Political Randomness

[Smoove_B]

Nevertheless, the gray-matter challenged will try to paint this as Biden is a drug crazed zombie being propped up by evil white powder. I don't even have to verify.

Won't it be a Hunter visit to White House that Biden is personally covering up?

It's amazing to me the amount of investigative and media space being given to a bag of cocaine and yet 2.5 years later we still don't know who planted bombs on the night of 1/5/21 around D.C. ahead of the attack on the Capitol.

[LawBeefaroni]

Nevertheless, the gray-matter challenged will try to paint this as Biden is a drug crazed zombie being propped up by evil white powder. I don't even have to verify.

Won't it be a Hunter visit to White House that Biden is personally covering up?

It's amazing to me the amount of investigative and media space being given to a bag of cocaine and yet 2.5 years later we still don't know who planted bombs on the night of 1/5/21 around D.C. ahead of the attack on the Capitol.

Media maybe is making a big deal but now that they know it was coke, I don't think there's much investigation going on. At least not until the House forms a committee to investigate.

[Alefroth]

Certain media is making a big deal.

[Smoove_B]

Media maybe is making a big deal but now that they know it was coke, I don't think there's much investigation going on. At least not until the House forms a committee to investigate.

I thought I'd read (over the weekend?) that the Secret Service was conducting an investigation into what happened? Maybe I interpreted that wrong and they just looked around and shrugged their shoulders, but I took it it to mean they were formally doing something.

[malchior]

Media maybe is making a big deal but now that they know it was coke, I don't think there's much investigation going on. At least not until the House forms a committee to investigate.

I thought I'd read (over the weekend?) that the Secret Service was conducting an investigation into what happened? Maybe I interpreted that wrong and they just looked around and shrugged their shoulders, but I took it it to mean they were formally doing something.

What I read was that they couldn't identify where it came from and essentially wouldn't be able to figure it out. Of course that absolutely means it was a cover up.

[LawBeefaroni]

Media maybe is making a big deal but now that they know it was coke, I don't think there's much investigation going on. At least not until the House forms a committee to investigate.

I thought I'd read (over the weekend?) that the Secret Service was conducting an investigation into what happened? Maybe I interpreted that wrong and they just looked around and shrugged their shoulders, but I took it it to mean they were formally doing something.

What I read was that they couldn't identify where it came from and essentially wouldn't be able to figure it out. Of course that absolutely means it was a cover up.

Right now it's "we'll probably never know...." Which is level setting for either "we will never say what we do know" or "we can't be assed to deal with this nonevent."

[Blackhawk]

There will be some investigation, even though it's an irrelevant glitch, and even though there is no way that they're likely to find out who put it there beyond a quick check of security cameras, not investigating it at all will just add fuel to the fire (not that the fires will go out regardless.)

I'd expect that they will investigate ("Hey Frank! You know whose this is?" "Nope." "Ok, I'll close the file.") They will then wait a few weeks to make it look good, declare it over, and release a statement emphasizing the fact that it was (as far as I know) a tiny bag in the floor of a hallway that hundreds of different people had passed through.

[malchior]

As usual the only outlet to get this right is The Onion

Mysterious White Powder Found In West Wing Identified As President Biden

[Carpet_pissr]

I bet she loves this, just fuels her so desperately sought ‘bad girl/rebel’ image:

Marjorie Taylor Greene booted from House Freedom Caucus

The vote occurred nearly two weeks ago, shortly after the Georgia Republican had called then-fellow Freedom Caucus member Rep. Lauren Boebert a pejorative in a verbal fight on the House floor.

[Smoove_B]

Media maybe is making a big deal but now that they know it was coke, I don't think there's much investigation going on. At least not until the House forms a committee to investigate.

Are you a wizard?

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer is requesting a Secret Service briefing on the recent discovery of a bag of cocaine at the White House.

In a letter Friday to Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle, Comer, R-Ky., said he wanted a staff-level briefing by the end of next week as his committee seeks more details about the cocaine that was found in a highly trafficked part of the West Wing on Sunday, prompting a brief evacuation.

...

In an accompanying statement, Comer said the incident “and the eventual evacuation of staff now clearly raises concerns about the level of security maintained at the White House.”

