Wednesday Open Thread | Keiko Matsui Week

Posted on May 9, 2018 by rikyrah

Happy Hump Day, Everyone! More Keiko…

This entry was posted in Music, Open Thread, Politics and tagged , , . Bookmark the permalink.

83 Responses to Wednesday Open Thread | Keiko Matsui Week

  1. eliihass says:
    May 9, 2018 at 10:53 pm

    So, when you see the likes of Newt Gingrich, Rudy Giuliani, the News Max guy Chris Ruddy, Anthony Scaramucci, Corey Lewandowski etc. falling all over themselves defending the indefensible and talking up their ‘friendship’ with and access to the buffoon, it’s not just them auditioning for a job, it’s often also about fine-tuning their grift and lining their pockets by asserting their ‘access’, and ‘closeness’ to the impostors squatting in the ultimate address and the automatic power it bestows..

    https://static01.nyt.com/images/2017/08/29/magazine/03Lobbyists5/03Lobbyists5-master1050-v3.jpg

    “…At one point last year, Lewandowski even tried selling a book, tentatively titled ‘‘Let Trump Be Trump’’; Stryk, introduced to Lewandowski by a mutual friend, helped him shop the proposal. ‘‘Corey had a brand,’’ Stryk told me, and that brand was valuable. HarperCollins offered Lewandowski $1.2 million, an astounding figure for a campaign manager — though the deal evaporated when Lewandowski refused to show HarperCollins a copy of his nondisclosure agreement with Trump.

    ‘‘Many companies want to understand: What are the president’s priorities?’’ Corey Lewandowski told me in February, a few weeks after the inauguration. ‘‘But there are so few people in Washington who have a relationship or an understanding of him.’’ Lewandowski, the president’s former campaign manager, was happy to tell you that he was one of the few exceptions.

    His mind-meld with Trump was what made him valuable to clients, Lewandowski explained to me. ‘‘I think what I bring is a level of understanding of the president’s thought process,’’ he said, ‘‘only because I had the privilege of being next to him for so long.’’ He was doing as many as nine or 10 meetings a day

    Stryk’s greatest coup was Saudi Arabia. Gulf-state oligarchs spend tens of millions of dollars a year lobbying in Washington and larding influential think tanks with grant money, and Saudi Arabia is one of the biggest spenders. The country’s then-crown prince and minister of the interior, Mohammed bin Nayef, was an exception: He enjoyed deep ties to the American intelligence apparatus under President Obama and had never needed a lobbyist. This spring, however, Trump invited Nayef’s chief rival — Mohammed bin Salman, the deputy crown prince and the king’s son — to a formal White House lunch. The lunch sent ripples through Riyadh. Did Trump favor Salman? Accidentally or on purpose, Trump had just waded into Saudi Arabia’s treacherous succession politics. Nayef found himself in need of guidance.

    In May, S.P.G. signed a contract to provide ‘‘congressional and executive branch brand engagement’’ to the Saudi Ministry of the Interior — Nayef’s domain. Stryk did not want to reveal much about his work for the Saudis, but lobbying records show that the fee was $5.4 million, payable up front.

    Saudi Arabia canceled its S.P.G. contract after Stryk’s client, the crown prince, was deposed in a palace reshuffle.

    But as companies and countries vied for Trump’s ear over the spring, the new Trump lobbyists found themselves competing with one another as much as with the established Washington firms. Ballard, for example, had explored working for members of the Venezuelan opposition. (‘‘I’m no world-peace guy,’’ he told me, ‘‘but I think I can help a little bit.’’) Lewan­dowski’s firm, meanwhile, was pitching Citgo, the American subsidiary of Venezuela’s state-owned oil company. (Avenue eventually signed Citgo, and in August the Trump administration would partly exempt the company from a new round of sanctions on the Venezuelan government.)

    Jolly, Stryk’s marquee Trumpworld hire, called me out of the blue. He was leaving S.P.G., he said. He told me he had grown uncomfortable with the firm’s auditions for foreign clients, so he was going back to his own political-consulting business.

