Happy 2019

May your special wish that seemed out of reach ... may it come about. And best of health and happiness to you and all around you throughout the New Year.

Headlines

A coupled-up Trump's threats fail to break the budget deadlock

Trump hails call with China's Xi, says trade talks are making good progress

IRS has 4,487 guns, 5,062,006 rounds of ammo ...

Trump threatens to shut southern border

House leader: Dems won't seat candidate in unresolved [North Carolina] race

Goldman Sachs lowers forecast for first half of 2019, says weaker growth needed to 'land the plane'

Another, BIGGER caravan set to leave Honduras ...

Google blocks Gateway Pundit from news search results

Trump lifts Turkey sanctions but Americans remain detained

Earthquake of 6.9 strikes off of Philippines, small tsunami possible

Egypt police 'kill 40 militants' in raids after tourist bus blast ..

Yellow Vests try to storm Macron's holiday residence

Sacrificial Lambs

A recent NY Post headline discloses that New York politicians threw a $500k gala for student scholarships, yet gave zero dollars to the students themselves. Unfortunately this is not an unique violation of political power. It happens over and over.

How can we fix this BS? I have a simple suggestion on how to make holding political office a little less attractive:

Every year hold a public hanging of one or two of the members of every federal and state political body, picked at random. Although this sounds like a breach of justice, one can, from experience, assume that every politician has committed some heinous crime ... and therefore these few sacrificial lambs will help to keep the rest of their partners-in-crime from overstaying their welcome.

reddit Pic

A poignant moment for two beautiful horses ...

Headlines

Pelosi taps Castro for new climate committee

Stocks wrap up 2 weeks of 'disturbing' moves

Pelosi spending shutdown at Hawaii resort ...

NJ residents are not surrendering high-capacity mags to state police

Dens' New Year's resolution: Stiff Trump on the wall, reopen government

The Fed could be a factor in the week ahead as stocks end the worst year in a decade

Blast hits tourist bus near Pyramids ... 2 dead, 12 injured ..

[Al] Sharpton: 'Donald Trump is not as smart as we give him credit for'

Father of dead Guatemalan boy heard rumors they could cross [border]

Michael Cohen says 'Mueller knows everything,' denies report of alleged Prague meeting

911 outages across the USA

NY Mag: Why the [Bernie] Sanders movement must crush Beto

Fractured Definition

Transducer -- A #MeToo violator of RuPaul.

It's True!

CNN is truly blatantly biased. Recently watched its story on the police officer who was shot and killed on the day after Christmas in California during a traffic stop. This extensive two-minute recap didn't mention that the officer was a legal Fijian immigrant or that his killer was a twice-arrested illegal Mexican criminal alien ... and was free because of California's sanctuary state law. Also omitted was that seven other Mexicans were arrested for covering up for this fugitive. One would think that these are salient parts of this story. Compare with the Fox News Story.

Powerline Pic

"Y-M-C-A"

Momento

Elizabeth Warren's wedding picture  ...

Headlines

Congress returns to session -- but shutdown drags on

JP Morgan sees 'window of opportunity for stocks in then first months of 2019

Manhunt for illegal immigrant accused of killing cop ...

ICE releases hundreds of migrants in Texas over Christmas

O'Rourke and Castro on collusion course in Texas

Charts show market may still be months away from finding a bottom

GALLUP: Michelle O now outpaces Hillary's run as most admired ...

China prosecutes Canadian citizen for alleged drug smuggling

China is finding new ways to hurt U.S. businesses

Judge denies Muller's request to delay hearing for Jerome Corsi's suit over government shutdown

German army could 'recruit EU citizens'

Never Trumpers root for economic crash

Flat Earth

There was this yahoo from Perth

Could "prove"we're on a flat Earth.

Which annoyed his pub blokes

Made him the butt of their jokes.

So, they sunk his "science" in mirth.

reddit Pic

Wat Sanphram Temple, Thailand

Headlines

The campaign to confirm a diplomatic novice to America' top U.N. post

Finally, signs of a Santa Claus

First year of no violent tornadoes in USA ...

