The GOP is completely craven. Until which time as they feel they’ll pay a political price (or they put through their shitty healthcare and tax breaks for the rich, whichever comes first), I think it’s all wishful thinking. They have a country to destroy and a little thing like train isn’t going to stop them, by (the ) god (they don’t really believe in)!
Just heard 2 different cars drive by my window blasting the same B.B.King song: “The Thrill is Gone.” What are the odds?
— Charles Johnson (@Green_Footballs) June 24, 2017
At this point, I don’t see anything ending Mr. Trump’s presidency unless Republican congressional leaders or number crunchers see him dragging down their election chances in 2018.
With six special elections now completed (two state election in NH and NY in safe R seats that went to the D candidates, and how close SC, GA, KS, and MT were, there have got to be folk in the GOP looking at those numbers thinking in closer districts they may lose.
re: #3 Anymouse 🌹
At this point, I don’t see anything ending Mr. Trump’s presidency unless Republican congressional leaders or number crunchers see him dragging down their election chances in 2018.
With six special elections now completed (two state election in NH and NY in safe R seats that went to the D candidates, and how close SC, GA, KS, and MT were, there have got to be folk in the GOP looking at those numbers thinking in closer districts they may lose.
Good, I hope the crooked bastards are scared.
Sorry but I don’t believe any member of the GOP will care so it won’t matter. Just one more step on the way to the death of the American experiment.
So why didn’t Obama do anything when the lying intelligence agencies told him about the DNC Russia false flag?
— President Bannon (@PRESlDENTBANNON) June 24, 2017
re: #1 MsJ
The GOP is completely craven. Until which time as they feel they’ll pay a political price (or they put through their shitty healthcare and tax breaks for the rich, whichever comes first), I think it’s all wishful thinking. They have a country to destroy and a little thing like train isn’t going to stop them, by (the ) god (they don’t really believe in)!
And that ultimately is the reality here. When Watergate was on the verge of becoming an impeachment trial, Goldwater went to Nixon and convinced him to resign for the good of the party, if not the nation.
There’s no Goldwater anywhere in the GOP today, nobody who would risk the wrath of Trump to go to the White House and convince him to resign for the good of the party. In fact, doing so would draw the exact opposite reaction, convincing Trump that the GOP “establishment” was in on the whole thing and leading to an ultimatum: Defend me with everything you’ve got or go down in flames with me.
re: #7 Targetpractice
And that ultimately is the reality here. When Watergate was on the verge of becoming an impeachment trial, Goldwater went to Nixon and convinced him to resign for the good of the party, if not the nation.
There’s no Goldwater anywhere in the GOP today, nobody who would risk the wrath of Trump to go to the White House and convince him to resign for the good of the party. In fact, doing so would draw the exact opposite reaction, convincing Trump that the GOP “establishment” was in on the whole thing and leading to an ultimatum: Defend me with everything you’ve got or go down in flames with me.
“You’d better hope there are no tapes of our conversations… .”
Holdout juror from the Bill Cosby rape trial said accuser Andrea Constand is a liar, and the other 50 woman are making it up. Sounds like a Trump supporter.
Wait. I thought Il Doucebag was holding to the 400#-guy-in-the-basement theory of hacking.
I just watched “Monty Python’s ‘Meaning of Life’” with my 13 yo. He says he’s going to learn “Every Sperm is Sacred” so that he can play it on the clarinet at graduation next year.
Why isn’t “Indianola Mississippi Seeds” on iTunes Music? I am outrage. One of the best records ever made.
— Charles Johnson (@Green_Footballs) June 24, 2017
I have to resort to playing it from a greatest hits album. Sad!
— Charles Johnson (@Green_Footballs) June 24, 2017
Was working on my (R) voting neighbour a few minutes ago (he is about my age). He is concerned that he will need knee replacement surgeries soon.
I pointed out that he better get that scheduled, because with the GOP trying to cut Medicaid (he is disabled and under employed delivering the regional newspaper here) he won’t be able to get it done.
He (and his mother) have turned into wavering voters in the next election. (To be clear, I never suggest they sit out an election - that would be very inappropriate for me to do in my position. I just keep outlining the things they are not seeing in our local newspaper due to lack of Internet service and lots of Christian-hate and talk-hate radio.)
He asked where he could get other viewpoints in the news. Since they have satellite television for their house, I suggested tuning into the Rachel Maddow Show. He’d never heard of Rachel Maddow, so I explained that Dr. Maddow works very hard to present the historical background of any particular political issue she puts on her broadcast.
He says he’ll look her up. (Seed planted.)
re: #14 Anymouse 🌹
Was working on my (R) voting neighbour a few minutes ago (he is about my age). He is concerned that he will need knee replacement surgeries soon.
I pointed out that he better get that scheduled, because with the GOP trying to cut Medicaid (he is disabled and under employed delivering the regional newspaper here) he won’t be able to get it done.
He (and his mother) have turned into wavering voters in the next election. (To be clear, I never suggest they sit out an election - that would be very inappropriate for me to do in my position. I just keep outlining the things they are not seeing in our local newspaper due to lack of Internet service and lots of Christian-hate and talk-hate radio.)
He asked where he could get other viewpoints in the news. Since they have satellite television for their house, I suggested tuning into the Rachel Maddow Show. He’d never heard of Rachel Maddow, so I explained that Dr. Maddow works very hard to present the historical background of any particular political issue she puts on her broadcast.
He says he’ll look her up. (Seed planted.)
Good job. Glad you got someone willing to listen. That’s half the battle right there.
re: #12 Barefoot Grin
I just watched “Monty Python’s ‘Meaning of Life’” with my 13 yo. He says he’s going to learn “Every Sperm is Sacred” so that he can play it on the clarinet at graduation next year.
