Saturday, September 30, 2017

Picture for Today

From Powerline blog

Or gave lip service ...

Headlines


All from Internet news sites. Guess which from Politico?

Price took military jets to Europe, Asia for over $500K

Fans straight up ignore Green Bay national anthem request

California planning to ban all gas calls

Limbaugh: Republican lawmakers 'choosing donors' over voters

[Sen.] Warner blasts Twitter

Oprah teases 2020 presidential run

Judge: Black Lives Matter can't be sued ...

Swiss Parliament votes to ban foreign-funded mosques, Arabic preaching

Muslim nations targeted by Trump's travel ban see steep drop in visas

Black Cornell students want frat kicked out so that they can have its house

US orders staff to leave embassy in Havana ...

[Trump] stops Air Force One takeoff to speak with injured officer

Tax reForms


"The greatest good for the greatest number."

The Trump administration's new tax system revamping has been unveiled. Although lacking in critical details ... probably on purpose ... it nonetheless is causing considerable dyspepsia. In particular the proposed removal of state/local tax deductions and the reduction in the highest rate are the center of most complaints ... see: NY Times Article

Trump's financial guru Gary Cohn was explaining this administration's new tax reform proposal to the media recently and I was struck by one of his comments. The press asked him its standing question, "Can you guarantee that under this new plan no middle class American will end up paying more taxes?"  Cohn, to his credit, said no ... there were no such guarantees. Some bizarre set of financial circumstances might cause someone to pay more, but the vast majority of  middle-income Americans will end up with more money in ther pockets. And the top 1% would likely be paying more.

However, color me skeptical. Somehow it is difficult to imagine that two Goldman Sachs alums (Cohn and Mnuchin) would so help out middle America without cutting generous vig for their old bosses ... perhaps by the killing of the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT). Actually, I have in the past suggested a variant of an AMT in which all deductions could only reduce the effective tax rate by a few percentage points. This way Congress would not have to pick winners and losers among the current litany of popular deductions.

For me, the acid test of this new tax reform will be if it scuttles the unfair "carried interest" tax rate that has made so many hedge fund managers multi-billionaires. If it stays, then Wall Street Titans are once again pretending to be altruistic while buying their many Hamptons' mansions.

Friday, September 29, 2017

Old Saw


An irate chipmunk is more dangerous than a timid bear.


Fiction Becomes Fact?


Quite some time ago I wrote a short short story about how the Mona Lisa got her enigmatic smile. Take a few moments to read my slightly risqué piece ... see: La Gioconda. But, as we have often heard, life imitates art. And so it is now revealed that Leonardo daVinci may have indulged in some hanky lanky with Mona Lisa ... see: Daily Mail Article.

So my attempt at reconstructive fiction might have accidently hit close to home.

Headlines


All from internet news sites. Guess which from Politico?

Moore's win conjures 2018 nightmare -- for both parties

EXCLUSIVE: Chelsea's 'best friend' wins $11 mil in defense contracts with no clearance

UK threatens US with trade war ...

Solution to NFL mess: Owners, unions tell players, 'You're killing the Golden Goose'

Trump: NFL owners are scared of their players

Rush: Moore's victory shows that Trumpism is a lot bigger than Trump

Global airport chaos 'after computers systems crash ...

Ann Coulter: When life gives you Paul Ryan make lemonade

Poll: Voters skeptical of Feinsten's reelection bid

White House tells Congress it will cap migrant admissions at 45,000

FBI Director: Terrorist drones coming ...

WAT: Jared Kushner registered to vote as a woman

Thursday, September 28, 2017

Punishing Good Deeds


"No good deed goes unpunished."

Started watching the last episode of "The Vietnam War" last night ... but turned it off after five minutes and went to bed. Why you ask? Because it started rehashing Nixon's disgrace and  downfall, Watergate. I said to my wife, "What does this have to do with Vietnam?" and hit the clicker.

