Principal

Fractured definition: A.friend and fan of the "Purple Rain" artist.

Daily Humor?

I'll stop calling you 'the enemy of the peopl' when you stop printing crossword puzzles I can't solve.

Somehow I got on the New Yotker magazine's list. Now, every day, I find in my email spam folder a cartoon  from this once-great magazine titled "Daily Humor". One problem, these cartoons are seldom if ever humorous ... generally just snarky satire ... possibly because they are almost always unhinged jabs at President Trump. Now, I am not Dave Barry when it comes to judging humor ... but I do know I have never even cracked a smile at this political bilge. I suppose that this stable of Democrat-operative cartoons are required to massage the bruised egos of upper East and West supercilious siders in Manhattan to continue to allow them to feel superior to the rest of us  deplorables.

If you find the above cartoon funny, I'll eat my shoe ...

Afterward: Note Trump's very small hand.

Headlines

Liberal secret-money network hammers House GOP

Trump threatens government shutdown if Democrats don't support immigration reform

UK: Tech firms should be made libel for 'fake news' on sites ...

Koch network blasts Trump over tariffs, immigration

California housing crisis collides with 2020 presidential race

Global auto makers plotting a response to Trump's threatened auto tariffs

Austin, TX considers name change to shed legacy  ...

Firearm-related homicides surged during Obama's last two years in offie ...

GOP goes it alone in Kavanaugh documents fight

Three dead, seven injured in New Orleans shooting

300,000 illegal immigrants crammed into one Paris suburb ...

Illegal aliens close Florida streets, 'We want ICE abolished'

Redundancy

Redundancy is the redundant repetition or backup of something over and over again and again.

However, in Great Britain, it means, "You're fired!"

Typos

Typos are forewer with us.

Dichotomies

Life is full of dichotomies. Even a gold coin has two sides. -- Anon.

Headlines

Hannity endorses Jim Jordan for House speaker

CBS CEO Les Moonves accused of sexual misconduct in New Yorker investigation

Monster wildfire in California rages on after killing two firefighters ...

Brooks: 'Cloids of confusion' make collusion seem 'more plausible'

Trump policy shop filters facts to fit his message

Facebook says it is close to yanking several InfoWars pages

Ecuador president says Assage must leave [London] embassy

Schiff: If Cohen's claim is true, itt brings the issue of collusion or conspiracy to Trump's feet'

Why Congress should invest: Aging public transit costs )50BN annually

Musk, Trump and the age-old mass psychology effect that both are successfully exploiting

[Alexandria] Cortez risky road show ... Raise taxes, slash military  ...

Russian initiative helps hundreds of refugees return to Syria

Headlines

Cohen says Trump approved Trump Tower meeting with Russians

Second quarter GDP jumps 4.1% for est pace in nearly 4 years

Republicans face toughest election map in 88 years ...

Saudi feminist faces 20 years in prison

Putin invites Trump to Moscow for summit

Facebook's $100 billion-plus rout is the biggest loss in stock market history

[Twitter] Admits to 'shadow banning' Republicans?

Jimmy Kimmel hopes Cohen tapes end Trump's marriage

Judge won't order release of White House visitor logs

El-Eriam: The probability of a Fed rate hike n September is far lower than traders expect

Mattis: [US] Not pursuing [Iran] regime change ...

LOL Pelosi: Democrats are 'strong' on border security

Obsession

Fractured definition: An intense consultation with a doctor about a pregnancy.

Quotable Quote

The first instinct of  government is to stay in power ... either by lies or by spies. -- Anon.

Frisco Straw

LOL

Powerline Pic

Headlines

In abrupt shift, Trump makes nice with EU, gets tough on Russia

Facebook plunges me re than 17 percent on revenue miss and projected slowdown

Stock outflows swell as investors seek refuge in bonds

Andrew Cuimio:Trump waging 'jihad' against illegal immigrants

Suspect detained in U.S. embassy blast in Beijing

U.S./E.U. trade agreement lacks specifics and fails to deal with China issues

FOXNEWS: 'Strong solidarity' with CNN after Whote House bans reporter

Stephem Cohen secretely recorded CNN's Chris Cuomo: WSJ

House conservatives move to impeach Rosenstein

This was a bad day for Detroit's automakers

Zukerberg loses $16,800,000'000 in minutes!

