I heard former CIA 'clandestine serviceman' Jon Sipher on Renato Mariotti's fantastic podcast On Topic.

Sipher describes how Trump and Putin's colliding interests are far more threatening to the future of democracy than answering the question "was there collusion?"

The entire story was published by The Atlantic here.

Two Donald Trump supporters were recently photographed at a rally wearing shirts emblazoned with the phrase i’d rather be russian than a democrat. To some supporters of President Trump, praising Russia and denigrating Democrats is simply a means of expressing tribal loyalties, or of goading liberals. However, as heated political rhetoric becomes part of the media landscape, such fringe views are becoming more mainstream, displaying an increasing convergence of interests between Vladimir Putin’s Russia and the views of Trump supporters.

While many Americans are concerned that the Trump campaign may have colluded with Russia to influence the 2016 election, Trump’s outright convergence of interests with Putin’s Russia may well prove far more damaging for U.S. interests in the long run. Convergence can be defined as distinct groups doing the same things for different reasons, or as a unity of interests evolving from separate starting points. Both Putin and Trump seek to inject chaos into the U.S. political system. They support an assault on U.S. foreign-policy elites, encourage fringe and radical groups, and envision a United States untethered from traditional allies. They also share a willingness to utilize informal and semi-legal means to achieve their goals. The common interest shown by Russia and the alt-right in exploiting fears surrounding the routine Jade Helm military exercise in Texas in 2015?

LISTEN CLOSELY: "I thought it was a joke," says Clemson athlete upon learning the White House was serving him Wendy's.pic.twitter.com/bRNRhLmDBF

— Ʀogue US Mint (@RogueUSMint) January 15, 2019

You can clearly hear one attendee state that they thought this was a joke.

I believe I hear the declaration "It's absurd" over and over, however that may be a southern accent repeatedly hailing "Thank you, sir!"

Folks are clearly grateful Orange Julius provided this fast food bonanza. Read the rest

They died with their face to the foe and that pathetic inadequate @realDonaldTrump couldn’t even defy the weather to pay his respects to The Fallen #hesnotfittorepresenthisgreatcountry

— Nicholas Soames (@NSoames) November 10, 2018

Sir Arthur Nicholas Winston Soames, member of parliament and grandson of Sir Winston Churchill, laid into Donald Trump for his shameful cowardice in the face of rain.

Read the rest

How low the United States has fallen. Read the rest

Orange Julius is at it again. Check out his latest, totally batshit Mainstream Media Accountability Survey.

Full of double negatives and odd rewinds, this survey from the Trump campaign puts in the usual half-effort of twisting words to try and get the response they want.

Fill it out! Have some fun!

Please list Boing Boing as a source of news that you trust. I sure did.

(h/t Fark) Read the rest

Trump repeating conspiracy theories does not make them true, Fox NEWS has to repeat them 30 more times.

Via Ars Technica:

The Federal Bureau of Investigations issued a terse statement today regarding President Donald J. Trump's allegation via Twitter that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's private mail server had been compromised by the Chinese government. The official statement, issued by an FBI spokesperson in response to an inquiry by NBC News, simply read, "The FBI has not found any evidence the servers were compromised"—referring to the three email servers used by Clinton during and after her tenure at the US State Department.

Over the course of my life, recently departed Senator John McCain has had me both cheering, and screaming, but he was absolutely due the same trappings as any other sitting US Senator who kicks the bucket.

Via Talking Points Memo:

According to people familiar with the situation who spoke to the Wall Street Journal, Trump thought the reporting on McCain’s passing, just one day after his family announced he would stop seeking medical treatment for his brain cancer, was “over-the-top and more befitting a president,” in WSJ’s words.

We all doubt Trump knows what befits a President. Trust us, Donald, people are gonna celebrate when you go. Read the rest

All televisions on Air Farce One may only be tuned to FOX News! ONLY FOX NEWS!!!!

Via The Week:

After an incident during a recent trip, all televisions inside Air Force One must now be tuned to Fox News when President Trump comes aboard, The New York Times reports. The Times viewed an email chain between officials from the White House Military Office and the White House Communications Agency sent last Thursday, which described Trump discovering that first lady Melania Trump's television was set to CNN. He become enraged, causing "a bit of a stir," one of the emails states, because he considers CNN "fake news." The officials ultimately decided that two more televisions with streaming capabilities would be ordered, allowing the Trumps to watch TV in separate hotel rooms while traveling, and that moving forward, the TVs will all be tuned to Fox News.

He said FOX NEWS!!! Read the rest

Stormy Daniels has filed a lawsuit against US President Donald Trump for his defamatory comments on Twitter. Read the rest

Joe Biden continues to say what he thinks, and advocates violence against sexual predators.