Actually, I suspect I know why Ken Burns and Lynn Novick needed to sully Nixon further. They had tried this in the previous episode and didn't quite pull it off. Matter of fact, this penultimate program left me with a new respect for Nixon. Yes, he was tricky and duplicitous, but he and Henry Kissinger had done the impossible. They had ended the Vietnam war, brought our soldiers and POWs home, and left South Vietnam with at least a hope of remaining out of the clutches of the North. All basically within his first four years in office.

And he had done this Herculean task, a task that neither JFK or LBJ had the slightest clue how to accomplish ... they  kept making things worse ... despite scant support from the media and the massive resistance from America's counterculture. And he had also gotten overwhelmingly reflected in the process. He had done what he had promised when he had first gotten elected ... and the rabid liberals could not forgive him for this miracle.

Nixon had given the Left what they wanted and they needed to punish him for it. So, as his reward, they pounced on one of his foibles .... his paranoia about his opposition. (Actually, by now, quite a justified paranoia.) Last night I didn't need again to see how this downfall was orchestrated by his enemies ... for I once had been one of these enemies ... and now, being more of a realist, I am feeling remorse ... for how I was led by the nose into reviling and disgracing Richard M. Nixon for his heroic deed of ending our foolish war in Nam. History was now to say that JFK and even LBJ were the innocent victims and RMN was to be the goat. Bullshit!

Updated Quote


Opioids are the opiate of the masses.

Wednesday, September 27, 2017

Headlines


All from Internet news sites. Guess which from Politico?

Russian-funded Facebook ads backed Stein, Sanders and Trump

Kellyanne Conway: Public expects Trump to be part of culture wars

GOP proposal calls for surcharge on 'wealthiest' Americans ...

Violent crime up 2X national average in part of California

Moore's win spells trouble for GOP establishment in 2018

Bill O'Reilly shocks on Hannity: Liberals don't want Whites 'calling the shots'

NFL ratings: -11

Border wall prototype construction begins ...

After Luther Strange loses in Alabama, Trump's supportive tweets disappear

Attorney General promises more action against campus speech suppression

Chicago historic heatwave ...

Saudi Arabia announces end to ban on women drivers

Facts are Facts

Hands up, don't shoot

Heather McDonald has written a revealing article in the New York Post based on an FBI crime report that was just released on Monday ... see: New York Post Article. This expose debunks most of the emotional claims made by Black Lives Matter ... which, of course, are the basis of all these idiotic anthem protests in the NFL and elsewhere. Allow me here to recap a few of Ms. McDonald's key observations drawn from this FBI data:

- There were 7.881 black homicides in the U.S. in 2016 ... 900 more than in 2015 which. interestingly, was the same increase over 2014.

- There were 6.576 white and Hispanic homicides in 2016. This means that, although blacks represent only 13% of the U.S. population, they make up 55% of all homicide victims.

- Of these 7881 black homicides, 233 (2.9%) were killed by the police and, of these black homicides, only 16 were unarmed according to the Washington Post ...while the  remainder (93.1%) were armed and dangerous.

- In 2015 a police officer was 18.5 times more likely to be killed by a black man than an unarmed black man was to be killed by a police officer.

- Over the last decade, black men represented 42% of all police homicides, although they represented only 6% of the U.S. population.

From these disproportionate statistics, one can easily conclude that pretty much the entire premises of Black Lives Matter and those professional athletes' dishonoring of the United States, its anthem and its flag ... are hokum.

Baby Killers


As I kinda expected, Ken Burns's "The Vietnam War" has evolved into a nifty piece of anti-war advocacy. Last night this PBS documentary pulled back the curtain on this theme. Not that there is a lot wrong with this point of view. But it still is a little irksome that the sacrifices of so many young American soldiers have been and, once again, are diminished instead of respected.