McConnell; Ryan and I are clear, Putin 'will not be welcome' at tthe Capitol

Transportation

Fractured definition: Machines for moving people,whose gender is multiple or mixed, from one place to another. Example: omnibus

Savant Idiot

Larry Summers, onetime Treasury Secretary, President of Harvard (who left under a gaff cloud) and now a cable-news chattering head, last week poo-pooed President Trump's attempt to re-balance our international trade. He said on CNBC that he buys lots at his supermarket but it buys nothing from him ... and this is not a disaster. Thus, h,  a renowned economist, is implying that our huge trade deficits with China are not a worry.

To hear such liberal tripe from such a powerful voice in American policy making shocked me to the core ... and suggest why our country has been asleep at the switch for the last 25 years. Now, I am not a PhD. in economics, but I do know that Summer's has his bubble-head in the clouds on at least this issue ... for these reasons:

- Summer's supermarket analogy is misusing microeconomics. Asserting that this micro conclusion applies to macroeconomics is another gaff by one who clearly should know better.

- If Summers were employed by the supermarket he shops at ... and it bought his services as the other half of his analogy, then let's finish this lesson. If Summers spent much more there than he earned (like the current China trade analogy) them this supermarket would be the classic "company store" ... to which Larry would soon "owe his soul."

- The U.S. has been running growing trade defies with China for decades ... last year totaling about $375 billion. China then uses this sovereign wealth to but American assets. It would not take many more years of such an imbalance before China would effectively own the United States -- not a circumstance any of us (including Summer's I assume) would want to impose on our issue.

QED: Larry Summers is a savant idiot.

Population

Fractured definition: Huzzas for your dad after he has blown out all the candles.

Headlines

'Its not going to be a great meeting': Trump to welcome European Commission head

House Financial Services chair splits with Trump on farm relief: 'Donald Trump has too much power'

Turkey vows to keep buying Iran oil, 'We will not obey' ...

U.K. Ministry of Defense runs out of money ...

Trump attacks 'week politicians' who speak out against tariffs

Southern California home sales crash, a warning sign to the nation

Founder of anti-Putin feminist group found dead ...

Page surveillance documents indicate State Dept.provided in initial info

Pompeo, Mattis on cleanup duty after Trump diplomatic blowups

Judge rejects Trump's bid to dismiss foreign payments lawsuit

Radar detects lake on Mars ... 12-mile wide reservoir ...

Income inequality much worse in blue states than red states

Jumping Janes

Recent Headline: Naked man found doing jumping jacks in a McDonald's women's restroom ... see: Smoking Gun News.

Shouldn't, in this case, this exercise  be called jumping janes?

Headlines

'That was not the deal': McCarthy, Ryan renege on immigration vow

Trump turns up the heat on trade: 'Tariffs are the greatest!'

Israel downs Syrian warplane ...

Gallup: Trump hits his highest approval ever

Will Trump pull a North Korea on Iran?

General Motors jumps into peer-to-peer car sharing

The fires of Athens ... Raging inferno ..'Biblical disaster' ...

... Rand Paul: We shouldn't reveal secrets to people who call our president 'treasonous'

When public transportation infrastructure earns a D-, the economy suffers

Iran threatens 'countermeasures' if the US blocks its oil exports

Long, slow, painful death of the NY Daily News ...

Toronto shooting suspect identifies as Faisal Hussain

Whoopi

From Mostly Cajun blog

Migrant

Fractured definition: A venomous tirade directed toward a Russian fighter plane.

Bowling for Greatness

Nothing ventured, nothing gained -- Old Saw

President Trump is determined to bring the U.S. back from the brink. For the last 40 years this country has tried to lift up the rest of the underdeveloped world, particularly China, out of poverty into prosperity. We have succeeded ... possibly too well. Although this strategy was not a zero-sum game, Pat Buchanan was right that NAFTA would cause a "giant sucking sound" as jobs went south into Mexico. China has also  benefited enormously ... to the point where, if things don't change, it is poised to become the world's dominant economy before 2030!

Enter stage right, Donald Trump.  Unlike his shrinking-violet predecessors, this president is willing to take risks -- trade risks, economic risks, military risks, diplomatic risks, coalition risks, political risks -- all to reverse the decline that this country has clearly suffered.  He has identified this country's sluggish growth as being a consequence of our deference to the rest of the world on most fronts ... particularly the fact that the anticipated customer growth  in those countries, which have benefited from our pump priming, has not happened. Now the time is up ... and it is America's turn to return to our natural economic greatness.