The Secret Service did not immediately respond to NBC News' request for comment on Comer's letter.

[GreenGoo]

I don't find that particularly unusual. I think finding drugs, particularly any of the more illicit drugs, in the white house is something that needs to be followed up on, even if it turns out to be nothing in the end.

[Blackhawk]

My eyes rolled so far that they're back where they started.

[Alefroth]

I don't find that particularly unusual. I think finding drugs, particularly any of the more illicit drugs, in the white house is something that needs to be followed up on, even if it turns out to be nothing in the end.

You don't think it's unusual that the House is involved?

[GreenGoo]

I'm not sure. I think the other branches have a right to know wtf is going on. Should they have authority over the investigation? Probably not. Who should? Not the white house. Asking for a report from the SS hardly seems over reaching. At least imo.

[Max Peck]

You could argue that it's unusual for the House to be keenly interested in how the cocaine came to be in Biden's White House when the same people have no interest in how all those classified documents came to be in Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence and beyond.

Alternatively, you could argue that it's completely usual predictable for them to be interested in the one and not the other because it's 2023 and there are no political norms, and haven't been for quite some time now. I would not be shocked if they try to turn Cocainegate into a trumped up (Ha!) impeachment.

[Blackhawk]

Neither would I. Based on what we've heard, what actually happened (and what makes both the hubbub and the 'Congressional briefing' so absurd is that this is the equivalent of finding a cigarette butt at a school after parent-teacher conferences and investigating the principal for smoking around kids. There are a thousand possible answers to what happened, and anything involving Biden is the least likely of them, but that is still the narrative everyone's pursuing.

[Jaymann]

What's funny about it is had it been a nihilist redneck plot to undermine Biden it would have been a stroke of genius. Fortunately they lack the gray matter.

[YellowKing]

Biden could be snorting lines from the desk of the Oval Office on live television and that would still pale in comparison to the crimes Trump and co have visited upon this country.

[Alefroth]

I'm not sure. I think the other branches have a right to know wtf is going on. Should they have authority over the investigation? Probably not. Who should? Not the white house. Asking for a report from the SS hardly seems over reaching. At least imo.

I would think law enforcement would be the logical investigating body. What makes it worthy of the attention of congress? Just the fact that it was in the WH?

[Holman]

The White House in every administration has a huge staff made up of go-getters and climbers of all ages and stages of their careers.

I assume that there has been some amount of coke, speed, or other stimulant on the premises every day since the late 1950s, at least.

[Max Peck]

What makes it worthy of the attention of congress? Just the fact that it was in the WH?

The fact that it was in the White House while someone from the other party is occupying the Oval Office.

[GreenGoo]

The White House in every administration has a huge staff made up of go-getters and climbers of all ages and stages of their careers.

I assume that there has been some amount of coke, speed, or other stimulant on the premises every day since the late 1950s, at least.

Almost certainly. So just ignore?

The quote above is the house just asking for a report from the secret service. Hey secret service, we heard about the cocaine, what's the deal?

I don't understand wtf is happening in this thread.

[Blackhawk]

Because it isn't what is happening in this thread that we are responding to. It is what is happening in the conservative media and in the Republican party as they take yet another non-issue and try to blow it up into something massive because they hope it'll make a Democrat look bad.

This is Hillary sending email from Hunter's laptop in the basement of a pizza parlor, and we're fed up with it.

[Holman]

The White House in every administration has a huge staff made up of go-getters and climbers of all ages and stages of their careers.

I assume that there has been some amount of coke, speed, or other stimulant on the premises every day since the late 1950s, at least.

Almost certainly. So just ignore?

The quote above is the house just asking for a report from the secret service. Hey secret service, we heard about the cocaine, what's the deal?

I don't understand wtf is happening in this thread.

Did I say to ignore it?

As I understand it, the Secret Service is investigating. That's appropriate.

[Alefroth]

The White House in every administration has a huge staff made up of go-getters and climbers of all ages and stages of their careers.

I assume that there has been some amount of coke, speed, or other stimulant on the premises every day since the late 1950s, at least.

Almost certainly. So just ignore?

The quote above is the house just asking for a report from the secret service. Hey secret service, we heard about the cocaine, what's the deal?

I don't understand wtf is happening in this thread.

