Good fortune shone upon me when I happened upon one of Eric Garland’s fabulous mega-thread TweetStorms (the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing May 3rd — was it really only a week ago?) so I knew whose live commentary I wanted to read at Sally Yates’s much anticipated appearance before a Senate Judiciary subcommittee.
Today it was the <Yatesmas Mega-ManThreadStream Whoooo!!!> and it was an entertainment delight, peppered with cuss words, verbalized thought bubbles and nifty translations from formal English to hip vernacular.
It will always remain my favorite summary of the day’s proceedings which is reason alone to thread each tweet onto a single storyline.
Without Eric’s permission — and I trust he will not mind my doing so — I’ve inserted some additional video at the appropriate moments. Two video excerpts were discovered on Eric’s Time Line while the other was posted by someone purporting to be led around by CNN.
So grab some popcorn, sit back and enjoy!
The Preamble
A quick exchange between Rick and Eric before we start:
Alyssa Milano has the essentials:
Caroline sets the record straight...
...ready,
...get set
...and the excitement builds as Sally Yates enters and takes her seat!
Here’s a handy reminder of what Sally Yates promised in her confirmation hearing. Unlike Jefferson Sessions, Sally Q Yates says what she does and does what she says.
James Clapper takes his seat next to Sally Yates — Eric bursts into all caps as the excitement builds...
The Main Event
...and we’re off!
Republicans are having a little trouble with the bleedin’ obvious so James Clapper helpfully pointed it out to them:
GLOMAR: can neither confirm or deny
KOMPROMAT: Russian for compromising material
SCIF: Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility aka “the cone of silence”
Incidental collection: conversation picked up from untargeted others who are talking to the target named in the FISA or 702 warrant
Methuselah: his claim to fame is longevity, ie the longest-lived character in the Old Testament
Rip Van Winkle: character in a Washington Irving short story who went to sleep before the American War of Independence and woke up twenty years later in an independent America
Gilgamesh: a king in Mesopotamian mythology who did not want to die. Ref: Encyclopædia Britannica
Cicero: Roman politician and lawyer, who served as consul in the year 63 BC
Chuck Grassley is known as Grandpa Cornpants on the Wonkette website
I voted for Cruz in this poll:
Had to embed the video of this — Cruz getting flamed!
Deza: Russian disinformation
Stuart SMALLEY: fictional character invented and performed by Al Franken. The character regularly appeared on SNL and later showed up from time to time on The Al Franken Show. After Franken’s bid for a Senate seat that ended in success but also in controversy — he would not be officially declared the winner, and therefore under Minnesota law could not be seated, until a full eight months after the election itself — he would be dubbed "Senator Stuart Smalley" by critics and fans alike. Ref: Wikipedia
Cleisthenes of Athens: statesman regarded as the founder of Athenian democracy, serving as chief archon (highest magistrate) of Athens (525–524). Ref: Encyclopædia Britannica
Yankee White clearance: the highest security clearance level, it pertains to personnel working with the President. Obtaining it requires, in part, a Single Scope Background Investigation (SSBI) by the Department of Defense. Ref: Leatherneck.com
Fantastic work! That commentary is worthy of an award so please keep Eric Garland’s name in mind when the Shorty Awards — the Oscars for social media — come around again!