Monday, December 31, 2018

New Year's Eve: Looking at the Possible Democratic Field

Ah, New Year's Eve, or as we pros like to describe it, Amateur Night.

That's right, tonight millions will imbibe vast quantities of alcohol, celebrating what amounts to the turning of just another calendar page. Meanwhile others of us will still be mourning the end of college football. Let's face it, rooting for Oklahoma in the recent Orange Bowl was rather like cheering on George Custer and the 7th Cavalry at the Little Big Horn. Fortunately, in the grand scheme of things, the disaster in South Florida was an emotional defeat rather than one with actual geopolitical ramifications. Besides, my bookie owes me a C-note, because the Sooners did ultimately cover the spread.

However, even that faint glimmer of light can't hide the terrible fact the past year has been a wretched beast, fueled by chaos and laced with foul lies. The latest of which was a weekend tweet from Donald Trump claiming the Obama family recently built a ten foot wall around their Washington home. As usual, Trump was simply making shit up in order to sexually arouse the trailer park fascists who follow him.

With that in mind perhaps it is time to take a look at which democrat will challenge The Leader in one year and 11 months. Many seem eager, but only one will prevail. And, while a crowded field offers democrats a broad spectrum of candidates it also ensures much blood letting and post convention bitterness.

The Hill and the Washington Post have both offered line ups of candidates ranked from one to 15 based on factors such as name recognition, experience, money raising skills, and a willingness to trade shots with Donald Trump.

The two lists vary, although both agree who is at the bottom. Coming in at number 15 is former daytime TV talk show host, Oprah Winfrey. Apparently some out there think to beat a reality TV host you have to counter with another television celebrity who also has absolutely no political history.

On the top end, The Post says Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent and self proclaimed democratic socialist, is the man. The Hill says it is Elizabeth Warren. The aged Sanders, of course, leads legions of young people. Many of them are so utterly enthralled with his unsustainable utopian ideals and suspicious of what they call, "corporate democrats," they have and will refuse to accept any other candidate. He is, in truth, Don Trump's best pal in the field. Warren, on the other hand, is a progressive lioness with solid populist chops who just established a presidential, "exploratory committee." There can be no doubt, she, unlike so many of the others isn't just thinking about this campaign. She is in for the long run. Sanders' people consider her such a threat they have already started to attack her on social media.

The rest include some known names. NJ Senator, Corey Booker is rated number five by The Post and number three by The Hill. Joe Biden is number nine on The Hill and four according to The Post. Andrew Cuomo, the Governor of New York is ranked ten and twelve. Former NYC mayor, Michael Bloomberg is listed as 10th by The Post, but didn't make The Hill's top 15.

Then there are the nationally unknown. They include the anti NRA, CT Senator, Chris Murphy, 11th in The Post rankings and 8th in The Hill's. Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper made the seven spot at The Hill, but rated only an honorable mention by The Post.

In addition there were some widely divergent rankings. The Posts lists incoming CA Senator Kamala Harris at third while The Hill puts her at number 11. The Hill also gives MN Senator Amy Klobuchar the number four spot, but she isn't mentioned by The Post.

Former MA Governor, Deval Patrick is ranked on both lists, but reports say he'll have to be dragged kicking and screaming into the race. So will Michelle Obama who ranked number six according to The Hill.

There are a few others. NY Senator, Kirsten Gillibrand, former United States AG, Eric Holder, VA Senator, Tim Kaine, are mentioned, but they're stuck in the middle of the pack on one, or both polls and it is unclear what sort of organizations and money raising ability they have.
 
Then, to the horror of practically every democrat alive today, The Hill put Hillary Rodham Clinton at number 12.

Finally, for those wondering, the Texas Rose, Beto O'Rourke, wasn't mentioned in either publication. Yes, it would seem, as I well know, you might cover the spread, but in the end, a loss is still a loss.

Hey, it is, after all, The American Way.
 


sic vita est


12-31-18
 

Friday, December 28, 2018

The Year of Our Lord, 2018: Weirdness, Chaos, and Revulsion

By all accounts the Year of Our Lord 2018 has been weird, at times chaotic, and in many ways outright revulsive. Think not? Let's have a quick review.

January: Donald John Trump stunned just about everyone in the nation by making a measured and downright presidential State of the Union address to congress and the nation. He also made sure his 2020 campaign web site carried the speech live. During the web site's broadcast Trump supporters, who were being actively solicited to contribute to the campaign while the speech was ongoing, were rewarded by having their names scroll across the bottom of the screen as their man spoke. This prompted veteran politico, Fred Wertheimer to state,  "I've never heard of anything like this. It is a no class, money grubbing, misuse of the state of the union address that is way beneath the dignity of the presidency and the occasion."

February: On the 14th of the month former student Nikolas Cruz went to his old school, Marjory Stoneham Douglas High in Parkland, Florida. By the time he was done shooting 17 students and staff were dead. Within 24 hours at least seven different YouTube channels were claiming the nightmare was either faked, or a black flag operation perpetrated by the government in order to whip up anti second amendment sentiment.

March: Stoneham Douglas High School student Emma Gonzalez was a speaker at an anti gun rally attended by tens of thousands of high school students and others. A right wing legislative candidate in Maine immediately took to twitter and called her, "a lesbian skin head." The tweet was passed on by actor Adam Baldwin to his 250,000 followers along with the hashtag, "Vorwarts." Vorwarts is German for the English word forward and when repeated twice is the title of the Hitler Youth anthem. In addition, Rick Santorum went on CNN and told the audience, Gonzalez and her fellow Stoneham Douglas students were, "...looking for someone else to solve their problems." He suggested they take action to help themselves, like, "...learn CPR."

April: Oklahoma public school teachers showed up en masse at the state capitol building. Their aim was to get more money not just for themselves, but their students and the schools themselves after a decade of budget cuts had gutted the public school system. Ten contentious days later they went back to work without getting a single concession from legislators.

May: By Memorial Day more American kids had been killed while attending school in the previous five months than U.S. combat troops were in Afghanistan during all of 2017.

June: During a phone call to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Donald Trump claimed his punitive tariffs on Canadian products were a national security issue and angrily told Trudeau, "You guys burned down the White House once didn't you?" Trudeau later responded by saying, "The idea that Canada is somehow a national security threat to the United States is, quite frankly, insulting and unacceptable."

July: After declaring himself a, "stable genius," at a NATO conference Trump went to Helsinki, Finland to meet with Vladimir Putin. After a lengthy and private one on one both presidents emerged for a joint press conference. Mr. Trump's performance was so deferential and servile toward Putin even some supporters were revolted. Newt Gingrich described it as, "...the most serious mistake of his presidency." Then Senator John McCain tweeted, "...one of the most disgraceful performances by an American President in memory." John Flake, R-AZ, among other things said, "This is shameful." Trump initially blamed the negative reaction on main stream media reporting. Later he said he had simply used a wrong word to describe Russian interference in U.S. elections.

August: The family of terminally ill Senator John McCain announced they were halting his medication. Kelli Ward, an Arizona GOP candidate for the U.S. Senate immediately smelled a conspiracy. She tweeted, "I think they (McCain's family) just wanted to have a particular narrative that is negative to me." She deleted the tweet, then blamed the uproar on the media. McCain died the next day.

September: Former Oklahoma state Senator, Ralph Shortey, one of those born again Christian, far right political hacks, who once said, "Oklahomans didn't know what they were voting for," was proven right. A federal court sentenced Shortey to 15 years hard time. In 2017 he'd been busted in a Moore, OK motel room with a bag full of condoms, lotion, marijuana, and a 17 year old boy. Because he copped a plea the prosecutors dropped three charges of possession of child pornography.

October: Right wing disinformation forces descended on Dr. Christine Blasey Ford like a swarm of locusts. While she was testifying Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh had sexually assaulted her in high school, all sorts of accusations about her and her past went viral on line. One, by an alt right site called, Grabien claimed Blasey Ford's students had rated her as, "unprofessional," and described her as having a, "dark personality." FOX News host, Laura Ingraham and the Drudge Report immediately began touting the revelation. In reality the students critiques were about Dr. Christine A. Ford who teaches a Human Resources course at Cal State Fullerton. Christine Blasey Ford is a psychology professor at Palo Alto University.

November: After the republicans lost control of the house of representatives, Donald Trump announced to the world that every GOP candidate who lost did so, "...because they failed to embrace me."

December: Danish YouTube personality Andreas Hvid and an unknown female companion broke Egyptian law by climbing the Great Pyramid of Giza. Once on top the woman was shown pulling her blouse off, then the two of them appeared nude in a still photograph while simulating sexual intercourse. At last look the video had five million plus views. The Egyptians were outraged as were many others. Still, some had comments like this, "Looks like a great place to fuck. Most are just jealous it's not them."

Ah, is there anything quite like western civilization?

No, there isn't. That's why at this small desk in central Oklahoma I say, thank God for Smirnoff, tonic water, ice, and limes.



12-28-18




Friday, December 21, 2018

The Bully Gets Bullied, Abandoning the Kurds, and Mattis Quits: Just Another Week in Trump World

I'll be proud to shut down the government for border security. So I'll take the mantel. I will be the one to shut it down. I'm not going to blame you for it.

President Donald J. Trump speaking to democratic Senator Chuck Schumer and Representative Nancy Pelosi in the Oval Office last week.

It is totally up to democrats if there is a shut down.

The same guy talking this morning.



The other day Vice President Mike Pence went to the senate with an idea. He told everyone there his boss would be okay with a proposal floating around which would keep the government operating on all cylinders until early February. The bill would provide $1 billion plus worth of border security, but no funding for The Great Wall. In effect Pence said, Trump was willing to let the wall go for now in order to avoid, taking the mantel.

The Senate believed him and quickly passed the measure unanimously. Afterward, convinced a deal had been struck, a bunch of them blew town for the Christmas break. Silly them.

