Open Thread for Friday, January 5, 2018

Cowboy (or Wade Hampton) rides into sunset. Nothing to do with the news, just a picture I recently shot on one of my downtown walks.

Cowboy (or Wade Hampton) rides into sunset. Nothing to do with the news, just a picture I recently shot on one of my downtown walks.

Just to close out the week:

  1. Mueller Learns of Trump Effort to Keep Grip on Russia Inquiry — This is pretty wild stuff. I thought Jennifer Rubin did a good job of putting these revelations into perspective. I still remain pessimistic about the Mueller’s investigation’s ability to heal what’s wrong with the country. But he needs to do his job, and go where the evidence takes him.
  2. Graham, others take weird turn in GOP’s Russia investigation — Are they going after Manafort or Trump Jr. or Russian agents? Nope, they’re talking possible charges against Christopher Steele, the ex-MI6 guy who compiled the infamous dossier on Trump and the Russians. I suppose next they’ll go after that dude who wrote the new book, Fire and Fury. Or better yet: Hillary Clinton! I’ll bet the Rooskies are quaking in their felt boots with such bloodhounds as these on their trail.
  3. These numbers could shake up the SC governor’s race — A poll shows Phil Noble edging out James Smith. This tells us that so far Dems are paying zero attention, or they’ve kind of gone nuts. Noble’s beef about Smith is that he’s too “Republican.” (You know, someone with potential appeal in the fall. I suppose Noble would hate to see the party break its streak.) The news that Kevin Bryant is ahead of Catherine Templeton is almost as weird. I find myself wondering how accurate this poll is…
  4. Blizzard Has Passed, But Frigid Temperatures Remain Along East Coast — In case you still want to talk about the weather.

Y’all have any other topics?

16 thoughts on “Open Thread for Friday, January 5, 2018

    1. Brad Warthen Post author

      That’s interesting, because during the whole 2016 campaign, I saw only one in my solidly Republican neighborhood. I didn’t know the neighbor who put up the sign, and was pretty sure I didn’t want to, since he was apparently such an extremist.

      But the way things ended up, I suppose my precinct may have gone for Trump. You know what, though? I’m not sure. I’m having trouble finding the results by precinct. Does anybody know where to find them?

          1. Richard

            Why waste money on signs in SC when you could send it to states like Pennsylvania, Florida, etc… I live in Lexington and didn’t see many Hillary signs, same reason why put them where they won’t make a difference?

  1. bud

    It not really a sexy topic like dossiers or sexual impropriety but a really big story right now is the flu epidemic. There are triple the number of cases this year vs last. Keep in mind the flu killed more people than bullets and bombs in 1918. That won’t happen now but we could easily see hundreds die if this gets worse. Apparently the shots weren’t very effective this year.

  2. Juan Caruso

    2. …” I suppose next they’ll go after that dude who wrote the new book, Fire and Fury. ” – B.W,

    No need to suppose, Brad. Michael Wolff, the author of “Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House.” disclaimed his book’s accuracy on the 10th page of its prologue:

    “Many of the accounts of what has happened in the Trump White House are in conflict with one another; many, in Trumpian fashion, are baldly untrue. These conflicts, and that looseness with the truth, if not with reality itself, are an elemental thread of the book.

    “Sometimes I have let the players offer their versions, in turn allowing the reader to judge them.”

    Apparently the MSM either had been to lazy to read the book or decided to cover up Wolff’s disclaimer for the sake of its by now customary headline-grabbing, faux journalism.

    When did the MSM ever become this lazy and/or untrustworthy?

    1. Barry

      I read it entirely different. Wolff knows that some of Trump’s advisors (like Trumpj likely lied to him, and he knows they are all lying in one fashion or another, but can’t always tell who is telling the biggest lies.

      He isn’t admitting his book is a lie.

  3. Mr. Smith

    No.2) Graham has gone over to the dark side. This is an attempt to turn the country’s highest law enforcement agency into a tool to go after the president’s alleged enemies. Nixon tried to keep his enemies list under wraps. But this crew waves it around like a prize. This president and his enablers and sycophants (including those on this blog) are poison to the republic.

  4. Dave

    If there were still a working political press in South Carolina, someone would be investigating what’s going on with Lindsey Graham. Actually there is, down in Charleston. A job for the Post and Courier.

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