Up to now this Nam recounting has been pretty much down the center ... but last night it took a decided left turn ... accenting the negatives surrounding this war -- the massacre at My Lai, "fragging" of officers, the Kent State shootings, the huge anti-war demonstrations across the U.S., heroic soldiers being tagged as baby killers ... all within a background of counterculture music.

We, who were not then members of the Weather Underground, were being tweaked for our inaction. On camera,veterans and families who, in previous comments, talked primarily about the rigors of the war, now revealed themselves as rabid peaceniks ... with the implication that we all should have been too. Burns and company were rubbing our noses in our inaction.

This sudden shift in message got me curious as to why. I had heard that Lynn Novick was the real power behind this documentary, so I started there. She was born in 1962 so she couldn't have had any first-hand knowledge of this war. But in her Wikipedia Entry I discovered that she had previously worked for Bill Moyers, that ultra-radical leftist who had been a very effective propagandist for the anti-war movement. Suddenly this hidden agenda revelation all started to make sense. It is never too late to kick a sleeping dog.

Headlines


All from Internet news sites, Guess which from Politico?

Use of personal services widespread in Trump's West Wing

Feds open civil rights probe into church shooting by Sudanese immigrant

Earliest start to Arizona ski start ...

Feds rush aid to Puerto Rico, while Tr,ump tweets about debt

Bannon to Alabama: 'They think you are a bunch of morons'

Trump dedicates $200 million to STEM education

SURVEY: Just quarter of Americans can name three branches of gov't

UNC Charlotte offers 345 diversity, social justice courses

[Sen.] Collns' opposition dooms latest Obamacare repeal effort

Pentagon scenario of new Korean War estimates 20,000 deaths a day in South Korea: retired US general

USA to curb Russian military flights over American territory ...

Almost half of crimes in Berlin committed by migrants

Tuesday, September 26, 2017

Circus Circus


In order to keep the populus appeased, the Romans offered bread and circus ... food and entertainment. This formula has been applied over and over through the ages ... including here in the United States where food stamps, free school lunchs and a myriad of other government programs are meant to combat hunger. On the entertainment front ... local, state and national governments give all types of incentives to sports teams to soothe their restless rabble ... tax breaks, stadium financial grants, promotional efforts, etc. within limits this is all very understandable.

However, now the circus part of this equation has become a real circus with these Black Lives Matter protests that have morphed into anti-government and anti-Trump silliness. In particular, the NFL and the NBA have become money machines for their respective owners ... yet they are still  dining at the government trough. Moreover, these leagues, with their protests and outspoken players, are haughty enough to now bite the hands that feed them. Perhaps ... no, not perhaps ... it is now time to eliminate all favorable local, state and federal fundings and tax breaks to these two plutocratic sports leagues ... at the very least.

Then perhaps the generous financial rewards proffered to their players might be "adjusted" downward to teach them a little humility and patriotism.

Sad Question


What has happened to Norman Rockwell's America?

Headlines


All from Internet news sites, Guess which ones from Politico?

Kushner used private email to conduct White House business

Fall is in the air -- nearly 40 people shot in Chicago over the weekend

NKorea accuses USA of declaring war ...

Anthony Weiner sentenced to 21 months in sexting case

Tony Blair says the left has lost its way

22-year-old with concealed carry stops Tennessee church shooter

Swarm attack by armed drones pose 'grave threat' to Trump ...

Pittsburgh Steelers boycott national anthem, stay in locker room

Trump continues NFL clash: NASCAR fans won't disrespect our flag

London mayor compares Trump with ISIS

In dire straits, Connecticut faces 90 days without a budget ...

McCain calls brain cancer prognosis 'very poor'

Monday, September 25, 2017

NFL


Nudniks for Looniness

Headlines


All from Internet news sites. Guess which from Politico?

Tom Price to halt tax-payer funded travel on private jets

Entire Ravens, Jaguars squads kneel for US national anthem at London game

Merkel seeks fourth term as Germany votes ...

Rove on NFL protests: Trump will be walking away from this a loser ...

