UPDATE: Video surfaces of Wilson's speech!

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2017

Possible irony looms:
Video has surfaced of Rep. Frederica Wilson's 2015 "empty barrel" speech. You can watch it at the Sun-Sentinel site.

Your choices:

1) Our tribal script is already in place. It says that General Kelly was wrong on his facts. Bellow, pause, repeat.

2) For ourselves, we can see why Kelly might have thought that Wilson possibly went on a bit this day. Under the circumstances, we'll note a possible irony:

Donald J. Trump's tone is said to have been wrong in his phone call to Sgt. La David Johnson's family this week. We can imagine that the families of two fallen FBI agents might have had a similar reaction to Rep. Wilson's speech back in 2015.

3) No one is a perfect messenger. We'd recommend that people look for ways to halt our floundering nation's rapid steep dangerous slide.

75 comments:

  1. Ms. Wilson talks for maybe a minute about how she wanted to expedite the naming of the building, something normally bogged down by red tape. She even praises John Boehner for his efforts in this regard. She spends the rest of the 9 1/2 minute video praising the FBI, describing the bravery of the FBI agents who were killed, and honoring their memory. A perfectly respectful and appropriate speech. And Kelly was "stunned" by it, calling her an "empty barrel?" I'd say Kelly is the one who is crass and politicizing the whole thing, along with Trump. The Big General and the Big Man in the White House get to moan and groan and lie. Somerby's both-side-ism in this case is just...puzzling.

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    1. Bob Somerby has become an absolute demented old crank. I only read here out of morbid curiosity anymore. Though I enjoy his critiques of Rachel (who I like, but has her flaws). Bob't both-siderism is nutty, sometimes I think he should write for Breitbart's media section.

      Our "tribal script" doesn't say that Kelly was "wrong". The FACT is that he LIED, to attack and distract from Trump's latest disgrace. Bob is out of it, he doesn't know what he's talking about.

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    2. “We'd recommend that people look for ways to halt our floundering nation's rapid steep dangerous slide.”

      Oh you would, would you? You could get the ball rolling on that by suggesting some ways; but I know that you won’t do that. Non-stop snark more fun than isn’t it? I haven’t heard a single coherent recommendation out of you.

      Delete
  2. We watched the video of the congressswoman’s speech, and will have to disagree with Somerby. The congresswoman toots her horn a little bit, but, praises others in the congressional delegation who helped her out and Speaker Boehner. Her speech bears no resemblance to the one General Kelly described, whose recollection could charitably be described as “faulty.” We don’t know what Trump said on his consolation phone call to the widow of the congresswoman’s constituent, or if its “tone” was appropriate, but, we don’t see anything wrong with what the congresswoman said that day.

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  3. For ourselves, we can see why Kelly might have thought that Wilson possibly went on a bit this day.

    For the love of God and all that is holy, Kelly didn't say Wilson went on a bit that day, he slandered her with a totally false representation of what she said. He accused her of taking credit for "calling President Obama" to get the funding. That never happened. You would think TDH would be concerned about a 4 star general, and Chief of Staff to the POTUS lying like that. And then he went on to toss personal insults at the congresswoman, calling her on multiple occasions an "empty barrel". What horseshit.

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    1. "You would think TDH would be concerned about a 4 star general, and Chief of Staff to the POTUS lying like that"
      Bob tells us not to ever call Republicans liars. That's a no-no. It might hurt the snowflakes' feelings, doncha know.

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  4. "We can imagine that the families of two fallen FBI agents might have had a similar reaction to Rep. Wilson's speech back in 2015." Why, Bob? Because she spent 7 minutes describing their acts of bravery, praising their courage and dedication, and praising the mission and purpose of the FBI?
    There was a time you would have defended the congresswoman's speech against the malignant bullshit of the likes of Kelly.

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    1. In point of fact, she received a standing ovation. Which might have something to do, not only with her own remarks, but also with FBI Director James Comey's remarks about her: "Rep. Wilson truly did the impossible, and we are eternally grateful."

      As the Sun-Sentinel reported at the time, "U.S. Rep. Frederica S. Wilson, D-Miami, was credited with pushing naming legislation through Congress in four weeks that was signed Tuesday by President Barack Obama in time for Friday's ceremonies."

      That was on record in the papers, so one didn't even have to wait for the video to check one's memory of the event... assuming one actually wanted to get one's facts right before going in front of the nation's cameras to publicly and vehemently denounce anyone....

