Headlines

Judge orders jury trial in Sarah Palin libel suit against New York Times

IRS guidelines put employers on the hook for Trump’s payroll tax break

Tucker Carlson teases release of taped conversation between Michael Cohen and Chris Cuomo

Michael Moore warns: enthusiasm for Trump 2020 ‘off the charts’

Never mind Navalny, Germany won’t get tough with Russia

National Intel director will no longer give Congress in-person briefings on election interference

Mitch McConnell’s campaign hires Nick Sandman

Trump approval jumps nine points w/ black voters

5 ways Steve Bannon could beat the rap

Coronavirus cases climb in the Midwest as more states report growing outbreaks

Pelosi says $1.3 trillion in additional stimulus isn’t enough

NYT Brooks: Democrats ‘wrong side of order’ ...

STAND UP FOR AMERICA

Headlines

Don't call Trump strategy a 'return to sanity' aide says

New report suggests Mueller probe could stretch far into 2018

Amid Mideast tensions, Pence again postpones trip ...

Sarah Palin's son Track arrested on domestic violence claims

Trump administration blames North Korea for global WannaCry cyberattack

Wasserman Schultz named one of Congress' most 'ethically challanged' for House IT scandal

Oldest fossils ever found show life on Earth began 3.5 billion years ago

WSJ: Tax cuts will grow economy much more than expected

ESPN president resigns, citing battle with substance abuse

Clapper: Putin is handling Trump like 'an asset'

ATL airport blackout sends message to terrorists ...

Limbaugh: Mueller to issue letter exonerating president?

Headlines

The following headlines all come from Internet news sites. Guess which ones were found on Politico?

Senate GOP seethes at Trump impulsiveness

Sarah Palin suing New York Times for defamation

Opioids could kill 650,000 in USA over next decade ...

Mark Zuckerberg compares Facebook to going to church

Gingrich: Congress should call upon Obama to testify

Ransomware virus hits computer servers across globe ...

Rand Paul says he believes Senate can pass Obamacare repeal bill before August recess

Rep. [Chris] Collins loses $17 million in biotech stock

Chinese foreign minister: Refugees should return to their homelands

Cable news wars: Hannity dominate[s] ...

Bernie Sanders says FBI investigation of his wife is politically motivated

Supreme Court takes case on what qualifies as obstruction

Headlines

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

Exiles pour into Miami's streets to celebrate ...

'Ideas of the Cuban Communists will remain' ...

Defied the USA for 50 years ...

Soros pledges $10 million to combat hate crimes ...

Justice Dept suing two towns for refusing to build mosques

'Fake news' label used to combat opposing views ...

Politico: Steve Bannon's first pick for president was Sarah Palin

Japan issues booklet to prepare citizens for nuke war with NKorea

Mass graves found north of Acapulco ...

Chomsky: Those who didn't recognize Trump as the 'greater evil' made a 'bad mistake'

African migrants riot against 'racist' Italians: 'Allah will guide us in revenge'

Biologist says humanity won't survive to see Thanksgiving, 2026

Dog Nab It!

Sarah Palin is constantly depicted by most media outlets as a backwoods hick … who knows nothing about the world and whose only responses are knee-jerk jerks. But no, my precious, this attractive ex-governor and once V.P candidate must have been doing more than halibut fishing and caribou hunting since 2008. She was recently accused by PETA and other lefty wing-nuts of animal cruelty for letting her Down-syndrome son, Trig, stand on their Labrador retriever. Her Facebook riposte is as sophisticated as one might find in the New Yorker magazine … yet more grounded and with a bit more cleavage … see: Breitbart Article and Powerline Commentary.

Death Panels

Sarah Palin warned us about the coming death panels under Obamacare. Now, Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel (brother of Rahm Emanuel, now Mayor of Chicago, but President Obama's former Chief of Staff) has indicated that he wants to die at the age of 75 ... see: UK Daily Mail Article. And, as it turns out, Dr. Emanuel was one of the chief architects of Obamacare and has been a very vocal advocate of its "benefits" ... usually on MSNBC. His rational for this headline-grabbing article in The Atlantic was that, at 75 years of age, people are " feeble, ineffectual, even pathetic."