Graham: We're going to get the votes next week

Rand Paul on Graham-Cassidy: I'd vote for it at pre-Obama spending levels

Rocket carrying top secret payload launches from Vandenberg ...

[Trump] Admits he will back Roy Moore if he wins Alabama primary

Poll: Majority of Americans see Trump as divisive

Australia starts shipping refuges to U.S. as part of Obama deal

Auditor claims Vatican axed him after probing illegal activities ...

Apple has shed $50 billion -- more than eBay, Target or Ford -- since it unveiled new IPhone

Sunday, September 24, 2017

Today's Quote


Always bending to change is not necessarily progressive. Most times traditional methods are tested and for the good and their scrapping can be catastrophic. -- Anon.

Butter Side Down


Just like movie stars, making millions of dollars for their realistic reciting of the creative works of others, eventually believe that they have become these make-believe heros and can behave accordingly ... a similar mania is sweeping the sports world. Now a number of mostly black football and basketball players believe that injecting politics into the sports arena is their God-given and constitutional right. They exhibit their displeasure with America and its supposed injustices by sitting or taking a knee during the playing of the Stars Spangled Banner at the begining of their contests.

Of course such disloyal demonstrations are their right ... but it is also the right of President Trump to call them out for disrespecting the country that has so lavishly rewarded them for their physical talents. Yes, they have supporters among our increasingly looney left. But there are also legions of citizens who view such antics as the equivalent of telling them to f-off ... that they are racists or jingoistic or whatever. The question then becomes -- are there enough of lefty snowflakes and conservative jock sniffers who will continue watching the performance talents of these children to justify their continued lofty salaries?

My guess is no. And that these anthem dissenters may eventually find that their toast has fallen on the floor butter side down.

Afterward: There are far more productive ways for athletes to protest perceived evil ... live moral lifes as examples to our youth, support blind justice, donate their time and money to the education and betterment of their race ... and finally, proudly display their love of country.

Makes Sense ...

From Powerline Blog



Headlines


All from Internet news sites. Guess which from Politico?

Trump, in Alabama, wades into interparty battle

Chuck Schumer coached Jimmy Kimmel behind the scenes on how to oppose Obamacare repeal

Apple fans not lining up for release of new IPhone?

U.S. Says NAFTA helps Chinese goods reach American market

Trump bashes McCain in early morning Tweets

Suspicious earthquake hits North Korean nuclear test site

Study: Fraternities lower GPA -- but raise future income ...

Trump approves 100K+ illegal aliens for DACA in last 3 months

Carson breaks with Trump, backs Moore for Alabama Senate seat

NYT writes nearly 1.500 words on Berkeley with zero mentions of ANTIFA

Glitch allows non-U.S. citizens in PA to vote ...

Iran unveils long-range missile capable of hitting Israel

Saturday, September 23, 2017

A Cartoon Truth

From Powerline Blog

Biting the hand ...


Crocodile Coitus


When he was running for president, Donald Trump promised to "drain the swamp." Now that he is in the DC quagmire he has found it difficult not being intimate with some of its creatures. He has given the Secretary of Transportation job to Senator McConnell's wife, delayed building the promised Mexican wall, failed to deliver an Obamacare repeal, conceded to codify the DACA program and now endorsed an establishment Republican to replace Jeff Sessions in the Senate ... see: Breitbart Article.

This is not a total capitulation for the vast majority of his actions have been swamp-draining. But, being pragmatic after his first nine bloody months, Trump is slowly finding it easier to let some of the denizens in Washington have their way with him if he hopes to get his more significant agenda done. He better be careful however ... his voters are watching this X-rated movie.

Lilliput


"It's a small world after all."

The Graham-Cassidy healthcare bill met my requirement for passage -- the healthcare insurance companies didn't like it. This meant that they were hit in the pocketbook which then meant that, overall, healthcare costs might go down. So what happened in our country of small people, which I now call Lilliput? Why, a prominant Lilliputian, John McCain, said he was voting "no" (out of spite) which probably kills things.

