The News Cycle was Crazy today (so far)

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_Xenophon
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Re: The News Cycle was Crazy today (so far)

Post by _Xenophon »

EAllusion wrote:One of the humorous things I've seen today is various people on Twitter arguing that any number of these stories are meant to distract from any number of the other stories. There isn't agreement on the direction of distraction, just that it's all subterfuge. I'd counter propose that it's actually just a collection of mostly related bad stories all happening at once.


I think this is related to the medias continued belief that Trump and the White House don't just do things "because". They continually try to ascribe some kind of 12-D chess calculation to everything they do.

As far as the news cycle yesterday it was quite insane. Even as a pretty serious reader of the news I'm still certain I missed something. Just chalk this up as another new high (or low) of an administration where the best defense seems to be in just riding with the flood instead of fighting it. At least no one is talking about Stormy Daniels anymore (even though reports say Melania was apparently blindsided by it) and the story of no new sanctions on Russia will probably disappear either with the memo release or SOTU (where the media will praise him as "presidential" so long as he doesn't say the n-word) tonight anyways.

To the memo specifically, I particularly appreciated the tactic of heavily delaying (or possibly never releasing) the point by point rebuttal memo so that we will get a nice solid 48+ hour news cycle of the attack on the Justice Department before any counter argument is presented. Something, something... Chinese curse... something, something... interesting times.
"If you consider what are called the virtues in mankind, you will find their growth is assisted by education and cultivation." -Xenophon of Athens
_EAllusion
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Re: The News Cycle was Crazy today (so far)

Post by _EAllusion »

There was the 4th tier story of Julian Assange contacting a parody Twitter account believing it to be Sean Hannity wherein he offered to give dirt on Mark Warner, the ranking minority member on the Senate Intelligence committee, using back channels.

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/julia ... le/2647461

In some other universe, that's a major story. Yesterday, it was an afterthought. A known launderer of Russian espionage is offering to give a propagandist for Republicans dirt on the minority lead on investigation into Russian interference in America's electoral process. Afterthought story.
_Xenophon
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Re: The News Cycle was Crazy today (so far)

Post by _Xenophon »

Who has time to worry about a broken arm when the avalanche is still coming?
"If you consider what are called the virtues in mankind, you will find their growth is assisted by education and cultivation." -Xenophon of Athens
_MeDotOrg
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Re: The News Cycle was Crazy today (so far)

Post by _MeDotOrg »

EAllusion wrote:There was the 4th tier story of Julian Assange contacting a parody Twitter account believing it to be Sean Hannity wherein he offered to give dirt on Mark Warner, the ranking minority member on the Senate Intelligence committee, using back channels.

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/julia ... le/2647461

In some other universe, that's a major story. Yesterday, it was an afterthought. A known launderer of Russian espionage is offering to give a propagandist for Republicans dirt on the minority lead on investigation into Russian interference in America's electoral process. Afterthought story.


(Dell Gilliam as Hannity):“I’d like to set up a time for us to talk. When may be good for you?”

Assange responded, “Back! Good to see. Most of today is good. Try other channels.”


That exchange would certainly lead one to believe that this was not the first time Sean and Julian had communicated together.

So you have a back channel communication between an operative for the Russian government and a major U.S. political commentator?

Let's see how many Republicans choose patriotism over Sean Hannity.
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_EAllusion
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Re: The News Cycle was Crazy today (so far)

Post by _EAllusion »

NBC News is reporting via anonymous sources that Trump has been discussing the possibility of prosecuting Mueller and his legal team:

https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/2018- ... er-n842501
_Some Schmo
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Re: The News Cycle was Crazy today (so far)

Post by _Some Schmo »

EAllusion wrote:NBC News is reporting via anonymous sources that Trump has been discussing the possibility of prosecuting Mueller and his legal team:

https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/2018- ... er-n842501

Why does this feel like the critical moment in season one of Game of Thrones when Ned warned Cersei he was going to bring up the incest thing instead of just going and doing it?

Who will win this power struggle? It's not feeling like America will.
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_EAllusion
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Re: The News Cycle was Crazy today (so far)

Post by _EAllusion »

This Lawfare article ambitiously titled is summary of minutes on the Memo hearing as "It's worse than you think."

https://lawfareblog.com/it-was-worse-yo ... nunes-memo

It was indeed worse than I thought.

Then I read this:

Adam Schiff is saying that Devin Nunes made material changes to his memo before giving it to the White House which means that it's not actually the memo he was authorized to share.

Then as a chaser:

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/31/us/p ... eller.html

They are so bloody incompetent at this. Just so many caught virtually red-handed moments that you'd never expect to happen even if they were guilty as sin.
_Res Ipsa
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Re: The News Cycle was Crazy today (so far)

Post by _Res Ipsa »

It may be time to dust off the old Constitutional Crisis thread. I'm sure it's in a packing crate back in the warehouse.
​“The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists.”

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_Jersey Girl
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Re: The News Cycle was Crazy today (so far)

Post by _Jersey Girl »

Res Ipsa wrote:It may be time to dust off the old Constitutional Crisis thread. I'm sure it's in a packing crate back in the warehouse.


Do it.
Failure is not falling down but refusing to get up.
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_Res Ipsa
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Re: The News Cycle was Crazy today (so far)

Post by _Res Ipsa »

Jersey Girl wrote:
Res Ipsa wrote:It may be time to dust off the old Constitutional Crisis thread. I'm sure it's in a packing crate back in the warehouse.


Do it.


Done. Man, that warehouse is dusty.
​“The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists.”

― Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism, 1951
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