Brilliant.
re: #3 Anymouse 🌹
At this point, I don’t see anything ending Mr. Trump’s presidency unless Republican congressional leaders or number crunchers see him dragging down their election chances in 2018.
With six special elections now completed (two state election in NH and NY in safe R seats that went to the D candidates, and how close SC, GA, KS, and MT were, there have got to be folk in the GOP looking at those numbers thinking in closer districts they may lose.
I doubt that will even do it. The only thing the GOP cares about is destroying everything that the N* President accomplished & cutting taxes for their bosses. They intend to be done before the midterms, Democratic voters will stay home feeling it won’t matter and America, as we knew it, will be over.
Why yes, I’m feeling cynical tonight.
re: #15 HappyWarrior
Good job. Glad you got someone willing to listen. That’s half the battle right there.
Mostly the problem is being patient. I don’t expect my conservative village to suddenly flip into a liberal paradise (though interestingly liberals control a majority of the village board - when I was first elected I was the only one).
I’m more interested in seeing my neighbours approach what they see and read in the news with a critical eye. I want a town of informed voters: If they still vote for R candidates after informing themselves of the issues, well, that’s the way elections go sometimes.
re: #17 William Lewis
I doubt that will even do it. The only thing the GOP cares about is destroying everything that the N* President accomplished & cutting taxes for their bosses. They intend to be done before the midterms, Democratic voters will stay home feeling it won’t matter and America, as we knew it, will be over.
Why yes, I’m feeling cynical tonight.
Thank you Debbie Downer.
I strongly suspect that the GOP leadership has resigned themselves to waiting until Trump loses in 2020 as the only way they’ll be rid of him. Any other move, whether it be advising him to resign or supporting impeachment, would have far worse results because the base would be actively working against them. There are some who are probably arguing that they might actually profit from this next year, that the Democrats campaigning against Trump will get their own base out to support him and thus them.
re: #17 William Lewis
I doubt that will even do it. The only thing the GOP cares about is destroying everything that the N* President accomplished & cutting taxes for their bosses. They intend to be done before the midterms, Democratic voters will stay home feeling it won’t matter and America, as we knew it, will be over.
Why yes, I’m feeling cynical tonight.
For some reason I’ve been in an especially foul mood about tr*mp and the GOP traitors in Congress this week. Most likely it is seeing all that blatant evil in the Senate Healthcare bill, and knowing that they are going to pass that piece of pigshit into law.
Everyone needs to take note of what happens when Republicans gain total control of the federal government by backing a moronic figurehead.
— Charles Johnson (@Green_Footballs) June 24, 2017
re: #21 EPR-radar
For some reason I’ve been in an especially foul mood about tr*mp and the GOP traitors in Congress this week. Mostly likely it is seeing all that blatant evil in the Senate Healthcare bill, and knowing that they are going to pass that piece of pigshit into law.
I still hold out hope that some combination of three GOP Senators will kill it. Considering how unpopular the bill is, and how much damage it will do, its amazing how likely it is to pass. If it does, we have to hope the GOP pays a big political price in 2018.
re: #19 Big Beautiful Door
Thank you Debbie Downer.
Expect the worst, then anything good is a victory?
I guess in a way I’m just infected right now with a case of the old Norse/Anglo-Saxon fatalism ala Tolkien: “that Fate was inexorable, that the good fight must be fought, and that victory—however glorious—was transient. In the end the monsters would win, and the long twilight of the north would give way to an eternal darkness where even the gods were doomed.” (tor.com)
You know, I think it’s entirely possible Trump doesn’t even remember everything he said to Comey that night. He was probably just running his mouth like he does in public waiting to see something get a reaction from his audience. Comey didn’t budge, and Trump kept cranking it up.
Joe Biden lashed out at a hedge fund manager in a verbal altercation …
During a private VIP dinner, former GOP presidential candidate Jeb Bush reportedly asked Biden why he didn’t run, to which Biden said his decision had to do with the death of his son Beau Biden, 46, in 2015 following a battle with brain cancer.
“I’m sorry … I’ve said enough,” an emotional Biden said, according to Fox Business.
Ackman then reportedly interjected: “Why? That’s never stopped you before.”
“Look, I don’t know who you are, wiseass, but never disrespect the memory of my dead son,” Biden responded, according to attendees cited by Fox Business.
Ackman reportedly attempted to apologize when Biden said, “Just shut the hell up.”
More at thehill.com
A week from tonight I’ll be at Red Rocks to see my favorite band play music. I am excite.
re: #14 Anymouse 🌹
Good job.
Your position or not, no one should not vote. More people, not less, should vote. I may hate someone’s vote but damn, that’s every Americans right. I wish more would exercise it.
AANNNDDD, “Forever Autumn” from Jeff Wayne’s War of the Worlds just popped up on my shuffle play. Time to shut that shit off and go to work, I’m already depressed enough.
BIALW
re: #17 William Lewis
I doubt that will even do it. The only thing the GOP cares about is destroying everything that the N* President accomplished & cutting taxes for their bosses. They intend to be done before the midterms, Democratic voters will stay home feeling it won’t matter and America, as we knew it, will be over.
Why yes, I’m feeling cynical tonight.
It’s more than just that. They want to destroy everything democratic from FDR through Obama.
Ok, I’m confused.
I thought that Meuller, being a civil servant, can only be fired with cause.
And the person to fire him would be he office that hired him, which I guess is now a deputy AG office.
re: #32 MsJ
I agree. It was never personal. Any Democratic President would have gotten this treatment. Hell, they had their own private investigator on Bill Clinton for years trying to dredge up something to overturn his election.
re: #33 freetoken
Ok, I’m confused.
