Jun 172019
 

Oh God, it’s Monday!  It’s another muggy day and the super-high pollen count is still messing with my eyes and COPD.  Nevertheless, I should be in the saddle every day this week, except Thursday, when I have a lunch date with a friend to discuss prison volunteer work.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:31 (average 5:11).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From YouTube (Jesse Dollemore Channel): U.S. Military & Intelligence Officials Keeping Ops Hidden From Donald Trump For Fear He’ll Talk!

 

Amen Jesse. A big problem with the Fuhrer and the Republican Reich is this: no matter how vile their traitorous actions against America are today, they will do far worse tomorrow. RESIST!!

From The New Yorker: A leading candidate to replace the White House press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, was disqualified after telling the truth repeatedly on his job application, the White House has confirmed.

According to the White House chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, the candidate got high marks in his job interview by demonstrating “utter disregard and contempt for press freedoms.”

“We then had him do a practice press briefing in which he was relentlessly abusive, obnoxious, and insulting,” Mulvaney said. “We were all, like, ‘This is our guy.’ ”

But after a thorough examination of the candidate’s job application, “a troubling series of truthhoods emerged,” Mulvaney said.

That’s straight news, Andy. Anyone, who has ever told the truth, even once, need not apply. RESIST!!

From Alternet: [I]n 2016 all the corporate news media outlets, NPR included, predicted that Trump would lose. They just did not recognize the discontent in America’s rust belt because the economic dislocation that had, and continues to define life there, was just not part of their personal frame of reference.They thought the country was several years into a recovery and the national aggregate unemployment data they had commissioned confirmed it. But nobody lives or votes in the aggregate. And it wasn’t until Trump flipped the 200 counties that Obama had carried twice, that the corporate news media started paying some attention.

And yet, based on the latest handicapping on the 2020 Democratic Primary they appear to be setting themselves up for another big miss that they will, of course, universally declare nobody saw coming — the huge left-wing surge that’s making democratic socialism mainstream and will likely be more seismic than the 2018 mid-terms.

Just look to the West Coast and the latest Los Angeles Times poll that has Joe Biden at 22 percent, Elizabeth Warren at 18 percent, Bernie Sanders at 17, and favorite daughter Kamala Harris at 13 percent. So, just what percentage of that fired up 48 percent that believe in Warren, Sanders, or Harris is Uncle Joe going to peel off with his retro-incrementalism?

It is most likely already over for Uncle Joe. His wing of the Democratic Party got rich sticking up for the credit card companies while they insured the 40 million Americans who owe $1.5 trillion in student loan debt can never be free of it even if they declare bankruptcy.

It seems clear to me that the likely Democratic voters have jumped away from centrist corporatism and toward social democracy. I only hope there are no shenanigans from the DNC to prop up Uncle Joe’s campaign beyond its natural life expectancy. The days that people will blindly get behind the leadership are gone. The leadership must learn to get behind the people. RESIST!!

Cartoon:

I’m amazed that France has not demanded it’s return.

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  14 Responses to “Open Thread – 6/17/2019”

  1. 5:12 In some ways these are even prettier than Faberge – softer, and more natural looking.

    Other JD – Why am I not surprised (besides having read this somewhere else earlier – I wasn’t surprised then either.)

    TNY – Straight news – and probably not bad news. The very best liars know how to use elements of truth to strengthen the credibility of their lies. If their new press secretary can’t do that, it’s a plus.+

    AlterNet – “[D]iscontent in America’s rust belt because [of] economic dislocation”? Or discontent in America’s rust belt because Obama was black? There is such a thing as turnout. The fact that Obama carried these counties twice may only mean that Nazis couldn’t believe that he could possibly win the county, and stayed home. Consider THIS. I do agree the Democratic leadership is missing the leftward shift of actual Democrats throughout the nation, and we need to bring that to their attention, not as something to be feared, but as something to be embraced. At least superdelegates have been abolished now. That may help.

    Cartoon – I’m amazed that Republicans haven’t torn it down yet.

  2. The other JD: I hope that the Intel community continues….I find it frightening that this Chode in office is not trusted, nor ever has ever been.

    N:Yer: Pretty much, Andy. That’s the way it is now.

    Cartoon: France wants it’s Lady back !!

    Sure hope that you have a good day….I’m feeling under the weather, with a low temp, so I’m going back to bed. Y’all take good care, and thanks, Tom.

    *This just in: “Well, at least Lindsey Graham was golfing with his daddy on Father’s Day.” ~ Steve M. ~

  3. JD: Really is sad that the the fool in office can’t be trusted. T
    NY: Awful to think that the don’t want honesty ones,
    Hope it gets cooler there TC. I thought you were moving this week?

  4. I’m glad The New York Times covered this critical story – but they buried the lede.

    The two key paragraphs appear further down:

    Two administration officials said they believed Mr. Trump had not been briefed in any detail about the steps to place “implants” — software code that can be used for surveillance or attack — inside the Russian grid.

    Pentagon and intelligence officials described broad hesitation to go into detail with Mr. Trump about operations against Russia for concern over his reaction — and the possibility that he might countermand it or discuss it with foreign officials, as he did in 2017 when he mentioned a sensitive operation in Syria to the Russian foreign minister.

    And Seth Abramson suggested a much better headline for this story:

    Oh, rats – it’s one of those reader threads you have to scroll down to. So here it is:

    PENTAGON BELIEVES TRUMP WILL BETRAY COUNTRY IF GIVEN CHANCE

    • Is there really any doubt?  If it came to lining his own pockets or supporting his country, I’d bet everyone here knows what he’d choose . . . his pockets of course!

  5. Puzzle — 5:11  Amazing that I actually hit the average.

    Jesse Dollemore — Bullseye!!!  Trump, that tantrumming toddler traitor, is more dangerous to the US than a load of sarin gas.  And his Republican Reich enablers are no better.

    The New Yorker — They should replace Huckabee Sanders with Pinocchio.  At least you’d know when lies are being told right away!

    AlterNet — I sure hope that Democrat voters and the DNC get their shit together.  I am noticing some disturbing movements here as we head into an October federal election.  The conservative party leader, Andrew Scheer, is sounding more and more like a Republican.  There is also a very disturbing increase in racism etc.  It is starting to not look like the country in which I grew up.

    Cartoon — I have said a number of times over the years that France should repo the Statue of Liberty . . . or make Trump pay for it!

    Good luck with the allergies and COPD flare ups.  Like Portland, Metro Vancouver was muggy today.  Out by me, temp was 26C but felt like 29C.  I had the AC going in the car but in the house, it is old fashioned fans . . . big ones.

    Well I made it through both articles but the left hand is definitely tired, numb and sore.  I had physio on it today which will continue twice per week for the foreseeable future in hopes of avoiding surgery.  My hand shakes quite a bit so I mostly type with my right hand.  I have to limit use of the right to preserve it as much as possible since it has the same problems but not as severe.  I am going to read Michael Wolff’s new book “Siege — Trump Under Fire”.  I am sure that the Dark Lord will have plenty to say about it.  I also have WaPo’s book about the Mueller Report which includes the report itself, redactions and all, and some analysis.  Should be barn burners for political junkies.

  6. Thanks and Hugs for all. 24

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