Still, hope springs eternal that Meuller will prevail.

The dramatic rumors and their inevitable roller coaster of emotions is really not healthy though.

There's plenty of real news that will raise those stress levels. Why stress out over rumors and speculative predictions? Aren't we stressed enough already?

Thanks for your reply.

Mueller will likely get some more Trump "advisers," eventually. Not sure they'll get Trump impeached, although I am sure he's a crook and deplorable.

I remember waking up several times at night hoping the indictments had been handed down for george war bush. I learned my lesson with Fitzmas.

Those of us who participate in that kind of rumor mongering by spreading such rumors should stop and think. Inciting stress and worry is not a positive thing to do. When news breaks about something that has actually occurred, that's a good time to feel stressed. Stress about something that might happen is not good for anyone.

Let's talk about news, rather than waving our hands and shouting about rumors. There's plenty of news. Why add to our misery with rumors of news. It makes no sense.

I am glad I did just that regarding the latest round of rumors.

He pretty much said that she's nothing but a fake news and rumor mill.

are always with us, but for thousands of years most had to travel from village to village to sell their snake oil, or whatever. Modern communications means many can operate comfortably right from home.

Maybe it happened after that. I put "mensch" on my trashed word list, so maybe I missed some knock-down drag-outs. (Which was kinda the point.)

are still there criticizing Mensch and the rest. It must have been something else, I think.

Really good jobs.

Agree, her name on something means pass on by, but I only see it when people mention it here,

I wish they'd stop bringing her crap here.

I know we want to be smarter and wiser and not ruled by our wishes and fears but I’ve been an analyst way too long not to know there comes a point in all of us where that can take over. If we ARE somewhat smarter and wiser, and our wishes and fears are ruled by a “higher” logic for ourselves and others, we’re less susceptible. But one of the truly remarkable talents of that madman is the ability to make people hysterical and angry. Us too. It’s why he’s truly dangerous. His followers have a different tipping point, but we tip.

I think that stopping and looking at such things closely is a wise move. Check links. Think about the reliability of such links, and then decide whether some prediction is worth considering or would be better discarded out of hand.

but thanks for taking the time to post a reply.

You are bang on with this, and it can't be repeated enough.

DU is not the mainstream media. We have no obligation to only repeat reliable sources (well except for LBN).
It is kind of curious and maybe a little disturbing to see so many here get so worked up about things that come from any source anywhere with little or no track record. But, people are different, we all respond to different stimuli and we all have our own hopes and dreams.

I recall back during the GWB days all the discussions about 'Black Box Voting'. There was some pretty wacky things flying around, but there was also some legitimate research and I believe some tangible results from sharing all that information. So even though we have to wade through a lot of chaff sometimes, occasionally there may be some worthwhile discussions to be had.

What I don't really get is the frantic race to be the first to know something and the willingness to suspend reason to repeat it and believe it. Or maybe I get it a little bit. As a teenager I loved knowing about obscure bands that others didn't know about. Made me feel smart somehow I guess.

But I think a lot of people (here and elsewhere) feel kinda powerless against the forces steering our lives, and a rumor of a white knight on the horizon is pretty compelling.

I guess someone in a foreign country need that 1500 a month to pay rent and eat.

The only time frame I believe is Malcolm Nance who says March. I watch the rest, but know they are just playing a probability game. Anyone can play and if you do enough , you'll hit on some. It's like me watching a horse race, I can do some research but then it's a probability match.

So it might be fun, no one should believe it.

...actually, making broad claims and assumptions based on what is publicly known right now about possible indictments is 'bogus', even speculating about the rumors, themselves.

You really don't know what happened, but you're blaming the messengers (and readers) like you're certain there weren't any pending without any knowledge at all about what is happening behind the scenes.

I'm inclined to believe there was some sort of activity which hadn't progressed to the indictment stage. It's not as if there aren't folks out there with access to much more info available to them than we can glean here at DU from internet chatter. That goes for believers and skeptics, alike.

His team is very busy, and also very silent about its work. That silence is important. Nobody's leaking anything from Mueller's group.