Trump is willing to risk war with North Korea and Iran to defang these bad actors. He is wiling to risk trade wars with the EU, China, Mexico, Korea, Canada and Japan in order to restore America's industrial might. He is willing to risk the wrath of our liberal media to correct our insane immigration policies, tax structure, divisive race relations, weakened military, destructive environmental regulations, activist judiciary system and bloated bureaucracy. He is leading our country out of the liberal lethargy in which both political parties have allowed us to wallow.

Trump is a risk taker ... and, so far, things generally seem to be paying off. His detractors keep predicting disaster for all his ventures. But, although not all his bowling has yet yielded strikes, President Trump has mot thrown a real gutter ball.

Could Be

Assimilation

Fractured definition: Am ultrasound treatment for reducing the size of one's derrière ... AKA,  "hotentot-not."

HeadlInes

Trump calls Washington Post 'very expensive lobbiest for Amazon'

Tesla explains why it asked some suppliers for retroactive discounts

Cohen gives Fed's 12 recordings

James Comey begs Democrats, 'Please, please donn't go Socialist'

Trump threatens the Iranian in ALL CAPS

Trump is considering removing the security clearance for James Comey, Andrew
McCabe and other ex-officials

Trump to seek repeal of California's smog-fighting power ...

Gillibrand: If Dems win, 'first thing we should do is  abolish ICE'

Judge tells Mueller to name witnesses who got immunity

Top biotech investor says Trump's criticism of Pfizer has caused other. drug companies to halt price increases

LAST DANCE: Stormy's husband files for dvorvce ...

Poll/ Brits overwhelmingly reject Theresa May's soft Brexit ...

Faculties

It's a little bit ironic tha "faculties" means groups of teachers or professors who, depressingly, too often seem to lack the other meaning (common sense) for this word. -- Anon.

Headlines

75 yards downhill in open-toe heels

Trump isolated in his push for tariffs on foreign cars

Here's why Tesla's Model 3 may face declining demand, despite Elon Musk's claims

Iran warns Trump about the 'mother of all wars' ...

Police arrest ANTIFA member with cache of bomb-making materials

China, EU seize control of the world's cyber agenda

1 dead, gunman arrested afterLos Angeles hostage standoff

Cuba ains to claim Socialism, not Communism in draft constitution ...

Maddow: 'Feels very palpable' 'that the president is a foreign agent'

Justice Department releases Carter Page surveillance documents

US intelligence chief DanCoats downplays 'awkward' reaction to Trump-Putin meeting in DC

Bulgatia rejects EU deal to take back migrants

Schmata

Hillary has established a new look for public meeting wear. I think it's called a schmata. Imagine for a second that she had won the presidency and this was her first press conference ... and she is answering a question from CNN's Jim Acosta...

New New World Otder

Donald Trump is either a doofus or a strategic genius. He is certainly jettisoning much of what had been the liberal agenda of the last fifty years -- "free" trade, NATO, "diversity, " open borders, socialism, China's  hegemony, high U.S. taxes, deferral to the Federal Reserve, global warming, nuclear proliferation, anti-Zionism, pro-EU, pro-Muslin, etc. -- together known as the "New World Order."

Trump is upsetting or redefining the tacit acceptance of these memes ... mostly to keep or restore America's place in the world's power structure. He has sensed that the path that China was following would, in very short order, place its foot on the neck of his country. And this was unacceptable to him and his MAGA pledge. Viewing many f Trump's moves  in this light begins to add some rationality to what, to many, has been characterized as bizarre behavior.

For example, let's look at the White House's opening to Russia. I am certain that Trump understands the risks involved in this strategic pirouette. Yes, Putin is a bad actor ... but so was Stalin ... much, much worse ... yet, our alliance with him was instrumental in winning World War II. I think Trump views America's current challenge to be the strategic equivalent. so do I ... and this is the primary reason I can overlook much of Trump's acerbic style.

Let's imagine for a minute what might have been discussed in that private room in Helsinki ... maybe merely implied if not explicitly stated. I can postulate two alliances:

- A swing toward neutralizing China's growing belligerence. Russia, although anemic economically is a military and nuclear powerhouse ... and it sits right on top of China. This neutralizing role would return Russia to a major layer on the world chessboard.

