House votes 357-22 to bar Trump from exiting NATO. the 22 were all Repubs and amongst the usual suspects.

Meanwhile in Venezuela:


404 - StoryLine

Not sure how it'll play out but kinda like the move. Don't think it'll be enough though ... probably need to make a deal with the military somehow.

https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/23/polit...ela/index.html

Next President will have his/her work cut out for him/her to repair relations. I am okay with playing a lesser role in NATO (UK-Germany-France are big-enough-boys/girls) but not exiting it.

It does appear most of the world is with us on this one and Trump isn't just wildly tweeting. Russia, Cuba, Bolivia and I guess Mexico still recognizing Maduro, but the other South American countries, Canada, France all publicly recognizing Guaido too.

This is the problem with a lack of party options. There is no soft landing spot for anyone on either side. If abortion is a big deal to you, you are not going to switch who to vote for. If gun control is a big issue, you are not going to change who you vote for.

I am not advocating having 10 different parties, but having another couple of options would be good.

Are things coming to a head in Venezuala?

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/...sident-n961771

Maduro wants US diplomats to leave and Trump is saying Maduro is illegitimate.

Canada has now recognized the interim president of Venezuela

Trump has issued a statement denying the order from Maduro

I think the problem is less having two parties as it is having districts that have been gerrymandered to hell so that most districts are not that competitive. This pushes representatives to the edges in those safe districts and causes governing at the extremes rather than by consensus. In a lot of ways that made 2018 really interesting, not because there was a blue wave, but because a lot of safe red seats were competitive with more moderate democrats. Competitive districts hold representatives accountable and hopefully make governing better.

Trump caves on having the State of the Union address elsewhere and will wait until the Shutdown is over:


As the Shutdown was going on, Nancy Pelosi asked me to give the State of the Union Address. I agreed. She then changed her mind because of the Shutdown, suggesting a later date. This is her prerogative - I will do the Address when the Shutdown is over. I am not looking for an....


....alternative venue for the SOTU Address because there is no venue that can compete with the history, tradition and importance of the House Chamber. I look forward to giving a “great” State of the Union Address in the near future!


Pelosi:1 Trump 0

whenever he gives on something his tweet is written by a handler. I’ll give it less than 24 hours before we see Trump’s real response via a tweet.

Yeah and if people rub it in that he lost this battle, he might change his mind again

Lots of LATAM & SA countries aligning with the US.

I'm sure Mexico has national interests in mind to not follow suit but WTF about Turkey.

I do not believe the US should be the world's policeman but this is in our sphere of influence, they have a lot of oil, they have a legit humanitarian crisis, and its a good opportunity/relatively low risk to flex our muscle. If we are able to successfully lead the charge to replace Maduro with a friendly alternative, its the smart thing to do and will pay dividends for years in the future.

I sure hope we aren't bluffing and will act if Maduro does something against our diplomats. A nice Panama-like outcome would be ideal.

https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/23/polit...own/index.html

Interesting Fox poll. I'm just quoting a couple snippets but there is a lot of data.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/fox...ears-in-office

I think this shutdown is really hurting Trump. His whole persona is built on dominance and he looks weak in his battles with Pelosi. For a guy all about brand, I think it could do real, lasting damage.

It's kinda funny. When I mentally picture Trump, Alec Baldwin's version comes to mind quicker than the real Trump.

The abuse details around Sen. Joni Ernst's divorce are terrible. You never know what's going on behind closed doors. I hope she's able to find peace moving forward.

George Will takes a shot at the GOP and Graham.

I know the wall was pretty much the issue for him on the campaign but considering it's gone from "Mexico is paying" to not even being able to force through us paying it ourselves, I'm surprised Trump hasn't just thrown in the towel on it yet. He can figure out a way to get his most loyal subjects to blindly buy whatever he spins as the reason, and any losses he suffers among that portion of his base could be made up for with the portion of the party who is already out on him but would still prefer any R over a D.

He's not giving up because if the wall actually gets built, every time you see it or talk about it, you'll think of him. I think it was Lathum said it, it is his monument. Fits with his ego.

This should be interesting!

Don't think he is bluffing.

Exclusive: White House preparing draft national emergency order, has identified $7 billion for wall - CNNPolitics

I don't think that the bluffing/not bluffing framework works with him. That would require the ability to make plans and hold them in his head. He's stupid and mercurial. He can't bluff because he has no idea what he will or won't do until he does it.

In theory, I actually wish the house would pass a budget that reduces our bloated defense budget and give Trump is starter wall money. The national emergency thing sets terrible precedents, but taking from defense makes the most sense.

My prediction is it would get shot down by a lower court and then the Supreme Court would refuse to hear the appeal.

It's not absurd to imagine a day when President Harris (or whomever) declares a national emergency over climate change (or fill in the left-leaning issue to your liking) and says she has the authority based on the action of this dimwitted administration to simply trample on the other branches of government, and exert executive will to fund and execute priorities at her leisure based on such a declaration.