So, who are these "sources" the Twitter brigade is using? Nobody. There are no real sources. There never have been. It's just some twits who are following the same news we all are following, and then speculating on what they think might be happening. It's just a game they're playing and we're all spectators. Trouble is that those twits are playing in the bush league, not the major league.

Why we listen to them at all I do not understand.

...for the same reasons we listen to each other.

The absence of reliable info generates speculation. I think that speculation can produce false leads, but it can also focus attention, which in this case, isn't entirely without benefit.

I'd consider this forum, and the way we interact with each other, when judging how others disseminate news on twitter. It needs to be understood that we're having a conversation, more than we're reporting something or other. The value in all of that is our attention and participation.

What we need is more understanding of our own reasons for participating in these conversations, and an appreciation of the motivations and interests of other contributions to these discussions, whether those are beneficial, benign, compromised, or properly (improperly) influenced in one way or the other.

the new tax bill makes presents taxable. Further, exemptions on the first million in gifts only go to those who have llc's with few employees and large capital holdings.

But on the bright side, you can now deduct expenses for crisis pr, legal fees associted with a special council, and pain and suffering related to conservative beliefs caused by the liberal media.

was interviewed by Terry Gross on her program "Fresh Air" about the Mueller investigation.

He said that the likeliest outcome would be that Mueller would produce a report to Congress, leaving it up to them to do something meaningful, such as arrests or trials. But they probably will do nothing.

Which is basically what happened several years back with the long-anticipated Fitzmas. For all of the statements about how we can't be too impatient, that these things take time, and to trust Mueller, I expect that Toobin is right. Oh, there may be some more resignations of White House staff, but on November 7, 2018 we'll be reeling here as Republicans keep and maybe increase their numbers in both houses of Congress, and then again on November 4, 2020 when Trump is re-elected. Oh, and both dates are the day after Election Day.

Yes, Democrats have won a couple of special elections, but there were some others where we were supposed to feel good about almost electing a Democrat in a very red state. Not to mention that Al Franken was railroaded into resigning.

I likewise prefer to deal in facts. I don't do the twitter, and only see whatever gets posted somewhere else, like here. And when someone out there essentially says, "I know something you don't know", which is exactly what the crap that was posted a couple of days ago about new indictments coming down, I know better than to believe that person.

Mueller's team already has the trials set for the spring.

Patrick Fitzgerald was investigating people around Bush and everyone was totally convinced that lots of people were going to go down, chief among them would be Karl Rove. Remind me again how much time Rove spent in jail? And all the others who were involved.

Two guilty pleas and two indictments might be just the beginning of a huge tide of such things, but the longer this goes on, the more it feels like Fitzmas. And Toobin, even if he turns out to be wrong here, is still a much more reliable source than people who just make stuff up on Twitter.

The only person who was tried by Fitzgerald was Scooter Libby. For perjury. And he served no jail time.

So it's a long, long way from a couple of indictments and a pair of guilty pleas to anything that really makes a difference, anything that actual brings down any of the central players in the Trump administration, let alone the man himself.

the more likely it is to be productive.

Bob Mueller has flipped at least two witnesses. He is an extremely experienced prosecutor and he wouldn't have allowed the top guy in a conspiracy to plead down. So Flynn isn't the top guy. Someone higher than Flynn will be indicted. The question is when.

I remember Watergate extremely well, as I was an adult and living in the DC area at the time. What really mattered about Watergate was 1. The Congress was in the hands of Democrats
and 2. The Washington Post did not give up, even when they were the ONLY news outlet covering the story.

I want to be wrong in my lack of confidence in Mueller. But I know that the Twitter being all a-twitter with rumors is utterly meaningless, and I am genuinely concerned that Toobin has it right. Again, I hope I'm wrong.

I think the video below shows the real Mueller: the height of old fashioned rectitude and integrity -- the opposite of Trump. I also believe that DT has been involved in serious lawbreaking, including money-laundering. Mueller won't be intimidated and he will pursue the leads that he finds.

of "Mueller's going to be fired!"

"Mueller is ready to indict (name your least favorite Republican here)!"

"Mueller has flipped witnesses!"

"Mueller is going to be fired!"