Now, as it turns out, I am 75 years old and, although I may be ineffectual, feel neither feeble or pathetic ... and I have refused to give my permission for my family to "pull the plug" on me when I am sliding home. I want to live as long as I am aware of things. Now Dr. Emanuel is only 57 years old so it is a little easier for him to harbor such a death wish ... but I suspect he might have second thoughts in another 17 years. I am also sure of is that I would not like to have him on my Obamacare-decreed death panel. This current administration controls too much of my life as it is. I really don't want them deciding when and how I croak.

Afterthought: Just did some Internet snooping. I think that Ezekiel Emanuel's parents are both alive ... Dad Benjamin is 87 and Mom Marsha is 81. I wonder how they feel about Zeke's comments dissing old people?

Fun Facts

-        The Iraqi government of former president, Nouri al-Maliki, which was required to form a more “inclusive” administration before President Obama could formulate a strategy to combat ISIS, now has as its new Vice President ,,,  namely Nouri al-Maliki … see: CNN Story.

-        A young Chinese man died of a heart attack while he was about to make his fourth donation in a week to a sperm bank … see: UK Daily Mail Story  ... shades of Nelson Rockefeller.

-        Six years in the limelight might have turned Sarah Palin’s and her family’s heads. Apparently the Palin clan got into a brawl recently near Anchorage, Alaska at a large party. Some of the reporting may be apocryphal, but read the details for yourself: NY Post Story. A stretch Hummer is a little too pretentious for my taste.

-        Cabbies at the San Diego, California airport now need to pass the “smell test” as well as other safety measures before they are allowed to pick up passengers … see: ABC News Story.

-        “This is a big f-ing deal!” Vice President Joe Biden recently tweeted that the worst abuse of man or woman is the abuse of power. No f-ing kidding? … see: Michelle Malkin Story.

-        Perhaps Ayman al-Zawahiri (Osama bin Laden’s former number-two man) is losing his touch? In the first raid orchestrated by him on the Indian sub-continent, three al Qaeda members were killed and seven captured when they attacked the wrong target. See the details here: UK Telegraph Story.

Rhymes with Duck

I’ve never watched an episode of Duck Dynasty … but I’ve a pretty good idea about why it is so popular (the #1 cable show of all time).  It, like Sarah Palin, appeals to vast Middle America, fly-over country, the family-values backbone of an otherwise increasingly squishy anything-goes Gomorrah.  And this show also espouses Christian values (gasp!) … something that makes cable executives cringe.  If it weren’t for the astronomic ratings and the sponsors’ fat checkbooks, Duck Dynasty would never have made it out of season one.

Now Phil Robertson, the patriarch of this clan has pissed off the Arts and Entertainment (A and E) Channel execs with his frank comments just published in GQ Magazine … for the straight skinny see: Hollywood Reporter Story.  Now, I can see why our increasingly (in)tolerant zeitgeist cannot cotton such hetero speak out of a born-again Christian and so Phil has been put in the network’s penalty box. But a gay male couple, also on A and E (Storage Wars, New York), has stated just the opposite … in equally graphic terms … and remains in good standing at this network … see: TMZ Story/ ... not surprising to me in the least.

I don’t know the terms of the Robertsons’ contract with A and E, but I think that, if at all legally possible, their true Christian witnessing would require the Robertson tribe to quit A and E en mass and suggest, in a benign and loving Christian way of course, that the executives of this network participate in some contortionistic auto-erotic behavior.

Afterwards: Here is the response from the Robertson family: Robertson Statement. However it contains no family suggestion for the A and E execs.  Drat.

Lipstick on a Pig

Paul Mirengoff of the Powerline blog today asks the musical question: “Will [the Democrats] be united behind Hillary Clinton [in 2016] or will she face a substantial challenge from the left?” (See: Powerline Blog).  I personally find it difficult to imagine that there is anyone further left than Hillary Clinton.  But apparently both Politico and The New Republic have recently found Elizabeth Warren as a credible challenger to Hillary in 2016.  Their arguments, to me, taste like thin gruel.  In fact, my spider senses tell me that these straw-woman arguments may be nothing more than Clinton’s deep operatives trying to position her more as a moderate.