Via the Daily Beast:

Appearing Tuesday evening at a University of Miami event, the former vice president declared that a younger version of himself would have had no problem resorting to fisticuffs to teach Trump a lesson about dignity.

“When a guy who ended up becoming our national leader said, ‘I can grab a woman anywhere and she likes it,’” Biden said during the anti-sexual assault It's On Us event. “They asked me if I’d like to debate this gentleman, and I said no. I said, ‘If we were in high school, I’d take him behind the gym and beat the hell out of him.’”

Biden, who is often discussed as a frontrunner for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, went on to refer to Trump’s infamous “locker-room talk” excuse for his vulgar words about women.

“I’ve been in a lot of locker rooms my whole life,” Biden said. “I’m a pretty damn good athlete.”

He quipped: “Any guy that talked that way was usually the fattest, ugliest SOB in the room.”

Image via Giphy Read the rest

Who believes a word this guy says? All of it was babble, for the most part.

Video via NBC News Read the rest

I replaced .@realDonaldTrump with his Disney animatronic figure and honestly, it's an improvement pic.twitter.com/o0G12K22bH

— Born Miserable (@bornmiserable) December 29, 2017

Twitter user @bornmiserable is putting their photoshopping skills to good use. Read the rest

Shitting all over centuries of American history, the sitting President of the United States declared “In America, we don’t worship government, we worship God.” while speaking to a bunch of zealots at the "Value Voters Summit." Trump is the first President to address this group.

The Dotard-in-Chief also regaled the audience, of mostly white Christ admiring folk looking to impress their way of life on the rest of us, with tales of his defense of their first amendment rights.

Oh, the irony!

Via TPM:

The President also mentioned that he had made “official” the National Day of Prayer. So did former President Barack Obama, via executive proclamation, eight years in a row.

And Trump reminded his audience of a peculiar focus of his since his early days on the campaign trail: “We’re saying ‘Merry Christmas’ again!”

Trump is the first sitting President to address the summit, which is organized by the Family Research Council, a conservative Christian group with deep political roots.

During his speech, the President extolled the values of the religious life and positioned them opposite an oppressive government bureaucracy.

“For too long, politicians have tried to centralize the authority among the hands of a small few in our nation’s capital,” he said. “Bureaucrats think they can run your lives, overrule your values, meddle in your faith, and tell you how to live, what to say, and how to pray. But we know that parents, not bureaucrats, know best how to raise their children and create a thriving society.”

He added separately: “In America, we don’t worship government, we worship God.”

"I was having fun, they were having fun," said the US top dotard of callously tossing "very good towels" at Hurricane victims.

Watch this video as Mike Huckabee, the father of Trump's tone-deaf Press Secretary, and Orange Julius hisself discuss what a great job Trump thinks he did. No nepotism here folks.

Via HuffPo:

Arguing that the media “made up” their coverage of the trip, he described in great detail the “deafening” sound of the cheering crowd when he threw paper towels at residents receiving aid at a church.

“They had these beautiful, soft towels. Very good towels,” Trump said. “And I came in, and there was a crowd of a lot of people. And they were screaming, and they were loving everything. I was having fun. They were having fun. They said, ‘Throw ‘em to me! Throw ‘em to me, Mr. President!’

“So next day, they said, ‘Oh, it was so disrespectful to the people,’” Trump continued, referring to the press. “It was just a made-up thing. And also, when I walked in, the cheering was incredible.”

“You were a rock star!” Huckabee interjected. “I saw the video of it!”

Trump asks how he ever got "here" with the horrible publicity. Apparently America loves a racist. Read the rest

When asked about changing global perceptions of America and its values, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson could not have been clearer: "The President speaks for himself, Chris."

Guess we won't be seeing a lot more of Tillerson. Read the rest

In yet another display of zero competence or situational awareness, President Trump issued new unhinged commentary in his "Statement by President Donald J. Trump on Signing the 'Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act.'"

Still, the bill remains seriously flawed – particularly because it encroaches on the executive branch’s authority to negotiate. Congress could not even negotiate a healthcare bill after seven years of talking. By limiting the Executive’s flexibility, this bill makes it harder for the United States to strike good deals for the American people, and will drive China, Russia, and North Korea much closer together. The Framers of our Constitution put foreign affairs in the hands of the President. This bill will prove the wisdom of that choice.

Yet despite its problems, I am signing this bill for the sake of national unity. It represents the will of the American people to see Russia take steps to improve relations with the United States. We hope there will be cooperation between our two countries on major global issues so that these sanctions will no longer be necessary.

Further, the bill sends a clear message to Iran and North Korea that the American people will not tolerate their dangerous and destabilizing behavior. America will continue to work closely with our friends and allies to check those countries’ malignant activities.

I built a truly great company worth many billions of dollars. That is a big part of the reason I was elected. As President, I can make far better deals with foreign countries than Congress.

More Sassy. Read the rest