Bannon Vs. Kushner - Trump Chooses (UPDATED)

Saturday Night Live's cold open killed:



UPDATE: "Sean 'Spicy' Spicer" delivers "his" Easter/ Passover message:

Tweets Of The Day - Bunkers, Leaks And Plumbers

This is absolutely what's going on:

The Russia cover-up story & the media lock-out story are the same story.  Administration is hunkering down for the scandal that will end it.

— David Rothkopf (@djrothkopf) February 25, 2017

So, sphincters are tightening in the bunker under the Reich Chancellery:

Flanked by WH lawyers, Spicer asked to see staffers' phones for leak crackdown.

...which WH staff are now leakinghttps://t.co/FVh99enQyx

— Ari Melber (@AriMelber) February 26, 2017

No amount of blaming "fake news," "dishonest media," and "Democrats" is going to save their asses in the end.  But that's their version of the "modified limited hang out" strategy for now.  It all looks familiar to someone who knows about leaks, plumbers and damage control:

I have expertise on this matter. Push back on an FBI investigation of the White House is better known as a COVER UP: https://t.co/SODcPzEMna

— John Dean (@JohnWDean) February 24, 2017

SNL Scorches Spicer And Conway Again (UPDATED)

Melissa McCarthy does a reprise of her genius takedown of White House manure spreader Sean "Spicy" Spicer, with a brief appearance by Kate McKinnon as white supremacist Attorney General Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III.  McKinnon also brilliantly appears later as "Orwellyanne" Conway and Sen. Elizabeth Warren.  This is Saturday Night Live satire at its absolute best.  More please (and more female impersonations of male Trump staffers)!



UPDATE:  Alec Baldwin continues his wonderful impersonation of Rump, as well.  Here he takes the three Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals judges to ... "People's Court."

Saturday Night Live Burns The Weenies

SNL's double- barreled shot at, first, neo- fascist puppet Donald "Rump" Trump and the Grim Reaper -- a.k.a., Steve Bannon --making phone calls to world leaders; then Melissa McCarthy doing a hilarious take on weenie "Baghdad Sean" Spicer's angry handling of the press (via Crooks and Liars). Notice the Russian flag pin in "Trump's" lapel -- nice jab.

Acting Attorney General Says Justice Dept. Won't Defend Trump Muslim Ban (UPDATED)

This is what courage looks like pic.twitter.com/KSt55m0T8E

— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) January 30, 2017

 Standing up for the law and the Constitution at Justice:

In a stunning announcement Monday afternoon, acting Attorney General Sally Yates said the Justice Department won’t defend President Donald Trump’s executive order blocking all refugees and certain foreign nationals. 

“I am responsible for ensuring that the positions we take in court remain consistent with this institution’s solemn obligation to always seek justice and stand for what is right,” Yates, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, wrote to Justice Department lawyers, the New York Times first reported. “At present, I am not convinced that the defense of the executive order is consistent with these responsibilities nor am I convinced that the executive order is lawful.” (our emphasis)

Whether they'll fire her before or after the Russo- Republicans confirm Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III as Attorney General is the only question now.

The response from the White House, via "Baghdad Sean" Spicer?

... In a startlingly combative response, White House spokesman Sean Spicer challenged those opposed to the measure to resign. 

"They should either get with the program or they can go," Spicer said. 

FU you amoral little weasel.

UPDATE:  Rump fired her Monday night.  Karoli at Crooks & Liars has a revealing clip from Ms. Yates' confirmation hearing.

Tweets Of The Day - And You Thought The Media Would Stand Strong!

Looks like access to pathological liars is far more important than integrity to these three from the once great Washington Post Bezos Bugle.  One day after a shocking display of bald- faced lying, media baiting, and  "alternative facts", the memory hole has swallowed these "fine" "journalists" whole:

In marathon first briefing, Spicer has taken tons of Qs, moved fast w/ informative answers on policies & been up front when he doesn't know.