    Stryk was having his own qualms. Lewandowski had beaten him on some pitches, Stryk was told by prospective clients, by promising that he could get Trump on the phone — a promise Stryk felt he could not make. ‘‘We don’t sell access to Trump,’’ he told me. ‘‘I don’t know Donald Trump.’’

    In July, Corey founded a new firm, Lewandowski Strategic Advisors. He offered clients ‘‘strategic advice and counsel,’’ according to a copy of one contract I obtained, and had picked up at least one client from Avenue, the Ohio payday lender. He was back on TV more and more, energetically defending Trump and plumping for various private interests. At one point, I got a tip that he had been spotted in Taipei, Taiwan. He wouldn’t tell me what he was doing there, or for whom he was working — ‘‘I’m just a private citizen,’’ he texted — but weeks later, he tweeted about the Trump administration’s decision to approve a $1.42 billion arms sale to the country. He hadn’t yet landed that White House job, but he was in the West Wing often, and he had a new Twitter avatar: a picture of himself standing on the stairs to Air Force One. Newt Gingrich’s publisher had bought Lewandowski’s Trump book…”

    https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/30/magazine/how-to-get-rich-in-trumps-washington.html?smid=tw-nytimes&smtyp=cur&_r=0

    Reply
  2. SouthernGirl2 says:
    May 9, 2018 at 10:03 pm

    The truth MUST be TOLD! Jeff Sessions is EVIL.

    https://twitter.com/nowthisnews/status/994409943141765120

    Reply
    • eliihass says:
      May 9, 2018 at 9:42 pm

      Corey Lewandowski too.. How’s everyone forgetting that slimy crooked Lewandowski.. He was one of the first to set up his grifting gig to cheers from the media.. All the buffoon’s slimy apostles are as just like the buffoon: greedy, treasonous grifters..

      “…former Trump advisers, campaign aides, and friends are making millions as lobbyists for foreign governments and companies, US CEOs, and more establishment lobbying firms.

      The new DC profiteers, who include Trump’s former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski, have joined a sea of 10,000 registered lobbyists and thousands more unregistered who feed off of the moneyed interests attempting to sway policy and politics in Washington.

      Following the election, Lewandowski set up shop just blocks from the White House, founding the lobbying firm Avenue Strategies, which has raked in millions advising dozens of corporate and government clients, including the CEOs of Lockheed Martin and Whirlpool, Venezuela’s state-owned oil company, and a conservative Albanian politician.

      At one point, a client offered Lewandowski $250,000 to get Trump to tweet about them, the Times reported. In another instance, a wealthy Trump fan promised a million dollars if the former Trump adviser could organize a photo op with the president in the Oval Office.

      “Many companies want to understand: What are the president’s priorities?” Lewandowski told the Times’ Nick Confessore last February. “But there are so few people in Washington who have a relationship or an understanding of him.”

      Lewandowski counts himself among those few.

      “I think what I bring is a level of understanding of the president’s thought process,” he added, “only because I had the privilege of being next to him for so long.”

      Following heightening criticism for his ties to foreign interests, Lewandowski left Avenue and founded a new political consulting company, Lewandowski Strategic Advisors, where he’s evading the title of a registered lobbyist.

      Meanwhile, many others, some of whom Lewandowski has derided as frauds, are similarly selling their proximity to the White House and understanding of the president’s thinking.

      “All of K Street is doing well right now,” Bary Bennett, a former Trump aide who co-founded Avenue Strategies with Lewandowski, told the Times. “Chaos is good for everyone’s business.”

      http://www.businessinsider.com/corey-lewandowski-lobbying-250000-trump-tweet-2017-8

      Reply
  22. rikyrah says:
    May 9, 2018 at 2:27 pm

    Well well…
    Look who was in business with the Russian that gave the money to Cohen

    https://twitter.com/DavidCornDC/status/993972653521358848?s=19

    Reply
  23. rikyrah says:
    May 9, 2018 at 2:19 pm

    NEED ADVICE ON ACCOUNTING ISSUES? Call Essential Consultants.WANT TO INFLUENCE HEALTHCARE POLICY? Essential Consultants can help. CHEATED ON YOUR WIFE WITH A PORN STAR AND NEED TO PAY HER TO KEEP QUIET? Look no further than Essential Consultants! https://t.co/FCXUGlZTro pic.twitter.com/70fpsIL3mN— New York Daily News (@NYDailyNews) May 9, 2018