The king of Lilliput, Donald Trump is calling that North Korean dough boy, Kim Jong Un, names. And this pastry midget is taunting Trump back.

It is difficult to find one world politician these days acting like a grownup ... including that woman who lost the last US presidential election. The entire Democrat party and most of the media are throwing spitballs at their president ... and staying awake nights inventing new insults for him. And he, of course, returns the favors on Twitter. Everything is petty and small. No one is acting the statesman. Even our next generation, the snowflakes, melt at the slightest dog-whistle insult.

We are a nation of little people ... a world of little people ... Lilliputians.

Headlines


All from Internet news sites. Guess which ones from Politico?

Trump aides begin looking for the exits

North Korea warns it may detonate an H-bomb in the Pacific

Bye bye summer ... snow month early ...

Graham: Healthcare bill will get 50 GOP votes, plus a couple of Democrats

Obamacare repeal has 'worst elements' of earlier efforts

Ellen: Trump 'too dangerous' to be on my show

Uber banned in London ...

Rouhani defends Iran nuke deal at U.N., calls Trump speech 'ignorant'

Trump announces new crackdown on North Korea trade

Nearly 30% of public school teachers 'chronically' skipping classes, study says

Weekend: Merkel takes on hard-right in final voter push ...

Coulter: They don't call it 'the great tweet of China'

Friday, September 22, 2017

Nam


After watching three out of four episodes of Ken Burns' "The Vietnam War" on PBS I am chagrined to confess that there was much about this war that I didn't know. But I have still drawn a few conclusions from what I have seen so far. I know not whether these conclusions are what Ken Burns had in mind for his audience, but I do feel that his treatment of this very contraversial subject seems, so far, to be even-handed. (But I haven't seen Jane Fonda on  the anti-aircraft gun yet.)

First, I must start by stating I was never in the armed forces nor, obviously, in Vietnam although I was of an eligible age. I have two metal rods holding my spine in shape as testament to why this is so. I had actually been called for my pre-induction physical in 1963 but was, to my lasting gratitude, rejected. So I spent those war years working on Wall Street, getting remarried and having another family. And, to my shame, I was barely aware of what was happening in Southeast Asia or why there was unrest at home. All this gnashing of teeth was like chirping  crickets to my busy life.

Anyway, to my few thoughts inspired by  this TV documentary special:

- Much of the angst coming out of this conflict was due, IMHO, to the gradualism exhibited by both JFK and then mostly Lyndon Johnson. I now strongly feel that getting into this quagmire was a mistake, but, once committed. I think someone very wise said, "if you go to war, go to war." Don't pussyfoot around like we have done so many times since WWII. Our painfully slow escalation of this conflict allowed the Viet Cong and North Viernam time to react to each incremental increase of commitment ... and America's youth to organize an effective domestic resistance ... the legacy of which we are experiencing even unto today.

- "A resolute army will almost always defeat a reluctant army." This is just another way of saying that, unless there is a real threat to one's homeland, your soldiers are not quite as motivated as the enemy. However bravely Americans fought in Nam, we were really not being pulled by patriotism, but rather pushed by fear and platitudes. ("Hell no, I won't go!) LBJ never really made the case that the "domino theory" was a big enough threat to Peoria. And history has shown that it wasn't. Matter of fact, I am astounded at the friendly reception American tourists recieve when they visit Vietnam (even the North) today ... given what this program showed us doing over there in the 1960s.

- And lastly, resistance to the war taught a generation of America's youth that it was OK to love one another but hate your country. This "hippie" culture was the genesis of much of our national divide today. It is a price that we will be paying for many years to come.

Thursday, September 21, 2017

Headlines


All from Internet news sites. Guess which from Politico?