The S.S. performs many investigations every year. Why is the House so interested in being briefed on this one?

[Isgrimnur]

"This alarming development requires the Committee to assess White House security practices and determine whose failures led to an evacuation of the building and finding of the illegal substance," Comer wrote.

"The presence of illegal drugs in the White House is unacceptable and a shameful moment in the White House’s history," he added.

Grandstanding.

[Max Peck]

"This alarming development requires the Committee to assess White House security practices and determine whose failures led to an evacuation of the building and finding of the illegal substance," Comer wrote.

"The presence of illegal drugs in the White House is unacceptable and a shameful moment in the White House’s history," he added.

Ratfucking.

Mortoned.

[Kurth]

Because it isn't what is happening in this thread that we are responding to. It is what is happening in the conservative media and in the Republican party as they take yet another non-issue and try to blow it up into something massive because they hope it'll make a Democrat look bad.

This is Hillary sending email from Hunter's laptop in the basement of a pizza parlor, and we're fed up with it.

Is this really a thing? I just checked in on Fox News - yuck - and there’s not a single mention of this cocaine in the White House issue. Not a one.

[Jaymann]

Pfft, Fox News is now a font of wokeness.

[Apollo]

The NYT just reported that Erdogan has agreed to allow Sweden into NATO.

Accidentally posted this in the wrong forum earlier, so forgive me.

[Blackhawk]

The NYT just reported that Erdogan has agreed to allow Sweden into NATO.

Accidentally posted this in the wrong forum earlier, so forgive me.

First he pisses off Putin by releasing Ukrainian prisoners of war, now this. Is this Russia looking weak, leading Turkey to back away? Or did someone else make them a better offer?

[Apollo]

The NYT just reported that Erdogan has agreed to allow Sweden into NATO.

Accidentally posted this in the wrong forum earlier, so forgive me.

First he pisses off Putin by releasing Ukrainian prisoners of war, now this. Is this Russia looking weak, leading Turkey to back away? Or did someone else make them a better offer?

The weirdest part is that he made this decision mere hours after stating that the EU would have to allow Turkey in as a member before he would allow Sweden to join NATO.

[Blackhawk]

If he's going to be in power, I'd prefer that he under the EU's thumb than Putin's.

[Max Peck]

Hopefully no Kurds were thrown under the bus to arrive at a deal.

Turkey drops opposition to Sweden’s NATO bid on eve of summit

In exchange for giving a green light to Sweden this time, Erdogan got Stockholm to agree to continue counterterrorism cooperation with Ankara. Sweden also said it would push inside the European Union to reduce trade barriers with Turkey and to make it easier for Turkish citizens to enter the E.U. Stoltenberg agreed to appoint a NATO counterterrorism coordinator, long a request of Turkey’s.

The joint news release said Sweden “reiterates” it would not support groups Turkey regards as terrorist entities — a key Erdogan demand — including a movement accused of trying to overthrow Erdogan’s government in 2016 and a Kurdish militia in Syria affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, which has fought a long insurgency against the Turkish government.

Turkey’s main focus, analysts said, has been the completion of a $20 billion deal for American F-16 fighter jets, an agreement that is backed by the Biden administration but has faced opposition on Capitol Hill.

The planes were not mentioned by Stoltenberg nor by the Turkish and Swedish leaders in their joint declaration, and it was not immediately clear whether there had been a side deal with the United States. Some senators, including Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), have vowed to block the sale of the jets until Sweden is admitted to NATO.

[malchior]

The world's greatest deliberative body somehow can't work around a former football coach being a racist, misogynist douchebag.

https://twitter.com/FrankFigliuzzi1/sta ... 1781719042

[LordMortis]

Turkey drops

[LordMortis]

Thanks Supreme Court.

He says it's not a national security issue and yet

“I’m holding the military accountable; others are holding our national security hostage by forcing their agenda where it doesn’t belong," Tuberville said in March. "Americans want a military focused on a national defense − and that’s what I’m fighting for.”

[Isgrimnur]

https://twitter.com/Acyn/status/1678579616376651777

Spoiler:

[Max Peck]

So... His idea of a dog whistle is... a tuba?

[Isgrimnur]

https://instantsfun.es/sad-tuba/