German Supreme Court rejects child marriage law

Nielsen deflects blame for boy's death in Border Patrol custody

Oil surges 10% after the settle, rebounding witch stocks after Christmas Eve sell-off

MSNBC beats FOXNEWS in key ratings for first time ...

Week 16: 'Monday Night Football' ratings hit record low

How Trump gave away this secret War Zone trip

Trump cancels meeting with Iraqi leadership after a 'disagreement,' Iraq PM says

Update: Putin setting up bomber base on Caribbean island ...

China lauds Cuba for rejecting 'individualism'

Fractured Definition

Parable -- A scratch golfer.

Just Rewards

Santa's coal for Congressional stocking stuffing ...

Headlines

'Ideological soundness': How a China skeptic sold Trump on a trade war

A potential Trump impeachment is a 'huge risk' for 2019, expert says

Pope calls for world love ...

2nd migrant child dies in U.S. custody, says Fed's

German president warns of polarization fueled by social media

Retail is on pace for worst December ever, but new year rally could be ahead

BOOM: Strongest holiday retail sales in years ...

McCaskill on Ocasio-Cortez: I'm a little confused why she's the thing

Trump invited to visit Turkey

Indonesia says avoid coast near volcano, fearing new tsunami

Debt up $1.37 billion since last year; $10,743 per household ...

Iraq makes Christmas a nation holiday

Who?

What president has overridden his military generals on battle plans ... has castigated and investigated the national media ... has been suspected of colluding with the Russians ... has defied Constitutional scholars and courts with his executive orders ... his foreign policy has been confused and disruptive ... has demanded complete loyalty from those around him ... has been accused of crony capitalism ... his economic judgments have often been questioned ... has been a divider not an uniter ... yet is still adored by a good percentage of Americans as he is comfortably ensconced in a D.C. mansion.

How has he weathered all that has gone wrong ... and yet he still preserveres? A huge ego and self confidence, that's how!

Of course, we're talking about Barack Hussein Obama ...

reddit Pic

Water ice on Mars.

Headlines

Trauma of Clinton's Pennsylvania loss has Casey to consider 2020 bid

We are now in a bear market -- here's what the means

Netanyahu's coalition collapses; Israel heading to early elections ...

NYT pressures credit card giants to block gun purchasers

U.S. Judge orders North Korea to pay $599M in student's death

Trump has unsettled Wall Street and Washington -- and it will likely get worse

Trump takes kids' Santa calls ...

Wesley Clark: Allies worried whether Trump 'blackmailed' to leave Syria

[Congressional] Democrats vow scrub of post-9/11 war powers

Japan's Nikkei drops 5 percent after Wall Street slide deepens

Worst Wall Street Christmas ever ... Mnuchin backfire ... Troubling insider knol edge?

Trump says contract awarded to build 115 miles of border wall in Texas

Dailyy Humor

From New Yorker magazine

Worst cookies ever!

?????

From reddit Pics

Headlines

Trump owns the shutdown. And he's OK with that

China is reportedly considering a law to crack down on forced tech transfers

NH considers holding 2020 primary -- in 2019 ...

Tsunami triggered by volcano kills at least 280 in Indonesia ...

Two months early, Mattis leaving by Jan. 1

'The worse is yet to come': Experts say the global bear market is just getting started

Supreme Court intervenes in apparent Mueller mystery case ...

James Comey: 'There is no Deep State'

Mnuchin speaks to big bank CEOs about [stock] market's stability

Facebook is the 'biggest concern' among the FAANG stocks, analyst says

El Chapo cries in court ...

Migrant ship rejected by Italy heads for Socialist Spain

Ho-ho-ho

May your dreams be sweet and your reality, sweeter ...

Quotable Quote

If political office weren't so lucrative, perhaps it would attract a better class of aspirants. -- Anon.

Headlones

No shutdown end in sight as all sodas dig in

Government shutdown to last until at least Dec. 27 as lawmakers fail to reach deal

Top U.S. envoy in  ISIS fight resigns ...

IMF: Inflation in Venezuela to hit 1.4 million percent by end of year

Republicans warn Trump against firing Fed chair

Trump reportedly wants to fire Fed chair. a move that could wee k havoc on financial markets

Beijing tests submarine nuke missile that can strike anywhere in the U.S.