I thought that Meuller, being a civil servant, can only be fired with cause.
And the person to fire him would be he office that hired him, which I guess is now a deputy AG office.
I rather suspect that if Trump gave the order, Jefferson Beauregard would suddenly decide to unrecuse himself again to fire or force Rosenstein to fire Mueller.
The Washington Post reporting on Russian meddling in the election.
They note sources claiming Putin made specific instructions to help Trump to defeat Clinton.
That allegedly happened during the time hackers were rummaging through the DNC and RNC computer servers.
(Of note, the CT in me holds an alternative opinion to GOP obstruction: Not because they are “party over country,” but because Russia has information on various party leaders sufficient to destroy them.)
Inside was an intelligence bombshell, a report drawn from sourcing deep inside the Russian government that detailed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s direct involvement in a cyber campaign to disrupt and discredit the U.S. presidential race.
But it went further. The intelligence captured Putin’s specific instructions on the operation’s audacious objectives — defeat or at least damage the Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton, and help elect her opponent, Donald Trump.
(More at the Post)
re: #33 freetoken
Ok, I’m confused.
I thought that Meuller, being a civil servant, can only be fired with cause.
And the person to fire him would be he office that hired him, which I guess is now a deputy AG office.
Rosenstine has already stated that he will not fire Mueller without good cause. But he may recuse himself from the investigation.
Ooops forgot the Post link:
re: #36 Anymouse 🌹
The Washington Post reporting on Russian meddling in the election.
They note sources claiming Putin made specific instructions to help Trump to defeat Clinton.
That allegedly happened during the time hackers were rummaging through the DNC and RNC computer servers.
(Of note, the CT in me holds an alternative opinion to GOP obstruction: Not because they are “party over country,” but because Russia has information on various party leaders sufficient to destroy them.)
(More at the Post)
That’s been my belief as well for some time, that the leadership knows or strongly suspects that the Russians acquired kompromat during their hacking of the RNC servers. That supporting Trump is seen as the lesser evil compared to the release of documents that could sink the party. The problem with such a theory, of course, is deducing just what level of kompromat would justify the lengths they’ve gone to so far.
It does make you wonder. To me though, the most troubling thing is how the GOP base has gone from being like the rest of us skeptical and distrustful of Putin simply because Trump praises him. That makes me think that they’d probably praise Kim Jong-Un if Trump spoke highly of him enough.
re: #42 HappyWarrior
It does make you wonder. To me though, the most troubling thing is how the GOP base has gone from being like the rest of us skeptical and distrustful of Putin simply because Trump praises him. That makes me think that they’d probably praise Kim Jong-Un if Trump spoke highly of him enough.
The GOP base’s love affair with Vlad is years old. They fell in love with him back around 2013, when Russian interference in Ukranian affairs showed how “weak” Obama was. From there forward, they suddenly started seeing how “awesome” Putin was, from his promotion of bigotry and racism, to his bullying of lesser states, to his showing how “ineffective” organizations like the UN are. I’ve lost count of the number of wingnuts I’ve seen over the years wistfully declare that they’d rather he were president than Obama.
Sarah Kendzior noting in an article some of the recent developments during and after the election that time is of the essence to stave off an autocracy.
The issues at the heart of the Russian interference crisis go beyond the standard uncertainty that arises when democracy declines. Never before has “to which country does the greatest loyalty of the president lie?” been the central question of a US federal investigation.
It is clear that the greatest loyalties of Trump’s team lie not with the constitution, but with Trump, as Attorney General Jeff Sessions made clear in a hearing in which he danced around perjury. The same holds for the rest of the GOP, who have failed to function as a check on Trump’s autocratic impulses or investigate his foreign ties.
re: #41 Targetpractice
Zero kompromat. Mitch McConnell is aiming for a permanent GOP majority. The “smart” people in the party are harnessing Trump’s demagogy and populism, because it both gives them a slightly bigger bloc and it acts as a smoke screen.
This is about them having a golden ticket to shove through stuff—both social engineering that redefines personal liberty and grifting—while having a populist dolt that can keep the nuts riled up. And smashing up all the systems that create accountability and fair distribution of franchise.
And Russia and Putin have been normalized by “conservatives” for awhile now. The gay-hating, the war crimes, the oligarchy, the old-school patriarchy…all of these things have been touted by wingnuts at one point or another.
re: #20 Targetpractice
I strongly suspect that the GOP leadership has resigned themselves to waiting until Trump loses in 2020 as the only way they’ll be rid of him.
And then they’ll treat him the same way they treat Dubya — don’t invite him to the conventions, never say his name again unless it’s to complain he “wasn’t a real conservative”…
— Charlie Vogel (@teleskiguy) June 24, 2017
re: #41 Targetpractice
That’s been my belief as well for some time, that the leadership knows or strongly suspects that the Russians acquired kompromat during their hacking of the RNC servers. That supporting Trump is seen as the lesser evil compared to the release of documents that could sink the party. The problem with such a theory, of course, is deducing just what level of kompromat would justify the lengths they’ve gone to so far.
Also, what makes them think Russia won’t just release it all anyway?
re: #46 Anymouse 🌹
Asking to which country does the greatest loyalty of tr*mp lie is a category error. No country has tr*mp’s loyalty.
Tr*mp’s only ‘loyalty’ is to his own financial interests. In this pathology, he is thoroughly representative of the plutocrats in the US that completely own the Republican party and much of the rest of the country.
re: #50 sagehen
Also, what makes them think Russia won’t just release it all anyway?
That would seem to be a good thing (from Russia’s perspective) to do. At the point the GOP seems all-powerful (they aren’t there yet, despite naysayers), dump the Republican stuff to crush the stuffing out of the GOP.