This is potentially much larger public policy than the "nuclear effect" in the Senate. And that is/was a huge deal.

...I had a talk with a staunch elected Democrat last night, who basically said "I hope Trump just declares his emergency, opens up government, funds the wall, and loses in court over it."

As repellent as that process is to me, and that's a lot, I think that could actually be the best outcome here.

I don't think you're wrong Quick. With any of it.

Roger Stone indicted.

If the shutdown/wall fight ends with a national emergency declaration, I think it's safe to assume that this prediction is near 100% certainty.

And Mueller claims to have the goods showing Stone was acting as an intermediary between Assange and the Trump campaign.

can they PLEASE just arrest McConnell. Just shut off his oxygen supply or something

Wonder if this is about to be relevant...

“I will never testify against Trump.” This statement was recently made by Roger Stone, essentially stating that he will not be forced by a rogue and out of control prosecutor to make up lies and stories about “President Trump.” Nice to know that some people still have “guts!”

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 3, 2018

I laughed my ass off last night when I saw that trupm flipped flopped again on the SoU. Apparently now, he will be giving the address next week and he will be giving it to congress.



Pelosi was like...na.


Open the govt back up.

And his lawyer already complaining about the SWAT team waking stone up at 6 am to arrest him. Awww poor baby.


Thought they might be ready to make a move in Stone. Corsi's stepson went before the grand jury yesterday in a rare Thursday appearance.

The FAA is canceling incoming flights to LaGuardia due to the lack of air traffic controllers.

Better than a plane crash.

Stone NYC's home raided by the FBI too.

Absolutely. We don't need a real-life version of Breaking Bad season 2.

I don't think a day of this is enough to end the shutdown, but if it continues and spreads I expect the GOP Senate will cave pretty quickly.

Trump's cabinet members just issued a statement urging Americans to buy their own private planes for travel until the shutdown is over and the FAA can be re-staffed.

Private jet lessors will 'work along' with you.

Tweet. Of. The. Day.

FBI arrested my neighbor Roger before my morning jog, I’ve only seen shit like that in movies, crazy to start to my Friday

— Chad Johnson (@ochocinco) January 25, 2019

Newark and Philly too

There is literally nothing the writers of this story aren't willing to include.

I fly in to Newark tomorrow. All I am seeing is delays. Anyone have a link?

FAA has ended the ground stop at LaGuardia, but still expect delays. Newark has just been delays too from what I've seen:


https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/25/faa-...a-workers.html

Bail set for Stone at $250,000 and he is limited in his travels to FL, NY, DC, and VA

What time of day is your flight. Typically, especially in Newark, early flights will be on time, and delays will build through the day. If you've got an afternoon or evening flight, you're likely going to take some sort of delay. A lot of delays are built into the schedules, but with this development today, I'd expect a little bit longer than typical.


Edit to add: Ground metering programs are the kinds of delays we see these days. Flights are held on the ground if the airport has to stunt the arrival rates for any reason. Much better than holding and diverting. Easier for ATC too.

I used to travel to Parsippany for work by flying into Newark. It has to be the worst airport in America.

Not really. It was a personal assurance bond. One of the perks of being a rich, powerful dude in our justice system.

Now if you get caught stealing a Snickers bar and don't have connections, then you have to put up money.

Sounds like Trump may be caving on the border wall, at least temporarily, and is willing to reopen the government while more talks take place. Which means this entire thing was pointless as that was the deal floated before the shutdown started.

Edit: I'm guessing Trump really wants his SotU more than anything.

And to get Roger Stone off the front page.

I wouldn't say that anymore. A lot of money has been poured into the airport and with the construction of a new concourse opening in 2 years, it's much improved from where it was 10 years ago.

That's my take, too. This morning it still looked like there was no end in sight. Now this afternoon they are nearing a deal.

If it was this easy, why not do it before the shutdown even starts?

11:00 out of Orlando. Arriving 1:45 into Newark.

Newark isn't even the worst in the metro area. (I'm looking at you LaGuardia.)

I do like Stone thinking the best way to demonstrate his loyalty to Trump was to pose in the stance associated with Nixon...

I was gonna post an image of the double Vs, but he’s done it a few times before. Maybe a genius subliminal ‘Come and Get Me’ plea to Mueller to show that despite his pledges of loyalty to Trump, Stone is prepared to show that Trump is as dirty as Nixon?

I'm sorry, what?

Two Presidents have been impeached (neither removed from office), and Dick Nixon wasn't one of them.

My bad, edited so that the gist of the message remains - I was sure that was a fact :redface:

Dola edit - aha: only President to resign from office, not impeached.

When you want a wall but you get a cave.

Trump announces deal to re-open for three weeks.

Thanks federal workers for their sacrificing and for not complaining (in fact, we apparently kept calling Trump to urge him to keep not paying us. Who knew?)