- If the Muslim world finally coalesced into a caliphate bent on world domination, a Russia-U.S. alliance would be a formidable counterbalance. Putin is thought to be a devout Christan and has had his fill of radical Islam. I believe he sees Trump as a potential buddy in this bar fight.

Thus a Trump-Purim bromance might ameliorate these two major conundrums ... enough for Trump to invite Putin back for another tête-à-tête at the White House this fall ... and enough for Trump to punch through the current media frenzy.

It seems that much of the power-player animosity toward Trump comes from a realization that he is fundamentally changing this world-order game. They either resent overturning their gravy train ... or fear the unknown. Trump is playing a high-stakes game .. with not a lot of allies ... except middle America.

Peter Strzok

Fractured definition: An embarrassing situation (requiring a bucket of cold water to correct) that occurred  during a tryst between the two famous FBI lovebirds.

Headlines

Republicans have an Alger Hiss problem  named Marlia

Trade war turns into dangerous currency war as China weakens the yuan the most in 2 years

GALLUP POLL: Americans don't mention 'global warming' as problem ...

IDF soldier killed by Gaza terror snipers ...

Republicans soften ban on [China's] ZTE in concession to Trump

Dick Bove: Trump poised to take control of Federal Reserve

Chicago named 'rat capital' of nation ...

George H.W. Bush's former doctor gunned down while riding bicycle

House Republicans defeat attempts to subpoena Trump interpreter

California could change law allowing utilities to offset wildfire risk sand  save billions of dollars

Genetic researchers reverse wrinkles, gray hair, baldness in mice ...

Mexican border city gun battle result in 1,169 stolen cars in 6 months

Agnostic

Fractured definition: Someone who kinda doesn't believe in farming.

Trump-Putin Summit

There was this meeting in Helsinki

Which the media dubbed rinky-dinky.

There, these two met alone,

Talked of things yet unknown.

Predictable result ... Trump is rat-finky.

Headlines

Trump threatens tariffs on all $500 billion of Chinese imports

U.S. intelligence chief Dan Coats: 'I don't know what happened' in the Trump-Putin meeting

NFL freezes policy baring players from protesting during anthem ...

DHS Sec. Nielsen tells migrants they canmot leave their children in U.S.

White House morale tanks after Helsinki fallout

Trump lays into Fed, says he's  'not thrilled' about interest rate hikes

Wave of senior level repartures at FBI ...

Piro: Peter Strzok 'the personification of the deep state itself'

Trump judicial nominee pulled after racially-charged writings

Trump says stock market gains since his election give him the opportunity to wage trade war: 'We're playing with the bank's money

Google stringing underseas cable from France to Vitginia ...

Report: Tony Podesta offered immunity to testify against Manafort

Stop Foreign Medfling!

Trumper

Fractured Definition: Brambi's good friend.

Quotable Quote

From Powerline blog

Power line Pic

Headlines

Trump promised them better, cheaper health care. It's not happening.

Commerce Secretaty Wilbur Ross: We've seen 'positive developments' in trade talks with Mexico

White House struggling to contain political outcry ...

Donald Trump: No confidence in Intelligence led by Brennan, Clapper, Comey

Trump: Dems have 'death wish' in push to abolish ICE

New York governor 'opens the door' to a criminal case against the Trump
Foundation

Iran claims it rejected Trump meeting requests 8 times ...

Trudeau appoints border minister because of wave of asylum seekers

Trump plays semantics on Russian meddling

Former Trump advisor Steve Bannon: 'We're at war with China'

Could Putin have bugged soccer ball he gave Trump?

Barack Obama: 'Men gave been getting on my nerves lately'

Spittle-Flecked TDS

Trump Derangement Sundrome

Myopic Fed?

I have written before about our Federal Reserve Bank's narrow focus ... see: A Few Observations. It's Congressional-directed mandates, low unemployment and 2% inflation, are only domestic goals ... and these mandates are currently being met. Left in the lurch are what effects the Fed has internationally. In particular, the Feds push to increase interest rates and reduce its balance sheet, although good and noble goals, are seriously complicating Trump's current trade strategies and negotiations.

The U.S. ten-year bond yield, at about 2.9%, is well over two percentage points above the rest of the developed world. This pushes up our dollar and disadvantages out exporters. China, having a centralized planned economy (no independent central bank) has enormous latitude in manipulating its currency ... which it does. It even has devalued its currency to give its exporters a huge advantage.