With two damaged political parties, chaos ensues. A good time might be some months before the next general election.
I still want to see Dr. Jill Stein in the hot seat in front of Congress for that RT stunt with Michael Flynn.
re: #44 Targetpractice
The GOP base’s love affair with Vlad is years old. They fell in love with him back around 2013, when Russian interference in Ukranian affairs showed how “weak” Obama was. From there forward, they suddenly started seeing how “awesome” Putin was, from his promotion of bigotry and racism, to his bullying of lesser states, to his showing how “ineffective” organizations like the UN are. I’ve lost count of the number of wingnuts I’ve seen over the years wistfully declare that they’d rather he were president than Obama.
Yeah I know but it’s growing more since Trump.
re: #49 teleskiguy
Dear Sen. Hatch: If it bothers you to be accused of murder, try to avoid passing a tax cut bill that will have people dying to finance said tax cuts.
This shit is not hard.
re: #49 teleskiguy
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Uh death panels? All the attacks on pro-choicers? Fuck off Orrin. Senile fuck.
re: #56 EPR-radar
Dear Sen. Hatch: If it bothers you to be accused of murder, try to avoid passing a tax cut bill that will have people dying to finance said tax cuts.
This shit is not hard.
It’s hard being a tool of the very wealthy and getting called out on it. //
Republicans hate it when what they’ve done for years gets thrown in their faces.
re: #37 teleskiguy
Rad!
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That’s a big one! Driving today, I saw a big black thing (like a bear) in the middle of the road, a fair distance away. A car coming from the other direction neared it before it did, and it was an adult bald, working on some roadkill. I have a nest just across the road to the north of here, and they raise yung’uns every year.
Under Pressure, Western Tech Firms Bow to Russian Demands to Share Cyber Secrets
It would appear that Karl Marx was correct, that capitalists would sell them the rope to hang them with.
Western technology companies, including Cisco, IBM and SAP, are acceding to demands by Moscow for access to closely guarded product security secrets, at a time when Russia has been accused of a growing number of cyber attacks on the West, a Reuters investigation has found.
Russian authorities are asking Western tech companies to allow them to review source code for security products such as firewalls, anti-virus applications and software containing encryption before permitting the products to be imported and sold in the country. The requests, which have increased since 2014, are ostensibly done to ensure foreign spy agencies have not hidden any “backdoors” that would allow them to burrow into Russian systems.
But those inspections also provide the Russians an opportunity to find vulnerabilities in the products’ source code - instructions that control the basic operations of computer equipment - current and former U.S. officials and security experts said.
more at Reuters
The lesson here? Never tweet.
Life, fast, etc. pic.twitter.com/JITjg2U7ll
— Parker Molloy (@ParkerMolloy) June 24, 2017
re: #63 teleskiguy
The lesson here? Never tweet.
[Embedded content]
Not even original, Brian, Rushbo was using that one when you were shitting in your MAGA diapers.
I think it’s going to happen. Look what my congresscritter, Rep. Andy “I won $10 million in the Publishers Clearing House Sweepstakes” Biggs posted to his Facebook earlier today. It references a letter on his congressional website.
I reminded Rep. Biggs about the Saturday Night Massacre and posted today’s Washington Post article to the thread.
re: #65 mmmirele
I think it’s going to happen. Look what my congresscritter, Rep. Andy “I won $10 million in the Publishers Clearing House Sweepstakes” Biggs posted to his Facebook earlier today. It references a letter on his congressional website.
[Embedded content]
I reminded Rep. Biggs about the Saturday Night Massacre and posted today’s Washington Post article to the thread.
What a putz.
re: #65 mmmirele
If these Republican congresscritters don’t hitch their wagon to the orange yam they’ll get savaged by their base, primary challengers galore. Congresscritter Biggs just wants to keep his job. Expect more and more of these assholes to come out publicly denying any and every bad thing that Fuckface Von Clownstick has done.
Here’s a nickel’s worth of free advice for Republican congresscritters, watch Hannity on Fox News for all your FVC talking points.
On silly stuff away from American politics:
(The Sydney Morning Herald)
If you are a man reading this while seated in the gents’, your smartphone clenched in your non-toilet paper hand as you take some quiet time to catch up on current affairs, feel no shame.
According to the Digital News Report: Australia 2017, you are typical. The way you consume your news may not be hygienic, but it is perfectly average.
…
Gone are the days of the gentleman-reader who donned his spectacles and settled into a chesterfield while fanning out his broadsheet.
Now 20 per cent of men, according to the report, read their news with their pants around their ankles while hiding out from the housework.
But they are also twice as likely to pay for news as women.
Well, I don’t have digital news service on a cell phone (no cell service here), so my grubby hands can’t clutch an iThing whilst catching up on the news.
I do read broadsheet newspapers, The Economist, Foreign Affairs (cue claims by wingnuts of me being part of the Council on Foreign Relations trying to set up a globalist regime of plutocrats - my bank account says I’m doing plutocracy wrong), &c.
Just. Don’t. Goddamn it!
Mark Zuckerberg is in Iowa. “Iowa is my kind of place.” pic.twitter.com/75IDG3mKrV
— Yashar Ali (@yashar) June 24, 2017
re: #68 Anymouse 🌹
Well, I don’t have digital news service on a cell phone (no cell service here), so my grubby hands can’t clutch an iThing whilst catching up on the news.
Sure you can. My AndroidThing spends much more of its life connected to WiFi in my house or office than it does using cellular data out in the world. About the only thing I can’t do with it when it’s on WiFi instead of cellular is make a phone call…and who ever does that anymore?
/-ish
Not sure what Zuckerberg is trying to accomplish with his trip:
re: #66 HappyWarrior
What a putz.