    Reply
  25. rikyrah says:
    May 9, 2018 at 1:30 pm

    ‘$500 and He’s a Ghost’: White Man Wanted a Hit Man to Kill His Black Neighbor, Feds Allege
    Brandon Lecroy, of South Carolina, is accused of asking an undercover agent to kill his neighbor, then hang him from a tree.
    ELISHA BROWN
    05.09.18 12:53 PM ET

    A white man thought he’d hired someone to murder his black neighbor and plant a “flaming cross” in his front yard—but the hit man turned out to be an undercover agent, according to federal authorities.

    Brandon Cory Lecroy of Greenwood, South Carolina, was indicted on Tuesday after being accused of plotting to kill his neighbor. According to court documents, the 25-year-old asked an undercover agent who he thought was a hit man to hang the neighbor from a tree and put a “flaming cross” in his front yard. Lecroy, who was charged with murder for hire, is undergoing mental evaluation at a Massachusetts prison hospital as ordered by a federal judge, the Charleston Post and Courier reported.

    In March, the Federal Bureau of Investigations was informed that Lecroy wanted to contact a white supremacist organization for advice on how to murder his black neighbor, according to an affidavit. An undercover agent recorded a call with Lecroy the next day.

    “$500 and he’s a ghost,” Lecroy allegedly told the agent. Lecroy also brought up the burning cross, and suggested a good time frame for the crime, according to court papers. He wanted the man to use an untraceable “ghost gun” to kill the neighbor, and suggested he had plans to take over the property next door, the feds said.

    Reply
  32. rikyrah says:
    May 9, 2018 at 12:27 pm

    BWA HA AH AH AH AH HA

    @rebeccaballhaus
    6h6 hours ago
    More
    Novartis, which began paying Michael Cohen’s Essential Consultants in Feb. 2017 for consulting on “healthcare policy matters,” says it was contacted by Mueller in *November 2017* about the payments.

    NOVEMBER 2017….
    And, we just found out about this in MAY 2018…..

    BWA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA

    Reply
  34. rikyrah says:
    May 9, 2018 at 11:13 am

    John Boyega and Letitia Wright went to drama school together in London and used to sit in McDonald’s talking about their dreams. LOOK AT THEM NOW. #MetGala pic.twitter.com/vqZ3rUay6W

    — Ashley Spencer (@AshleyySpencer) May 8, 2018

    Reply
  35. rikyrah says:
    May 9, 2018 at 11:07 am

    #NAPPINGONCAMPUSWHILEBLACK
    ——————–
    Black student reported to YPD for napping in dormitory common room
    MAY 08, 2018

    Yale Police officers on Monday evening interrogated a black graduate student, Lolade Siyonbola GRD ’19, for more than 15 minutes, after a white graduate student reported Siyonbola to the police for sleeping in the HGS common room.

    “You’re in a Yale Building and we need to make sure that you belong here,” one of the officers said to Siyonbola, according to a video of the incident Siyonbola posted to Facebook.

    The incident gained significant traction on social media after Siyonbola posted two videos on Facebook on early Tuesday morning — one of her interactions with the white student and another of her interactions with the police. As of Tuesday evening, a video showing her interacting with police has garnered more than 324,000 views, 5,300 reactions, and 9,000 comments. Over 6,000 people have shared it. In the video, Siyonbula accused the police of harassing her.

    “I deserve to be here; I paid tuition like everybody else; I am not going to justify my existence here,” Siyonbola told one of the police officers on video after she was asked to “sit tight” while they verified her student information. “I am not going to be harassed.”

    Reply
  36. SouthernGirl2 says:
    May 9, 2018 at 10:36 am

    bwa ha ha ha ha y’all know it’s true……

    https://twitter.com/Blavity/status/994011603338252288

    Reply
    • Ametia says:
      May 9, 2018 at 11:10 am

      Tell it FLOTUS!

