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Francisco 2.0

Certifiably Surly
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Posts posted by Francisco 2.0

  1. https://www.axios.com/trump-impeachment-strategy-national-security-d7f605d2-0335-45e7-84f3-1e799fec39b5.html?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=organic&utm_content=1100

     

     

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    Trump officials say they feel especially bullish about one key argument against calling additional impeachment witnesses: It could compromise America's national security.

    The big picture: People close to the president say their most compelling argument to persuade nervous Republican senators to vote against calling new witnesses is the claim that they're protecting national security.

    Why it matters: They're banking on it to speed up the trial, according to people close to the president.

     

    Quote

    White House counsel Pat Cipollone, who considers himself a civil libertarian, is expected to argue that the obstruction of Congress article is dangerous and could forever undermine the power of the executive office to protect privileged information.

    Cipollone will likely frame the Senate trial as a defining moment to set the precedent for executive privilege, especially on national security matters, per a source familiar with his thinking.

    This approach is something Cipollone is particularly proud of, and one that he is happy to test in court, the source said.

     

    Quote

    The argument: Presidential claims of executive privilege are especially strong when they involve conversations about national security.

    Weakening that privilege would make presidents less candid when they seek counsel from their advisers on national security (think John Bolton).

    The bottom line: Sources close to Trump's legal team have privately expressed confidence that former national security adviser Bolton will ultimately honor Trump's assertion of executive privilege.

     

  2. 18 minutes ago, QuesoEspecial said:

    The blank white rectangle on the front of Mahomes’ helmet is a trivial thing that makes me surly

     

    11 minutes ago, Pato del Muerto said:

    Same

     

    There's three NFL teams that have blank nosebumpers.  The Chiefs are one of them.

     

    Saints and the Redskins are the other two.  

  3. About a year or two ago or so, I read an article someplace how room rates had spiked for a week in April 2020...rumored to be for the NFL draft.  Then, the announcement came and Vegas had landed the draft.

     Now, this.  It's going to be wild.  Completely closing down the strip for vehicles from TI to Aria for 3 days:

     

    https://www.reviewjournal.com/?p=1938095?itm_source=parsely-api

     

    Quote

    The 2020 NFL draft is set to be one of the biggest events in Las Vegas’ rich history and is expected to produce the most significant closure of Las Vegas Boulevard to date.

    The Las Vegas Strip would be shut down to vehicle traffic the three days of the draft, April 23-25, to accommodate an expected 400,000 or more attendees, according to a source with direct knowledge of the draft plan.

    The exact stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard that would be closed is still being decided, but in 1,500 pages of documents obtained earlier by the Las Vegas Review-Journal, event organizers discussed a closure reaching from Spring Mountain Road to Harmon Avenue.

     

    Quote

    Las Vegas Boulevard near Flamingo Road would be the most impacted area, with the Fountains of Bellagio being touted as the “showpiece” of the draft, according to the source.

    Locating the draft’s stage at the Bellagio was the “dream scenario” proposed by draft organizers, and it appears it will become a reality, two sources said, pending approval Tuesday by the Clark County Commission.

    NFL representatives are scheduled to give the commission an in-depth presentation Tuesday that will break down road closures and draft venues.

    “At the Tuesday (Clark) County Commission meeting, all will be known,” Steve Hill, president and CEO of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, said Friday.

    The LVCVA has been working for months with the NFL to plan the three-day event. Hill said much of the preparation centers on safety and security, and NFL officials were in Las Vegas every other month in 2019 for preparatory meetings.

     

    Spoiler

    Staging the draft in front of the Bellagio would result in rolling closures of the Strip over roughly 20 days while the NFL is setting up and tearing down the draft stage.

    To accommodate the Bellagio plan, Las Vegas Boulevard would be reduced to two lanes in front of the fountains for a significant period surrounding the draft, the source with direct knowledge said.

    Officials from the NFL and Bellagio owner MGM Resorts International declined to comment on the draft plan.

    “No comment,” said Raiders President Marc Badain when asked Friday about the plan. “See you Tuesday.”

    Hill and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, who was in Las Vegas Friday for the Vegas Chamber’s annual Preview Las Vegas networking and forecasting event, indicated multiple Vegas icons would be showcased.

    “We are going to try and incorporate all the iconic features of this city,” Goodell said. “We are going to do what we can to show the tremendous entertainment and hospitality that goes on in this city.”

    The source with direct knowledge said the Caesars Forum convention center, which opens in March, will serve as a focal point. A second source said the NFL Fan Zone could be located near the Westin Las Vegas at Flamingo near Koval Lane.

    Hill said he expects more than 600,000 people to jam the city for the draft, which will likely produce the strongest April visitation in history.

    “The only thing that’s going to hold back attendance at this event is just the sheer size of the lots that are available for the draft itself,” he said.

    In July 2018, MGM Resorts executives gave two NFL executives a tour of the fountains, the Park Theater and the Las Vegas Festival Grounds. The festival grounds were part of the initial list of potential sites but were removed before the Route 91 Harvest festival shooting.

    Other possible sites

    The documents reviewed by the Review-Journal also identified 33 possible sites and celebrities associated with them that could be incorporated into announcements of draft picks. Those celebrities include:

    ■ Celine Dion and Elton John at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace.

    ■ Vegas Golden Knights players.

    ■ The Backstreet Boys, Pitbull or Jennifer Lopez at Planet Hollywood Resort.