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  5. I think we can say that with this post, Somerby has joined the dark side.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. > I think we can say that with this post, Somerby has [made it undeniable, to anyone who had previously been holding onto hopeful denial, that he has] joined the dark side.

      Delete
  6. I’m bummed. All that I think I knew has changed. I always thought that heavy metals were the result of supernovas, but that idea was turned on its head recently with the recorded data (including gravitational waves) of neutron star collisions. This concept about heavy metal creation had already been floated by physicists, but now it’s apparently confirmed.

    LINK

    “Which means that all the gold on Earth, even the gold in your wedding ring, probably comes from the collision of two distant stars.”

    The sentence should have read “came from the collision of two distant stars.” Where were the effing editors in this piece? : )

    Btw if anyone really wants to get involved in countering our nation’s steep decline, here is an amazing portal for that task.

    https://www.aclu.org/

    Cheers!

    Leroy

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Agree. The ACLU is much-maligned by right-wingers, but it's a great organization. A bastion of liberty.

      Delete
  7. When I heard Trump's comments I and other sane people immediately understood him to be saying soldiers know what they sign up for and they walk into danger anyway. The left media instantly started lying to the public by trying to color his meaning. This works for the stupid in their audiences. For the rest of the voters, it is an insult and reaffirms their view of the progressive left as dishonest or stupid or both.

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    1. That doesn't explain the dishonesty and stupidity of the regressive right.

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    2. That is very possible and reasonable.

      Only problem is the orange shitstain keeps denying he said it and attacking the congresswoman calling her a liar, even though every witness who heard the conversation has confirmed it.

      Delete
  8. Calamity Fredrica's speech is almost as bad as Obama's speech at the memorial for the fallen Dallas police officers whose murders were caused by media Democrats, where he blamed the officers for their own deaths.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. I think you misspelled the URL you meant to go to: it's www.breitbart.com
      (The little round dot is a "period")

      Delete
    2. 5:11 PM,
      Thank you for remembering to forget that the NRA said guns are for fighting the tyranny of the government.

      Delete
  9. Hey, Bob. Take a look at Anon 5:07pm and Anon 5:11pm. This is why we can't have nice things.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The troll farm's a little short of decent help these days.

      Delete
  10. Every couple weeks I look back here to see if Bob is still in the condition he deteriorated into.

    So, see you again in a couple of weeks Bob.

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  11. "We can imagine that the families of two fallen FBI agents might have had a similar reaction to Rep. Wilson's speech back in 2015."
    You and all the mindless right-wingers who will never listen to her speech and reflexively believe whatever they are told by Fox & Friends.

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  12. Did anyone else notice the cosmic irony of Kelly's speech, where he was talking about what isn't "sacred" anymore?
    Women - Trump loves to grab pussy and brag about it.
    Gold star families- Trump criticizes Kzir Khan and his wife.
    Service to our country- Trump doesn't respect McCain because he was captured; remember the Benghazi mother at the Republican convention, accusing Hillary Clinton of murder?; Trump accusing a grieving gold star mother of lying?

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  13. Finally a Democrat even more disgusting than Donald Trump. Let's see why:

    1. Pulling a tiny bit out of an entire call makes Trump sound heartless. I have no doubt the Trump's entire call was reasonable and compassionate. You can hear an actual Trump condolence call (to the next of kin of a different soldier) at the link.

    2. Chances are Ms Wilson ludicrously exaggerated the peculiarities or defects of Trump's comment.

    3. Set aside those two points. We all know that it's difficult to know what to say in condolence. Suppose you lost a loved on and someone took the trouble to make a condolence call. Can you imagine that you would publicly mock that person for clumsy wording?

    4. Politicizing a military death harms the morale of every fighting man and woman. Have the Trump critics no shame?

    BTW, the media showed their Trump hatred. If some other President were accused of clumsy wording on a condolence call, would that be a big story? Of course not.

    Trump condolence call at:
    http://althouse.blogspot.com/2017/10/natasha-de-alencar-widow-of-army-staff.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. David, none of what you said gives Kelly the right to lie about what the congresswoman said in 2015. And 'politicizing a military death?' What in the world did you call the Benghazi mother at the Republican convention accusing Hillary Clinton of murder other than politicizing a military death? Also, you don't know what Trump said to the mother in this case; why give Trump the benefit of the doubt, when his lying and bullying are chronic with him?

