The smoking pun

[Gob]

Finally, a smoking pun. A simple play on words told us everything about the impeachment inquiry, the current mindset in Congress and the state of the nation.

The witness Pamela Karlan cracked a joke that delighted liberals and infuriated conservatives. Or rather, it delighted conservatives because it gave them a talking point to whip up outrage.

The afternoon session of the House judiciary committee hearing on the constitutional framework for impeachment had just begun when the Democratic congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee posed the question: “What comparisons can we make between kings that the framers were afraid of and the president’s conduct today?”

Karlan, a Stanford Law School professor, replied: “Kings could do no wrong because the king’s word was law. Contrary to what President Trump has said, article two [of the constitution] does not give him the power to do anything he wants.

“I will give you one example that shows the difference between him and a king, which is: the constitution says there can be no titles of nobility. While the president can name his son Barron, he can’t make him a baron.”

Jackson Lee smiled and there was laughter in the big and ornate committee room, where two carved eagles look down under the words “E pluribus unum” (out of many, one) and a dozen uniformed Capitol police lent an air of a courtroom drama. Karlan’s point echoed Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s recent opinion, cited at Wednesday’s hearing, that “the primary takeaway from the past 250 years of recorded American history is that presidents are not kings”.

But could we forgive the pun? Not when the president’s son, tall but only 13 years of age, was involved. Republicans’s well-oiled fury machine clicked straight into gear. Stephanie Grisham, the White House press secretary, tweeted: “Classless move by a Democratic ‘witness’. Prof Karlan uses a teenage boy who has nothing to do with this joke of a hearing (and deserves privacy) as a punchline.”


Continues here

[BoSoxGal]

After all the ways that Chelsea Clinton was cruelly attacked by conservatives when she was a minor, I’m outraged by the outrage over this very simple reference to the kid’s stupid name to make a very relevant point - especially considering the extraordinary nepotism in this administration.

[wesw]

which ways?

[MajGenl.Meade]

Every which way but l00ser

[BoSoxGal]

Mocked for her appearance and her paternity opening questioned by the usual suspects in conservative media circles. If you say it’s not true you’re a liar.

Barron Trump has been left alone by the media more than any first family kid in my lifetime.

[Lord Jim]

I remember the Bush girls (especially Jenna) getting a lot of crap as well....

[Scooter]

Amy Carter was the subject of at least one SNL skit when she was perhaps 10 or 11 years old.

[Big RR]

Although I do blame Jimmy for that; he was the one who used her "biggest nightmare fear is nuclear war" in a speech (I think a SOTU speech). And as I recall, the SNL sketch was more lampooning Carter than her (he ran into her bedroom and asked "You having that nuclear war nightmare again?"; he also agreed to send her to private school because she was afraid of "the bus").

Up until recently, so long as the minor kids were kept in the background and did not screw up too bad, the press (and opponents) generally left them alone; but any semblance of civility is now cast aside. But, FWIW, I honestly can't understand the furor about this; it was a joke, and not at a very good or very mean one; indeed, I'm certain that is not the first time anyone poked fun at his name (nor will it be the last). My first name is Royal, and all through school I had kids and adults (even teachers) call me "Your majesty" or the pudding man. I learned to deal with it long before I was Barron's age.

[wesw]

it may be true, BSG, idk....

...I d0n t remember it, and I am 0lder than y0u....

find me a clip and I ll c0ncede the p0int....

anyway...., picking 0n inn0cent min0r kids isn t right,

right?

I mean, if Barr0n was blasting 0ut tweets, he w0uld be fair game.

maybe I am wrng.

I have actually experienced it here.

I st0pped letting my kid read threads because 0f it.

shame that.....

I am pretty sure that s0me 0f y0u must have privately asked the 0ffender t0 st0p, because they did.....

thanks f0r that.

anyway, the little crack that she made ab0ut Barr0n wasn t a big deal, 0r even insulting t0 him at all.

just petty.

she was an angry leftist prffess0r.

incredible t0 reas0nable f0lk.

jim has left it al0ne, as has every 0ne but sc00ter, because the hearing was an 0bvi0us farce.

n0t helpful as evidenced by nancy rushing t0 Articles....

they can t aff0rd an0ther disaster like yesterday.

it was partisan t0 its c0re.

embarrassing t0 the dems....

pitiful even.