Rush Limbaugh immediately took to the airwaves, as did several on FOX News. They, along with The National Review and a mob of rubes from the house, "Freedom Caucus," collectively began calling Mr. Trump a pussy for his apparent willingness to let the wall issue slide.

Yes, it would seem the bully got bullied by his propaganda arm. Predictably the surge of ultra right wing criticism threw DJT into a fit of embarrassed rage. After all, being called a twit by the likes of Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel is one thing, but when your own people start doing it, it is only a matter of time before the almighty base, like Frankenstein's monster, turns on its creator.        

Within 24 hours The Big Orange Guy was on the phone to the long suffering Paul Ryan who was literally within seconds of making some sort of public announcement. Shortly afterward the house passed a bill which would keep the government going, provide some disaster relief funds, and kick in $5 plus billion specifically earmarked to build the wall.

This morning the El Supremo called republican senators into his office and urged them to push the house resolution through by changing the chamber's rules. It would be a dubious power play, but one that has been used before in rare cases. Unfortunately for Trump several GOP lawmakers were and are openly reluctant to do just that.

As this post is being typed Senate leader, Mitch McConnell has begun a painfully slow series of votes to pass the resolution without using the only weapon which would guarantee a win for El Don and his wall--that rule change. In other words, today's proceedings are nothing more than an empty political gesture meant show Donald Trump and the far right howlers republican senators support the idea of a wall. The reality of it though, at this moment anyway, is Don's wall is fucked. Trump knows it too. After the meeting with republican lawmakers he promised the shut down will be long and insisted, despite what the readily available video evidence proves, "The democrats now own it."

This chaos, which has lit up American cable news networks of all stripes, actually began earlier this week. The firestorm began when Mr. Trump woke up one morning and announced to the world the United States would, in short order, pull all it's troops and air support out of Syria. The strategic military decision was so unexpected and sudden everyone in the President's administration found out about it at the exact moment the general public did.

At first the media considered the move just another example of Trump's wild, weird, and impulsive whimsy. Now it is being reported the decision came hard on the heels of a late night phone call with Turkey's soon to be President for life, Recep Erdogan and a significant sale of cruise missiles to the Turks. The withdrawal will leave our most dependable ally in the three way conflict, the Kurds, completely alone. Now they'll face not only ISIS and the ruthless Bashir Assad by themselves, but also the Turks who have being doing their best for decades to kill every Kurd they can find.

Shortly after Vladimir Putin publicly endorsed, "Donald's," decision, to abandon the Kurds, U.S. Secretary of Defense, Jim Mattis handed the President his resignation. In the letter he explained to Trump, "You have the right to have a Secretary of Defense whose views are better aligned with yours..." He also said, "While the U.S. remains the indispensable nation in the free world, we cannot protect our interests, or serve that role effectively without maintaining strong alliances and showing respect to those allies."

At least we know why he quit. He's honest, sane, and loyal to our friends--rare and endangered qualities in the Trump world.

Hey, when Donald John Trump can run off a four star Marine general who once said, "Be polite, be professional, but have a plan to kill everybody you meet," you realize just how bat shit crazy the nation's Commander in Chief really is.

Indeed.



12-21-18

Monday, December 17, 2018

A New Poll: Trump's Base Might Be a Bunch Of Fascists, But They're Never Dis-Loyal

The pollsters have been at it again. This time a few questions were asked by an outfit called, Hart Research Associates/Public Opinion Strategies over three days earlier this month. NBC and the Wall Street Journal paid the tab for the survey of 900 people, 48% of who were male and 52% female.

One of the questions asked was, "Has Donald Trump been honest and trustworthy regarding Robert Mueller's probe?" 62% responded no while 34% said yes. The remaining four percent were apparently too busy watching episodes of American Gladiator to worry with such an issue.

Another concerned the conduct of people close to DJT and Trump himself when it comes to all manner of questionable behavior. The activities include Mike Cohen paying off a couple of  women who aren't named Melania with campaign funds, Trump and his team being offered, synergy, by some Russian, and Paul Manafort's continued communication with Trump's staff after his indictment. There is more, but space and time limit the ever lengthening list of alleged felons and the charges they face.

The question posed: "Was wrongdoing done by just some individuals, or Trump himself? Things get a little murkier on this one. 46% say it was Trump himself while 23% say it was individual behavior--presumably without the prior knowledge of candidate/President Trump. 31% aren't sure one way, or the other.

Then comes the recent mid term elections. Now that democrats will take control of the house in January, 48% of those asked say they want them to take the lead in setting national policy. On the other hand 21% want congressional republicans to and 19% would prefer Donald John Trump to be in complete charge of everything.

Also, when it comes to the democrats taking the house, only 10% asked thought Don Trump got the message America wants a change in direction and is making adjustments in his policies to reflect the new paradigm. 22% say, he got the message alright, but he isn't doing squat about it, while 33% believe the message went right over his head. Meanwhile 31% of those asked say, despite the loss of the House of Representatives, there wasn't any message at all. You know, Message? What fucking message? We held onto the Senate didn't we?

Finally, 900 people were asked if Bob Mueller's Russian investigation has given them, major, fairly major, or some doubts about Donald Trump's presidency. 50% said yes, however, 44% say it hasn't given them any more doubts.

Ah, the base. God bless 'em. You can say a lot of things about those fascist bastards, but you'll never be able to accuse them of being dis-loyal to, The Leader.

Trust me. The devil is in the details.When it came to that first question, the one about El Don being trustworthy, the 62% who said he wasn't included 94% democrats, 64% independents, and just 24% republicans. Conversely, when it comes to the one third of the respondents who said he has been as honest as the day is long, 70% were republicans, 29% independents, and 5% consider themselves democrats.

In addition, on the national policy question, if you add together the people who want either republicans, or Trump to be in charge, the democratic lead is slashed to eight points. Factor in a 3.5% margin of error and you see a country nearly equally divided.
 
Yes, the word United in the republic's name is quickly becoming nothing more than a fond memory. We are now at least as polarized as we were during the Vietnam era and it is easy to imagine we are quickly approaching the level of, "you're either with me, or against me," hysteria last seen in 1860.

Tragically for us, the guy we have in the White House likes it that way. Well, why shouldn't he? It gets him more hits on social media than anyone else in the whole wide world.

And apparently, to him, that counts more than anything, including the nation's well being.




12-17-18

Friday, December 14, 2018

Naked on the Great Pyramid: Andreas Hvid Makes a Video

I have dreamed for many years of climbing the Great Pyramid .

Andreas Hvid, 23 year old Danish photographer and YouTube aficionado.



So on November 29th of this year Mr. Hvid and an unnamed female companion did just that. The problem with his dream and the dubious accomplishment is in Egypt it is illegal to climb a pyramid, or any other ancient monument. That's because, you know, they're considered national treasures and erosion doesn't need any help.

Andreas Hvid knew it too.

That's why the ascent was made at night with the surreptitious help of another woman. This second woman hooked Hvid up with a rogue camel driver who took him and his lady friend to the site in exchange for 4,000 Egyptian pounds. It may sound like a lot, but in truth it equals about $225 U.S. dollars, or barely a long night in an upscale Oklahoma City bar. At this point it is unknown what the split between the camel driver and the facilitator was, but since they've both been arrested and are now sitting in a Giza jail, they're probably thinking the price charged was far too cheap.

Once the duo reached the top three things happened. First we were shown a magnificent night view of the Giza/Cairo metroplex brightly glowing in the east. Then after filming his friend smoking either a joint or a cigarette, Mr. Hvid, being the artistic type, filmed her as she removed her top. Finally, there is a still photograph of the auteur himself lying naked on top of the now completely unclothed woman, because, in his words he also dreamed of, "being nude in a photograph."

That's right, it was the old two birds with one stone solution.

Not being a complete idiot, Andreas Hvid waited until he and his gal pal got back to Denmark before posting this crass stupidity on YouTube. It showed up on December 8th. As of a few hours ago the video had been witnessed right at five million times.

The outrage was immediate, especially in Egypt, as evidenced by the quick arrests of the two saps who enabled the event. The only response from Hvid, so far anyway, has been to assure everyone the woman he was with wasn't his real lover, but rather a paid model. He insists they were simply posing naked together, rather than having actual sex on top of a 4,500 year old royal tomb.

Well, that certainly makes everything okay.

Most of the written comments concerning the video vilify the behavior, however a few applauded Hvid's endeavor. One wrote, "Looks like a great place to fuck. Most are just jealous it's not them."

Maybe if you're on top, but one has to think a giant slab of stone can't be too comfortable for the person on the bottom of the act, but that's just me. Then there is all that sand. It's never a comfortable additive to copulation.

Another observer--obviously an Info Wars researcher--posted, "Cleopatra and the pharaohs had sex in the pyramids, so what is the problem?"

You mean besides the fact, Cleopatra was born, raised, then ruled and died in Alexandria which is 138 miles from the Great Pyramid? Not to mention there is absolutely no evidence any pharaoh performed coitus in, or on his grave? Of course, one can easily assume the immediate response to those questions is a terse, You can't prove they didn't.

Yes, that's the style now days. If you can't prove it didn't happen, it must have because I like to think it did.

Besides, who gives a rat's ass about Egyptian sensibilities? Let's face it, when it comes to the internet it's all about self gratification and the number of hits your post gets. Today the Great Pyramid, tomorrow we'll get buck naked and pretend to fuck on top of the Tomb of  the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery.

Hey, just think how many people will watch that shit.


sic vita est



12-14-18

Monday, December 10, 2018

The Heisman Trophy: Trolls, Curses, and the Wish That Comes True

A little less than 48 hours ago, Kyler Murray, a 21 year old quarterback from the University of Oklahoma sat in an audience at a New York City venue awaiting the outcome of the Heisman Trophy voting. Next to him were two other young men, Alabama QB, Tua Tagovailoa and Dwayne Haskins, the signal caller at Ohio State.