"If Mueller is fired all hell will break loose and hundreds of indictments will be unsealed!"

I see little real evidence for any of the excited rumors that swirl around here. What proof is there that witnesses have been flipped? By which I mean, what exactly has been heard from them? There's been a whopping one indictment, and supposedly that's resulted in flipping. What proof is there that there are a bunch of sealed indictments? And why would they just be sitting out there, sealed? Why not unseal them? What's the point in waiting? What exactly am I missing here?

As for firing Mueller, I suppose it could happen, but it's important to remember that Trump is completely delusional and even if he's got whoever the appropriate law enforcement agency is all lined up behind him with handcuffs and a straight jacket (extra large) for Trump, the Donald won't believe it's happening even as (or if) he's frog-marched out of the White House.

I wouldn't be surprised if we get to revisit the vocabulary words "unindicted co-conspirator".

Having lived through Watergate and Fitzmas, I am completely cynical.

and that means they'll be working with the government to provide testimony against others. Mueller wouldn't have made a deal like that with a creep like Flynn -- when he could have slapped him with 60 years worth of charges -- unless he got something major in return.

It certainly is possible that Trump could be named as an unindicted co-conspirator. I believe that when the report comes out that details all the things he did, the Dems will be swept into the House and can then begin impeachment proceedings. The Rethugs in the Senate, rather than facing a year or two of ugly hearings, will have to seriously consider joining the Dems and voting for conviction.

(and would this be the criminal justice system here? I'm asking because I don't know) to be sure I get this.

Does signing a plea agreement automatically make them cooperating witnesses? Whenever I read about plea agreements in ordinary cases, it means someone has agreed to a particular sentence instead of going to trial. I never see anything about testifying, although I do understand that what I'm referring to are very limited cases, not involving or potentially involving lots of other persons and other crimes, so the comparison may simply be invalid.

What evidence is there that Flynn has ratted anyone out? It seems as if everyone is just assuming that. And the fact that there was only one charge against him makes me nervous, not confident. A lot of people here say that if Flynn doesn't cooperate there are lots of other charges waiting in the wings. How do we know that? What makes anyone think this isn't just a rerun of Fitzmas, where one and only one relatively unimportant person was convicted of perjury?

Again, the possibility that Toobin has it right, that Mueller will in the end compile a report and send it to Congress feels all too possible.

with them on "any and all matters" that Mueller's office deems "relevant."

Here it is. Page 5, item # discusses his promised cooperation. Among other things, he even promised to engage in "covert law enforcement activities."

Mueller has Flynn over a barrel. And Flynn isn't the only cooperating witness. This is not going to be Fitzmas.

https://assets.bwbx.io/documents/users/iqjWHBFdfxIU/rt69pOxOIyqw/v0

be patient.

NASA's big Thursday press conference was a letdown. No aliens! So I was counting on Friday to make up for it.

What's the next upcoming possibly exciting event?

You love to pound your chest.

The title of my thread was, "It sounds like tomorrow (??) may be a "buckle the fuck up" day." Notice the (??) after tomorrow. I'm sure you did.

At this point we don't know what happened yesterday. Could the people who heard have been wrong? Yes. Could they have been right and the media is confirming it before reporting? Yes.

I'm not. I saw it, of course, but it was just one of many.

There's a song about that...

It's what I do. Truly, though, your thread was not in my mind when I wrote this one.

look crazy and non-credible-- so says The Origin of the rumor, TeaPainUSA

Link to tweet

And why would I listen to someone without a real name. One way to avoid the Russian bots is to know who you are listening to.

Who exactly is tea pain. He doesnt identify himself. All I know is he is in with the LM crowd, who are mostly conservatives and call march for truth, BLM, malcolm nance, joy reid, preet bahara and many more “deeza”.

Its infowars for the left. Rabbit meet hole.

Its what they use to call someone a russian disinfo agent. I think it comes from the word Dezinformatsiya [Disinformation]:

The Soviet and Russian term for disinformation operations: operations designed to pass false information to the enemy

So basically they consider Nance, joy reid et al russian disinfo and march for truth a russian operation. Which is obviously false.