In fact, if Trump imposes tariffs on all $500 billion of Chinese goods (as he is currently threatening), China might devalue once again. And this is the reason that the U.S. is somewhat hamstrung in dealing with Xi ... and why Trump is currently tweeting about his opposition to the Fed continuing to raise interest rates tight now  ... in the midst of our fighting these trade wars around the globe.

Basically, yes, the Fed should raise interest rates to give itself ammunition to fight our next economic downturn ... but maybe not just now. Possibly, Congress should expand the Fed's mandate to deal also with international trade and currency goals ... particularly when it has achieved, as it has now, its domestic objectives on the employment and inflation fronts.

Afterward: China has one more way of pushing up the US. dollar. It can start selling off i ts large holdings of U.S. debt ... which would drive down prices and drive up yields ... and strengthen the dollar further. Of course China would have to take a financial haircut i n the process. But it i might be willing to pay that price if things get hot between us.

Maxine Waters

Fractured Definition: A somewhat big tsunami headed for Ma-a-Largo and its most famous resident.

Headlines

Trump defiant after rare mea culpa on Russia

Trump: 'No,' Russia is not targeting the United States

[Alexandria] Cortez calls for occupation of airports, ICE offices ...

San Francisco opens non-citizen voting

Cuomo leads Nixon by 36 points in latest Quinapiac poll

Trump says defending tiny NATO ally Montenegro could result in World War Iii

California Supreme Court blocks measure that would divide state in 3 ...

House funds 200 miles of border wall in 2019

Poll: Corruption message gaining traction against GOP

Millennials watt retire by 61, but most have nothing saved

Rand Paul: 'Brennan most biased, bigoted CIA director' ever ...

Paul Ryan confronts Trump: 'Russia is not our ally'

Syndrome

Fractured Definition: A chariot-racing arena full of debauchery.

Multiple Regression Analysis

Fractured Definition: A movie critic's appraisal of a Three  Stooges film. 

Collusion

Fractured Definition: A hologram of a lump of anthracite.

Headlines

Obama issues new warning against 'strongman politics'

Powell: 'Rising chorus of concern' from business over tariffs

Russia celebrates: 'West has frailed' ...

Chinese state media: No fear of Trump-Putin ''forming an alliance' against China

Trump's step towards Putin seals a new world order

Key Republican Orrin Hatch threatens to check Trump's tariff policy

Elon Musk's latest outburst raises doubts on leadership ...

... 'American patriot": Australian PM backs POTUS ...

Rand [Paul] sees lots to like about Trump's presser with Putin

Blue states file suit against the U.S. over tax deduction limitations

Poll: 73% of Dems want fresh face in 2020 ...

... Morning Joe: 'Pitin has something over Trump' ...

White Privilege

From Mostly Cajun blog

Danger!

It is becoming increasingly obvious that, as a result of  Trump's Helsinki presser and his walk-back of his  frank assessment of our intelligence agencies under Obama, that these same intelligence agencies are still to be feared and obeyed. (His walk-back was obviously a pragmatic lie.)

Yes, Trump should have been less honest in Helsinki because of the hegemony of  his FBI-CIA-NSA troika. Not that we can trust Russia on everything either, but the saddest of all  is that, like Putin, we can't trust Rosenstein and Mueller either. And the fact that Trump's AG, Jeff Sessions, won't clean house is also indicative of the manifest danger poised by even what is left of Obama's secret police. Sessions has obviously been de-balled in his oversight of the FBI ... and I also fear that Trump is now also on his way to becoming an eunuch.

If this troika now has Trumps looking over his shoulder, how are we ever going to rein in these arrogant agencies? And, if this overhaul can't be accomplished before the Dems again take control of things, all hope must be abandoned. This pact between the left and our intelligence troika might well destroy our democracy ... as they clearly came very close to doing during Obama's eight years. (Just found out today that , according to the DOJ/IG report, the FBI had set up the tarmack meeting between Bill Clinton and the-then AG Loretta Lynch ... right before Hillary was deposed. Wow!)

I hate to end with this thought ... but, if Trump is JFKed before leaving office, the investigation should begin with former CIA Director, John Brennan ... and/or maybe Hillaty's consiglieri Sid Brumenthal.

Meddle

Fractured definition: The exact center of a happy pill ... (made in Russia?)