      BWA HA HA HA It is indeed TRUTH. I told my daughters everything I wanted them to know. because…. EXPERIENCE! Ain’t nobody got time for the foolishness of their firends trying to educate them, when they can barely tie their shoes. LOL

      Reply
  37. SouthernGirl2 says:
    May 9, 2018 at 10:26 am

    Cruel ass mofo bish………………………….
    https://twitter.com/eugenegu/status/994232797437935617

    Reply
  41. SouthernGirl2 says:
    May 9, 2018 at 10:00 am

    TRUMP

    Mythe says we don’t know the level this white man could stoop but we’re about to find out. It’s gonna get deeper than we ever imagined.

    The country will be shook!

    Reply
  43. rikyrah says:
    May 9, 2018 at 9:54 am

    On @Lawrence this was brought up. I watched ten different shows last night so I may be getting confused but I believe Lawrence did bring up the fact this could link to Trump and turn into BRIBERY (which is a crime) and that the RNC would be involved. https://t.co/WLkwePLkd8

    — Ale (@aliasvaughn) May 9, 2018

    Reply
  44. rikyrah says:
    May 9, 2018 at 9:49 am

    The discontents of modern conservativism

    ……………….

    What passes for the conservative movement is nothing but an old-fashioned, European-style fascist political moment. It is a movement based on racial animus. It is a movement based on blood and soil. It is a movement based on cultural chauvinism.

    And it is not new. This neo-fascism was always dormant among the right. When conservatives call liberals “fascists” for whatever malefaction we commit, it is nothing but projection. The John Birch Society was nothing but Nazism dressed up with an Orange County sheen. William F. Buckley, Jr., was no great intellect of high-minded conservatism, but as much of a gutter-dweller and anyone who wears a MAGA hat. “Conservative intellectualism” served merely to justify the horrible and unjustifiable.

    But even that veneer of intellectualism (remember, the Nazi Party was staffed by numerous men who possessed doctorates) has gone by the wayside. It was too pansy, too effeminate. It spoke in language which good, honest Americans couldn’t understand. It took too many words to lay out plain facts.

    No Republican Brahmin works for Donald Trump. No Republican Brahmin wants anything to do with him. The reason Trump hires awful people is because only awful people will work for him. Anyone with an ounce of self-respect has steered clear of the kakistocracy.

    What people like Jennifer Rubin and Steve Schmidt have realized is that the ideology they served no longer exists. In fact, it never existed. They were peddling for a world view which had no factual basis. They wrote screeds and worked for politicians who didn’t believe any of the conservative gobbledygook they sold to the lumpen menschen. They’re realizing how wedded to racist tropes and anti-liberal (liberal in the broadest sense of the term) ideology it is. It was clear to anyone from the outside viewing in how quickly the Republican Party was running towards fascism. It’s harder for someone on the inside to see the danger. It took a shock to the system like Trump to shake them out of their stupor. And you hear less and less talk about saving the party, or reforming conservatism. As it exists now, it is nothing but an ideological danger to the republic.

    So what now?

    Reply
  45. rikyrah says:
    May 9, 2018 at 9:18 am

    Without Iran plan, Trump destroys US credibility, betrays allies

    Joe Cirincione, nuclear security analyst, explains why Donald Trump breaking the deal the US made with allies on Iran’s nuclear program is “the most devastating and destructive act of Trump’s presidency.”

    Reply
  46. rikyrah says:
    May 9, 2018 at 9:17 am

    Trump abdicates US role in Iran deal, nods to Bolton keen for war

    Rachel Maddow reports on the background of the Iran nuclear deal and outlines questions about its fate now that Donald Trump has broken from allies and removed the U.S. and given new strength to John Bolton’s eagerness for war as one of the limited number of alternatives.

    Reply
  47. rikyrah says:
    May 9, 2018 at 9:11 am

    National Themes That Emerged From Yesterday’s Primaries in Trump States
    by Nancy LeTourneau
    May 9, 2018

    Primary elections were held yesterday in four states that Trump won in 2016: West Virginia, Indiana, Ohio and North Carolina. While these were intra-party battles, it is worth taking a look at whether any themes emerged that might point the way for what to expect between now and November.