Trump hires campaign workers instead of farm experts at USDA

James Clapper says he was unaware of Manafort wiretap order

[Puerto Rico] Blown back to the dark ages

Sixth arrest made in UK subway bomb investigation -- made at 'refugee housing'

Poll: Trump sees slight uptick in approval rating

Report: Manafort offered to provide 'briefings' to Kremlin-connected oligarchs during campaign

Bono: Trump disrupted 'moral arc of universe' ...

Swedish journalist shot in no-go zone

North Korean minister calls Trump's threat 'sound of dog barking'

S&P cuts China's credit rating citing increasing economic, financial risks

Yoko No-No: Beatles widow sues drink maker for naming lemonade John Lemon ...

Obama: GOP wants to inflict 'human suffering'

Prerequisites


The California legislature is proposing that a prerequisite for getting on their presidential ballot in 2020 would be that candidates must release their federal tax returns ... see: The Hill Article. Now this stricture is obviously directed at Donald Trump and is likely unconstitutional. But when would this cause California moonbats to worry about this ancient piece of parchment created by dead white guys? But tying up a political process in the courts is a standard progressive cheap trick ... particularly since they have a lock on many of the lower-court judges.

However, this calculated loonyness does give me some ideas for what other states might require of their candidates for federal offices:

- A valid birth certificate (meeting an actual Constitutional requirement)

- College applications and transcripts for all schools attended

- For Senators: State tax returns from the state represented

- For Representatives: Local real-estate tax forms and utility bills in the district represented

- Full medical records including any STD diagnoses

- Full police records including all charges that have been broomed

- All local, state and federal voting records

- History of all Internet porn site references

- All kindergarten finger paintings and Play-Doh moldings

No?

Headlines


All from Internet news sites. Guess which from Politico?

Corker, Toomey reach deal on GOP tax cut package

Mexico hit by powerful 7.1 magnitude earthquake, killing more than 225

Mueller probe goes back more than decade ...

Survey: 20% of college students support using violence to shut down speakers

Trump's U.N. speech was bad, but ler's not lose our heads

Elizabeth Warren urges Fed to step up and remove Wells Fargo board

Manafort calls for DOJ to release intercepts, investigate leaks ...

Climate alarmists finally admit being wrong about global warming

Glaciers growing in Montana?

RNC says it has spent over $400.000 on Trump family legal bills

Cellphone bomb found in passangers luggage at [India] airport ...

 Survey: Half of millennials would give up voting rights to pay off student debt

Wednesday, September 20, 2017

Quote for Today


Being a slave to fashion is nonetheless an oppressive servitude -- Anon.

Headlines


All from Internet news sites. Guess which from Politico?

Senate GOP tries one last time to repeal Obamacare

Toys R Us may file for bankruptcy as early as this week, sources say

Exclusive: U.S. government wiretapped former Trump campaign chairman [Manafort]

... Comey tried to discredit wiretapping claims that proved true

Jerry Brown compares Trump supporters to ignorant cave dwellers

Rolling Stone [mag] has fallen from grace, will be sold

Puerto Rico  rations supplies before superstorm [Maria]

Report: Trump staffers fear colleagues are wearing wires for Mueller

Trump's U.N. obsession collides with reality

Report: Obama making big bucks in speeches to Wall Street firms

Massive Arctic ice -- GAIN ...

Teaparty Patriots back Graham-Cassidy Obamacare repeal

Tuesday, September 19, 2017

Headlines


All from Internet news sites. Guess which ones from Politico?

Theresa May heads to Canada to seek trade deal

Hurricane Maria barrels toward battered Caribbean islands, Jose to lash the East Coast

White man arrested in Louisiana killing of black man ...

... Mexican guv denies cartel violence -- despite 32 executions in days

McMaster rejects report that U.S. will remain in Paris deal as 'false'

Merkel!s election victory looks assured -- but the real test comes after

U.S. may close Cuban embassy after 'attacks' on diplomats ...

