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
Monday, December 31, 2018
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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