    As Ed Kilgore notes, party officials will be breathing a sigh of relief due to the fact that favorites won in nearly every election. The reason that will be good news is that it gives both parties the strongest candidate to take on the opposition in the general election.

    Nowhere did that happen more profoundly that in the Republican senate primary in West Virginia. After all the hand-wringing about convicted felon Don Blankenship surging in the polls, he came in a distant third. Attorney General Patrick Morissey will take on Democratic incumbent Joe Manchin in November.

    On the Democratic side, the race for Ohio governor pitted a favorite against an opponent who made people nervous. In that one, Richard Cordray handily beat Dennis Kucinich by a huge margin (63/22). Cordray will face Mike DeWine, Ohio’s attorney general and a former U.S. senator.

    Reply
  48. rikyrah says:
    May 9, 2018 at 9:08 am

    Here is a new link to our Executive Summary as the old link is no longer active. https://t.co/DabZ44dWgK

    — Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) May 9, 2018

    Reply
  49. rikyrah says:
    May 9, 2018 at 9:06 am

    LMAO!!!

    Priceless = Watching all of the companies that sent money to the LLC slush fund come up with different alleged reasons for hiring Mr. Cohen – “accounting advice,” “real estate consulting,” “insight,” etc. Who knew Mr. Cohen was such a brilliant renaissance man? #nonsense #basta

    — Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) May 9, 2018

    Reply
  50. rikyrah says:
    May 9, 2018 at 9:05 am

    HEALTHCARE?
    PHUCK.OUTTA.HERE.

    And now Novartis claims they hired Mr. Cohen for “healthcare” matters (they paid him approx $1 Million). Wow – he’s a doctor as well!! Very talented guy this Mr. Cohen. #basta

    — Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) May 9, 2018

    Reply
  51. rikyrah says:
    May 9, 2018 at 9:04 am

    Fox News blacks out bombshell Michael Cohen revelations during 3 hours of primetime coverage https://t.co/unlIUjbdPj pic.twitter.com/vM7WrXafOw

    — Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) May 9, 2018

    Reply
  52. rikyrah says:
    May 9, 2018 at 9:00 am

    Newly exposed payments to Trump confidant Cohen add depth to case

    Rachel Maddow reports on a set of payments to Donald Trump confidant Michael Cohen exposed in an online posting by Stormy Daniels attorney Michael Avenatti, from corporations like AT&T, Russian oligarch-connected firms, and some as yet unexplained sources. Joyce Vance, former U.S. attorney joins to discuss the legal implications.

    Reply
  53. rikyrah says:
    May 9, 2018 at 8:59 am

    Tortured prisoner wants input on Gina Haspel CIA nomination

    Rachel Maddow reports that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who was tortured by the CIA to the point of “confessing” falsehoods and nonsense, wants to submit a six paragraph statement to the Senate hearing on the nomination of Gina Haspel to be the director of the CIA.

    Reply
  54. rikyrah says:
    May 9, 2018 at 8:49 am

    Things Black people can’t do – the list has grown longer.
    Now, we can’t buy Money Orders

    Schnucks CEO apologizes, fires employee who had run-in with black couple over money order
    St. Louis Post-Dispatch 3 hrs ago

    ST. LOUIS COUNTY • An employee who initially denied a Belleville man and his girlfriend a money order at the Concord Village Schnucks was fired, the company’s top executive said in a contrite statement Tuesday.

    “I deeply apologize to the customers and am incredibly disappointed in the poor judgment that was used in handling this incident,” CEO Todd Schnuck said.

    Kellen Hill shared video of the ordeal on Facebook on Monday, and the post garnered thousands of comment and shares.

    “It’s really sad that you can’t be black and buy a money order without being accused of fraud,” Hill said in his post.

    Reply
    • SouthernGirl2 says:
      May 9, 2018 at 9:54 am

      I know that all too well. It happened to me a few years ago. I stopped at the post office in another small town and needed several orders totaling $750 dollars. The clerk gave me a hard time in the beginning…..for buying got damn money orders. I told her I didn’t need this ISH. I’m so fucking tired of the suspicion.

