Strange Happenings

Apparently the Wuhan virus hates Republicans and only Republicans — President Trump, Melania Trump, Hope Hicks, much of the Orangeman’s campaign staff, Chris Christie, 3 “R” senators, Kellyanne Conway and Ronna McDaniel all have tested positive ... see: The Hill story.

Is this all due to the supposed “super spreader” event over a week ago announcing Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination to the Supreme Court? The media would like us to think so. But, considering the extreme precautions taken by the White House to protect the president’s health, one has to wonder ... see: Def-Con News.

I am not a conspiracy theorists ... but I am certainly a skeptic. Anything strange happening this close to an election and Barrett’s confirmation process must be viewed with suspicion. How can Republican Senator Thom Tillis, who was wearing a mask at this event, still come down with Covid? And finally, it would seem to this observer that, while wearing a mask might be helpful in not getting the Chinese virus, a much better strategy might be to declare oneself a Democrat.


STAND UP FOR AMERICA!

Headlones

Pelosi schedules call with Dems on Sessions firing

Fed leaves rates unchanged after noting slowing in business investment

Stacey Abrams refuses to concede in GA [gov. race]

Chris Christie for attorney general?

Ruth Bader Ginsburg hospitalized after fall

Bill market's biggest buyer is back -- companies buying back stock at a record pace

War vert slaughters 12 at [CA] 'Borderline' bar

Report: Tesla staff forbidden from calling 911 for injuries

CNN personalities accuse White House of posting altered video

Treasury Department issues new sanctions for Russian Crimea activity

President moves to restrict asylum access at birder ...

Texas Democrat celebrates re-election victory in jail cell

Headlines

Climate change 'not as bad as we thought,' say scientists ...

Macron, addressing Congress, departs from Trump on vision for 21st century

Apple Cook in private meeting with president ...

Finland to terminate failed Universal Basic Income experiment

Chris Christie finds his way back to Trump's heart

ROSEANNE ratings fall to earth ...

Supreme Court appears ready to uphold Trump's travel ban

University of Nebraska professor arrested over NRA protest

Trump brings in the billionaires for his first state dinner

Russian scientist who invented nerve agent that poisoned spy in UK hit by car ...

NASDAQ open to becoming cryptocurrency exchange, CEO says

Poll shows Americans side with Trump over Mueller probe

Headlines

Tax reform flaws build the case for a new consumption tax

George Soros accused of meddling in another foreign election

Rex Reed: 'Shape of Water' loopy, lunkheaded load of drivel ...

Haley: We will be 'taking names' of countries thai oppose Jerusalem move at UN

Franken to resign from Senate in January [2nd]

Ex Planned Parenthood employee describes 'demonic' organization

Kim Jong-un testing new warheads loaded with ANTHRAX ...

... Trump: 'Obamacare has been repealed' [with new tax bill] ...

Trump hints at cuts in foreign aid over U.N. vote on Jerusalem

Report: [FBI's] Andrew McCabe left dossier questions unanswered in Congressional interview

200.000+ [Puerto Rican] residents flee to Florida ...

Chris Christie: Jared Kushner deserves Mueller's scrutiny ...

Headlines

All from internet news sites. Guess which from Breitbart?

As Christie era fades, Jersey GOP has little to show for it

Left winger who attacked Rand Paul offers a sketchy motive

Air Force admits [Texas shooter] filing error, got a gun ...

Hero who shot Texas church attacker is former NRA instructor ...

Democrats shaken and angered by Brazile book

[Donna] Brazile challenged Clinton's male aides to a dick measuring contest

Saudis on brink of war ...

Egypt's Sisi rules out extending presidential term ...

CNN poll: Trump's approval hits new low of 36%

New York Times own lawyer was working against them to help Weinstein

NKorea nuclear test site is a 'wasteland with deformed babies' ...

Outbreak of 17 cases of multi-drug-resistant TB reported in Minnesota

Irma, You Go Girl!

From Powerline Blog

Headlines

All from Internet mews sites. Guess which from Politico.

Trump says 'heart goes out' to Texans after not meeting with Harvey victims

Exclusive: Paul Ryan condemns ANTIFA as a 'scourge on our country'

Vandals damage statue of Christopher Columbus in NY ...

Three officers shot in Sacramento, hospitalized in unknown condition

Feinstein expresses hope that Trump 'can be a good president'

Women's March encourages people to help hurricane Harvey victims -- well, except the white ones

Moody's: Amazon weakest of big retailers ...

Chinese to transplant pig organs into humans within two years

Christie calls Cruz a hypocrite over Harvey relief

Former Fed Reserve banker: Houston will need Mexican labor to rebuild after Harvey

[Burning Man] Party goers dance nude, get high, enjoy orgies ...

Texas will accept Mexico's offer of aid for Harvey relief

Headlines

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

Sessions won't resign for now, but gets Trump's message

U.S. Postal Service breaks election laws to support Hillary, media silent

FTC probing Amazon deceptive discounting ...

