Song Travels is one of my all-time favs! It is wonderfully transporting to listen to Michael Feinstein talk to singers and songwriters. The magic is that Feinstein is both a fan and a highly skilled musician, so he can switch between articulating why a song is meaningful to him to deconstructing the bassline.

30 loyal people is nothing when the usual staff for the White House alone tops 1k (not counting domestic/security staff). The daily leaks have to be coming from somewhere, and a lot of them are coming from people very close to the inner workings.

Also I’d point out proclamations of loyalty on live TV are a completely…

Trump’s approval rating is approaching the percentage of fuckwits in America. They may only be a percentage or two apart, but I doubt his approval will drop below, say 33%. Those idiots love that he lies all the time, love that he’s destroying America, and love love love being assholes just like him.

Apparently it’s not even party over country, it’s “my guy” over everybody.

They’re already on Medicare. They don’t care what happens to the health care system as long as the government doesn’t take over their Medicare.

It’s charming how quickly his backers can switch from “Donald is an alpha male silverback gorilla who will not shit from anyone” to “Donald is a precious little baby who is not accustomed to Washington, D.C., and must be sheltered from those nasty politicians”. Supporting Donald is a tremendously corrupting enterprise.

That and calling anyone who disagrees with them hysterical. It straight up gives me the vapors. It’s interesting seeing Koppel, long a terror of the smug, criminal, or dishonest, interacting with Hannity. I think Koppel was deliberately gentle here, as it makes Hannity look like even more of an ass. This is also a…

“You have attracted people who are determined that ideology is more important than facts.”

“You have attracted people who are determined that ideology is more important than facts.”

“No one expected a business man to completely understand the nuances, the complicated ins and outs of Washington and its legislative process,” the Fox News host said. Ryan, however, is a different story. “You come in with all your swagger and experience and sell them a bill of goods which ends up a complete and…

I’ve often wondered that: Why do so many people knuckle under to this buffoon? I really hope this breaks the spell that Congress been under because the only way to defeat bullies is to stand up to them. The R’s from purple districts know good and goddamn well many, many Trumpets only voted for him b/c they were dumb…

It’s pretty staggering. If Trump had actually waited and tried to gain the proper support behind the scenes and, you know, actually practiced good negotiation tactics, it’s possible they could have eked out a victory. Instead, he looks like a complete and utter failure.

I’m reminded of the stories of people taking picnic lunches to watch the first battles of what became the Civil War, thinking it’d be an amusing skirmish and the whole thing would be over in a week.

Yes but the people who voted for him decided that by virtue of white skin and impotent anger that they’d get to drag their lawn chairs out and watch it all burn. In their stunningly naive calculus, they forgot to consider that it would burn with them inside it.

Trump’s leverage over congress is interesting to me. He is known for demanding loyalty but shows no loyalty in return. He routinely fucks over his “friends”. The cabinet sounds like they are treated as untrustworthy figureheads. And campaign allies? Chris Christie is an excellent example of what awaits someone stupid…

Donald: this is the deal, take it or leave it!

So, repealing the ACA never provided as much utility to Trump as to the Congressional GOP. He can pass the buck, as he’s already shown he likes to do, and blame Congress. By doing so, he avoids hurting or angering his white elderly base, who’d suffer under the AHCA, all without losing his conservative bona fides. With…

At this point the problem is not that he lies. Rather, the problem is that a sizable number of the American people don’t care or applaud him for it. He has been fact checked up the wazoo at this point. I don’t think it is the media’s job to scream at him something along the lines of “you lie.” They have pointed it out…

Duly noted.

...until Donald Trump’s regime came along and called for a ban on Muslims and expressed support for Japanese internment camps.