      Reply
  55. rikyrah says:
    May 9, 2018 at 8:43 am

    The Defense Strategy of a Man Who Is Guilty
    by Nancy LeTourneau
    May 8, 2018

    For a while now it has been clear that Donald Trump and his enablers have been waging war against the Department of Justice as a way to discredit or halt the Mueller investigation into whether the president’s campaign engaged in a conspiracy with Russia to influence the 2016 election. One battle in that war has been an attempt to set up Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein for impeachment.

    If you remember, the reason Rosenstein is in charge of the special counsel’s investigation is because Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself after lying about contacts with Russians during the campaign. Over the last week, Rep. Devin Nunes, chair of the House Intelligence Committee, added another dimension to the efforts of Trump’s enablers by threatening to hold AG Sessions in contempt of Congress. He reiterated that threat last night on Sean Hannity’s show.

    The chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), said on Monday that he planned to press ahead with holding Attorney General Jeff Sessions in contempt of Congress unless the Justice Department relented on a decision to deny sharing certain classified documents with lawmakers.

    “It wasn’t a threat. It’s what’s going to happen,” Nunes declared on Monday night.

    Reply
  56. rikyrah says:
    May 9, 2018 at 8:41 am

    The Most Dangerous Thing Trump Could Do
    by Nancy LeTourneau
    May 8, 2018

    ………………………

    Now we have Trump poised to betray the slivers of trust that were developed during those negotiations. The president’s new spokesperson, Rudy Giuliani, has acknowledged that Trump joins the hawks in being committed to regime change once again in Iran, which is the underlying reason for why they oppose the agreement. When/if Iran restarts their nuclear weapons program, they have an excuse to launch a military intervention and overthrow the current government. Of course, the rest of us know how those kinds of plans have turned out in the past.

    I’m not going to make any predictions about what Trump will do today. He is managing to be unpredictable, as advertised, but word is leaking that he will announce that the U.S. plans to reimpose sanctions and violate the terms of the agreement. At this point, President Hassan Rouhani of Iran is basically saying good riddance to the U.S. if that is what happens.

    “We are not worried about America’s cruel decisions … We are prepared for all scenarios and no change will occur in our lives next week,” Rouhani said Monday in a speech broadcast live on state television and reported by Reuters. “If we can get what we want from a deal without America, then Iran will continue to remain committed to the deal. What Iran wants is our interests to be guaranteed by its non-American signatories … In that case, getting rid of America’s mischievous presence will be fine for Iran.”

    Donald Trump has done a lot of despicable things as president. But short of actually launching a nuclear weapon, nothing will be as dangerous to the course of world events in the future as an announcement that the U.S. will violate the Iranian nuclear agreement. Rather than taking a small step to resolve our issues with that country, he will alienate the United States from the rest of the world and add to the mistakes we’ve made in the past. I doubt we’ll ever get another chance for peace with Iran.

    Reply
  57. rikyrah says:
    May 9, 2018 at 8:26 am

    Trump suggests pulling credentials from ‘corrupt’ media
    By LOUIS NELSON 05/09/2018 08:41 AM EDT

    President Donald Trump complained Wednesday that his administration receives overwhelmingly negative coverage from network news outlets and floated the idea of pulling credentials from outlets whose reporting is deemed unfair by the White House.

    Trump cited a study from the right-leaning Media Research Center that showed 91 percent of the coverage of Trump’s administration from network news outlets through the first four months of 2018 was negative. In a Wednesday morning tweet, Trump said the negative reporting about his administration is “fake.”

    “The Fake News is working overtime. Just reported that, despite the tremendous success we are having with the economy & all things else, 91% of the Network News about me is negative (Fake),” the president wrote online. “Why do we work so hard in working with the media when it is corrupt? Take away credentials?”

    Trump has complained often about the media and has on multiple occasions raised the possibility of taking retaliatory steps against the press, including canceling the daily press briefing and threatening to “open up our libel laws so when they write purposely negative and horrible and false articles, we can sue them and win lots of money.”

    Reply
  66. rikyrah says:
    May 9, 2018 at 7:42 am

    Good Morning Everyone 😄😄😄

    Reply

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