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    2. And, David, did you listen to her speech from 2015? She never claimed to have gotten the funding, and she spent 7 1/2 of the 9 1/2 minutes praising the FBI and the agents who lost their lives. You aren't one of those who automatically believes everything you hear on Fox & Friends, are you?

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    3. 8:04 I give Trump the benefit of the doubt because
      1. I listened to what he said to another next of kin, and it was just fine.
      2. One would expect Trump to say something reasonable in this situation.

      The accusation that Hillary's SNAFU caused the Benghazi death was a fair campaign issue, since it reflects on her competence. (Of course, the charge itself may or may not have been true.)

      I have no interest in something Wilson said or didn't say in 2015. Wilson's statements this week were appalling, for the reasons I listed above.

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    4. Well, Johnson's family corroborated what she is saying. And I wouldn't be played for a fool by expecting Trump to ever say anything reasonable.

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    5. And for heaven's sake, David. What Trump said offended this particular family. Can't Trump just say he's sorry he was misinterpreted, but he sincerely wants to express his condolences? That's what an adult, well, a caring adult would say.

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    6. I fully agree with you, AnonymousOctober 20, 2017 at 8:41 PM. That's what he should have said. One of his many weaknesses is that he responds to criticism in an overly aggressive, and sometimes dishonest, manner.

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    7. "sometimes"? You are a real piece of work.

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    8. I give Trump the benefit of the doubt because..

      No David. The lying sack of shit doesn't get the benefit of the doubt anymore. That's what happens when you are a lying sack of shit bullshit artist who lies day after day after day with no shame. You lose your credibility. That's why we don't like liars David.

      President pussygrabber claimed he never said what Wilson related. And he claimed he "had proof". Where the fuck is it David?

      DinC is Exhibit A of why trump lies the way he does. Trump knows how easy it is to manipulate his deplorable fans. Look how no one is talking about the 4 Green Berets who died, he has turned this into a hatefest on a simple congresswoman and DinC is all in with that. Fuck you David.

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    9. We get it, David. As long as Trump promises to keep women and people of color "in their place", you'll always give him the benefit of the doubt.

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  14. Ms. Wilson continues to show lack of class. She played the race card by falsely accusing Gen. Kelly of racism. She falsely claimed that the term "empty barrel" was racist. Kelly once said, "As my blessed mother used to say, ‘Empty barrels make the most noise.’"

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    1. "Lack of class????" You accuse someone of lack of class, when you have the world's most classless person serving as President? Oh, the irony.

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    2. 8:13. I mostly agree with you. Trump is the epitome of classnessness. It was quite and achievement for Ms. Wilson to out-do him.

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    3. Ms. Wilson's speech in 2015 was actually the epitome of class. Never heard anything like it from Trump.

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    4. No, it was quite an achievement for Kelly to outdo Trump.

      http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_TRUMP_KELLY_FACT_CHECK_FLOL-?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

      Your butthurt is duly noted, o sensitive one. I hope you find a suitable safe space.

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    5. Re: calling Conservatives "racists".

      Everyone hates political correctness right up until you tell them the truth about themselves.

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    6. I would say to you David your sexism and racism and trumps are showing. I listened to Congresswoman Wilson's speech and it was a very good one. She praised the FBI and talked about the sacrifice in a very beautiful way. Trump lies all of the time. And I believe John Kelly told untruths about Congresswoman Wilson's speech. He called her names. She has done really good work in this world. She was a mentor to Johnson and many others. Kelly never mentioned names and Johnson's wife felt disrespect because Trump had trouble with her husband's name. Kelly and Trump are two men who if they had any grace whatsoever could have even with their mistakes, made this better.

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    7. I would say to you David your sexism and racism and trumps are showing. I listened to Congresswoman Wilson's speech and it was a very good one. She praised the FBI and talked about the sacrifice in a very beautiful way. Trump lies all of the time. And I believe John Kelly told untruths about Congresswoman Wilson's speech. He called her names. She has done really good work in this world. She was a mentor to Johnson and many others. Kelly never mentioned names and Johnson's wife felt disrespect because Trump had trouble with her husband's name. Kelly and Trump are two men who if they had any grace whatsoever could have even with their mistakes, made this better.

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  15. Bob Somerby is the kindest, bravest, warmest, most wonderful human being I've ever known in my life.

    David in Cal: why don't you pass the time by playing a little solitaire.

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    1. With columns like this, Bob Somerby has given a whole new implication to his blog title, hasn't he?