Now going on a long speech about how awesome walls are. I guess you have to give him that. He does seem to have figured out that "Coyote" does not actually refer to a small furry animal in the immigration context, so I guess that's something, too.

Apparently human traffickers are smart enough to know whether to turn left or right to get into the United States depending on which way they are facing so we need a wall to stop people that sophisticated.

(And now I'm gonna stop listening because he just said that human trafficking is worse that it has ever been in human history while standing in the garden of a house built with slave labor.)

That made me think of this from Chapelle's Show (obviously NSFW): Chappelle's Show - Tron Carter's "Law & Order" - Uncensored - YouTube

I hope he signs this before Ann Coulter calls him a pussy again.

How about a Twix bar then-just the right side of course :)

Stone will be interviewed on Tucker Carlson's show tonight, where I am sure he will confess everything..

I’m just glad it’s over. This has been a massive clusterfuck. I don’t care which side is actually to blame, they are all fucking, selfish assholes.

If Pelosi continues to win/tie, I would seriously consider her for President 2020

Unless there has been more progress made than we know, I wouldn't think 3 weeks is enough time

One group is selfish and one is doing right by the American people. I’ll let you decided.

With all of the insane shit happening recently, I feel like we've glossed over one of the worst:

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/don...rruled-n962221





Trump has appointed at least 30 people who were recommended for rejection of security clearances, but a Trump appointee apparently has the power to completely ignore those recommendations and approve them anyway. Awesome.

He's the Law & Order President, of course.

How many golf trips will he take over the next 3 weeks?

Coulter's going to be on Maher's show tonight if you want to see a "conservative" rip Trump a new one.

I'll be glued to my seat! (not)

What? No. I'm as big a fan of Nancy Pelosi as there is, but that's a terrible idea.

Two of my least favorite people in the world. Holy cow no thanks.

You're definitely the funniest poster on the board. This is a great one!

Too late?


Good news for George Herbert Walker Bush: As of today, he is no longer the biggest wimp ever to serve as President of the United States.

Trump signs bill to end the shutdown

I guess rich people not being able to fly was the tipping point?

HW flew dangerous missions in WW2.

Well she thought a draft dodger was the best President ever until today, so no surprise she wasn't a fan of Bush.

He never was. Sorry, Ann.

I'm okay if they want to apologize in making a premature statement but its weird them saying they were being "bullied". I'm sure there was pressure but com'on.

Just say we made a mistake without seeing the whole video etc., we want to see how the investigation plays out before making any decisions.

https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/25/us/co...ogy/index.html

No acceptance that the kids still did some objectionable things. This whole scenario teaches that you can probably talk your way out of anything that gets you into trouble.

Serious question, why?

Does she appeal to places like Michigan or Wisconsin?

She'd go over just as well as Hillary did here.

Pelosi is much more effective in the House. I've never been a huge Pelosi fan, but this episode has taught me a lesson. The people in charge of the House or Senate may not be the most likable but if they play the political game well, they are doing their job. Paul Ryan failed in that regard. He wanted to be liked. Perhaps due to an aspiration for higher office. Pelosi is in a safe seat and doesn't give a shit whether somebody in Wisconsin like me is a fan.

I won't elevate her to the level of Lyndon Johnson in terms of effectiveness but when you've got somebody that is politically incompetent as Trump in the White House, she is a good counter.

Similar to your thoughts, if Pelosi proves effective against Trump (can keep Dems aligned, can play the GOP against each other etc.) she would seem to be a good contender.

The point as I understand is that there's a difference between being a good congressional leader and being a good president. There's a reasonable argument that the skillsets required are mutually exclusive. I think you can be a good Senator and a good President - but maybe not a good Speaker/Majority Leader.

trupm taught us that 3 years ago, this only reinforces it.

Pretty much what the right was saying about McConnell during the Obama presidency.

Pelosi is older than Bernie fwiw.

Look at the response to Trump's speech she did with Schumer. She's not a great campaigner and struggles with messaging.

Sure, others are more charismatic.

But she is the best chance to counter Trump the remaining 2 years and if she does that effectively I think she deserves the shot if she wants it (which she probably does not).

TBH, I would value someone that knows how to play the game, has built up relationships across the aisle, knows how to negotiate politically etc.

Don't know much about her foreign policy stance and she is probably too left for me though.

But deserves has nothing to do with it. She wouldn't win a primary.

I wouldn't vote for her.

I think of Pelosi like the Renee Zellweger of politics. I fucking hate Renee Zellweger. Every time I see her, I want to punch her in her stupid face. I hate her so much, I can't even watch Cold Mountain, and that movie has Nicole Kidman NAKED. Zellweger fucking ruins it.

And yet, I agree with the consensus that she's a brilliant and talented actress.

That's how I feel about Pelosi as a politician.

That didn't stop Newsweek from (sorta) calling him a wimp on the cover of their magazine (which is I think what Thomkal was referencing?). Full disclosure, I only know about because Bill Hicks had a bit about it.

That was Ann Coulter who called him the biggest wimp.