Trump shares meme of him hitting Hillary with golf ball

Another prosecutor joins Trump-Russia probe

Japanese Prime Minister: 'Dialog with North Korea' is 'a dead end'

Macron wants to remind world France nuclear power too ...

Feinstein: Russian probe could rake another 'year-and-half'

Bugged!


CNN reports that the Obama administration DID wiretap the Trump campaign ... in particular its FBI under Comey bugged Paul Manafort, Trump's former (fired) campaign manager for many months ... including his conversations with Trump! See: Powerline Blog for a short and sour comment on this bombshell.

It would seem to this observer that, if true, this must have been known to the Special Counsel Robert Mueller for many months and, independent of any possible Manafort culpability, this revelation displays a level of Obama administration corruption that is stupefying ... using the power of government to retain power. The depth of this corruption will be inversely proportional to whatever is turned up on Trump and Co. Thus, the vigor of Mueller's witch hunt. And if Mueller sweeps this particular malfeasance aside in his slow-motion coup of Trump, then he is compounding such insideous corruption. Mueller's buddy or no buddy, Comey's actions throughout epitomize the systemic slime that oozes out when our spooks start playing politics.

Far, far worse than Watergate ...

Monday, September 18, 2017

Sage Advice


Never fully trust men who shave their heads ... or women for that matter.

(Although they don't get dandruff or lice, their brains do tend to overheat ...)

Exodus


The recent exodus from Florida before hurricane Irma was messy ... primarily from evacuation-routes' traffic jams, long lines for gasoline refills and gasoline shortages. This has got me musing about what an exodus would be like a number of years from now when all we have are autonomous and all-electric cars:

- How far can all-electric cars go then when they are stuck in traffic with their air conditioners going?

- How will autonomous cars handle long lines at charging stations?

- Cars running out of charge likely will be more numerous than cars now running out of gas (which might be carrying extra). Will this be a big enough difference to cause massive gridlock?

- Will charging stations have more plug-in sires than current gasoline pumps per location? What number will turn out to be economical for the charging station owners?

- Electric car charging stations won't run out of power in the same way that gas stations run out of petrol during such a surge in demand ... unless, of course, the electric power grid goes down ... which is likely to happen.

- Then what happens? Obviously (and ironically) gas-run generators won't be able to produce enough output to meet the huge potential demand.

- How will all-electric utility repair trucks keep doing their jobs if the electric grid is down? Once out of power, they will likely be stranded.

Will any of these issues be show-stoppers? I am not sanguine about such a dire scenario.

Headlines


All ftom Internet news sites. Guess which from Politico?

Trump takes on Bannon in Alabama Senate showdown

Weaponizing sound: Could sonic devices have injured [U.S.] diplomats in Cuba?

Iran claims to have 'Father of all Bombs' ....

Hungary builds wall, cuts illegal immigration by over 99%

The Left warns Pelosi, Schumer: Don't get too close to Trump

Pittsburgh's self-driving car boom means $200,000 pay packages for robotics grads

Montana snow 60 days early ...

Bill Maher: None of Trump's properties were damaged by Irma -- 'There is no God'

Cassidy says he is close to having the votes for passing Obamacare repeal

Suffolk Downs, Flower Exchange viewed as possible Amazon [Boston] HQ site

WSJ: Trump will NOT withdraw from Paris climate deal

Report: Former Wasserman Schultz staffer allegedly uploaded DNC data to private dropbox

An Observation


If you can keep your head while all around you are losing theirs, then you must be a Muslim.

Sunday, September 17, 2017

Dead-end Jobs



- Civil-rights lawyers in China

- Gourmet chefs in Venezuela

- Male Ob/Gyn doctors in Iran

- Female driving instructors in Saudi Arabia

- Civil War historians in America

- Peace negotiators in North Korea

- Investigative journalists in Mexico

- Immigration clerks in Germany

- ISIS fighters in Syria and Iraq

- Alcoholics Anonymous organizers in Russia

European Suicide


Perplexing question: Why have Merkel and many other Europeans opened their borders and often their hearts to hoards of Muslim invaders?