The early money had been on Tagovailoa to win the award. His hype had started last year during a brilliant second half performance in the national championship game. His lead, at least in the minds of the media, was solid for most of the year. So, as he and the Crimson Tide ripped through opponents at will the prize appeared his to lose.

Haskins, while personally having an excellent year, had the misfortune to be on a team which at times was magnificent and others looked deeply flawed. Ohio State crushed Michigan, but was, in turn, thrashed by a mediocre Purdue team, should have lost to Maryland, and was pushed to the end by a terrible Nebraska squad. It is widely believed in any other year he would have won. However, because of Murray and Tagovailoa, he was doomed to place third.

When it came to Murray, on one hand his Sooners were arguably the best offensive unit in the college game while on the other side of the ball they were perhaps the worst. We're not talking simply below average here. Practically the entire year it seemed like the Oklahoma defensive strategy was to just get in the fucking way sometimes and hope the ball carrier would trip and fall over someone. Well, that, or let the opponent score as quickly as possible so Murray and his mates could get back on the field enough times to outscore the other guys.

This dichotomy was so acute the team as a whole rivaled any known case of Dissociative Identity Disorder recorded in the annals of American psychiatry. It also forced Kyler Cole Murray to be perfect in every game OU played. The result was the Sooners gave up 40 or more points in five games, but won four of them. It is a statistic so baffling no one had even thought to track it before this year.

By Saturday the odds had finally swung in Murray's favor. This was thanks to a growing appreciation of what he had accomplished and a sub par performance by Tagovailoa against Georgia prior to an ankle injury which caused him to exit the game. That contest proved beyond a doubt Bama can beat just about anyone without him on the field. At the same time everyone with a brain who watches the sport knows that without Kyler Murray, Oklahoma would probably have ended up being a .500 team.

Unfortunately, besides Murray, Tagoviloa, and Haskins, there were others waiting for the results that evening. Some unidentified troll had gone digging through Kyler Murray's twitter account just because he, or she could and these days if you can't scandalize someone your life apparently isn't worth living.

Seemingly within minutes after receiving the Heisman six of Murray's tweets which contained the word, "queer," appeared in places like the New York Post, the Daily Mail and others. Headlines blared, the newly minted award winner had used, "homophobic slurs," while tweeting.

He did, although when he posted those tweets he was a 14 and 15 year old high school kid participating in back and forth banter between friends. For those of you who were never that age, I can testify 14 and 15 year old boys say a lot of stupid stuff they later regret. In my own case I can only thank God Almighty there wasn't social media in 1964 and 1965, because back then I was an utter asshole with absolutely no understanding of the world and others in it. By the time I was 21, like Kyler Murray is now, I had become a completely different person--which we can assume, due to his apology offered up Sunday on Twitter, he is also.

So yeah, I'm going to give him a pass on this one. Simply put, I'd rather not condemn a young man today for typing an objectionable word a few times when he wasn't even old enough to drive a car.

Besides if we're going to worry about something it should be OU's Heisman curse. You see Kyler Murray is the seventh Oklahoma player to win the Heisman Trophy. To date none of them have won a national championship the same year.

It is an awful bit of trivia. One that brings us to a quote by James M. Cain which author, John Wooley told me the other day while we discussed the season's end. "I write of the wish that comes true," Cain once said, "for some reason a terrifying thought."

Indeed. Especially when you realize next up for Murray and Co. is the undefeated King Kong of college football, Alabama and a Tua Tagovailoa who would love to prove the Heisman voters wrong.



12-10-18




Wednesday, December 5, 2018

George Herbert Walker Bush: Who Says History Isn't Kind

For the last few days the nation, or at least most of it, has mourned the passing of George Herbert Walker Bush, the 41st President of the United States. This includes the talking heads at CNN and MSNBC who have spent much of their time portraying the man as a bipartisan saint and the epitome of how a politician and  president should conduct himself.

Obviously Mr. Bush loved his wife of 73 years and his family deeply. He was loyal in the extreme to them all. In addition he did possess a reserved, perhaps regal, demeanor during his single term as president. There is also ample evidence he never considered the opposition party and media as, "the enemy of the people."

Those factors have caused older on air journalists to wax nostalgic about the good old days and, without mentioning a certain someone, bemoan the savage vitriol and demonization of political enemies which currently infects the body politic. Bush, the elder, they've told us over and over again, was the consummate gentleman who, in later years, was happy to work with Bill Clinton, the man who ended his presidency.

What they haven't mentioned is he was also the guy who made Willie Horton a household name during his first presidential campaign. Mr. Horton, who was and still is black was featured in a TV ad so racist in nature the backlash was immediate. The Bush campaign, quickly said the ad wasn't their idea, but rather that of an independent pro Bush organization. However, the disclaimer didn't stop George Herbert Walker Bush from talking about Willie Horton throughout the rest of that election season.

For those who don't remember, Horton was a convicted felon who was on furlough from a Massachusetts prison thanks to a program championed by democratic governor and presidential opponent, Mike Dukakis. While out he skipped the state, then stabbed a man, beat him half to death and raped his fiancée twice. The ad and later, Bush in speeches across the land, none too subtlety hinted that if Dukakis was elected he'd release mobs of crazed black men just like Horton from prisons every where so they too could wreck wholesale mayhem on innocent white people.

The Horton shit came after the Iran-Contra scandal which erupted during the last years of Ron Reagan's second term in the Oval Office and Bush's service as Vice-President. At its simplest, the affair involved a deal to sell arms to the Iranians in exchange for the release of American hostages held in places like Lebanon by Iranian backed militants. On the side, the money collected from the Iranians was used to help fund Nicaraguan rebels who were attempting to bring down the newly minted socialist regime in that country. The whole thing was so fucking illegal, after the news broke, Big Ron told associates he might be impeached.

During the 1988 campaign Bush claimed he was, "out of the loop," and didn't know a thing about Iran-Contra. Later, according to Wikipedia, in one of his private diaries he admitted he was, "one of the few people that know fully the details," of the goings on. Just to ensure no one ever connected him to the subterfuge, in the last days of his presidency, Mr. Bush pardoned six of the ten people indicted in the scandal. The lucky six included a Secretary of Defense, Assistant Secretary of State, a national security advisor, the head of the CIA's Central American task force, a CIA chief of covert ops, and another senior agency official.

Besides cashing in on racist stereotypes and being, at best, a criminal co-conspirator, he could also be downright cruel.  As President, the Bush answer to the AIDS epidemic was to tell victims of the disease to, "change their behavior." It was sort of a darkly cynical echo of Nancy Reagan's, "Just say no," solution to drug abuse.

On the upside, unlike his kid, he at least knew better than to invade Iraq. Even to the point of letting a bunch of Shiite rebels in the south of the country go it alone against Saddam after the first Gulf War ended. Sans American aid they were quickly overwhelmed and dealt with in ways no one who has a weak stomach wants to think about.

Yes, if Trump didn't exist we can only wonder how the reporting of G. H. W. Bush's passing and legacy would have played out. One has to think at least some of his grievous acts wouldn't have been ignored like they have in the last few days.

Of course, The Big Orange Guy does exist and as we all know he is a brutal neo fascist--a man so crude, corrupt, and obscene he should be locked away on general principle alone. Indeed, his presence in the Oval Office, not to mention the planet itself, tends to make many old pols look good--even the ones who weren't.

Hey, who says history isn't kind?





12-5-18

Friday, November 30, 2018

The G20 in Argentina: Trump, Putin, the Crown Prince, and Xi

Today and tomorrow 20 of the world's big dogs, plus seven of their invited guest leaders are meeting in Buenos Aires, Argentina. They are there for photo ops and public schmoozing along with some more serious and, in theory, substantial one on one get togethers.

However, because of the times and the nature of those involved things can become strange and awkward at this summit of sorts down south where the gauchos roam.

For example, look at the surreal instant today when Saudi Crown Prince Mohmmad bin Salman Al Saud and Russian President Vladimir Putin exchanged an emphatic handshake and grins that were as enthusiastic as any seen in college football end zones after a touchdown. One can almost hear the brief exchange of words during the moment. Knowing the way those two thugs operate Putin probably told the Prince something along the lines of, Way to handle that bastard Khashoggi. Dude, what a move. I couldn't have done it better myself.

Yes, in some places they take care of journalists in ways Donald Trump can only dream of. Then they show up and act as if they're actually members of the human species.

And speaking of The Big Orange Guy, he called off his private sit down with Putin earlier this week. The administration says he did so, because the Russians shot up and took custody of three Ukrainian navy ships on November 25th near the Kerch Strait which separates the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.

The Russians aren't buying that excuse. They are claiming Trump backed out of the meeting due to political issues at home. While the Russkies are a wily lot their explanation of the cancelled talk rings true.

Let's face it, Donald Trump probably doesn't give a shit about three Ukrainian ships and 20 plus sailors in a place it is doubtful he has even heard of. On the other hand he does care deeply that his former personal lawyer and fixer, Mike Cohen just pleaded guilty to lying in front of congress about a building deal in Moscow.

Indeed, even Trump has to know it wouldn't look good to have a private confab with a guy who not only helped him win an election, but also might have been the recipient of, as some reports say, a $50 million penthouse atop the proposed Moscow venture--for free.

That's right, given the information coming to light, even the rubes who cheer wildly at those raucous rallies might start asking uncomfortable questions about motives and conduct. After all, you can call Michael Cohen, "a weak person and not a very smart person," all you want, but you are the one who paid him a retainer for 12 years and trusted him with the Stormy Daniels hush money. It doesn't take a genius to realize Cohen knows stuff--actual stuff--and much of it proves you, Donald John Trump are at best a congenital liar or, at worst, a felon.

Of course there are other people at the G20 who could spend some quality time with the American El Supremo. Although since he's spent two plus years incessantly insulting them, most of the nation's traditional allies won't be among that particular crowd. On the other hand Xi Jinping, China's president for life will be. He is a man Trump deeply admires for his willingness to forgo the nonsense of democratic elections and term limits. Besides, they have a lot to talk about, especially when it comes to tariffs and who is coming out on top in the newly minted trade war.