I am tempted to use the analogy of putting lipstick on a pig … but I think that that shibboleth was overused in 2008 when the media-left took their snarky shots at Sarah Palin.

Fruitcake

At the risk of being labeled a fruitcake, yesterday on a Skype call with friends, I suggested that Sarah Palin might be a good Presidential candidate for the Republicans in 2016.  Here is my logic:

American voters, as a rule, are clearly “uninformed.”  In 2008, they emotionally chose Barack Obama because he was, to use Harry Reid’s words, a “light-skinned African-American with no Negro dialect.”  This was to prove to themselves that this country was no longer racist … and that, by electing Obama, the stain of slavery would be forever cleansed.  And then they re-elected him in 2012 … despite the fact that he had proven himself of poor Presidential timber … using much of the same mindless naivete.

Now as we approach 2016, I believe that emotion will once again rule the American electorate … and this time they will feel that it is a woman’s turn to be President … independent of any consideration of competence or character.  I think that this will be the Democrat party’s strategy in putting forward Hillary Clinton.  It is her turn … and, barring any major scandal (maybe even with one), she should be a shoe in. 

I believe them right and the only defense against such an emotional appeal would be for the Republicans to also proffer a woman … perhaps Sarah Palin.  Yes, I know that much of the American media would have a field day sniping at her … much as they did in 2008.  But then they did exactly the same when Ronald Reagan was nominated … painting him as a know-nothing thespian … and he was elected in a landslide.  Since 2008, Ms. Palin has been annealed in the oven of national politics and has made virtually no blunders.  I’m sure she has even read some periodicals.

Ms. Palin clearly is a true-blue conservative … much like Reagan was … and unfortunately, no male Republican candidate would be able to debate Hillary on even terms.  Even Chris Christie, I’m afraid would be hobbled in his confrontational style when pitted against Hillary.  All she would need to do would be to mist up and Christie would be toast.  On the other hand, Sarah Palin would be on level ground and would be able to point out Hillary’s many fault lines without appearing sexist.  She should be able to hold her own in any debate ... and Hillary would get mushy at her own peril. 

Sometimes political parties need to go with the popular flow … and actually eat some of last-Christmas’s fruitcake.  It might even taste good.

Afterward: If Sarah Palin were to run, she obviously would have a long row to hoe ... if this brickbat is an example ... see: Breitbart Reference.

Robin Hood Remake

Produced by George Soros
Directed by  David Axelrod

The Cast
Prince John -- Barack Obama
The Tax Collector -- Douglas Shulman
The Sheriff of Nottingham -- Eric Holder
Robin Hood -- Darrell Issa
Maid Marian -- Sarah Palin
Friar Tuck -- Chris Christie
Little John -- Lindsey Graham
Sir Guy of Gisbourne -- John Kerry

In a twist to this remake, Prince John is the one who robs from the rich and gives to the poor ... abetted by his Tax Collector and The Sheriff of Nottingham.  Robin Hood, on the other hand, tries to lead his Merry Men in a fight against Prince John's corruption and incompetence. Friar Tuck tucks it to the Merry Men by calling for a special election in Sherwood Forest.  Little John spends most of the movie vamping for the cameras.  Maid Marian gives her silk scarf to Robin Hood in hopes that he will win the archery contest on Capitol Hill.  Sir Guy of Gisbourne spends the entire movie trying to emulate Basil Rathbone.

Saturday Night Dead

Lorne Michaels's Saturday night "comedy" show (Saturday Night Live or SNL) has had quite an impact on Presidential elections.  Effectively it killed Gerald Ford's prospects in 1977 when Chevy Chase continually depected him as a clumsy, bumbling fool.  (Side note: my wife worked part-time at NBC during this period and it was generally understood that Chevy Chase was an arrogant a-hole.)  Then, in the 2008 election, Tina Fey went a long way in destroying John McCain's campaign with her depiction of Sarah Palin as a provincial boob (excuse the expression) with "I can see Russia from my front porch."  (Many voters actually believed that the Alaskan Rogue Elephant had said that ... she hadn't.)