Perplexing answer: Methinks they would rather have Muslim babies than no babies and the Muslim religion rather than no religion.

Headlines


All from Internet news sites. Guess which from Politico?

Obama hands scramble to save Iran deal

Chicago prevails in bid to block Sessions' sanctuary city order

Threat level critical in London, troops on streets

DACA amnesty Dream Act will cost $115 billion thanks to Obamacare

U.N. braces for Trump onslaught

House GOP leadership throws support behind Graham-Cassidy healthcare bill

Chicagoland: Hispanic population surges to 30%, blacks moving out ...

Trump tweets: No chain migration

Trump's tweet on London attack draws ire from U.K. officials

Embarrassing failure of 'key' ballistic missile by Seoul raises questions of readiness

AMAZON in talks to buy scores of small TV channels ...

For Facebook exec: Regulate 'Surveilence State" tech giants

Saturday, September 16, 2017

Another Quote


"The strongest force on Earth next to gravity is peer pressure." -- Anon.

Today's Quote


When you are going through hell, keep going. -- Winston Churchill

Picture of the Week


From Powerline Blog

Headlines


All from Internet news sites. Guess which ones from Politico?

Trump: 'Loser terrorists' responsible for London explosion 'were in the sights of Scotland Yard'

Trump is a terrible negotiator

NAVY investigating if cyberattacks caused USS McCain crash ...

Tunisia ends ban on non-Muslim men marrying Muslim women

Pepsi, Schumer face ire from the left over Dreamer talks

[Breitbart columnist] Ben Shapiro's appearance at Berkeley remains peaceful

Mueller worked for Flynn-linked company not listed on ethics disclosure ...

Report: Iran boosts funding to $800 million for Hezbollah terrorists

Harvard withdraws invitation to Chelsea Manning after backlash

US military believes North Korea has the hydrogen bomb

Maddow interrupts Hillary Clinton interview -- for sneezing panda video ...

Terror arrests in Britain surge 68 per cent to record high

Friday, September 15, 2017

Today's Quote


Roses are red. Violets are blue. I'm a skitzophrenic, and so am I. -- Oscar Levant


Headlines


All from Internet news sites. Guess which from Politico?

North Korea faces serious food shortage after intense drought and 'very bad harvest'

Kim launches another one

Praise in San Francisco for Pelosi and Trump!

... Ingraham: I don't remember hearing 'repair the fence!' ...

Trump pushes Rick Scott to run for Senate during Irma recovery visit

Explosion at Fort Bragg wounds 15 special operators

School warns students not to chant 'USA!' at events ...

Swedish police may release murder suspect because they can't find an interpreter ...

FBI reveals wider use of Grand Jury subpoenas in Clinton email probe

Lindsey Graham adds his voice to those calling for Comey to testify again

West's appetite for chocolate devastating Africa's forests ...

CNN [chef] host Anthony Bourdain says he would poison Trump's food

Feet of Clay



Fix the Fence!


Fix the fence!

Fix the fence!


Tip of the hat to Laura Ingraham ...

Headlines


All from Internet news sites. Guess which ones from Politico.

Trump: Rich people won't benefit 'at all' from tax plan

Michael Flynn has reportedly refused to meet with Senate Intelligence Committee

Paul Ryan: 'Not in nation's interest' to kick out dreamers ...

Poll: 53% of California Dems oppose free speech

Senate scuttles Rand Paul's war power's repeal

Hillary: Comey should have asked her permission to look at emails

Top exec [VP, Business Development] leaving Tesla ...

Hillary: Bernie didn't give me the respect I deserve

White House says Bernie Sanders' single-payer plan is a 'horrible idea'

DHS bans Russian-made antivirus software from all federal agencies

Man shouting Allahu Akbar attacks seven people, 3 cops in Toulouse, France

Bundled cable death watch, 22M to cut cord in 2017