Then there is always the Crown Prince. Locking down that massive arms deal is a must, even if the sale amounts to only a fraction of what DJT has been saying and the number of new jobs he has been promising because of it is an outright lie.

And, obviously, there is always an opportunity for a chance meeting with Putin. All it would take is a fortuitous seating arrangement during dinner tonight. It isn't like it hasn't happened before. Listen, many important deals have been struck over a plate of overcooked steak and potatoes. Plus, Mr. Trump would probably love to hear Vlad's thoughts on how to handle organizations such as MSNBC and CNN.

Not to mention the incoming House of Representatives.

Hey, when in doubt go to the pros. Their methods might be crude, but. as we've seen in both England and Turkey, they are effective.

Think not? Just take another look at that jubilant hand shake we all saw this morning.




11-30-18






Monday, November 26, 2018

It's Mississippi For God's Sake, Of Course Cindy Hyde-Smith Will Win

Whenever statistics come out ranking states for things like rural poverty, public education funding, health care, and even obesity and tobacco use, my home state, Oklahoma almost always comes in toward the very bottom of the lists. That's the bad news. The good news is we hardly ever reach dead last because of one place in these United States.

It is a fact which has given rise to a saying common around here when such stats are published. It goes like this, "Thank God for Mississippi."

Indeed, it would seem as long as there is a Magnolia State, Oklahoma can rest assured there will always be some place in the republic which is poorer, dumber, and fatter than we are. It might be cold comfort, but we'll take what we can get.

Be that as it may, let's get to tomorrow when Mississippi elects a U.S. Senator to fill out the unexpired term of Thad Cochran who retired back in March of this year.

It hasn't been an easy process to get to this point. On November 6th, Mississippi, in keeping with it's reputation, held what it calls a, "jungle primary." What that means is everybody running, no matter what their political affiliation, is thrown onto the same ballot and if any one of them gets over 50% of the total votes cast they're in. If no one does then the top two finishers face each other in a runoff.

This year the two finalists are republican, Cindy Hyde-Smith and democrat, Mike Espy. Hyde-Smith has been in the Senate since April when she was appointed by Governor Phil Bryant. Espy is a former Mississippi congressman who served a brief term as Bill Clinton's Secretary of Agriculture.

From the beginning the big money was on Ms. Hyde-Smith. In fact no one outside of the state was paying any particular attention to the race because the seat seemed to be a republican lock. Then, as all these GOP cranks can't help but do, the Senator opened her mouth.

Not long after the dust cleared on the 6th of November she made an appearance in Tupelo, MS with a cattle rancher named, Colin Hutchinson. Playing to the crowd, Hyde-Smith pointed to Hutchinson and said, "If he invited me to a public hanging, I'd be in the front row."

Ah yes, quite witty. Especially when you consider, according to the NAACP, that between 1882 and 1968, 581 African Americans were lynched in Mississippi. If you're keeping track of numbers like some do, you have, no doubt, noted the horrifying body count places ol' Miss in the lead for something. That's right, last no more.

Of course, given the current political climate, it also won't surprise anyone, Hyde-Smith's opponent, Mike Espy is black.

When the inevitable backlash to her comment began to build she described her statement as, "...an exaggerated expression of regard."

Regard for what? Hutchinson? Public Hangings? Hanging the opposition? We're all left to wonder since Ms. Hyde-Smith refuses to comment any further on her desire for a front row seat.

The vile insanity didn't end there though. A scant 10 days ago she was caught on tape telling a small group of supporters voter suppression, when it came to the people in other schools was, "...a great idea." When the video surfaced her campaign wrote off the comment as an, "obvious joke."

Right. In the 1970's while she was in school, Ms. Hyde-Smith attended Lawrence County Academy. It was one of the many private--read segregated--institutions which popped up in the state to circumvent federal desegregation laws. The academy's nickname was the Rebels, its mascot was named, Col. Reb and he ran around carrying a Confederate battle flag.

Finally, just to make sure her base knew exactly where she was coming from--after all, you can't be subtle with a lot of these stupid rubes--a photo from social media was released which showed her and someone else wearing replica confederate uniforms while sporting muskets.

The Don initially refused to support Hyde-Smith's appointment to the senate because when she began in politics she was a registered democrat. Her affiliation lasted ten years, long enough to make her untrustworthy in the eyes of The Big Orange Guy.

Not to worry though. He is all in for her now. So much so, he is going to Mississippi today to stump for her. Listen, you have to do something for someone who has voted with you 100% of the time--and now, thanks to overtly racist bull shit, has gone from a sure thing to being in an election day dog fight.

The only questions left are will she win despite the trail of awful dog whistle words, coupled with her crude old south attitude? Or, will decency and Mike Espy pull the big upset?

Oh please, the answer is easy. It's Mississippi for God's sake, of course she'll win.




11-26-18  






Tuesday, November 20, 2018

Oklahoma City Goes to the Dogs

Sometimes you don't need a gun to create chaos, terror, and mayhem. Take yesterday for instance. While a crazed monster was shooting up Mercy Hospital in Chicago, apparently because of a failed romance, someone in Oklahoma City let his, or her mixed breed pit bull out for a little run.

Around 12:40pm the mutt entered the playground of Fillmore Elementary School in south OKC. At the time there were 28 third and fourth graders enjoying a recess, supervised by three teachers. Within five minutes the dog had bit nine of the kids while three were injured as they tried to get away. Five were transported to a local hospital by ambulances and seven were taken there by their parents. Luckily none of the injuries were critical.

The dog was tackled by Special Ed teacher, Lee Hughes as it tried to get into the school building, presumably to continue its hunt. In a show of extraordinary strength and courage, Hughes held it on the ground until authorities could take the animal away. So far, at least, the owner of the animal hasn't come forward. Hey, who can blame him, or her. The lines of lawyers outside the homes of the victims are, no doubt, already winding down southside streets and around blocks.  

Unfortunately, in this burg we aren't always as lucky as we were yesterday.

A guy named Butch Bridges, who lives in Ardmore, OK tracks this sort of bestial assault on his site, "Vicious Dog Attacks--Oklahoma." The list he has compiled is extensive and more than a tad chilling.

In the Oklahoma City metro area alone he shows 24 attacks in the last four years, three of them fatal. Of the 24, 13 were committed by, you guessed it, Pit Bulls. Two more were by Boxers and another two attacks came from St. Bernard's. In the rest of the incidents the breeds were not identified by different media sources.

In more than a couple of the cases the pet owners claimed their dogs were, "provoked," and should bear no blame for the attacks. After two of the victims died the owners were charged with manslaughter. In all of them someone should have been indicted for being, felony stupid.

No, I'm not anti dog. I am, however, pro dog control. I'm also extremely suspect of the psychology on display when a person decides to prove their machismo to the world by keeping a 75-100 pound animal with a predilection for uncontrolled savagery. Let's face it, in many cases such breeds are bought just so the owner can show off his, or her dark and edgy lifestyle. Hey, want to know what a bad ass I am? Just take a look at my fucking dog!

If you want to brag, just tat up for God's sake. The needle might hurt a little, but your ink dragon, or panther won't rip apart some elderly woman and her Pomeranian who made the mistake of walking on a nearby sidewalk. Not to mention, you won't end up in the slammer just because you decided to let a latter day version of The Hound of the Baskervilles run loose in the neighborhood.

A long time ago a veterinarian I knew told me to never own a big dog. If you want a watch dog, he said, get a small one who will make a lot of noise. The first thing a professional thief will do is kill a big dog. Besides, when it gets old the odds are it will turn on you, or your kids.

Yes and then sometimes, as we saw yesterday, it will turn on children at a school playground not because of age, but simply because of breeding. Well, that and some tough guy wannabe didn't take the time to keep it on a leash, or properly fenced in.



sic vita est


11-20-18 

Tuesday, November 13, 2018

Bill Maher's List Grows Longer--In Two Years We Will Find Out If He's Right

Last Friday on his HBO show, Real Time, Bill Maher touched again on what he claimed in 2017 was a, "slow moving Trump coup," which is taking over America. Despite the democrats winning a majority in the U.S. House of Representatives last week he said the coup has, "started moving a little faster."

Then he updated his, "Are you a dictator wannabe check list." In no particular order and paraphrasing some, the list went like this:

You are a narcissist who likes to see his name and face on buildings.

You appoint family members to positions of power.

You hold rallies even when you're not running, and they are scary.

You talk about jailing the press and political enemies.

You force out independent minded officials and replace them with toadies.

You appoint your personal protectors into important positions of law enforcement and the judicial branch.

You like and want military parades.

You have what amounts to a state television network which constantly claims you can do no wrong and incessantly attacks your critics.

You like other dictators.

You like the idea of having a president for life.

Yes, Maher's list is impressive and not just a little frightening. Of course Donald John Trump hasn't accomplished some of the items on the check list, but we know he loves to, as Maher says, talk about them. Let's face it, he hasn't actually jailed a member of the press, or Hillary Clinton, but he's quite fond of calling the media, "the enemy of the people," which is the first step toward that goal. And now, two years in, he has appointed an, "acting," Attorney General, who has advocated for a DOJ investigation into Clinton's emails, while at the same time condemning the ongoing investigation into the 2016 Trump campaign. You know, the one he is now in charge of.

We also know the president spent the last two months demonizing a caravan of would be immigrants and asylum seekers. While numbering slightly less than the population of Alva, OK our man in the Oval Office likened them to an army of foreign invaders, then dispatched regular army troops to the border to defend against them. In other words he pulled an old trick used by tin horn despots across several continents. He created an outside threat to the nation in order to distract people's attention from the real issues at hand, like, say, health care and republican promises to slash medicaid, medicare, and social security.  