Contrast and compare to my congressman, Adrian “I don’t think Americans deserve to eat, and I only represent Republicans” Smith.
re: #71 freetoken
Mark Zuckerberg has floated the idea in the past that he is rich enough to buy run for the Presidency.
re: #72 Anymouse 🌹
Contrast and compare to my congressman, Adrian “I don’t think Americans deserve to eat, and I only represent Republicans” Smith.
It really disturbs me how many heartless assholes there are out there.
So Zuck is visiting Illinois, Minnesota, Iowa…
Does he have political ambition?
re: #71 freetoken
Not sure what Zuckerberg is trying to accomplish with his trip:
[Embedded content]
He’s in IOWA. He’s sounding out running for president.
re: #73 Anymouse 🌹
Mark Zuckerberg has floated the idea in the past that he is rich enough to
buyrun for the Presidency.
It has been clearly demonstrated that Americans worship rich guys.
re: #70 ipsos
Sure you can. My AndroidThing spends much more of its life connected to WiFi in my house or office than it does using cellular data out in the world. About the only thing I can’t do with it when it’s on WiFi instead of cellular is make a phone call…and who ever does that anymore?
/-ish
I make phone calls all the time (on my dial telephone). Shoot, the village water tower controller calls me at 3 AM to tell me it’s lonely or cold.
(I’m guessing I’m not living the fast lane of life here.)
Mark Zuckerberg will be 36 years old on Election Day in 2020.
The last decade or two, sci-fi stories of our future liked to show America as a techno-corporate-ocracy.
I guess life is imitating art.
The thing is, Iowa is not a particularly destitute state. It has low unemployment, well educated populace, and lacks many of the social dramas of major metropolitan areas.
That so many in the state fall for the likes of Trump and King I put down to simple xenophobia, combined with the rise of the religious right.
re: #77 freetoken
I think people (wrongly) automatically associate wealth with intelligence.
re: #75 freetoken
So Zuck is visiting Illinois, Minnesota, Iowa…
Does he have political ambition?
It’s been reported for about a year now he is “researching” a run for pres. The fact that it has been going on for that long is troubling.
re: #86 alloutofcrazyhere
I think people (wrongly) automatically associate wealth with intelligence.
Wealth demonstrates God’s approval.
re: #86 alloutofcrazyhere
I think people (wrongly) automatically associate wealth with intelligence.
Yup. One thing you don’t see a whole lot of in groups like Mensa are extremely wealthy people, because gathering and hoarding wealth is more about sociopathy and less about intelligence.
Then there are people that are extremely good at their jobs, but that doesn’t mean that it would translate over well to something like being POTUS.
See Ben Carson.
re: #89 Anymouse 🌹
I’m seeing quite a few news stories attacking the Nebraska Democratic Party for inappropriate comments on Scalise.
What are your thoughts on this?
re: #79 teleskiguy
Mark Zuckerberg will be 36 years old on Election Day in 2020.
As crazy as it sounds right now, I have advanced the theory on several occasions that the only person who could conceivably beat Trump in 2020 would be Zuckerberg. I don’t think he’ll run in that year, but I think he’ll run eventually.
re: #91 alloutofcrazyhere
Then there are people that are extremely good at their jobs, but that doesn’t mean that it would translate over well to something like being POTUS.
See Ben Carson.
Exactly.
But point out that Carson’s not intelligent on political matters and it’s ohw dare you, you liberal racist point that out. He’s a capable brain surgeon. He shouldn’t be heading HUD. Just like I wouldn’t want a housing expert having Carson’s old job at Johns Hopkins.
re: #95 HappyWarrior
But point out that Carson’s not intelligent on political matters and it’s ohw dare you, you liberal racist point that out. He’s a capable brain surgeon. He shouldn’t be heading HUD. Just like I wouldn’t want a housing expert having Carson’s old job at Johns Hopkins.
As dingy as Carson sounds now, I wouldn’t want him in his old job at Johns Hopkins.
And so Zukerberg would distance himself from business connections with Facebook if he wins. And he’ll take the pay cut. Hmmmm.
re: #98 Dave In Austin
That’s 21st century Theology, correct?
It was also 1st century philosophy, though they definitely didn’t call it the first century back then. It was one of the things that got a certain rabble rouser, if he existed, executed.
re: #96 retired cynic
As dingy as Carson sounds now, I wouldn’t want him in his old job at Johns Hopkins.
I wouldn’t either.
re: #101 Belafon
I keep thinking if that turd in Houston with the straight teeth and the wife who never ages.
re: #83 freetoken
The thing is, Iowa is not a particularly destitute state. It has low unemployment, well educated populace, and lacks many of the social dramas of major metropolitan areas.
That so many in the state fall for the likes of Trump and King I put down to simple xenophobia, combined with the rise of the religious right.
Never forget the pure racism of a very white state.
re: #106 William Lewis
Never forget the pure racism of a very white state.
I had heard that Sanders’ Vermont(not blaming him for it but pointing out that Vermont isn’t exactly progressive paradise if your’e a POC) has had some serious problems with racial profiling by cops.
re: #99 Dave In Austin
So, now it’s Tom Nichols on MSNBC….. Sigh
I saw that. Didn’t listen close because I find his thinking mushy. And then I get confused after I found he is a professor at The Naval War College or something like that. It just doesn’t add up. Never knew who he was until Charles started linking his tweets a few years ago. By the way, this is not the first time he has been on one of the newer MSNBC shows.
re: #106 William Lewis
Never forget the pure racism of a very white state.