Food stamp use falls to lowest level in 7 years

Spokesman for Trump's legal team resigns just two months after starting

Mueller to investigate money laundering by Trump's former campaign manager

Al Gore: Some levels of Earth have 'crossed point of no return' ...

Exclusive: [Sen.] Manchin urges Trump to block sale of CSX to Chinese

Christie's last big move could be filling Menendez's seat

German court system on verge of 'collapse' due to mass immigration

First female to join Navy elite force may be a former man ...

Joe Biden charging hundreds for signed books

Headlines

Headlines from Internet news sites. Guess which ones came from Polutico.

Christie, New Jersey lawmakers reach deal to end three-day shutdown

There won't be gender restrictions at 2018 Olympics

NKorea launches ballistic missile ... could reach Alaska

Obama on the global stage: 'Liberal international order ... is the only choice'

Trump offers help to terminally-ill l U.K. boy

Duke University admits using faked data to obtain millions in gov't grants

Playboy [magazine] models detained in Mexico

GOP Sen. candidate calls out Elizabeth Warren for refusing DNA ancestry test

Maryland AG says Trump voter commission request violates state law

Bernie Sanders attacks Fox News

Canada to apologize, pay former Gitmo prisoner

Krauthammer on [Trump CNN video] tweet: 'I think he's trolling the press'

Headlines

These headlines are real ... they have all been discovered on Internet news sites. Guess which ones came from Politico?

Brennan: Russia may have successfully recruited Trump campaign aides

'El Chapo' case judge executed outside his home ...

Rubio: Trump's problems would deepen if he asked intel chiefs to deny Russian ties

Escalating probes rattle Trump and his aides

Democrats believe that they can take the House in 2018

Cost of universal health care in California -- bigger than state's budget

Google AI beats Chinese master at ancient game of GO ...

McCain: Trump's budget is dead on arrival

Christie: 'I warned Trump about Flynn'

Poll: Trump approval 46% ...

Nobel winner Robert Schiller: Stay in market because it 'could go up 50% from here'

CNN analyst proposes Manchester bombing was a 'false flag'

Headlines

These headlines are real ... they have all been discovered on Internet news sites. Guess which ones came from Politico?

Tunnel collapses at WA nuclear [waste] site ...

Who has Trump's ear? Often rich, white Republican men.

U.N. attacks Poland for anti-abortion laws

Jerad Kushner, Justin Trudeau team up to save NAFTA

Ryan predicts Senate will pass Obamacare reform 'in a month or two'

Abbas says willing to meet with Israel PM as part of Trump peace effort

$3M for [Obama] speech [in Milan]

O[bama] warns world: meat consumption destroying climate

Erdogan urges Muslims to flood Jerusalem ...

Christie says he didn't see 'red flags' with Michael Flynn

Left wing Dems pressed for overwhelmingly white staffs

[MA] Judge throws out Aaron Hernandez murder conviction ...

Headlines

These headlines are real ... they have all been discovered on Internet news sites.

American warship fires warning shots at Iranian vessels ...

Mattis wanted to strike Iran in retaliation for killing U.S. troops, Obama denied him

Trump planning to give cabinet unusually wide latitude

Tehran to receive huge shipment of uranium ...

HUD's Castro fears 'going backwards' under Ben Carson

Man spends days in jail after kitty litter mistaken for meth ...

Urban League cites Obama's failure for Black America ...

Iconic tunnel tree [Sequoia] topples in California storm ...

Brutal cold wreaks havoc across Europe ...

Paper: NY Giants trash airplanes after loss ...

Stuck without a Trump job, Christie is back in New Jersey ...

Half of German women feel unsafe in their neighborhoods

Survivor

I have not followed the TV program "Survivor," but, from its promos and trailers, I know its premise. That is that a bunch of people of all stripes are isolated on an island ... then they, one by one, vote off the island the losers. This generates lots and lots of intrigue ... backbiting, alliances, and cabals ... until there is just one left, the survivor.

Does this sound like the Republican race for president? It certainly does for me. Have Trump and Cruz formed a partnership to kill off Rubio and Bush? Is Fiorina pissed that she is being marginalized by the men? She certainly looks to be so. Huckabee, Santorum, Pataki and Graham are in the boat on their way back to the mainland. Christie is desperately seeking someone to partner with so that, as a pair, they can vote off a few of the front runners. Paul is playing me-too-ism in his attacks  on the establishment candidates ... hoping to be drawn in with the gang at the front. Frustrated, Bush and Kasich are flailing ... striking out at anyone who gets too near. Carson, having no taste for the fight, is standing off to the side ... perhaps expecting that the front runners will vote each other off. Rubio seems a little dismayed that so many candidates are attacking him for so little reason ... so he is trying to split the Cruz-Trump alliance.

How does this all end up? The survivor of this melodrama is then transported ... sunburned, scarred and weaponless, to another island, built on the Clinton Foundation, for the ultimate battle with Hillary Medusa and her hydra-haired wig.