Finally, we know he will say any election which doesn't go his way is illegitimate. This dark trend began during that 2016 election when he railed about hundreds, if not thousands of liberals from Massachusetts busing themselves over the border into New Hampshire in order to make sure Secretary Clinton carried the state. It continued when he asserted then, as he still does, he lost the popular vote that year because three million illegal ballots--almost the precise number he lost by--were cast in places like California.

Neither actually happened, but when you want to convince a jingoistic mob of rubes there is a vast left wing conspiracy out to destroy both you and them, the truth isn't, as Rudy Giuliani so eloquently put it, the truth.  

On Friday, Arizona republican senate candidate Martha McSally fell behind democrat Kyrsten Sinema as mail in ballots were counted. In response to the news, Trump tweeted, "Just out--In Arizona, SIGNATURES DON'T MATCH. Electoral corruption--Call for a new Election? We must protect our Democracy!" Later in the day he whined to the media, "...all of a sudden, out of the wilderness, they find a lot of votes." He had no proof of what he was saying and it's obvious he has no knowledge of how Arizona conducts elections.

All the alleged chicanery was news to republican AZ Governor Doug Ducey who won re-election last Tuesday. After Trump's tirade he tweeted, "Let's follow the law, count the votes, prevent any cheating, and heed the will of the voters." Arizona GOP Senator Jeff Flake, who Sinema will replace, tweeted, "There is no evidence of 'electoral corruption' in Arizona, Mr. President..." The republican secretary of state, Michele Reagan basically said the same thing.

As for Martha McSally? Well her 2014 congressional race was tight enough she wasn't declared the winner until mid-December of that year, so she knew these things could take a while. She also knew Flake was right. A little while ago she graciously conceded the race to Sinema.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump went before the press and told them, all the republicans who lost in the mid term elections did so because they failed to, "embrace me."

You might not like Bill Maher, but you have to admit the fucker is right. God only knows what Don Trump will say, or do if he isn't re-elected in 2020. He certainly has gone out of his way to convince his devotees--to set the precedent as it were--that the only way he can lose is if democrats commit criminal fraud, thus creating an invalid result which must then be overturned.

Indeed, he has set the stage. The only question which remains is, does he have the will, the guts, and the guns to end the American republic? Ladies and gentlemen we are all going to find out in a mere 24 months.



11-13-18

Friday, November 9, 2018

The Week That Was: Chaos and Karma In Florida, Sessions Is Out and Whitaker Is In Charge, A Blue Dot In A Red Sea, and Of Course, Another Mass Shooting

It was a week of chaos and some of it is lingering.

Just ask them down in Florida where republicans are screaming fraud about some iffy goings on with the Broward County election board. For those with short memories Broward County, located north of Miami, is the place where Al Gore got screwed out of winning Florida and the White House in 2000. Now it is GOP senate candidate Rick Scott who is claiming his ever shrinking lead over democratic incumbent Bill Nelson is due to some sneaky stuff perpetrated in Ft. Lauderdale.

Never one to stay presidential, Donald Trump has started calling county election supervisor Brenda Snipes foul names so we know she must have done something at least halfway right. With a recount pending, the current vote now shows Scott leading Nelson, 50.09% to 49.91%.

In case you're wondering, Brenda Snipes is a registered democrat. She has held her job since November 2003. That's the month she was appointed to the position by then governor, Jeb Bush.

Ah, karma.

Meanwhile, within hours after republicans lost control of the U.S. House of Representatives, Don Trump began a serious push toward totalitarianism. Shortly after the votes were tallied he canned U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions. You know the man who recused himself from being involved in Bob Mueller's investigation of the Trump campaign. The El Supremo appointed Matthew Whitaker to replace Sessions as, "acting," AG. Whitaker has previously appeared on cable news shows saying Mueller's investigation is a witch hunt and it should be ended immediately. He even proposed a novel way of doing it without actually firing Mueller. Just cut off all the funding, he said, and it will grind to a halt.

Not surprisingly Mr. Whitaker has told everyone he will not recuse himself and is insisting he'll be directly in charge of Mueller's investigative efforts. Today in yet another display of surreal big brotherism, Trump said he not only didn't discuss the Russian investigation with Whitaker before handing him the job, but, in fact, didn't even know him.

A little over an hour ago The Washington Post, showed a snippet from a Fox and Friends episode aired last month. Over the phone Trump said to the hosts, "I can tell you Matt Whitaker is a great guy. I mean I know Matt Whitaker."

In addition, The Big Orange Guy picked a fight with CNN's Jim Acosta during a press conference. The evidence the confrontation was planned is incontrovertible. Several members of the press heard staffers saying to each other, "This is going to be fun." The President then invited Acosta to question him and spent the next few seconds condemning him. Trump subsequently had Acosta's credentials pulled, which means the reporter is banned from the White House press corps.

The White House claimed they were exiling Acosta from the press room, not because of his questions, but rather that he had, "put his hands on a young woman." The woman would be a WH intern who tried to take the microphone from the reporter at the direction of her boss.

To prove Acosta's brutality they put out a video tape of the moment. The tape released had initially appeared on the notorious InfoWars conspiracy site and experts all over the place say it has been--you guessed it--doctored to make Acosta's movements appear more aggressive than they actually were. It also edited out the moment when he said to the woman, "Pardon me, ma'am."

At the same presser Trump called a black reporter's question about white nationalism racist. Later he said he wouldn't hesitate to yank the credentials of other journalists. The warning was clear--Ask me a question which pisses me off and you're gone.

Vladimir would be proud. The next step is some poison in Joe and Mika's coffee. Or, in a pinch, the Khashoggi option.

Meanwhile, when it comes to the local scene, Kendra Horn took out incumbent republican Steve Russell and became the first democrat in 40 plus years to win the Oklahoma 5th Congressional District. The 5th consists of Seminole, Pottawatomie, and Oklahoma Counties, minus Midwest City and Tinker AFB.

Her win became the sum of all state republican fears. Oklahoma's most populous county and city has become a blue dot in a sea of red. And it wasn't just Horn who illustrated this creeping change of demographics and politics. Democratic gubernatorial candidate Drew Edmondson lost to his opponent by 12%. He failed to carry 73 of Oklahoma's 77 counties, including both Pottawatomie and Seminole, however his most decisive statewide win was in Oklahoma County.

No, Oklahoma isn't about to turn blue, or even purple, but at least the GOP can no longer claim the state is a deep red monolith.

There was more, of course, including another mass shooting. This one by a decorated marine corps veteran who, just a little while ago, was determined by police to be irate and irrational, but not crazy enough to be institutionalized. He legally owned the weapon he used to murder a cop and 11 others in a Thousand Oaks, CA bar.

As usual everyone offered their thoughts and prayers then went right back to whatever it was they were doing before this latest horror.

Yes, the gun control debate and sanity both appear as dead as the victims in Thousand Oaks.

Ladies and gentlemen, given the circumstances is it any wonder the bar is open.

I didn't think so.



11-9-18

   

Sunday, November 4, 2018

Alina Fitzpatrick: Seven Years Ago Today

There are apparently suspicious circumstances surrounding her death.

From the autopsy report of Alina Fitzpatrick written by Medical Examiner, Dr. Chai S. Choi



Ol' Doc Choi has a definite gift for understating the brutally obvious. His official conclusion was Alina Fitzpatrick's cause of death in early November, 2011 remains unknown. What he considered suspicious was forensic evidence showing she been struck in the head more than once with a blunt object and her body bore bruises and abrasions which he said she suffered around the time of her death. She also had a makeshift gag lodged in her mouth. The tox screen he ran showed her heart blood contained 0.96 micrograms per milliliter of methamphetamine. All that, plus her nude body was found dumped in an overgrown lot near NE 43rd and Anderson Road in far east Oklahoma City.

Yes, that does sound pretty suspicious.

The last time Alina Fitzpatrick was seen alive by someone other than those involved with her death was seven years ago today. It was a Friday night around 10pm. She had been dropped off by a friend near an apartment complex at the intersection of NW 24th and Western Avenue, barely a mile and a half from the state capitol building and a really long walk from where she was found.

She was 17 when she was killed. If she had lived and fulfilled her stated career dream, right now she would be a 24 year old nurse.

The young Ms. Fitzpatrick had been attending Putnam City North High School, but that fall began taking classes at home through the school district's Virtual High School Program. Her parents said she had been bullied at PC North. A district spokesperson, confirmed she was taking classes on line, but said there was no record of her being the victim of bullying.

There was a rumor she had begun to receive, "disturbing," calls on her cell phone, so she had changed her number. Another said she had told friends she was worried a man was following her. Neither has ever been verified, at least not publicly.

What we do know is she disappeared on the 4th and her body was discovered on the 9th. She wouldn't be officially identified until four days later and Choi's autopsy report wasn't issued until mid January, 2012.

Shortly after its release Sgt. Jennifer Wardlow of the OKC police issued a statement saying while the department was keeping the file on her case open they weren't actively investigating her death as a homicide. What Wardlow left unsaid was, thanks to the meth in her system, which Choi judged might, or might not have been fatal, they were considering her death just another drug OD.

Although the Sarge didn't say it, everyone knew what she meant and it didn't go over well with some. Within eight days police Captain Dexter Nelson was in front of reporters doing a clean up of sorts. After pointing out none of her wounds were severe enough by themselves to be the cause of death, Nelson was quoted by The Oklahoman as saying, "Homicide is just a legal term that gives us legal grounds to prosecute someone. We are still investigating it as a suspicious death. You investigate them the same way." He also asked the public to help his department solve all the suspiciousness.

The public didn't come through. The people, who at the very least enabled the death of Alina Fitzpatrick, have never been identified, or arrested. In fact Nelson's little tip toe through semantics was the last OKCPD statement regarding her killing and the last mention of her at all in the local media. That was on January 29th, 2012.

Much later, in response to an email, the reporter who quoted Nelson said the police were indeed considering her death an overdose and had little confidence the mystery would ever be unraveled. In other words if someone comes in and confesses fine, other wise we have stuff to do.