Donald Trump 'Prepare for a very long sgutdown'

2019 governors' races teatime endangered species: conservative Dems

Santa Claus rally: No ho-ho-ho

Nicaraguan authorities raid, shut down critical TV station

Trump admin. revokes Obama-era school leniency policy for minorities

The Wall

One Democrat argument against Trump's Mexican wall is that, if you build a 20 foot wall, immigrants will bring a 21 foot ladder. Perhaps so ... but then the number of illegals entering will be at least an order of magnitude smaller than without the wall ... when they can just walk across the border.  Sounds reasonable to me.

Pragmatic Proposal

Something like 60% of illegal immigrants enter the U.S. legally on visas ... but don't leave when their visas expire. Here is a possible pragmatic solution to reining in this problem:

Coyotes can charge up up $6 thousand to smuggle people into the U.S. Why can't we ask people entering this country on a visa be required to post say a $2 thousand bond that is refunded when these visitors leave within the window of their visas. If they can't show non-refundable return tickets, the bond then doubles to $4 thousand.

We might also ask them for a cell phone number and/or an email address to locate them of they do not depart when their visas expire.

Headlines

Justice Ginsberg gets surgery to remove cancerous nodules

US government begins third shutdown of 2018 amid fight over Trump's border wall

Two drone pilots arrested after Gatwick [UK airport] chaos ...

Southern California highway named after Obama

Shutdown begins as talks falter over Trump's wall

Dow dives 400 points to end its worst week in ten years

How much border wall does $5 billion buy? 215 miles ...

Trump urges Mitch McConnell to use 'nuclear option' to fund government

Supreme Court rejects Trump's plea to reject asylum ban

Top finance execs losing confidence in China's economy, survey says

Is America's military loyal to its commander-in-chief?

[Bernie] Sanders: 'I'm not going to support spending for a wall'

Powerline Pic

Superstition

If this definition of "superstition" contains more than thirteen words, my next scratch ticket will be a big winner.

Headlines

Trump rushes into shutdown threat over wall

Shutdown talks collapse: Trump won't sign spending bill without wall money

Mattis resigns as Pentagon chief clashes with Trump ...

Comey admits he didn't tell Trump Democrats financed dossier

Trump torches Graham for criticizing his Syria troops plan

As  fear rises on Wall Street, strategists say the worse is yet to come

Study: Third of Americans thinking about leaving country to live abroad ...

Denmark approves plan to put criminal migrants on island

Migrants must wait in Mexico during immigration [asylum] proceedings under Trump policy

Putin warns the threat of nuclear war cannot be underestimated

Stephen Miller quizzes Wolf Blitzer: How do the Dems support border security?

[Bill] Kristol: Trump-supporting Senators now think he's 'out of control'

Governance

"Too many cooks spoil the broth" -- Anon.

How is the United States to be effectively governed with millions of wanna-be presidents?

reddit Pic

$1.6 billion in bullion ...

Headlines

Mick Mulvaney as chief of staff: Let Trump be Trump

Stocks look to be in for more pain after Fed-day rout: 'The market is in no-man's land'

U.S. population growing at slowest pace in 80 years ...

State Department announces $10 billion to aid Central America, Mexico

Republicans rip Trump's surprise Syrian withdrawal in meeting with Pence

Facebook plummets after burst of bad news

Mueller seeks Roger Stone's testimony in front of House Intel ...

Graham;'Obama-like move' for Trump to withdraw troops from Syria

Fed raises rates, defying Trump

Fed hikes rates, lowers 2019 projection to 2 increases

Judge blocks crackdown on asylum seekers ...

Rush Limbaugh on border wall: Trump got 'less than nothing'

Strange ...?

"Beware of the military-industrial complex." -- President Eisenhower

Trump is pulling a token number of US troops out of Syria ... to the hair-on-fire, spittle-flecked chagrin of the drive-by media and the Democrats.

Was there anything like an equivalent reaction when Obama pulled a major deployment of troops out of Iraq ... with the consequences of the rise of ISIS and Iran's hegemonic influence in the region?

No? I wonder why?

We are living in strange and irrational times.

Corned Beef

From reddit Pics

Add dark rye bread, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, Rusian dressing, a half-done pickle and Dr. Brown's Cel-Ray tonic. Yum!