The Ideal Candidate

I've been musing over and over about who might be the best candidate for president in 2016 ... and I keep coming up with an amalgamation of the current field of aspirants. What would comprise such an ideal candidate?

Marco Rubio's integrity
Hillary Clinton's money
Donald Trump's immigration policy
Ben Carson's humility
Carly Fiorino's straight talk
Jeb Bush's looks
Bernie Sander's crowds
Scott Walker's leadership
Ted Cruz's love of Constitution
John Kasich's fiscal policy experience
Chris Christie's toughness
Bobby Jindal's patriotism
Mike Huckabee's populism
George Pataki's judgment
Rand Paul's outside-the-box thinking
Rick Santorum's doggedness
Lindsey Graham's foreign policy thinking

I've left a few out ... but maybe we can use them for kissing babies?

Sifting the Candidates

Integrity, experience, judgment and leadership ... these are, to me, the four essential characteristics that one should look for when selecting our next Commander in Chief. To me most candidates who have thrown their hats in the ring so far ... from both of our parties ... lack one or more of these attributes ... Hillary Clinton comes up short on judgment and integrity ... Donald Trump, on integrity ... Bernie Sanders, on experience and judgment ... Jen Bush, on judgment and leadership ... Marco Rubio, on experience and judgment ... Mark O'Malley, on integrity and judgement ... Rick Santorum, on leadership and experience ... Rand Paul, on experience and judgment ... Ben Carson, on experience ... Ted Cruz, on experience and integrity ... Lindsey Graham, on experience and leadership ... Chris Christie, on judgment ... Bobby Jindal, on leadership ... Lincoln Chafee, on all four ... Rick Perry, on judgment ... Jim Webb, on experience ... Mike Huckabee, on leadership ... Jim Gilmore, on leadersihip ... and, if he runs, Joe Biden, on integrity and leadership.

The only candidates that I feel have all four traits are George Pataki, Scott Walker, Carly Fiorino, and John Kasich ... none of whom are currently leading in the polls. And Pataki also seems to lack a certain personal dynamism to propel him even later in his campaigns. So this leaves us, I think, with Kasich, Walker and Fiorino ... any of whom, by this sifting process, might have a real eventual shot at the presidency. People, you first heard it here ...

Afterward: Thinking objectively, our current president had or has none of these four characteristics ... so there must have be something else that was at work in 2008 and 2012.

The Candidates

In order to sift through the many candidates for President in 2016, I have been trying to reduce each of these aspirants to a few words. I realize that not all of you will agree, but then some might. Here goes:

Republicans
Donald Trump -- vainglorious

Jeb Bush -- establishmentarian

John Kasich -- Eagle Scout

Chris Christie -- straight shooter
Ted Cruz -- automaton

Rand Paul -- anger management issues

Rick Santorum -- goody two-shoes

Bobby Jindal -- right reason

Scott Walker -- proven by fire
Marco Rubio -- some questionable judgments

Carly Fiorina -- crisp communicator

Rick Perry -- Mr. Sincerity
Mike Huckabee -- bizarro Bill Clinton
George Pataki -- past his prime
Lindsey Graham -- chicken hawk
Ben Carson -- soft-spoken genius
Jim Gillmore -- forgettable

Democrats

Jim Webb -- caustic commentator

Hillary Clinton -- Queen Cruella
Bernie Sanders -- unrepentant hippie
Martin O'Malley -- typical pol

Lincoln Chafee -- soporific
(If announced) Joe Biden -- unfiltered thoughts

The First Republican Debate

The upcoming Fox News Republican presidential-candidate debate to be held on August 6th in Ohio will have only ten participants based upon their poll rankings. Thus there is plenty of jockeying by the many declared and undeclared Republican candidates to make it onto this Fox stage ... as this probably will seal the fate of those not invited. Therefore which polling to be used is a major issue ... see: Washington Examiner Article and Washington Post Story.

If I had my druthers I would like the debaters chosen to be Ted Cruz, Carly Fiorina, Dr. Ben Carson, Marco Rubio, Jeb Bush, John Kasich, Scott Walker, Donald Trump, Chris Christie, and Bobby Jindal. I think that this group represents a sensational cross-section of conservative thought and accomplishment. I would have few reservations if any of these people become the eventual Republican candidate ... although I would prefer Scott Walker or Marco Rubio ... with possibly Fiorina or Carson as the veep candidate. (I reserve the right to change my mind after the debate.)

This group then would comprise two Hispanic senators, one woman, one black, one Indian-American Southern governor, two very successful Midwest governors, one straight-talking East Coast governor, one multi-billionaire, and one, a former Southern governor from the Bush dynasty. And three of these debaters would also be accomplished private-sector professionals (when was the last time that happened?) What then could be a better cross section of patriotic conservative Americans?

Unfortunately not making the stage would be Mike Huckabee, Rick Perry, Rick Santorum, Rand Paul, George Pataki, Lindsey Graham.and a slew of other lesser wannabes (see: 2016.Republican Candidates List.). Few of this group float my boat.