Well, maybe, though I think religion is playing a larger part in Iowa than some may at first think. While Iowa is not part of the traditional Bible Belt, many of the 19th century settlers were religious. There were lots of progressive religious folk, strong abolitionists, etc. But religious nevertheless.
re: #109 freetoken
Well, maybe, though I think religion is playing a larger part in Iowa than some may at first think. While Iowa is not part of the traditional Bible Belt, many of the 19th century settlers were religious. There were lots of progressive religious folk, strong abolitionists, etc. But religious nevertheless.
That’s a good point as well.
A great many of the settlers of the upper Mississippi were Lutherans from northern Europe.
While many of these churches today are thought of as “liberal”, a couple of Lutheran synods are quite conservative.
re: #108 ObserverArt
He’s a “NeverTrumper” but uber RWNJ at heart.
re: #98 Dave In Austin
That’s 21st century Theology, correct?
Not really. It’s pure Calvinist heresy doctrine of predestination where you know you are one of the Elect if you are wealthy and powerful. It would be almost impossible to imagine a more anti-christian idea but it’s been quite popular for about 450 years now.
re: #115 William Lewis
Not really. It’s pure Calvinist
heresydoctrine of predestination where you know you are one of the Elect if you are wealthy and powerful. It would be almost impossible to imagine a more anti-christian idea but it’s been quite popular for about 450 years now.
I find the Prosperity Gospel stuff funny coming from the Evangelical Protestants given Protestantism’s history of not liking Rome because of greed. Ironically, it seems ot me that the Catholics today are much more concerned with the plight of the poor and less fortunate.
Night all, sweet scaly dreams.
The Salade Nicoise was a hit. Add good capers and top end cherry tomatoes. Our local HEB had everything we needed. A ten dollar entree for the two of us.
Nice!
re: #75 freetoken
So Zuck is visiting Illinois, Minnesota, Iowa…
Does he have political ambition?
I went to high school with a guy very like Zuckerberg. At least, that’s my peripheral read. Enough coding know-how to talk with the techie guys, way more business acumen, the drive to push on that side of things, etc. He’s a CEO now, of a …eh, moderately funded?… start-up that he did with a few friends in college.
If my read is anything remotely correct, yes, there is definite political ambition there.
I can’t help but to wonder if my family’s own views were shaped by them being predominately white ethnic Catholics. Obviously that group isn’t immune from conservatism in the slightest but it seems to me that at least in the days when my immigrant ancestors lived, that group was much more sympathetic towards the ideas of social justice.
OT: but a beautiful opinion piece by Lonnie Bunch III, on the noose found in the new AA museum.
re: #117 HappyWarrior
I find the Prosperity Gospel stuff funny coming from the Evangelical Protestants given Protestantism’s history of not liking Rome because of greed. Ironically, it seems ot me that the Catholics today are much more concerned with the plight of the poor and less fortunate.
The best elements, embodied by Pope Francis and the Jusuits & Franciscans I have know, do. But that church is just as split as my own (the Anglican Communion) or our nation. Watch “The Young Pope” sometime and remember that there is a huge chunk of the Roman branch of the catholic faith that thinks he’d be ok but not conservative enough.
For that matter, see Bishop Paprocki down in Illinois telling those ebil married same sexers they can’t have communion or funeral masses.
re: #124 William Lewis
The best elements, embodied by Pope Francis and the Jusuits & Franciscans I have know, do. But that church is just as split as my own (the Anglican Communion) or our nation. Watch “The Young Pope” sometime and remember that there is a huge chunk of the Roman branch of the catholic faith that thinks he’d be ok but not conservative enough.
For that matter, see Bishop Paprocki down in Illinois telling those ebil married same sexers they can’t have communion or funeral masses.
Oh yeah, plenty of division within the RCC. I recall your church had a big division over Gene Robinson, the gay bishop from New Hampshire.
Social policy in the United States: poor people don’t get hot food. pic.twitter.com/y2hkV2WOVN
— Matthew Incantalupo (@incantalupo) June 22, 2017
re: #92 Eclectic Cyborg
I’m seeing quite a few news stories attacking the Nebraska Democratic Party for inappropriate comments on Scalise.
What are your thoughts on this?
I had to go looking for that, because I was unaware of it.
It turns out that one person, a volunteer for the technology committee, made such a comment. He was immediately ousted by Jane Kleeb.
A variant of the story appears in my regional paper.
The Star-Herald notes the recording of the technology editor was edited from a conversation of over half-an-hour’s length, and he strenuously objects to characterisations he wished Rep. Scalise dead. Jane Kleeb turned over the one-minute clip to the police for them to evaluate it as a possible death threat against a congressman.
It’s not like anyone ever put up pictures lynching Obama in effigy or suggesting all my life that liberals are un-American and should be rounded up and shot or anything.
I still think I best subscribe to that old quote- ” When I fed the poor, they called me a saint, when I asked why they were poor, they called me a communist.”
re: #129 Anymouse 🌹
I had to go looking for that, because I was unaware of it.
It turns out that one person, a volunteer for the technology committee, made such a comment. He was immediately ousted by Jane Kleeb.
A variant of the story appears in my regional paper.
The Star-Herald notes the recording of the technology editor was edited from a conversation of over half-an-hour’s length, and he strenuously objects to characterisations he wished Rep. Scalise dead. Jane Kleeb turned over the one-minute clip to the police for them to evaluate it as a possible death threat against a congressman.
It’s not like anyone ever put up pictures lynching Obama in effigy or suggesting all my life that liberals are un-American and should be rounded up and shot or anything.
She did the same right thing but yeah we’ve been dealing with that shit forever.
re: #124 William Lewis
Lots of videos on Youtube posted weekly by hardline Catholics, about the errors of modernism. Creationists, anti-Protestants, anti-democracy, etc. And of course very, very anti-abortion.