That's right, there are no relentless Olivia Bensons and Elliot Stablers on the job in Oklahoma City.

Not only that, but it's more than apparent the cops here have never read John Donne. He once wrote, "Any man's death diminishes me because I am involved in Mankind; And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; It tolls for thee."

Alina Fitzpatrick was buried on November 22, 2011. She was her parents only child.



sic vita est



11-4-18





   

 

Monday, October 29, 2018

In America There Are Some People You Can Never Out Crazy

HIAS (the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society) likes to bring invaders in that kill our people. I can't sit by and watch my people get slaughtered. Screw your optics, I'm going in.

Robert G. Bowers writing on GAB.com, a social media site preferred by what is known as the alt right wing, shortly before he entered the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh and murdered 11 worshippers.




Saying Robert Gregory Bowers is bat shit crazy is an insult to bat shit crazy people everywhere. After he had been taken into custody by the police he reportedly told one of them, "I just want to kill Jews. All these Jews must die."

He is so far out there when it comes to anti-Semitism he considers Donald John Trump a closet globalist who is controlled by an international Jewish conspiracy. In his online rants he went so far as to condemn The Big Orange Guy for not doing anything to stop the, "infestation," of the United States by Jews.

When he entered the synagogue Brother Bowers was armed with three hand guns and an AR-15 assault style rifle. It has been reported since 1996 he purchased at least six different weapons, all perfectly legal in this country and he has a license to carry each and every one of them. In addition, up until the very moment he opened fire, he had no known criminal record.

That has changed now. In court this morning he was charged with 29 felonies, including 11 counts of murder. Prosecutors are already talking about the death penalty.

It is unknown what drove Robert Bowers over the edge. Although it should be noted HIAS had recently appealed to his arch enemy, Don Trump to treat that caravan of Central Americans winding its way through Mexico not as an invading horde of criminals, but rather as asylum seekers looking for safety and jobs. It is unclear at this time how many of them might be Jews.

Bowers' virulent hatred of Jews has been on display for months on the GAB site along with the insane ravings of other uber right wing conspiracy wankers, including our old pal, Alex Jones. GAB proudly insisted--and still does--it is the last and best free speech outlet online where everyone's views are allowed no matter how vile they might be.

Well, not any more, at least not for a while. After the shooting GAB's domain provider, GoDaddy finally started reading the horrific bullshit posted there and gave them 24 hours to find a new home. The folks at GAB, which was established in August 2016, tweeted a couple of things about corporate censorship and left leaning CEO's then took themselves down. They promise to return somewhere on the web so their 635,000 users can continue to express their versions of truth, justice, and The American Way just like Bobby Bowers did.

Trump is repeating, ad nauseam, the bomb scares of last week and the shooting are the media's fault. Others politically close to him say the mail bomb terror was faked. Earlier today his advisor, Kellyanne Conway claimed, in Bowers' case, the shooting rampage was caused in part because of anti-religious late night TV hosts who continually denigrate people of faith.

Meanwhile the deadly loons at the NRA must be sighing with relief. Why not? After this newest mass shooting and thanks to those pipe bombs last week the media and White House seem more concerned with whose corrosive political language caused Bowers and Cesar Sayoc to turn violent rather than gun legislation.

Indeed, at this point only one reporter I know of has asked Trump about America's lax gun laws since the Saturday morning attack. Predictably he brushed the question aside saying the murder of 11 people wasn't a gun control issue and the synagogue would have been safer if there had been armed people inside it.

That's right, it would seem the NRA got a pass on this one. They won't even have to drag out all their tired old excuses and propaganda in order to enable the ongoing mayhem. One can almost hear Wayne LaPierre thanking God in heaven for the mid term election and the obsessive and divisive screeching swirling around it.

It is time to face the fact the United States, politically and socially, is quickly becoming a third world nation. The blue collar middle class has gone the way of the Dodo. The gap between the poor and the rich is widening daily and the vicious lies pouring out of the head of state and his aides are becoming institutionalized. Any media outlet which criticizes him instantly becomes, "the enemy of the people." The attempted murder of political enemies by a supporter is shrugged off as, "the bomb stuff," or described as a false flag operation perpetrated by a hide in plain sight cabal of usurpers.

And now we've learned even a dictator wannabe is considered too liberal for a select few living on the far edge of the conspiracy universe.

Yes, it looks like in America there are some people you can never out crazy. After the last three years why should any of us be surprised?




10-29-18

 

Thursday, October 25, 2018

Bombs in the Mail and Accusations of False Flags, as Fingers Start Pointing

Yesterday, documentarian, Ken Burns said America is more divided now than at any time since the Vietnam War. It's hard to argue with that assessment, especially since, at the moment, it is all the rage to mail pipe bombs to people you don't like. And gun down congressmen while they practice softball. Or run them out of restaurants with behavior which, at best, is reminiscent of frat house hazing. Or go before the nation to say there were some "good people on both sides," rioting in Charlottesville even though a large number of them were self proclaimed Nazis.

Of course we haven't approached the point Richard Nixon reached before his downfall. Things got so out of hand when he was in charge he felt the need to station federal troops with live ammunition on the steps of the United States Capitol building. He was the first and, so far, only president to do so since Abraham Lincoln.

At this moment--and the situation is so fluid you have to use that caveat--10 bombs, or as the press likes to say, explosive devices, have been sent through the U.S. Postal Service. The addressees include, George Soros, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Eric Holder, Maxine Waters, John Brennan, Joe Biden, and Robert De Niro.

Because the bomber, or bombers aren't very good at what they do and the Secret Service, among others, are, none of the devices have exploded.

Representative Waters and former Vice President Biden were each sent two of the deadly packages. The one addressed to former CIA head, John Brennan arrived at CNN's New York City offices. Another, sent to former Attorney General Eric Holder, had his mailing location so fouled up it was bounced back to the return address, which was the Florida headquarters of Congresswoman, Debbie Wasserman-Schultz. Many of the others also bore her name and office as the return address.

It doesn't take Holmes to see a pattern here. None of the people who were targeted are fans of Donald John Trump and all, are frequent subjects of his ire and bile. They are also at the center of a slew of far right wing conspiracy fantasies.

Indeed, even now certain ultra right radio hosts are postulating the bomb scare is a, "false flag," operation, meant to sway the mid term elections which are less than two weeks away. Strangely, that grotesque hypothesis makes more sense than the other one they're pushing these days.

It maintains the caravan of would be immigrants currently winding its way through Mexico is financed by Soros and, or the democrats. Why the left would be creating a situation which can do nothing, but guarantee a bigger turnout of Trump supporters at the polls is beyond any logical explanation, but as we know, logic has little to do with trailer park phantasms. No, if we are going to go all conspiratorial you have to think those thousands walking toward the border are bankrolled by wealthy Trumpists who are attempting to rally the maniacally xenophobic base.

Conjecture and flights of fancy aside, what we do know is the pipe bombs have been described by experts as crudely designed, but potentially lethal. Despite the Wasserman-Schultz touch, both ironic and clever--who of those intended victims would question a package from the former chair of the DNC--only a complete dolt would think people such as Obama, Clinton, and Biden get unscreened mail.

In fact only four of the devices actually made it past pre delivery screening. The one sent to Soros got to his home mail box and another to De Niro's Tribeca office. The one mailed to Brennan ended up in CNN's NY mailroom although, Brennan doesn't contribute to CNN, but rather NBC and MSNBC. Finally there was the one which found its way to Wasserman-Schultz's south Florida office.

Yes, this latest wave of terror has all the earmarks of some high school drop out with minimal brain activity who simply has access to the internet and a Home Depot.

Fingers are already being pointed. Many on MSNBC and CNN are blaming the hyper-aggressive language used by Mr. Trump and his uber right pals. This morning Trump, tweeted it is all the main stream media's fault because they're the ones stoking America's anger with their continual, "fake news." Last night he sarcastically told a crowd in Wisconsin, "See, I'm being nice. We're all behaving quite well."

Personally, right now, I don't care about root causes. Let's just catch the sons of bitches before they actually harm someone with their two bit handiwork, then we can figure out the rest of it.


sic vita est


10-25-18

Monday, October 22, 2018

Getting Rid of Loose Ends: The Saudis Prepare to Hit the Hit Men

So let's get this straight, or at least as straight as we can.

On October 2nd, Jamal Khashoggi, a frequent critic of the Saudi royal family took his fiancée, Hatice Cengiz to the Saudi Arabian Consulate in Istanbul. He walked inside in order to secure paper work which would allow him, a Saudi expatriate, to legally marry Ms. Cengiz, who is a Turkish national. Either through custom, or sheer luck she waited outside for her soon to be groom while he was taking care of the business at hand.

As we all know she never saw him again.

When it became apparent something was horribly wrong, Hatice Cengiz contacted the Turkish authorities and they began an investigation into the sudden disappearance.

The first Saudi response was something along the lines of, Why ask us? The guy left through the back door. Actually someone did, but it wasn't Jamal Khashoggi.

The Saudi's main problem with their initial tale was their consulate had all the privacy of a men's room at a sold out football stadium during half time. The Turks had the place so covered with cameras and listening devices they could see and hear practically everything going on there.

As the government of  Recep Tayyip Erdogan began releasing photographs of not just Khashoggi entering the building, but 15, sketchy looking guys coming into the country on Saudi passports, Crown Prince Mohammed bin-Salman repeated the, He left through the back door, story to Bloomberg News. His good pal Donald J. Trump took up for him when he told the American media the Saudis were, "vehemently," denying any involvement. Then he sternly lectured reporters about assuming guilt instead of innocence, citing a questionable example--Brett Kavanaugh.

Trump isn't a complete idiot though. He also floated the possibility of, "rogue," Saudi elements which might have acted without the knowledge of either the King, or Crown Prince. Most experts on Saudi Arabia consider this possibility about as realistic as Trump's assertion thousands of Muslims celebrated the 9-11 attacks in the streets of Jersey City.

