Fridays with Nicole Sandler

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48 replies
  1. Ramona Rosario says:

    Lovely to see and listen to you every Friday, Dr Wheeler.
    I looked for the article you mentioned by David Dayen on the parliamentary moves Senate Democrats have made to foil recess appointments but I couldn’t find it on The American Prospect nor linked to on Dayen’s Bluesky. I’d be grateful for the title of the piece.

  2. Matt___B says:

    Candidate for possible re-naming of the James A. Brady Press Briefing Room:

    The SSKK Extra-High Spin-Cycle Room

    (SSKK=Sean-Sarah-Kayleigh-Karoline)

  4. Savage Librarian says:

    So, I wonder what Dan Bongino is thinking and feeling lately.

    According to Lev Parnas the secret dinner meeting, originally planned to be at the VP’s (and SLOTUS’) home and subsequently moved to the WH, was not only to discuss the Epstein/Maxwell scandal.

    Parnas claims it was also to discuss what to do about Dan Bongino, i.e. how to handle a dissenting employee.

    • wa_rickf says:

      Two weekends ago, Bongino wrote a cryptic message on social media that Faux “News” highlighted. It was the top story at Faux that weekend.

      https://www.foxnews.com/us/fbi-deputy-director-bongino-vows-reveal-truth-cryptic-social-media-post

      The comments are interesting.

      The lemmings were fascinated for the weekend, then some other shiny new topic was introduced on Monday and the lemmings forgot about ol’ Dan. Haven’t mentioned him since. These people are so fickle.

      • P J Evans says:

        People who get all their news from Fox and places like X-Twitter are like that: nothing exists when it’s outside that window of attention.

        • wa_rickf says:

          100%

          These people only know what Faux “News” decides to tell them. For real! There is a lot of information that is widely available that they know nothing about.

          If it isn’t mentioned by Faux, or the way that Faux spins the story – it did not happen. Such is the state of the lemming society at the moment.

    • wa_rickf says:

      “What I have learned in the course of our properly predicated and necessary investigations into these aforementioned matters, has shocked me down to my core. We cannot run a Republic like this. I’ll never be the same after learning what I’ve learned.”
      -Bongino

  5. wa_rickf says:

    The sexual deviant and convicted felon is meeting with his BFF Vlad in Alaska to carve-up Ukraine next next Friday, August 15th. Zelenskyy is saying “No way, Jose.”

    “Any decisions made against us, any decisions made without Ukraine, are at the same time decisions against peace,” Mr. Zelensky said. “They will bring nothing. These are dead decisions; they will never work.”

    https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/09/world/europe/zelensky-trump-ukraine-russia.html?unlocked_article_code=1.c08.8R_G.OLDtRW4GKFRI&smid=url-share

    • wa_rickf says:

      There are really no good options for Zelenskyy – either he gives up the land or keeps fighting. I doubt Trump will continue to send equipment.

      If I were Zelenskyy, I would say that giving up land WILL result in Ukraine joining NATO.

      (It wouldn’t surprise to learn that Vlad get Alaska back too – because Trump is SUCH a good deal maker. Then Sarah really could see Russia from her front porch.)

    • xyxyxyxy says:

      Palin used to say she could see Russia.
      Why the hell doesn’t Trump walk over there over the ice instead of having Putin on US land.

        • wa_rickf says:

          Never heard of these islands. So I looked them up. Fascinating!! I did not know that the US and Russia border is literally 2.5 miles apart AND the international date line separates the two islands. The islands are literally one day apart. If ice were present, you could walk between the two islands.

          In the two boat scenario, Putin could figuratively look back at Trump and Trump look forward to Putin. (Which I am sure Trump does anyway.)

  6. wa_rickf says:

    The sexual deviant and convicted felon teased a major announcement coming Monday, August 1th related to his crime crackdown in Washington, D.C.

    “They are not afraid of law enforcement because they know nothing ever happens to them”

    Says the guy with 34-felony convictions who has not spent one day in lock-up.

    • P J Evans says:

      He even got special treatment when he was photographed, and didn’t have to show up in court like others.

  7. HonestyPolicyCraig says:

    https://libertyjusticecenter.org/cases/v-o-s-selections-inc-v-trump/

    It is amazing that the argument from the Trump Admin is that trade deficits are a national emergency.

    I hope this is a predictor of things to come:

    “On May 28, the Liberty Justice Center secured a major legal victory when the U.S. Court of International Trade issued a unanimous decision finding the tariffs illegal and issuing a permanent injunction banning their enforcement.”

  8. wa_rickf says:

    Jewish United Federation: “It is not antisemitic to criticize the policies, practices or members of the Israeli government.”

    Where does the Trump Administration get off labeling support for Palestinians and criticizing the Israeli government for genocide as antisemitic? Look no further than Project Esther drafted by the Heritage Foundation author of Project 2025.