You help the poor, in most cases you get commended but if question why some remain impoverished while others live like royalty, you’re a Marxist. We’ve had this discussion before but I really believe diehard capitalists approach capitalism with the same zeal as Marxists do for socialism. To the point it’s forgotten that economics is a social science with impacts on real people. I don’t care how much a theory may make “common sense”, if it’s not benefiting people, it’s useless.
re: #126 jaunte
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That requirement is actually quite old. Food stamps were designed with the fantasy of a one income nuclear family where the Mom stayed home and would cook three meals a day with the staples the y bought with their assistance. It isn’t GOP hate of the poor (though that doesn’t help) but rather the casual misogyny that runs as deep in the American soul as our racism.
Is Zuckerberg thinking of running as a Democratic Party candidate? Or will be be an “independent”, i.e., ratfucker?
re: #132 freetoken
Lots of videos on Youtube posted weekly by hardline Catholics, about the errors of modernism. Creationists, anti-Protestants, anti-democracy, etc. And of course very, very anti-abortion.
Sound like parents of my old childhood friends. Very reactionary minded. They of course thought less of my parents for raising us in a pretty secular environment to which my brothers and I both appreciate daily given our different approaches to the world of spirituality. We know we could be atheists or devout Christians and our parents would not be hostile over either.
re: #135 freetoken
Is Zuckerberg thinking of running as a Democratic Party candidate? Or will be be an “independent”, i.e., ratfucker?
Would the Democrats even have to allow him (especially after the crapfest that was our primary), or could they just tell him, “I’m sorry, Mr. Zuckerberg, you must have the wrong party. You want the Libertarian Party; their door is down the hall.”
re: #137 Anymouse 🌹
Would the Democrats even have to allow him (especially after the crapfest that was our primary), or could they just tell him, “I’m sorry, Mr. Zuckerberg, you must have the wrong party. You want the Libertarian Party; their door is down the hall.”
What does he believe?
re: #135 freetoken
Is Zuckerberg thinking of running as a Democratic Party candidate? Or will be be an “independent”, i.e., ratfucker?
I don’t think he has been real clear about any party affiliation. I think that is part of his researching a run. So, in a way, an independent run would not be a surprise.
re: #138 retired cynic
What does he believe?
He is a very private individual (while trying to destroy everyone else’s privacy with Facebook).
He’s one of those “information’s gotta be free (as long as it isn’t mine)” folk.
From viewing his actions in public, I would weigh him as a libertarian.
re: #137 Anymouse 🌹
Would the Democrats even have to allow him (especially after the crapfest that was our primary), or could they just tell him, “I’m sorry, Mr. Zuckerberg, you must have the wrong party. You want the Libertarian Party; their door is down the hall.”
He’s not a Libertarian iirc. I think you have the wrong wealthy Mark. You’re thinking of Cuban I believe. Honestly even though he’s done a good job with Facebook, something I feel I can speak with cred on having been a member for nearly its entire existence with no plans to leave. That’s not running a country and even if Zuck expressed views similar to mine, I couldn’t support him.
re: #136 HappyWarrior
Likewise I refuse to force my son to go to church with me. I believe he will find his own path to the light easier that way. I find the language of Archbishop Cranmer quite comforting but not everyone does. Still modern English grew from three huge sources - Shakespeare, King James’s Bible & Cranmer’s Boom of Common Prayer.
re: #139 ObserverArt
I don’t think he has been real clear about any party affiliation. I think that is part of his researching a run. So, in a way, an independent run would not be a surprise.
I suppose, if one is very, very rich - in reality, not like Trump who lies about his supposed wealth - and still pretty young, one can be a bit strategic and play the long game.
Zuckerberg could probably start his own 3rd party, finance what it takes in various states to get it recognized as each state law requires, round up a bunch of allies to run in local/Federal elections in his new 3rd party, and become the first Presidential candidate of said party.
Anyway, if I was 33 and had 10 billion dollars to blow, that’s what I’d do.
#HealthcareMatters #DemForce pic.twitter.com/T3JSv4gJW7
— MimiZelman #DemForce (@mimizelman) June 24, 2017
#Kentucky are you paying attention? https://t.co/9uZn1cAf43
— DaveT62 (@DaveoutofAustin) June 24, 2017
re: #141 HappyWarrior
He’s not a Libertarian iirc. I think you have the wrong wealthy Mark. You’re thinking of Cuban I believe. Honestly even though he’s done a good job with Facebook, something I feel I can speak with cred on having been a member for nearly its entire existence with no plans to leave. That’s not running a country and even if Zuck expressed views similar to mine, I couldn’t support him.
He doesn’t belong to the party, as far as I am aware, which is why I used small “l” libertarian. He is in line with the party’s views however.
cnbc.com
Will Mark Zuckerberg ever pay taxes again? (Article explains why he cut his pay to $1 to avoid income tax)
nytimes.com
How Mark Zuckerberg’s Alturism Helps Himself
Mark Zuckerberg did not donate $45 billion to charity. You may have heard that, but that was wrong.
Here’s what happened instead: Mr. Zuckerberg created an investment vehicle.
Sorry for the slightly less sexy headline.
Mr. Zuckerberg is a co-founder of Facebook and a youthful megabillionaire. In announcing the birth of his daughter, he and his wife, Dr. Priscilla Chan, declared they would donate 99 percent of their worth, the vast majority of which is tied up in Facebook stock valued at $45 billion today.
In doing so, Mr. Zuckerberg and Dr. Chan did not set up a charitable foundation, which has nonprofit status. He created a limited liability company, one that has already reaped enormous benefits as public relations coup for himself. His P.R. return-on-investment dwarfs that of his Facebook stock. Mr. Zuckerberg was depicted in breathless, glowing terms for having, in essence, moved money from one pocket to the other.
theguardian.com
Mark Zuckerberg Defends His Philanthropic Venture against Tax Avoidance Claims
Aside from my privacy issues with Facebook (and my stalker ex-wife), to the extent I can, I avoid doing business with people such as Zuckerberg.