    ■ Cirque Du Soleil characters.

    ■ The stars of the TV show “Pawn Stars.”

    Also proposed were unique ways to unveil some draft picks, including skyjumping from The Strat, displaying a pick on the Wynn Las Vegas marquee and having a presenter step out of a High Roller pod with a pick.

    For it all to work, a logistics plan must be in place to ensure vital employees can get to and from their job sites on the Strip.

    Roadwork on the north end of the Strip would be suspended during the draft timeframe, the source with direct knowledge said.

    Hosting the draft is another piece in the city’s bid to dominate sports and entertainment.

    “We may not quite be the sports and entertainment capital yet, but we are certainly the sports interest capital of the world right now,” Hill said. “Everybody is interested in coming to Vegas. Every league and every team and every type of event wants to be in Vegas. They know what being in Vegas can mean to them, and it’s great for us.”

    Goodell hopes the draft leaves a positive impression on the city, since the event will usher in the NFL era in Las Vegas.

    “I think what will come out of that is that you all will be done with that and then say, ‘Wow that was special,’ ” he said. “Hopefully (it will) leave a lasting legacy here in the community that people look back and say the draft was a great event here and we would want it back.”

     

     

  4. 5 minutes ago, Landomatic said:

    Can you still change it?  I went over there just to check it out when we stayed at Aria one time.  Can’t really put my finger on it, but it just didn’t feel at all like Vegas.  Along with no casino (we don’t really gamble so didn’t really care about that so much), it just had a completely different feel.  Way too bright and cheery and not nearly enough dark and debaucherous.  Plus their restaurant/bar choices pretty much suck, at least compared to other places.  I don’t see you digging that place at all.

     

    It's probably just going to be a fuckpad.  

    But I concur with the rest of your sentiment.  You could plop Vdara down in Chicago and it would fit right in.

  5. 11 minutes ago, Longhorn_Fan68 said:

    To put it a different way: they're not afraid of trump. They're afraid of his cult

    It's going to be interesting.  Trump is going to die, and what then?  Jr doesn't have the gift of showmanship that the old man has, and quite frankly, that's what got him elected.  The other kids don't have it either.  Trump could anoint someone as his successor in a sense, and that would be good enough.  However, he's far too vain to ever do something like that.  Anointing someone would imply he in his own mind knows he is going to be out of the office someday one way or another.

    Someone will bring out the cray in an attempt to keep the #MAGA folks corralled, since it's not really a traditional coalition of Republicans.  They will stoop even lower than Trump dreamed of, since it's going to take a new level to keep the interest up.

    • Like 2
  6. 2 minutes ago, hornhorn said:

    Right, so if Pentagon kills Soleimani in 2020, Trump did it. But if Pentagon drops depleted Uranium in 2015, its Pentagon and not Obama. 

    Since hornhorn wasn't in the room he has no proof. Got him!!!

    That's some astounding trailer park logic you have there.  You win the Internets today.

     

     

  7. 1 minute ago, jimmyjazz said:

    Yeah, I subscribed a while back, along with the NYT.  Liberal birdcage liners both, but hey.

    (Thanks for posting, I didn't have it in me to go through and strip out all but the text.)

    My wife is a fed, and she gets a free sub to the Post.  Otherwise, I wouldn't "have" one myself.  But it does come in handy.

  8. So, on his desk today during his thing in the Oval?  

    AP20016740665920.jpg

     

    Looks like the voting map from the 2016 election.

    This stupid fucker just can't quit.

     

    EDIT:  Sure as shit was:

     

     

     

  9. On 1/15/2020 at 12:16 PM, Zepol87 said:

    Absinthe and Zumanity it is. Thanks everyone

    Late to the thread.  Seen the following in Vegas:

    Absinthe (2x)

    Zumanity

    Ka

    O

    Whatever the show was at Aria---not the Elvis show, the Cirque show that closed after a year or two

    Jersey Boys (no longer around)

    Beatles Love (2x)

    Penn & Teller (2x)

    Absinthe is my favorite of all, with Love a close second.  Zumanity is fine; if you get one of the couches that is stageside, and your significant other becomes slightly aroused, you may get some mild crotch grabbing during the show.  Or so I've heard.  But aside from that, Absinthe is vile enough I've seen people get offended and walk out.  Not suggesting for a moment here you are of that category (hell, you post here) but know your girl before you walk in.  Oh, and if you are on the front row, there's a strong chance you are going to get picked on.  I was the "republican" at the show I attended last July (the photographer told my wife and I afterwards when we were purchasing the pics that they thought I was going to get chosen for the lap dance, but alas---I just got glory hole jokes aimed at my direction for the entire show).  Those of you here who have seen Absinthe know what I am talking of.

     I took a few pics at that show of Melody Sweets and The Gazillionaire, but honestly, I was laughing so hard I thought I couldn't breath or remember to take more pics (as I was the first time I went):

    Melody Sweets (not as hot as the last one, but she retired):

    IMG-7952.jpg

     

    IMG-7957.jpg

     

    IMG-7960.jpg

     

    She just wouldn't bend over all the way in front of me, dammit:

    IMG-7962.jpgTeh 

     

    IMG-7979.jpg

     

    Got a few pics of the lap dance contest:

    IMG-7988.jpg

     

    IMG-7990.jpg

     

    IMG-7996.jpg

     

     

     

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