We all know the maggot in chief
is going to fire Mueller and pardon everyone.
Which will throw this country into chaos.
Fueling the smoldering tire fire that's going to
Take the GOP down in November.
(On top of tax bill anger).
There's a prediction I'll make.

I don't know what's going on, but Trump and his minions and those scumbag GOPs in Congress are definitely making a concerted effort to discredit and minimize Mueller's investigation (and even investigate it!).

If they actually thought this was petering out and would end up as "just a report," why would they bother? Firing Mueller is such an extreme action (and would presumably require firing Rosenberg and perhaps resignations beyond that), and if they didn't feel cornered, would they do that?

I don't know that Trump's going to try that. (Cooler heads, if they have any influence on him, might prevail.) But even as hair-trigger demented as he is, he is unlikely to do that unless he's really scared.

Fitzmas had just one real "crime" to investigate (Plame). This is a lot more like Watergate and Iran-Contra, where there are multiple bad acts to be investigated and several agencies, not just the White House. And both of those ended up in many indictments and prison terms, and while Reagan survived in office, he was badly hobbled. (And he was much more popular than Trump.)

I will share something legit with you that I saw last week that coincided with predictions of significant disclosures in the offing.

Check out @pixnvids's Tweet:

Link to tweet

Plays for me.

It's esteemed, brilliant, sensible, not a radical Rep Joaquin Castro stating he expects more charges and incarcerations over the next few months, and that both his committe (house intel) and Mueller are operating on accelerated schedules.

Not at all.

Sorry? Not getting your point?

To Cortisol.

Mueller hasn't been leaking so no one knows except the few people he's working with. When he chooses to release whatever to the public, that's when we will find out. In the meantime just take whatever rumors mentioned with a grain of salt and don't let it bother you.

Isn’t becoming or constructive
We all bow down and ask for your forgiveness

Totally agree. Unnecessary thread.

Almost everything on Twitter is garbage. Louise Mensch is fan fiction, folks. What she writes is not real. Read it if you want entertainment, but don't go down the rabbit hole by believing it.

They take what information they have, and make informed guesses on what might happen next. When they get one out of 20 guesses right, all they do is brag about how right they were so that people think they're credible.

Their "inside sources" are all made up. It's all a con aimed at telling people what they want to hear in exchange for ad revenue on their sites and Twitter followers.

They on the! way!

As I recall from the other day, some posters had quite low post numbers - my first alert to a possible provocation.

Also a Fitzmas alum here - which I bit on - hard -- and spread the news hither and yon. Much to later chagrin.

Kept these posts to myself, but must admit found myself checking on DU even more than usual.

I don't think there will be Muellermas, but there will be Mueller Time at some point in the future.

Well, what is it?

Is it 24 actual hours, because business is 24/7 these days?

Or is it 72+ actual hours, because the business day is 8 hours, plus holidays and weekends?

I heard reports of a "buzz" -- that something big was up.

That's why the 'buzz' is kept vague. When nothing happens they can say they never said it would.

But the meaning of all the tweets from Mesnsch and 'Tea Pain' and all the rest of the clowns was quite clear.

I’m on a GOPer forum.

Christ, I hope they nail Trump where the House votes unanimously to impeach. But there was the same speculation and excitement every few days right up to Fitzmas. All we got was a pardon for some political pissant named Scooter.

and two indictments -- one of them major. This is far more important than the Fitzpatrick investigation and Trump is light years beyond Bush. The situations don't compare.

bring up the Fitzmas analogy

Lucy/Linus works, as well

I wanted rove, chenney, george war bush thrown in jail for war crimes. Instead all we got was a pardon for a loser named Scooter.

Just like Iran contra

Just like both October surprises

Traitors all

Republicans are the party of treason

No two ways about it, yet they’ve always controlled the unamerican narrative

Gee, wonder how that always happens.....

Every day I wake up on the west coast and wonder what happened while I was sleeping . . .

for barely thought-out, populist claptrap.

"Indictments" only that something big was on the horizon. I trust Rick Wilson.

I have learned we have many gullible posters here. Amazingly gullible.

come to find out that on Friday rumors were flying around that trashbag is going to fire Mueller. Rep. Jackie Speier confirmed it.