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  16. We would say that Bob has become a true Trumptard. Defending his hero and attacking Maddow is all he does (when not nitpicking). Continue to brown nose and Fuck you, Bob. And goodbye

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    1. "Goodbye"

      That'll be the day. You're addicted.

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    2. @Fennel Cartwright: say hello to Hoss and Little Joe.

      Delete
  17. Among the complaints expressed by Johnson’s family is that Trump didn’t seem to know his name, that he only wanted to talk and not listen and that he was focused on doing better than past presidents, not on the needs of the family. There was a lot more wrong with that call than just that sentence. Note the way Kelly never mentions Wilson’s name. That’s what Trump did to Johnson and his family, all of whom have names.

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  18. Dems are so good at playing the victim. Much of the media will parrot and amplify any Democratic talking point. So, Democrats can invent new no-nos at will.

    E.g., never in Ameican history has any politician been publicly criticized for clumsiness in a condolence call. Now, there must have been many thousands of such calls. Surely a substantial number must have been clumsily worded or clumsily delivered. But, never in history has that been a newsworthy complaint,

    Then, there's the empty barrel. That phrase has never been used as a racist insult. Yet, Ms. Wilson, for the first time ever, says that it's racist.

    With rules that can be changed at will, the Democrats always win this game.

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    1. So no one has the right to be hurt or offended except Trump? For God's sake, David. This family lost a loved one, as did Ms. Wilson, unlike mofo Trump. Who is the callous one here? You seem to be schizophrenic about Trump: you acknowledge that he's got very little class, that his private life is deplorable, yet you rush to defend him vociferously, like a good member of your "tribe." Have you learned nothing from Bob Somerby?

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    2. Wilson said the phrase was racist because he never used her name. Just as Trump never used Johnson’s name.

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    3. Here's' the thing, 10:21: In a sense, there's no wrong way to pay a condolence call. Suppose your loved died and a co-worker of his took the trouble to pay a condolence call. Even if the co-worker were tongue tied, or if he tried to say something helpful and it came out wrong, you'd still appreciate that he cared enough to make the call. Your feeling toward the caller would be a positive one.

      When the President of the United States is the one who took the trouble to make the condolence call, that same principle is magnified. The most powerful person in the country took the time and effort to try to console you on your loss. You'd be grateful for the effort, even if his words were clumsy.

      Of course, there's no way to know for sure whether Trump said the right things. But, even if his words were clumsy, the fact that he made the effort should be appreciated, not vilified.

      I'm not defending Trump's words, because I don't know what he said. I'm blasting Wilson, because her public comments were disgusting, no matter what Trump said.

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    4. You 're going to run out of goalposts to move soon.

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    5. It's taken me a while to understand this, but the key to understanding Comrade DinC is that he doesn't see being "disgusting" as a negative. Therefore we should thank Comrade DinC for his endorsement of Rep. Wilson.

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    6. You're getting close, mm. When I hire someone to do a job, disgusting personal behavior is less important to me than his or her performance on the job. That's especially true of a national leader. E.g.,
      -- Herbert Hoover had impeccable manners, but millions were thrown out of work due to his ineffective domestic policies
      -- Neville Chamberlain had impeccable manners, but tens of millions died because of his foreign policy.
      -- Donald Trump is a boor, but under his leadership thousands of poor, unemployed blacks were able to find jobs and ISIS was finally defeated in Iraq.

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    7. Obama defeated ISIS in Iraq. Raqqa is in Syria. Trump hasn’t improved job creation over what Obama did. Trump is too much of a failure as president to overlook boorish behavior.

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    8. President Obama had more class and dignity in his toe nail clippings than President* pussygrabber will ever have.


      Isis were defeated in Mosul because of Barack Obama's training strategies, says Pentagon official

      http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/iraqi-forces-defeat-isis-mosul-barack-obama-strategy-coalition-air-strike-training-a7834196.html

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    9. "The most powerful person in the country took the time and effort to try to console you on your loss. You'd be grateful for the effort, even if his words were clumsy"
      Nope, David. I'd refuse to take a call from the despicable bastard Trump. I also would refuse to shake his hand, not knowing which pussy it had recently grabbed. You continue to defend the powerful and denigrate the powerless (LaDavid Johnson's family). I'd say they and Ms. Wilson have the right to criticize Trump's phone call. Nothing is sacred to Trump, and we still live in a country with free speech. Interesting how conservatives pay lip service to the first amendment, but tell people to shut up when they hear something they don't like.