— Philip Rucker (@PhilipRucker) January 23, 2017

Which engendered this response:

Reports of the death of access journalism are premature. https://t.co/X9gPzKEDlk

— southpaw (@nycsouthpaw) January 23, 2017

(That "access journalism" reference above is to an article today by Margaret Sullivan, the Bezos Bugle's media commentator saying this about Sean "Baghdad Sean" Spicer's performance yesterday: "Spicer’s statement should be seen for what it is: Remarks made over the casket at the funeral of access journalism." That's some wishful thinking there! But, let's continue.)

next four years will be a challenge to traditional political observers to start evaluating politics by content and not by its outward signs pic.twitter.com/qGvnL7dsDr

— chris hooks (@cd_hooks) January 23, 2017

Surprise! Looks like Chris "Lizard" Cillizza isn't going to be up to that challenge any more than he ever was:

Totally agree. Sean handled a very difficult situation with aplomb today. https://t.co/BB1nps3wJm

— Chris Cillizza (@TheFix) January 23, 2017

The fix is in. https://t.co/jfPjhr9Cz5

— southpaw (@nycsouthpaw) January 23, 2017

"The Fix" has always been in, of course.

Just a reminder what Russian journalist Alexey Kovalev told us would be the norm for reporters under neo- fascist authoritarian Donald "Rump" Trump, given Kovalev's experience with Rump's mentor, Russian autocrat Vladimir "Vlad the Invader" Putin:

These people are not your partners or brothers in arms. They are your rivals in a fiercely competitive, crashing market and right now the only currency in this market is whatever that man on the stage says. Whoever is lucky to ask a question and be the first to transmit the answer to the outside world wins. Don’t expect any solidarity or support from them... [snip] 

...There will be people from publications that exist for no other reason than heaping fawning praise on him and attacking his enemies. But there will also be one token critic who will be allowed to ask a “sharp” question, only to be drowned in a copious amount of bullshit, and the man on the stage will always be the winner (“See? I respect the media and free speech”)...

The "fourth estate" is, for the most part, a useless cast of careerists, stenographers and cowards. They'll respond to rewards (access) and punishment (lack thereof) just like the good lap dogs they are. Rump and his band of looters know this and will push to the limit, and then push some more. Access journalism is alive and well.

The Banality Of Evil Strikes Again

They lie just as easily and naturally as they breathe.

On their first full day in office, neo- fascist pathological liar Donald "Rump" Trump and his mini- Goebbels, empty suit Press Secretary Sean "Baghdad Sean" Spicer, faced the public and media in their official capacities and... lied their asses off.

On Saturday, President Donald Trump’s first full day in office, he gave a speech at CIA headquarters in which he lied about the size of the crowd at his inauguration and falsely claimed that he had never feuded with the U.S. intelligence community. Hours later, his press secretary emerged from the West Wing, lied about the size of the inaugural crowd and took no questions. 

The most important news here is not the crowd size, or whether Trump feuded with America’s spies (he did), or even that the president and his press secretary lied. Politicians lie. What’s remarkable is that the president and his administration chose to lie, repeatedly, on their first full day on the job, about a relatively trivial ― and easily checkable ― matter.  (our emphasis)

The article details the facts opposing Rump and his mini- Goebbels.  The truth is plain to see (as they say). That Rump lies as a matter of course is not in the least surprising;  he's a narcissist and sociopath. Clearly, he's selected a staff that is willing to lie just as vigorously and nonsensically just to keep their jobs. That this is the template right from the start, while not surprising, may be disturbing enough to have awakened some of the stenographers in the media, long oblivious to what was coming their way.

In the meantime, here's "Vladimir Putin's" (Beck Bennett's) message to the American people on Rump, crowds and the Women's March yesterday:



BONUS:  SNL's host Aziz Ansari (first south Asian host ever) closed his monologue with this:

"If you're scared about Trump and you're very worried, you're going to be OK, too. Because if you look at our history, change doesn't come from presidents. Change comes from large groups of angry people. And if day one is any indication, you are part of the largest group of angry people I have ever seen.”

Tweet Of The Day - "Republicans Aren't Racists!"

This speaks for itself (see also post below).

.@FoxNews: "Good news in Ohio, the white share of the vote is up 3 points from 4 years ago, the black share of the vote is down 7." #wow pic.twitter.com/uJxakXgT5V

— Bobby Lewis (@revrrlewis) October 25, 2016

That's the Republican National Committee's spokesshit Sean Spicer (on the left) and Fox's Bill Hemmer delivering the "good news."

November 8 -- time to take out the trash.