said, “Sorry sir, but I can’t do that.” Then rather than going public, he keeps it close hold. Does Comey, or anyone else, really think for a minute that Trump would be believed over him? Come on this is Trump.

Comey was hedging. Why is unclear, but he had plenty of time to think about what to do between CYA memos and multiple conversations with Trump. While Comey never joins the conspiracy, he never declines either. That’s why Trump keeps calling him back—“You know that thing” you did in helping me get elected through your Hilary statements, yeah now I need that Russian thing off my back and you can help with that too. Trump probably thinks Comey is already on the team but s just being careful. Only when Comey asks for more resources for the investigation does Trump realize that Comey is not going to play and fires him.

The “you better hope there are no tapes” tweet sounds a lot more like an “I go down you go down” statement than any other type of intimidation effort. This makes no difference in Trumps crime, just that Comey has his own motives that may not be as pure as they may appear to some. The Left should not be so quick to embrace him as a champion to the cause.

VonWenk said...

One thing I found jarring/disheartening about MSNBC's coverage of the Comey hearing was that after a week of hyping it, when it was done the network seemed eager to downplay its significance.

Case in point, Ari Melburne asking a stockbroker if they were watching the Comey hearing "on the floor." The broker said they had a TV on the floor and were watching, but that it wasn't "exciting" and some of them were falling asleep after a half-hour. Then Melburne asked if the Dow was reaching record highs because there wasn't really anything in Comey's testimony or if it was the "momentum of the market." No mention of the House voting to gut Dodd-Frank, which one might think could have an effect on Wall Street.

That segment was immediately followed by a reporter on the street summing up the results of his man-in-street interviews, where "across the political spectrum," people he talked to didn't think Trump had done anything wrong, culminating with a comment from somebody who supposedly said they had to go to work the next day and pay their bills and didn't care about Russia. This coverage reminded of the Republican National Convention: Who cares about facts? It's your feelings that matter. Oy vey!

Brad in Dallas said...

DG and BG we hope you have a nice mini-vacation.

I maintain the proper way to think of our benighted neighbors who vote R is in terms of high school sports. For them, R is the home team, the good guys, and D is the hated crosstown rivals. The first and only thing they want to know about anyone commenting about them and their political decisions is, whose side are you on? If you're R, there are litmus tests, loyalty tests, which must be passed. But for us D's, we're hated crosstown rivals. Anything we say is assumed to be a dig, or an attempt to lure them away. We can put down their quarterback (or president, or whoever), and we may be right that he's a jerk and an amateur. We may make the poor R fan sad. But we will never lure them away from cheering for R. That's unthinkable for them, no matter how manifestly bigoted, elitist or unpatriotic their leaders are, they're still team R. And there's no way they'd turn traitor to team R. It's not that they're racist for voting for the racist. It's not that they're betraying their self-interest by voting for R, even though they are. Because R is their team. This phenomenon should be obvious to anyone from a small town, we all rooted for the Chargers or Lions or Crusaders or whoever our high school team was, and knew what it was like to have our spirits crushed or lofted to the skies with their wins or losses. Fox reduces the political decisions to high school football, and we should know that before bashing our heads against that wall trying to get through to them. We're always Hated Crosstown Rivals to them, and they'll never believe anything we say.

dinthebeast said...

You're right. All we have to fight with is our lives, so we do need to look after those first. Thank you yet again for the breath of fresh air that is your podcast.

-Doug in Oakland

VonWenk said...

My mistake. I mean Ari Velchi, not Ari Melburne. And the "good citizen" the reporter cited said he didn't have time to care about Russia.

Robt said...

Comey is not on trial or the accused.

He did not leak the Anthony wiener laptop reopening of HRC emails. He notified the Congress committee members.

It was Devin Nunes as chairman of the Intel committee that blabbed to the press.

Trump's threat of recordings to Comey is in fact, witness tampering and intimidation.
It is not a matter of the meaning of "Hope" As many GOP'er bullshit artists like to say.

This is why I think a law should be passed that makes it a punishable crime if any elected official out right knowingly lies to the public when speaking in official capacity of his elected office.
Fakery ignorance nor alternative facts accepted.