In the UK cops joke about not telling people they can’t do something but just asking why they would want to, and in the US Republicans in Congress joke about climate change because mass migrations and crop failures and wildfires are so hilarious.

Clad in a sharp, dark-colored suit, former president Ronald Reagan cuts a striking figure. But his attire isn’t what makes him formidable. He’s riding a velociraptor, which has a tattered American flag clutched in its talons. With a rocket launcher strapped to his back, Reagan fires a machine gun at an unseen foe.

The fantastical depiction of the 40th president of the United States may sound like a hallucination, only it’s not. On Tuesday, thanks to Sen.

This would be hilarious if it weren’t so sinister.

https://twitter.com/HarryTheOwl/status/1110781157086359552

There was never any suggestion he shouldn’t do what he was doing, he was just asked BY US, THE POLICE, why he would want to. Certainly when WE, THE POLICE, ask you why you would want to do something, there is NEVER ANYTHING the slightest bit menacing or intimidating about that, it’s purely an interesting conversation between two parties who are on a level playing field with no hint of one party having more state-backed power than the other. When WE, THE POLICE, just ask you why you would want to do something, knowing it would cause distress and upset to others in society, this is PURELY because we have … Read the rest

Natasha Bertrand says the summary is not the whole story.

[N]ational-security and intelligence experts tell me that Mueller’s decision not to charge Trump or his campaign team with a conspiracy is far from dispositive, and that the underlying evidence the special counsel amassed over two years could prove as useful as a conspiracy charge to understanding the full scope of Russia’s election interference in 2016.

The way Barr described the report it was very focused on criminal-law standards and processes, but that could be just his description. A counterintelligence investigation would have what they call “a wider aperture.”

A counterintelligence probe, he added, would ask more than whether the evidence collected is sufficient to obtain a criminal conviction—it could

Arguing about this again n again n again

A woman, for me, is someone who feels that they are a woman.

— Sally Hines (@sally_hines) March 26, 2019

Sally Hines, remember, is an academic.

First – what’s this “for me” shit? It’s not a “for me” thing. A “for me” thing would be, say, the best novel or the worst brand of toothpaste or the ideal career. Other examples of not “for me” questions:

What is a

• bird
• car
• cactus
• library
• star
• map
• orange

Definitions will vary depending on the asker and the answerer; they will be less or more technical, less or more basic, less or more precise – but they won’t start with “It depends on who you … Read the rest

But her emails.

GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham said on Monday that he will use his authority as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee to potentially “look into the other side” of the story now that special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation is complete.

Mueller’s report into the Kremlin’s interference in the 2016 presidential election did not find that the Trump campaign or anyone associated with it conspired or coordinated with Russia, according to a letter to Congress from Attorney General William Barr.

It did not find evidence that etcetera. We tend to hear and read “did not find that” as “found that not” when the two are quite different. News organizations need to be careful to use precise language on … Read the rest

The BBC notes that Michelle Obama’s memoir is knocking down all the records.

Becoming, first published just five months ago, has already sold more than 10 million copies, Bertelsmann said.

“We believe that these memoirs could well become the most successful memoir ever,” said Thomas Rabe, chief executive of the German firm.

She has one hell of a story to tell, and she knows how to write.

Michelle Obama’s book, which explores her experience from childhood, her work, motherhood and her time in The White House, has been praised for its universal appeal across genders and ages.

And races, it would seem.

I don’t see that happening with any memoir by Melania Trump, or any other Trump. They wouldn’t … Read the rest

I keep forgetting – how did David Brooks become a thing, again? Is it because he’s so mediocre and conventional and uninteresting?

Today he’s telling us we owe Donnie Two-scoops an apology.

“You have a president who, in my opinion, beyond a shadow of a doubt, sought to, however ham-handedly, collude with the Russian government, a foreign power, to undermine and influence our elections.” — Beto O’Rourke, presidential candidate

“I think there’s plenty of evidence of collusion and conspiracy in plain sight.” — Adam Schiff, chairman of House Intelligence Committee

“I called [Trump’s] behavior treasonous, which is to betray one’s trust and aid and abet the enemy, and I stand very much by that claim.” — John Brennan, former

Well, that’s putting it right out there. “Just don’t talk about political issues and you’ll be fine. Except issues around women, of course; that’s always permitted.”

https://twitter.com/HarryTheOwl/status/1110503946915733505

Wait a second. Why the trans “community”? Why is UK officialdom so quick to use that word whenever they want to shut up dissenters and impose conformity? The BBC used to babble about “the Muslim community” in exactly the same way when what it actually meant was “the very conservative end of the spectrum of people from majority-Muslim bits of the empire.” The Islamist, Rushdie-threatening MCB always spoke for “the Muslim community” in the BBC’s eyes, and liberal or secular or ex-Muslims never ever did. This is that all over again. Not all … Read the rest

What?!

Ashley Parker and Josh Dawsey in The Post:

President Trump and his allies signaled Monday that they intend to use the broad conclusions of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s investigation — which found no criminal conspiracy with Russia to influence the 2016 election — to forcefully attack perceived opponents they say unfairly accused the president of wrongdoing.