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    10. Was it Trump's stiffing of his contractors for 5+ decades that won you over, David? Or is that just something you are willing to overlook, due to his sweet, sweet bigotry?

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    11. Anon 1:54 -- I agree that Trump the candidate looked terrible in many respects. I have been happily surprised at his performance as President. His one flaw has been a number of ridiculous or offensive tweets. OTOH he has given some excellent presidential speeches, His domestic and foreign policy moves have mostly been good ones, that is, I agreed with them. he hasn't done anything terrible, although some of his critics forecast dire action, including starting a new world war.

      Regarding the lying sack of shit, Trump's personal behavior as President is not as bad as Clinton's. It seems hard to believe that the President of the US was getting blow jobs in the Oval Office from an intern, one while on the phone conducting Presidential business. Then, the Dems who came to his defense established that this level of depravity was OK.

      It was Daniel Moynahan who coined the phrase "defining deviancy down." Sadly, Bill Clinton sure did.

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    12. We're not talking about "personal behavior" David. We're talking about actions he is taking as president. Lying to the country repeatedly is not "personal behavior". Praising Nazis is not "personal behavior". Getting into a pissing contest with Gold Star family members is not "personal behavior", you ignorant jackass.

      "It was Donald Trump who has taken us into the sewer" Steve Schmidt

      " I have been happily surprised at his performance as President" David in Cal

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    13. "I have been happily surprised at his performance as President"

      Were you expecting him to nuke every major city in the USA by now?

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    14. Were you expecting him to nuke every major city in the USA by now?

      I see many trump fans saying the same thing as Comrade DinC.

      "I have been happily surprised at his performance as President"rump fans saying the same thing."

      This tells us more than they realize about themselves, They're willingness to roll the dice and gamble with a consummately ignorant and unqualified flimflam man and their admittedly low expectations for his performance in office speaks volumes. These people who wear the flag on their sleeves yet vote for an abomination who gets into pissing contests with Gold Star families, insults veterans who were prisoners of war, desecrates the CIA Wall of Stars by giving a speech in front of it attacking the press and bragging about his inauguration crowd, who literally defended Putin by comparing our country to that brutal autocrat, these people are not patriots.

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    15. mm,
      But Bill Clinton had a consensual sexual relationship with an adult, so you know, "both sides".

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    16. Which in fact she very deliberately set out in advance to initiate, as she herself told in detail.

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    17. Yes, when all else fails for DinC he goes for the blowjobs.

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  19. Maddow getting ready to crash?

    What The Hell Was This Rachel Maddow Segment?
    https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/rachel-maddow-niger-travel-ban_us_59ea060fe4b05b4f1c3ad52f

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  20. E.g., never in Ameican history has any politician been publicly criticized for clumsiness in a condolence call

    Really, Comrade DinC? Does Benghazi ring a bell, dickhead? Secretary Clinton was at the hangar to meet the family of the Benghazi victims when the bodies were returned to the US. And she was viciously slandered for two years for something she supposedly said to one of the family members that nobody else heard.

    President* pussygrabber lying sack of shit was playing golf at one of his country clubs when the Niger Green Beret bodies were returned tweeting ridiculous idiotic attacks at the NFL. The bastard didn't even acknowledge the death of these four heroes for two weeks, then he lies about what President Obama did, then he drags Gen. Kelly's son into it, then calls the wife and can't even remember the name of her dead husband, then denies saying what every witness to the call heard him say and then has his Chief of Staff lie about Rep. Wilson, and you and your fucking deplorable team jumps right where he wants you to go.

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    1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  21. To David in Cal:
    It's pretty clear that you hang out here to enjoy a self-styled liberal like Somerby bashing liberals. You get a smug sense of satisfaction in what you think confirms your pre-existing disdain for liberals. Then you go back to your regular news sources, never subjecting them to any analysis or criticism, an unthinking member of your "tribe." At least we liberals who read Somerby's blog are willing to entertain criticism of us and our tribe. And that seems to be a defining difference between liberals and conservatives. Sadly.

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  22. 1) Our tribal script is already in place. It says that General Kelly was wrong on his facts. Bellow, pause, repeat.
    3) No one is a perfect messenger. We'd recommend that people look for ways to halt our floundering nation's rapid steep dangerous slide.

    Bob’s method is to continue to hammer liberals over trivia while excusing the most baldfaced lies of the right, which both Kelly and Trump told this week. These ARE the methods of the right.

    This is now officially a right-wing blog.

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