In other words no one in their right mind was buying anything either bin-Salman, or Trump said. At the same moment, reports began bubbling up that unnamed Trump supporters in congress and the right wing media, along with the Saudis--that would be people not in their right minds--were beginning to circulate disparaging rumors about Khashoggi. The main ones being he was a confidant of Osama bin-Laden and a friend of Islamic Jihadists everywhere.

Now we have this from Saudi Arabia. The 15 men who flew into Turkey, 12 of whom have direct links to Saudi security forces and one who is a specialist in what the Washington Post describes as, "rapid and mobile autopsies," were there to just talk with Khashoggi. The reason? The journalist wanted to return to Saudi Arabia.

That would have been news to the victim. Earlier this year, when asked if he wanted to go back to his homeland he told a friend, "Are you kidding? I don't trust them one bit."

Contradictions aside, according to the current rendition the meeting didn't go well. There was an argument which turned increasingly ugly. Then Jamal Khashoggi went all Chuck Norris and physically attacked everyone. During the melee somebody put a choke hold on him, presumably to save the other 14 burly dudes from the wrath of this wild man and as a result he died accidently.

The Saudi statement didn't offer any reason for why the body was secretly disposed of, or where it might be.

Today more photos were released by the Turks. They showed two of the Saudi agents leaving the consulate via the back door. One of them was wearing a fake beard and dressed in Khashoggi's clothes. After wandering around Istanbul a bit the body double disappeared into a public restroom and re-emerged dressed in a different set of clothing. Those duds were the same outfit he was filmed wearing when he entered the consulate right before the nightmare began.

No, subtlety doesn't seem to be a strong point when it comes to Saudi Arabia's secret police. Plus it's obvious they were woefully ignorant of the Turk's ability to keep an eye on them. Someone should arrest the sons of bitches and not just for the brutal murder of Jamal Khashoggi. Let's face it, anyone as incompetent as they are shouldn't be allowed to walk the streets on general principle alone.

The Saudi government has decided to run with the whole, "rogue," thing. They've arrested, or detained 18 people in connection with the murder. It is unclear at this moment if any of them are the 15 deadly clowns who participated in the act, or some poor yokels they simply grabbed off the streets.

Whatever the case, odds are good we'll soon hear about a rash of suicides and suspects being shot while trying to escape. Yes, in a business like this it's best to get rid of the loose ends before they start to squeal. After all, throughout history hitting the hit men has been the quickest way to close the door on any further inconvenient questions. Hey, many diverse cultures have proud traditions of such things.

And we know that sort of solution will mollify Trump. He probably views the entire affair as nothing more than a poorly timed diversion anyway. Indeed, he has a mid term election to deal with and would rather be spending his energy demonizing democrats and Central Americans rather than defending his blood thirsty business partners/allies.

Besides, given his attitude toward a critical free press, he might even like the idea of journalists disappearing now and then. We know his supporters certainly would.


sic vita est


10-22-18

Tuesday, October 16, 2018

Defining Donald John Trump: Bad Art and Bad Friends

Here is how we can define Donald J. Trump, President of the United States. He likes a painting which portrays him not just in a flattering way on a personal level, but shows him as historically significant as every other republican president in the history of the nation.

He also likes the Saudis a lot and their money even more. So much so he seems willing to sweep what increasingly appears to be the state sponsored murder of a Saudi journalist under the rug.

The painting in question, titled, "The Republican Club," is by, Andy Thomas. It has all the artistic nuance and talent of that well known portrayal of a bunch of different dogs playing poker. I first saw a print of it decades ago in a Muskogee, OK barbershop. I thought it was kind of cool then, but I was like five years old and my tastes have evolved some since then.

Thomas' painting jumped into the internet limelight when it was caught in the background during Trump's Sunday interview with Lesley Stahl on CBS', 60 Minutes. It puts Trump in a bar scene at a table with Ronald Reagan, Dwight Eisenhower, Richard Nixon, Abraham Lincoln, and George W. Bush. Standing around the table are George H.W. Bush, Gerald Ford, and Theodore Roosevelt. In the back ground there appears to be Calvin Coolidge, Warren G. Harding, Herbert Hoover, and off to the other side, Ulysses S. Grant.

Besides artistic merit, or lack thereof--Thomas is self taught and you can tell it--there are some other questions which immediately spring to mind about the content. First off, why are all these guys laughing with Trump, because there are several there who, in truth, would have probably loathed him. Secondly, some of the presidents included, honestly, screwed the pooch so badly while they were in office no one in their right mind would want to be associated with them.

We all get the laughing Nixon. He has finally been pictured with someone even more corrupt and vile than he was. Let's face it, compared to Don Trump, Dick Nixon was nothing more that a two bit shoplifter. One can easily imagine him thinking something along the lines of, Finally, a man who makes me seem not so bad.

Teddy Roosevelt on the other hand was the father of the National Park System, an institution Trump is intent on carving up into tiny pieces. As for Eisenhower, his last major address before leaving office warned darkly of the power and influence of what he called, the military-industrial complex, something Trump obviously thinks is a great American asset. Lincoln's presence is an outright twisting of his political beliefs. There isn't a sane person around now who doesn't know for sure that if Honest Abe was alive today he'd be a registered democrat.

The rest were a bunch of crack pots, unrepentant hypocrites, and congenital fools. Reagan might have won the cold war, but he tripled the national deficit doing it, while trying to pass off packets of Heinz ketchup as a vegetable in the school lunch program. In addition, his sage advice to laid off workers in the rust belt was to give up their homes and move someplace else. In other words, become latter day Okies.

Harding and Grant let their cabinet members and pals run amok with vast criminal enterprises. Coolidge's policies set up the economy for the Great Depression and Hoover's reaction to the calamity which followed was, Just ignore it, it will go away on its own. Both Bushes also managed to throw the economy into chaos and one of them started a war we're still fighting. And finally, after Ford pardoned Nixon the country was so filled with revulsion he lost to Jimmy Carter.

Of course hanging a God awful painting in the White House is nothing when compared to The Big Orange Guy's love fest with the Saudis.

Well, why shouldn't he adore them? In 1991, when he was desperately short of money, Trump sold his 284 foot yacht to Prince Alwaleed bin-Talal at the incredible, just for you, must move it now, discount price of $20 million. In 1995, the still cash strapped future president unloaded New York City's Plaza Hotel to a group of investors headed up by the same bin-Talal. In 2001 Saudi interests bought the entire 45th floor of Trump World Tower across from the U.N. Lately his Washington hotel has seen a 13% uptick in occupancy thanks to the number of Saudis staying there.

It doesn't take much to see, Donald John Trump the business man owes a lot to the ultra rich rulers of Saudi Arabia. Unfortunately for Don Trump the President, Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi walked into the Kingdom's Istanbul Consulate on October 2nd and hasn't been seen since.

Khashoggi, whose career including being a columnist for the Washington Post, was considered a pain in the ass by Saudi rulers because he publicly criticized them. Obviously he didn't grasp the depths of their hatred, or realize how far they'd go to silence him. He went to the consulate on the 2nd in order to secure paperwork which would allow him to legally marry his Turkish fiancée. There are unconfirmed reports from Turkey saying he came out piece by hacked up piece.

The King of Saudi Arabia denied any involvement in Kashoggi's disappearance. However there is at least one unnamed Saudi source who claims he died during an interrogation, "which went wrong."

Despite the report, Trump is still shaking his head and holding up his hands, telling us the Saudi royals are, "vehement," about not harming the journalist. You know, like Putin, "strongly denied,"  interfering in the 2016 election. DJT is contending they're just another victim of the  main stream media who always rushes to the verdict of guilty without a trial, like in the case of Brett Kavanaugh. Yeah, he actually used that comparison on Twitter.

At the same time he is hedging his bet.by speculating, "rogue," Saudi elements may have been involved in Khashoggi's disappearance. He also said if the allegations are proven, there will be strong sanctions against the Kingdom, although there is no way in hell he will pull the plug on a massive arms deal we just struck with them.

Hey, sometimes you have to ride the picket fence no matter how sharp the points on the slats are. Especially when a hit like this is pulled by people you're indebted to.

Meanwhile Turkish authorities are tearing through the Consulate building and are demanding to search the residence of the Saudi Consulate General, Mohammed Otabi. Otabi won't be home when they arrive. Almost immediately after the shit hit the fan, he took off for the homeland.

You can smell what is coming next. Trump didn't pull that "rogue elements" crap out of the blue. It's almost a sure thing the Saudi Arabian hierarchy will soon discover the Khashoggi murder was plotted and carried out by some prince we've never heard of. They'll feign outrage and disappointment. Then, since they have so many fucking princes running around nobody will miss just one, they'll cut off his head.

As soon as it happens El Don will say something along the lines of, "See there, our good pals don't put up with criminal behavior any more than I do. We're lucky to have them on our side." What he'll mean is, "These are business partners of mine worth hundreds of millions to me and I don't give a shit if they kill one of their own, or not."

Trust me, some definitions of a man are pieces of trivial kitsch and some aren't. In the end though, both tell us the truth about him.


sic vita est



10-16-18

Friday, October 12, 2018

Who Needs the Russians When We Have the American Right Wing on the Internet

Now that we're stuck with Brett Kavanaugh for the rest of his sometimes unnatural life we should probably ask the question, why did so many people think Dr. Christine Blasey Ford flat out lie under oath?

Let's face it, one of them did, unless you believe the utterly unbelievable--that Ford mistook Kavanaugh for someone else. Of course there is plenty of that going around lately. Just ask the followers of the mysterious online cult known as Q, or QAnon. If you do the Q junkies will immediately start jabbering about an international ring of pedophiles led by prominent democrats and Hollywood elites including, Tom Hanks.

So, here is a clue when it comes to those who don't believe the woman was sexually assaulted by that entitled and thoroughly besotted preppy son of a bitch.