Headlines

GOP talks Trump off the shutdown ledge

Facebook admits giving other tech companies access to private messages, but only with consent

87-12: Senate overwhelmingly passes criminal justice reform ...

White House looking for 'pors of money' to pay for wall funding

Flynn sentencing is postponed as judge scolds ex-Trump aide

Weekly mortgage applications fall 5.8% as plunging stick market unnerves potential buyers

Wall funding off table, [while] USA giving $4.8 billion to Mexico

Tucker Carlson defiant after loosing three more advertisers

Fed rate hike plans clouded by market turmoil, angry Trump tweets

Italy reaches budget breakthrough after EU initially rejects 2019 spending plans

NYT: As Facebook raised privacy wall, it carved opening for tech giants ...

DOJ finalizes bump stock ban, gives public 90 days to turn them in

Market Deflators

The stock market is in the red for the year ... for a number of reasons ... whose priorities seem to change from day to day. Today, it seems that the following are the reasons, in order of descending importance, for what are depressing the stock market ... or keeping it from going up as fast:

- Fed's stance on raising interest rates and outlook for same

- Status of tariff war with China

- Fed's monthly $50 billion reduction of its balance sheet and economic liquidity

- Slowing worldwide economic growth/US corporate profits and outlook for same

- Strength of the dollar and outlook for same

- Growth of US budget deficit

- Status of trade negotiations with the EU, Britain and Japan

- Brexit morass

- Potential US government shutdown over immigration

- Mueller's investigation and possible political repercussions

- Trump's tweets

Tomorrow all these things could be shuffled ...

Freedom

A free populus is a messy construct. That is why it is so seldom fully and consistently practiced ... even in America. -- Anon.

China Conclusion

China has its own solution to diversity ... particularly Muslims and Christians. It's euphemistically called "vocational training camps" where such diversity is expunged. Basically these are reeducation and forced-labor camps where the inmates are treated little better than slaves ... see: AP Story. You really should read this random piece of good journalism that should also shock the sensibilities of fair-minded people. Take a few minutes to see the world as it really is.

As such revelations are oozing out of China, it is becoming clear that capitalism and totalitarianism is a toxic mix. This cannot end well.

Headlines

Lamar Alexander to exit polarized Senate: 'I just wish it were easier'

Stock market on pace for its worst December since Great Depression

Moonves doesn't get a penny [in severance] ...

James Comey: 'Bug hit' to FBI's reputation 'has nothing to do with me'

Trump offering farmers extra $4.9 billion in trade relief

Cramer; 'Irs not a safe market' -- in fact it's the most treacherous market in years

China's secret Google project 'effectively ended' ...

[English] Schools told to tell 8-year-olds that 'boys can have periods too'

Comey blasts GOP after closed-door hearings on Capitol Hill

Most Americans want action on climate change. Republicans are the exception: Poll

Beijing, Moscow band together on experiment to modify atmosphere ...

Christopher Steele: I was hired to help Hillary challenge the election

Christmas Card

From Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn

Graffiti

Who says?

Other great graffiti:
"Death is Nature's way of telling you to slow down."

Also:
"My mother made me a homosexual." ... and underneath: "If I gave her the wool, would she make me one too?'

Headlines

Giuliani on Trump interview with Mueller: 'Over my dead body'

Voters are uneasy over probes swirling around Trump, as majority question his honesty/ NBC-WSJ poll

Poll: Americans turning pessimistic on economy ...

Schumer: Trump is not getting the wall in any form

DNC chair Tom Perez goes to war with state parties

Washington is 'working on' extraditing Gulen to Turkey, foreign minister says

[Dems] Push to restore state and local tax deductions ...

Pittsburgh mayor pushes firearms confiscation order, gun bans

British officials line up behind second referendum

North Korea condemns US sanctions, says denuclearizationn at risk

Wash Post: Media unwilling to cross Mueller 'invisible line' ...

'No Deal' Brexit more popular than second referendum

Alpha Male

There s almost always is an alpha dog in every pack ... except during periods of mortality  changeover.  Whether this is a fact of nature or a gratuitous event, ti's so. If, due to circumstances, some societal construct does not have an alpha animal, the life of this construct is threatened. Ergo, alpha animals are essential in moving societies forward.