    Project Esther equates support for Palestinians with support for Hamas. Project Esther calls for monitoring the social media accounts of people viewed as pro-Palestinian, deporting people who are pro-Palestinian. We’ve all watched as the Trump Admin has incorporated these strategies.

    https://www.heritage.org/progressivism/report/project-esther-national-strategy-combat-antisemitism

  10. wa_rickf says:

    Louisiana v. Callais

    I keep reading about a “cryptic” late-Friday filing from the SCOTUS. I’ve seen three articles on this now. Folks are saying it’s the end of the Voting Rights Act citing the court asking: “Is a majority minority district inconsistent with the Constitution?”

    • P J Evans says:

      A majority-minority district is not inconsistent with the constitution – redrawing districts to give a minority more power should be (as in “gerrymandering”).

  11. wa_rickf says:

    Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker:

    Trump cheats on his wives, cheats at golf, cheats at elections.

    Donald J. Trump: Cheater in life

  14. GV-San-Ya says:

    So the Olympics reference is a giveaway because it was unlikely to have been top-of-mind for Bernardo, correct?

  16. HonestyPolicyCraig says:

    I think the gerrymandering stories are being highlighted in news feeds to distract from the Epstein/Maxwell abuse of minors story.

    Ugh, the whole structure of our country seems to be strained, but it does appear to be resilient in the face of this divisive era. At what point do we just look at the red/blue thing and laugh. Like, our country is extremely organized, each section has the same basic markets, each section predictable. And now we have little boys and girls behaving badly causing red and blue tattle tale fights this one took my special things. At what point can we just ignore our stupid waste of time politicians. Like, JD Vance, like why would I even listen to him. I am getting like my 25 year old daughter.

    • Rayne says:

      The gerrymandering is a legitimate problem deserving coverage, and it’s interrelated with Trump’s Epstein scandal.

      The GOP can’t maintain a grip on Congress without rigging districts thereby squelching efforts for congressional oversight into Trump’s corruption including the Epstein files and the ensuing coverup.

      • HonestyPolicyCraig says:

        The gerrymandering started directly after the Epstein narrative. I do understand it is important. I am just getting impatient with the moronic ramblings of our politicians’ babble. Just watching Vance on Fox was too much of a feeling of being in high school again. Like, duh, why is the class dick talking about being a dick.

        But, I am beginning to feel or think that if our political system just vanished, everything would be just fine.

        • Rayne says:

          Congratulations on letting yourself get manipulated into thinking “if our political system just vanished, everything would be just fine.”

          That’s exactly what they want. They also want you to amplify this by repeating your frustration, thereby demoralizing others so that they also just throw up their hands and do nothing.

          Benjamin Franklin told a woman who asked him what form of government the Continental Congress had established. “A republic, if you can keep it,” he told her. We are now deep into the “if you can keep it” zone. You can choose to be demoralized and whine about your demoralization, or you can choose to fight back to keep this democratic republic. If you choose demoralization, go do it someplace else because the comment threads here are not for amplifying demoralization.

  17. Rayne says:

    Taking advantage of an open thread. It’s late, I’m tired, but I can’t decide if this is graymail or a broad hint that this guy wants to be subpoenaed and freed from an NDA to disclose something circa 2018.

    NYTimes Opinion / Guest Essay
    I Helped Bury Stories About Trump. I Regret It.
    By Cameron Stracher Aug. 8, 2025
    https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/08/opinion/national-enquirer-trump.html

    This bit:

    In 2018, issues similar to those in the Sajudin and McDougal cases arose over a different high-profile story that was brought to The National Enquirer. This time I stood my ground, and I was forced to leave. As I walked to my office to pack up my belongings, the taste in my mouth was bittersweet. I loved my job, but I was proud of my decision. My heart and my head were in alignment, and I had no doubt about the wisdom of my advice.

    I’ll never know what the world would be like today if those two unpublished National Enquirer stories had run. But at least I know the feeling of doing the right thing. It is frightening and exhilarating, and it was always there. Belated, but welcome.

    2018 being the same year Julie K. Brown published her expose about Epstein in the Miami Herald.

  18. xyxyxyxy says:

    Per AP, “Trump is promising new steps to tackle homelessness and crime in Washington”
    Is he going to try to take DC the way Netanyahu is taking Gaza?
    ““The Homeless have to move out, IMMEDIATELY,” Trump wrote Sunday. “We will give you places to stay, but FAR from the Capital. The Criminals, you don’t have to move out. We’re going to put you in jail where you belong.””
    https://apnews.com/article/trump-washington-crime-national-guard-homelessness-655bc22834223c7dc93115bbcb2b215c

    • xyxyxyxy says:

      “Last week the Republican president directed federal law enforcement agencies to increase their presence in Washington for seven days, with the option “to extend as needed.”

    • HonestyPolicyCraig says:

      The homeless are just ugly objects to Trump. He was involved in the participation of abusing children. What would we expect, he has no heart.

    • xyxyxyxy says:

      So he has put MPD under his supervision.
      So if his insurrectionists storm the Capitol, he’ll just order them to stand down.

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