For what it’s worth, my wife the ex-Libertarian campaign treasurer in Colorado, notes that “if it walks like a libertarian and talks like a libertarian… .”
re: #142 William Lewis
Likewise I refuse to force my son to go to church with me. I believe he will find his own path to the light easier that way. I find the language of Archbishop Cranmer quite comforting but not everyone does. Still modern English grew from three huge sources - Shakespeare, King James’s Bible & Cranmer’s Boom of Common Prayer.
We all must find our own spiritual path. Forced religion is no way to do that. I tried doing CCD at my Grandma’s request but I couldn’t do it. As much as s lot of Catholic principles appealed to me, I was and remain very confused about religion. I don’t see religion in itself as an evil, I’m non religious, I think it’s what man does to religion that can make it evil.
re: #146 Anymouse 🌹
He doesn’t belong to the party, as far as I am aware, which is why I used small “l” libertarian. He is in line with the party’s views however.
cnbc.com
Will Mark Zuckerberg ever pay taxes again? (Article explains why he cut his pay to $1 to avoid income tax)nytimes.com
How Mark Zuckerberg’s Alturism Helps Himselftheguardian.com
Mark Zuckerberg Defends His Philanthropic Venture against Tax Avoidance ClaimsAside from my privacy issues with Facebook (and my stalker ex-wife), to the extent I can, I avoid doing businesses with people such as Zuckerberg.
For what it’s worth, my wife the ex-Libertarian campaign treasurer in Colorado, notes that “if it walks like a libertarian and talks like a libertarian… .”
Ah ok. In any case, I hope he doesn’t run. We don’t need another businessman who thinks our country is the same as his company.
New playlist Page-Result of yesterdays call for assistance. Thanks for all the suggestions. All very subjective of course but I found some great music I had never heard. So that’s a win at least. ;-) Almost 2 hours long.
re: #147 HappyWarrior
We all must find our own spiritual path. Forced religion is no way to do that. I tried doing CCD at my Grandma’s request but I couldn’t do it. As much as s lot of Catholic principles appealed to me, I was and remain very confused about religion. I don’t see religion in itself as an evil, I’m non religious, I think it’s what man does to religion that can make it evil.
I don’t know how many people I heard from as a teenager (and even as a young adult) saying my atheism was simply a phase and I would just grow out of it.
I don’t ever recall that line being used against a religious person’s belief… .
re: #150 Anymouse 🌹
I don’t know how many people I heard from as a teenager (and even as a young adult) saying my atheism was simply a phase and I would just grow out of it.
I don’t ever recall that line being used against a religious person’s belief… .
It shouldn’t. The way atheists/agnostics are viewed by too many for daring to either not believe or simply say I don’t know disappoints me because as I said, I really believe spirituality or lack of is as individual as it gets.
re: #150 Anymouse 🌹
I’ve seen it go both ways. Shrug. We all have to find our own way on that narrow path to a far province…
re: #152 William Lewis
I’ve seen it go both ways. Shrug. We all have to find our own way on that narrow path to a far province…
Newfoundland and Labrador? /s
re: #123 Wile E. Coyote’s mom
Thanks for posting that.
re: #126 jaunte
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Probably the same rule as the sales tax exemption in most States, doesn’t apply to most prepared food items. The rule might seem heartless, it kind of is, but there’s also a legit basis in terms of nutritional value vs cost and I think it serves the person and the community far better than newer, crueler welfare reform measures like drug testing recipients. I mean on the first example you’re trying to make sure each dollar spends in the most efficient manner while in the second one you’re just ensuring society has a population of desperate, hungry addicts. Where I think measures like this really fall down is in not pairing them with complimentary forms of aid designed to ensure recipients have all the means of preparing full meals and safely storing them.
re: #36 Anymouse 🌹
The Washington Post reporting on Russian meddling in the election.
They note sources claiming Putin made specific instructions to help Trump to defeat Clinton.
That allegedly happened during the time hackers were rummaging through the DNC and RNC computer servers.
(Of note, the CT in me holds an alternative opinion to GOP obstruction: Not because they are “party over country,” but because Russia has information on various party leaders sufficient to destroy them.)
(More at the Post)
re: #41 Targetpractice
That’s been my belief as well for some time, that the leadership knows or strongly suspects that the Russians acquired kompromat during their hacking of the RNC servers. That supporting Trump is seen as the lesser evil compared to the release of documents that could sink the party. The problem with such a theory, of course, is deducing just what level of kompromat would justify the lengths they’ve gone to so far.
I would concur with that assessment being a likely scenario behind the situation at hand as well. But there is a chance that the RNC has been sold on some pipe dream of a global conservative alliance, a lá Dugin’s Eurasia. And a small chance it’s all domestic.
re: #50 sagehen
Also, what makes them think Russia won’t just release it all anyway?
That’s one thing I don’t think the RNC has thought of should the scenario be that the Russian federation is deeply involved after all. During the Soviet and KGB era, it happened that the security services gave candidate X support, and he either grabbed power or won the election. Either way, candidate X would be outmaneuvered by various means and candidate Y would step out of the shadows.
So yeah, it may have been the Russian federation plan to release it all along…
re: #149 Unshaken Defiance
New playlist Page-Result of yesterdays call for assistance. Thanks for all the suggestions. All very subjective of course but I found some great music I had never heard. So that’s a win at least. ;-) Almost 2 hours long.
I missed that whole thing, added one on the thread.