[Scooter]

I am pretty sure that s0me 0f y0u must have privately asked the 0ffender t0 st0p, because they did.....

No one said a word about it. Ask yourself why no one cared enough.

And nothing has "stopped", it all remains fair game when the circumstances call for it.

[wesw]

0h, I guess that I thanked the wr0ng peple,

thank y0u sc00ter.

[Joe Guy]

Another example: Trump can have his hair thrown to the air but he can't have an heir to his throne...

[Scooter]

[BoSoxGal]

Yep.

[Burning Petard]

Funny thing is, I did not hear it as an attack on the kid--I took it as another attack on the father for a stupid choice.

snailgate

[Econoline]

Funny thing is, I did not hear it as an attack on the kid--I took it as another attack on the father for a stupid choice.

snailgate

[Bicycle Bill]

After all the ways that Chelsea Clinton was cruelly attacked by conservatives when she was a minor, I’m outraged by the outrage over this very simple reference to the kid’s stupid name to make a very relevant point - especially considering the extraordinary nepotism in this administration.

My memory must be fogging with age.  I can only remember a couple of 'attacks' on Chelsea Clinton.  One was an editorial cartoon which showed her in school with one of the Secret Service agents assigned to her uncomfortably scrunched up in the school desk next to her and whispering an answer to a test question in her ear — which I thought was actually sort of funny.

The other one was the joke that made the rounds asking what you would get if you crossed a crooked politician with a sleazy lawyer — and the punchline, of course, was "Chelsea Clinton".

Of course, there may have been others that didn't go 'viral' because we didn't have the eight-day-a-week, 29-hour-a-day sounding board that we now know as social media out there back then either.

-"BB"-

[Bicycle Bill]

The afternoon session of the House judiciary committee hearing on the constitutional framework for impeachment had just begun when the Democratic congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee posed the question:  “What comparisons can we make between kings that the framers were afraid of and the president’s conduct today?”

Karlan, a Stanford Law School professor, replied:  “Kings could do no wrong because the king’s word was law.  Contrary to what President Trump has said, article two [of the constitution] does not give him the power to do anything he wants.

“I will give you one example that shows the difference between him and a king, which is:  the constitution says there can be no titles of nobility.  While the president can name his son Barron, he can’t make him a baron.”

I'm sure there are any number of people who wish that Donald Trump's mother had been barren.

-"BB"-

[Guinevere]

Rush Limbaugh called Chelsea Clinton a dog, on national television. He had also called Amy Carter the ugliest presidential child in history.

https://www.mediamatters.org/rush-limba ... -televised

Bill Clinton had been president-elect for just a few days when, on November 6, 1992, Limbaugh launched one of the nastiest attacks of his career against an innocent target: 12-year old Chelsea Clinton.
Complete video of that day's program does not appear to be available online, but a portion of Limbaugh's attack was aired in a 1995 documentary about Limbaugh by PBS' Frontline. Also, a transcript of the program is posted in the Nexis database.
Limbaugh began the segment by noting that the New York Daily News' David Hinckley published a list of who's entering and leaving the White House. Limbaugh stated: “He says, In: A cute kid in the White House. Out: Cute dog in the White House.' Could -- could we see the cute kid? Let's take a look at -- see who is the cute kid in the White House.”
The program then put up a picture of Millie, the Bush family's dog. Limbaugh responded, in mock confusion, “No, no, no, no. That's not the kid.” The program then puts up a picture of Chelsea Clinton, with Rush saying, “that's the kid.”

[video inset -- watch it]

After the audience had finished laughing and applauding, Limbaugh said, according to Nexis' transcript: “No, just kidding.”
Limbaugh then related the story of how he once apologized for calling Amy Carter, the daughter of President Carter, “the most unattractive presidential daughter in the history of the country.” He added: “I apologize again. I -- that's the third time the crew makes a mistake by showing you Millie the dog when I intended to show you Chelsea Clinton, and then I followed with that terrible story.”

NB to wesw - the above is an example of how you prove an assertion.

[wesw]

there y0u g0, I c0ncede the p0int.