
Happy Thanksgiving: Delayed Cranes and Pigs Edition
I'm grateful for Michigan's bounty. Unless we start doing something about the climate emergency, it may not be there very long.

Turkey Bowl Trash Talk
Think I've recounted this in some previous year, but bmaz the younger and friends used to have a yearly Turkey Bowl football game on Thanksgiving mornings. Always at one or another local high school field. They were theoretically flag games,…

The Conservative Lie About Moral Relativity
Right-wing ideologues create facts and history that cement their power; then claim the left is destroying morality by calling out those fabrications.

Did Mike Flynn Gamble and Lose on Bill Barr and Michael Horowitz?
Mike Flynn made a gamble back in the summer that Bill Barr and Michael Horowitz would discredit the investigation into him in such a way as to make the risk of blowing up his plea deal worth it. He may have gambled unwisely.

Is It Russian Or Is It Real?
Is It Russian Or Is It Real?
This is a question only humans with a sentient brain can answer. An equation that clearly leaves out Matt Taibbi, Senators Graham and Kennedy (not to be confused with the good Senator Kennedys). This Kennedy is…

Moron-Contra and Gordon Sondland's Venezuela Involvement
The revelation that a Venezuelan trying to beat a US money laundering charge has a tie to the Ukraine scandal should raise more questions about why Gordon Sondland said that his job as EU Ambassador involves policy in Venezuela.

The Government Prepares to Argue that Transmitting Information *To* WikiLeaks Makes the Vault 7 Leak Different
The government and Joshua Schulte are arguing over whether Paul Rosenzweig should be able to testify as an expert in Schulte's trial. That suggests they're preparing an argument about the specific harms foreseeable in leaking to WikiLeaks.

A Billionaire's Opportunity Cost
Here's something to talk about to launch this open holiday week thread: Michael Bloomberg and the opportunity cost of running for the presidency.

Inequality Of Freedom
The richer one is, the more negative freedom, positive freedom and freedom from domination one has.

Paul Manafort Is the Linchpin in Russia's Effort to Recorrupt Ukraine
Even in Rudy Giuliani's made up dirt, Paul Manafort's corruption is documented. Yet Republicans are pretending that accusations that Manafort is corrupt are baseless smears.

The Virgin Birth of the First Rudy Giuliani-Mike Pompeo Call
There's a big question that should arise out of the documents on Rudy's ties to Mike Pompeo: Who set up his first call.

Timeline: How Rudy Made It Hard for Mike Pompeo to Show Any Leadership
A timeline of State's interactions with Rudy.

Cowboys and Patriots Trash Talk
This from the extremely good Tom Curran is right:
The Cowboys have won three of their past four after a three-game losing streak that included a humiliating defeat by the Jets (!!!!!?????). Dak Prescott last week ripped the Lions apart, going…

The Proper Recipients for Lev Parnas' Allegations Are the Ethics Committee and SDNY
Lev Parnas's allegations should be investigated by the House Ethics Committee and SDNY, not HPSCI.

Did Giuliani Give Parnas The Referral Of Turkey To Ballard Partners As Payment For Trump Defense Work In Ukraine?
We can't help wondering if Giuliani handed Parnas the Ballard Partners referral so that the $45,000 finders' fee would act as payment for the work in Ukraine that Trump's defense would require. Also note that reports state Parnas didn't get his payoff from Ballard Partners until 2018, so we are also left to wonder if, in typical Rudy fashion, the finders' fee was arranged long after the client was found.

Bill Barr Moves from Treating Understaffing at BOP as a "SNAFU" to a "Perfect Storm of Screw-Ups"
The grunts responsible for creating the possibility for Jeffrey Epstein to kill himself are facing serious prison sentences. Bill Barr, who's watching videos rather than fixing systemic problems, is getting off with calling it "a perfect storm of screw-ups."

Impeachable Acts: What GOP Spin Can't Change
Nothing the GOP has said about the witnesses, their testimony, the circumstances, the hearings as a whole, can change certain key facts. As John Adams said, facts are stubborn things.

Will Hurd's Sparkle Pony Approach to the Solemn Duty of Upholding the Constitution
Will Hurd made up the most cowardly excuse for not supporting impeachment.

Paul Manafort Knew of His Inclusion in the Black Ledger Two Months before NYT Story
It's not Sergii Leshchenko's fault that a story on Paul Manafort's corruption damaged the Trump campaign in August 2016. It's Paul Manafort's fault.

Impeachment Hearings: Day 5 - A Tough Hill Ahead?
The last of this week's scheduled hearings begins at 9:00 a.m. ET. ; Fiona Hill and David Holmes will appear before the House Intelligence Committee.