It seems for many, if something shows up on the internet and it fits their world view then it must be true. And now days it isn't even a cabal of Russians out there spreading what is charitably called, disinformation about Donald Trump's perceived enemies. Not to mention planting lurid rumors about them which instantly go viral among the feeble minded.

The New York Times reported, within hours after Dr. Ford's name became public knowledge, a website called, Right Wing News began publishing a series of lies about her and her legal team. The site, run by a blogger named, John Hawkins, claimed, among other things, her lawyers were being bribed by the democrats. He had no evidence, he just wrote it. The Times notes Hawkins used a network of Facebook and other social media accounts--many of them owned by non-existent people--to spread the, that's right, fake news.

He wasn't the only one.

Another website called, Grabien claimed Blasey Ford had been savaged by her students on a place called, RateMyProfessors.com. According to Grabien, students had called Blasey Ford things like, "unprofessional, and said she had, "a dark personality." The Grabien story was immediately picked up by FOX News host Laura Ingraham and the Drudge Report, who plastered it on their home page. The only problem was those poor reviews were for a Christine A. Ford, who teaches human resources at Cal State-Fullerton. Christine Blasey Ford teaches psychology at Palo Alto University.

A Twitter account attributed to a guy named Jacob Wohl accused Dr. Ford of a revenge motive. Wohl asserted 20 plus years ago her parents lost their home in a bankruptcy proceeding overseen by Brett Kavanaugh's mother, who is also a judge. Kinda, sorta. Her parents did go through a bankruptcy, but settled with the bank out of court. Kavanaugh's mother dismissed the case without the Blaseys ever appearing before her and the ruling actually enabled them to keep their house.

One of those slap happy Q freaks, Josh Cornett tweeted Blasey Ford was, in fact, a serial accuser. In his world Dianne Feinstein held onto her letter accusing Kavanaugh of misdeeds for as long as she could because a year earlier she had received another letter from Ford accusing then nominee, Neil Gorsuch of an almost identical sexual attack. No such letter exists. In a later tweet Cornett admitted he didn't know if the alleged letter was real, or not, but said his, "source," had always been accurate in the past. His original post was retweeted over 7,000 times.

The Liberty Counsel, a pro right legal group, claimed Dr. Ford's brother, Ralph once worked for a law firm who has its fingers in the Russian collusion case against Don Trump. The implication was her family is deeply involved in the plot to bring down El Don and she was just doing her part. Ralph Blasey did work there once, but he quit the firm in 2004 more than ten years before anyone ever dreamed we'd go down the rabbit hole known as the Trump presidency.

A Facebook page titled, "Concerned Citizens of  America" went so far as to show a photograph of a woman it claimed was Blasey Ford standing next to that bugaboo of all things right wing, George Soros. It was Soros alright, but the woman was Lyudmyla Kozlovska, a Ukrainian human rights activist who barely resembles the Doctor. It was as if someone thought, Look, the woman is a blonde, she must be Christine Ford. Not surprisingly the page also carried a hashtag which is linked to the QAnon wankers. The Times reports that within hours of its appearance the entry was shared 35,000 times all over Facebook..

Yes, who needs the fucking Russians to screw with the minds of trailer park fascists everywhere? They seem to be doing it quite successfully all on their own. Well, why not? Self medicating is, as we know, all the rage these days.

Ladies and gentlemen, given the circumstances, the bar is most definitely open. I'd order a double if I were you. I know I certainly am.



10-12-18

Tuesday, October 9, 2018

The Survey Says the American Republic is Doomed

Sometimes you have to wonder about things. You know, like how did we get ourselves in this incredible situation? After all the nation doesn't normally vote for a guy who has no comprehension of the separation of powers, views one half of congress as treasonous and believes the other should be his personal toadies--all the while constantly portraying any media criticism of his administration as out right lies.

Indeed, the current resident of the White House openly admires autocrats and dictators and seemingly has little use for free elections. So much so, months ago he told a group of mega-donors  having a president for life, like they currently do in China is a fine idea and we should, "...try it here someday." According to reports the conservative money bags in the room cheered when he said it. God only knows how raucous the approval would be if he included such a line in a speech delivered in some back woods hall in West Virginia.

So, exactly how did we get here? 

Well, let's face it, American democracy is a fragile thing and it becomes even more so when scads of people have little, or no understanding of it, or its history. And, thanks to a recent poll taken by an outfit called Lincoln Park Strategies, we just found out how appallingly wide spread that lack of understanding is.

The first thing they discovered is only 36% of 1,000 red blooded, hamburger eating, born here Americans could pass the same test immigrants are required to take before they can become naturalized citizens. In other words on a multiple choice exam, 64% of those participating didn't know things like how many U.S. Senators there are, how old you have to be in order to vote, or even the names of just two cabinet positions.

The poll also revealed most thought the Constitution was signed, sealed, and delivered in 1776. 87% didn't have a clue it and the Declaration of Independence are distinctly different documents and the Constitution wasn't ratified until 1788.

In addition, while some of us have spent the last few weeks watching the gruesome Brett Kavanaugh affair play out in the news there is ample evidence many others were more interested in stuff like "American Gladiators." Despite the prolonged drama and vitriol of the confirmation process the survey showed 57% of those responding still don't know how many justices sit on the supreme court.

Of course, when the questions turned to U.S. history the depths of ignorance reached new lows. 60%  couldn't name the countries the United States fought in WWII. In fact 6% believed Dwight D. Eisenhower commanded American troops in Vietnam while 12% were convinced he was a civil war general.

72% couldn't correctly name the original 13 states. But that's okay, because 76% didn't know why American colonists fought the British in the first place. The same number couldn't identify one thing Ben Franklin is famous for.

For those wondering, Lincoln Park Strategies stated the poll has a margin of error that's plus, or minus 3%. The age demographic showed those 65 and older rang up the most correct answers and people under the age of 45 did the worst.  

Given the results, is it any wonder people are cheering that whole president for life thing? It appears the entire American system of government and its past are just too complicated and bothersome for them to deal with. That's right Don, just tell me the nation's real history, then what to do and when to do it. Listen, if you will, I'm your guy, or gal from now on. And while you're at it could you please pull the plug on CNN and MSNBC right after you shut down The New York Times and Washington Post--they all give me a fucking headache.

Yes, it looks like the republic is doomed. If not in the next six years under Donald John Trump, who is a perfect fit for all this willful stupidity, but certainly within another generation when we find someone else just like him.

Tragically, as these numbers tell us, by then not only will no one care, there won't be anyone left who even remembers what it was like before the fall.



sic vita est


10-9-18

Wednesday, October 3, 2018

Brett Kavanaugh Apparently Lacked a Public Library Card

Warn the neighbors that we're loud, obnoxious drunks with prolific pukers among us. Advise them to go about thirty miles....I think we are unanimous that any girls we can beg to stay there are welcomed with open....Anyway I think we're all set. 

Two lines from a letter written by Judge Brett Kavanaugh, under the pseudonym, "FFFFF Bart," to classmates at Georgetown Prep just before they took over a Maryland beach rental property for a week in 1983.



Ah yes, the legal scholar in his formative years is a thing to behold.      

In a recent interview classmate and friend, Tom Kane, who was at the gathering in question said the letter contained, "a couple of harmless jokes." He also admits, or perhaps more darkly, denies, he has any memory of what went down during the week long party.

Well, there is a lot of that going around when it comes to Brett Kavanaugh these days. In fact at this point as near as anyone can tell there wasn't a sober student at Georgetown Prep in the early 80's. Although they did manage to put together an underground newspaper called the, "Unknown Hoya." The stapled together publication, among other things, reported, "A public library card is all it takes to have a good time with any H.H."

For those wondering, H.H. stands for Holton Hosebag. It is an overtly crude reference to students attending the nearby all girls, Holton-Arms School. That would be the institution Dr. Christine Blasey Ford attended during the same time frame.

Blasey Ford is the woman who has accused Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her when she was fifteen. She is also the same woman Donald Trump cruelly mocked last night in a Mississippi campaign rally because there are a few incidental gaps in her memory of the horrific night.

Kavanaugh denies her charges. Of course he also testified under oath he only sometimes drank to excess during those blurry years, never blacked out, and was unaware of Deborah Ramirez's story of another aggressive, drunken, sexual attack until her accusation broke in the New Yorker. Seemingly within hours solid evidence came to light he was contacting friends in order to make sure everyone got their stories lined up before the New Yorker article was released. There was other stuff--things about the term, Devil's Triangle, and being a Renate Alumnus. Along with all the rest of it, he told Senators he had no idea who the character of Bart O'Kavanaugh might be in Mark Judge's novel.

Blasey Ford alleges Judge was the third person in the room when Kavanaugh attacked her. According to the Doctor, much like that audience in Southhaven, MS last night, the two pals were laughing uproariously at her as she fought back on the bed. It was, she swore, her most indelible memory of the grotesque incident. Moments before, she had told the Senate Judiciary Committee she was 100% sure it was Kavanaugh who had held her down, groped her, and clamped his hand down on her mouth as she struggled beneath him.

Meanwhile, as the re-opened investigation's arbitrary deadline approaches MSNBC, CNN, and others are reporting as many as 40 potential witnesses who might have pertinent information about Kavanaugh's behavior, including Christine Blasey Ford, haven't even been contacted by the FBI.

On the other hand, the agency has interviewed Mark Judge, who, since there isn't a statute of limitations on sexual assault in Maryland, has a compelling reason to fudge his story a tad. Either that, or he might have simply claimed his out of control alcoholism at the time rendered his brain Swiss Cheese and he doesn't remember anything before, say, the turn of the century.

It will probably be about 48 hours before we know if the FBI's latest look into Brett Kavanaugh's past is a sham. Right now things don't look promising.

What we do know, however, is the Supreme Court nominee has lied about a growing number of little things. And if the bastard lies about the little things, we can be assured he is lying about the big ones, including his apparent lack of a public library card.



sic vita est


10-3-18