The targets are diffuse, ranging from specific Democratic lawmakers to the media more generally. White House counselor Kellyanne Conway called on House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam B. Schiff (D-Calif.) to resign immediately, and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) urged Schiff to relinquish his committee chairmanship. Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) said he planned to investigate what he dubbed

There are laws, and there are norms.

A special counsel’s investigation of a president is first and foremost a mechanism for addressing strictly legal questions. But it is necessarily always more, and the investigative process and the ultimate legal and factual findings reflect, help shape and often reinforce the state of key norms — fundamental expectations of presidential conduct.

The process norms, Bob Bauer writes, have come out of this pretty well.

But the Mueller report marked a low point for more substantive norms of presidential conduct. It shows that a demagogic president like Donald Trump can devalue or even depart radically from key norms, just short of committing chargeable crimes, so long as he operates mostly and brazenly

Keeping the rabble out:

At least one multimillion-pound housing development in London is segregating the children of less well-off tenants from those of wealthier homebuyers by blocking them from some communal play areas.

Guardian Cities has discovered that developer Henley Homes has blocked social housing residents from using shared play spaces at its Baylis Old School complex on Lollard Street, south London. The development was required to include a mix of “affordable” and social rental units in order to gain planning permission.

Henley marketed the award-winning 149-home development, which was built in 2016 on the site of a former secondary school, as inclusive and family-friendly. It said the “common areas are there for the use of all the residents”.

William Saletan does a close reading of Barr’s letter:

The letter says the Justice Department won’t prosecute Trump, but it reaches that conclusion by tailoring legal standards to protect the president. Here’s a list of Barr’s weasel words and what they’re hiding.

“The Russian government.” The letter quotes a sentence from Mueller’s report. In that sentence, Mueller says his investigation didn’t prove that members of the Trump campaign “conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities.” The sentence specifies Russia’s government. It says nothing about coordination with other Russians.

Like for instance Kilimnik and Veselnitskaya.

“In its election interference activities.” This phrase is included in the same excerpt.
It reflects the structure of the

And a third:

A father dedicated to helping prevent mass shootings after his daughter was killed in the Sandy Hook massacre has died of an apparent suicide.

The body of Jeremy Richman was found in his Connecticut office building Monday morning, Newtown police said.

His death is the third suicide in the past week related to school massacres.

Richman, 49, was the father of 6-year-old Avielle Richman, who was among 20 children and six adults killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.

You know…Sandy Hook was the one and only time Obama asked Michelle to come back to the White House from an engagement because he couldn’t deal.

After the Sandy Hook massacre, Richman tried to

Walter Shaub says yes but we already know he’s a criminal.

https://twitter.com/waltshaub/status/1109906362664972288

https://twitter.com/waltshaub/status/1109906366628548608

https://twitter.com/waltshaub/status/1109906370839658497

https://twitter.com/waltshaub/status/1109906373075222528

https://twitter.com/waltshaub/status/1109906375352700928

https://twitter.com/waltshaub/status/1109906378045489155

https://twitter.com/waltshaub/status/1109906379677093890

https://twitter.com/waltshaub/status/1109906381732282368

https://twitter.com/waltshaub/status/1109906383426719744

Put like that it all seems a bit damning, doesn’t it.… Read the rest

Word is the Mueller report says they didn’t find evidence that Trump conspired with Russia but they’re not exonerating him either. Naturally Trump interpreted that as “Complete and Total EXONERATION,” because in Trumpland “not exonerating=TOTAL EXONERATION.”

Special counsel Robert Mueller did not find Donald Trump’s campaign or associates conspired with Russia, Attorney General William Barr said Sunday.

Mueller’s investigation of whether the President committed obstruction of justice did not conclude the President committed a crime, but it also “does not exonerate him,” Barr quoted from Mueller’s report.

Not proven but not disproven. Not the same as totally exonerated.

Trump and his allies charged that Mueller’s report fully vindicated the President, while Democrats were already raising questions about Barr making the

Oh no no no no no.

#BREAKING: Second Parkland shooting survivor commits suicide, police confirm https://t.co/kjLOKi37zT Via @MoniqueOMadan pic.twitter.com/M2am516uU0

— Miami Herald (@MiamiHerald) March 24, 2019

The Miami Herald:

A second Parkland shooting survivor has killed himself, Coral Springs police confirmed on Sunday.

Investigators told the Miami Herald that a current Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School student died in “an apparent suicide” on Saturday night.

…

The death comes just about a week after a recent Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School graduate, Sydney Aiello, took her own life after being diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Broward County Medical Examiner’s Office told NBC News that Aiello died from a gunshot wound to the head.

Ryan Petty, father of

If you want to get people’s attention to a safety campaign, there’s only one way to do it: dangle a woman in underwear in front of them. That works, and nothing else does.

An advertising campaign by Germany’s transport ministry to persuade cyclists to wear helmets has sparked accusations of sexism, as it features a model wearing just a helmet and underwear.

With the slogan: “Looks like shit. But saves my life,” the advert features a profile-shot of Alicija Köhler, a competitor in the gameshow Germany’s Next Topmodel, sporting a violet coloured helmet and a lacy bra.

Women pointed out that it’s possible to advertise things without waving stripped women around like sparklers.

Defending the advert, a transport