How do animals become alphas? Generally through continued combat. Their "toxic masculinity" continually challenges the other males in the troop to battles to assert their dominance. Some of these fights are cakewalks ... some can turn deadly. But, in the end, the alpha male must keep winning to control the other animals and maintain breeding rights with many, if not all of the pack's fecund females.

And since humans are animals ... so it is with humans -- CEOs, prosecutors, governors, popes, mayors, cops, dons, team coaches, presidents -- there is almost always an alpha position leading such  human societal constructs. And some of these aloha males are female -- Thatcher, Merkel, Meir. These alphas roles are seldom the result of physical encounters anymore. They are often elected positions and have traditionally been male although this requirement is rapidly changing.

Strangely enough, the president isn't always the  alpha dog in any administration. One could argue the Henry Kissinger was Nixon!s alpha male and Valarie Jarrett was Obama's. There is little doubt that Trump is our alpha dog now ... although it seems that the entire world is vying to oust him. Actually, he seems to enjoy these contests ... which is driving most never-Trumpers bonkers.

reddit Pic

Kiss, kiss ...

Headlines

Zinke to leave Interior Department amid scandal

Trump's Inaugural committee's funds were a mess from the start, but new probe may provide answers

Almost every part of president's life under investigation ...

Mueller deleted Strzk texts before turning over phone to investigator

Judge rules Obamacare unconstitutional, endangering coverage for 20 million

Goodbye to bidding wars: Some of the hottest housing markets are falling the hardest

Biden leads Iowa caucus poll ... Too old?

Haley: We need to tell Saudis 'we can't continue to partner' with country that brutalizes people

France's 'Yellow Jackets' protest for fifth consecutive week

Tech from self-grieving cars can provide bother security without Trump's $5 billion wall

Virgin Galactic may or MAY NOT have gone into space ...

American tourists risk death to vacation in Mexico

Bull Bleep

Just got our Verizon FIOS monthly bill ... and took notice of the many add-on charges that padded some $31.90 to the total bill. Here is a list of these bull-bleep charges: Mass. sales tax, 9/11 Disability Access fee, PEG Grant fee, Federal Universal Science fee, Regulatory Recovery fee - Federal, Verizon Property Tax Recovery charge, Regional Sports Network fee, FIOS Broadcast fee, and FDV Administrative charge.

I wonder which of these charges pays for Obamaphones and other liberal give-aways?

Fractured Definition

Tannenbaum -- A salve applied to ease the pain of a very severe sunburn. 

Headlines

Trump names Mulvaney acting White House chief of staff

Stocks broke a key level and child aim for the year's low

Obamacare, RIP ... judge declares unconsttutional without tax

Venezuelans lament gun ban: Allows government to dominate them

CBO: Crminal justice [reform] bill would reduce federal prison population, increase spending

Elon Musk tweets fans might see a pickup truck next year

[Rep.] Schiff digs into Trump's personal finances ...

Report: 'Destroyed' North Korean nuclear site may still be functional

Trump considers delaying border wall fight until January

Mueller investigation cost $25 million in first 16 months, report shows

Moscow to set up military base in Carabbean ...

Weekly Standard to shut down

Gone and Mostly Forgotten

Tripe

Has anyone noticed that the selections of meat and offal offerings at your local supermarket  are getting much more narrow? I have and it's beginning to bug me. Many of the meats that I have enjoyed are just not to be found. I suspect it might be that our younger generations don't know how to prepare many of these items and they thus go unsold. Here are a few of those that I sorely miss:

Fresh ham (not smoked!), sweetbreads (thymus' are better), pale calf's liver, capons (chicken or turkey), chicken hearts (in bulk), hanger steak, pork chops (with fillets included), Porterhouse steaks, beef neck meat (makes the best hamburgers), real dried beef, trit-tip steaks (other than on the West Coast), pigs' knuckles, tripe (beef or pig stomach), breast of lamb, pork crown roast, veal cheeks, real prime beef rib roast ... even lamb shanks are getting increasingly rare.

I've gone on the Internet trying to find many of these items. Slim pickings!