Now, that Mitt Romney seems to have wrapped up the Republican nomination, can we now expect that lefty hatchetman, Mr. Michaels, to try once again to enter the voting booths across the country in November and pull the levers by proxy for The Barry?  The answer is, of course.  The real question is, how will he do this?  My prediction is that it will be by either pointing out Mitt's seeming stiffness, his putting his dog's crate on the roof of his car, or his "ruthlessness" as a 1%-er while running Bain capital.  Maybe ... and probably ... all three ... possibly even some others too.  Also expect the "comedy" writers on The Late Show, The Daily Show and The Colbert Report to do much of the same ... often with a sly vengence.

Wouldn't it be great if somehow Dave Letterman, Lorne Michaels, Stephen Colbert, and Jon Stewart could also be continuously and savagely rediculed on network and cable television?  Unfortunately, it will only happen in my dreams ...

Priorities

I've recently concocted a natural taxonomy for classifying famous people.  Here are the first five priorities that I believe each of these celebrities uses to govern his/her activities and ambitions:

The Donald -- O, J, L, N, G
Hillary Clinton -- B, H, O, A, N
Dave Letterman -- O, L, H, J, G
Jay Leno -- L. J, G, H, O
The Barry -- O, A, D, H, N
Oprah -- J, B, D, L, G
Bush 43 -- G, C, N, H, A
Mitt Romney -- G, L, C, H, N
Charlie Sheen -- O, O, O, O, L
Al Gore -- O, O, J, L, H
Bill Clinton -- O, H, A, G, N
Sarah Palin -- O, N, H, G, I

And here are what these letters mean:

A - The World
B - One's Gender
C - One's Religion
D - Ones Race
E - One's Ethnicity
F - The Environment
G - One's Nation
H - One's Political Party
I - One's Region
J - One's Company
K - One's Home City/Town
L - One's Profession
M - One's Relatives
N - One's Family
O - One's Self

Have some fun and disagree with my rankings or develop your own priority profiles for other famous people.

Palin Paradox

Sarah Palin was ridiculed when she was on the John McCain ticket as his V.P. candidate for failing a Katie Couric question about what newspapers she regularly read.  Perhaps a better word was "castigated." The opinion makers painted her as a boob ... if you'll excuse the expression ... for fumbling this one question.  Obviously she was a rube, a hick of the first order, and didn't deserve to be one heartbeat away from being President.

That was then and now, two years later, she is again being taken to the woodshed by these same media darlings for being a primary cause of the Tuscon (alleged) shooting spree by Jared Loughner that killed six and wounded more than a dozen including Representative Gabrielle Giffords.  This was because Palin had "targeted" Representative Giffords seat in the recent elections as being one that the Tea Party should focus on winning.

Now additional poison darts are being directed at Ms. Palin for using the term "blood libel" Tuesday on her Facebook page, decrying the treatment she was receiving. Apparently, this term has an historic connotation in that it was once (falsely) used to condemn Jews for using the blood of Christian children in their rituals (see blood libel).  Also, more apparently the Wall Street Journal had used this same term on Monday to describe this same media kerfuffle (see WSJ use) over the Tuscon-shootings aftermath.  Now here is the paradox -- if Sarah Palin is so stupid and buffoonish, how does she know the historic "blood libel" reference when this author, whose been around the block more than a few times, knew not of it?  And, if she picked this reference out of Monday's Wall Street Journal, at least we know she learned something from the Couric interview.

One last thought ... why isn't the Wall Street Journal also being excoriated for this term's usage by these same prancing princes of the privileged pedantic press?  Perhaps because it buys ink by the barrel?

The X Factor

Male chromosomes are described as X-Y’s whereas female’s are X-X’s. The tides that are sweeping clean the political seashore have been variously described as the Tea Party Express or an anti-incumbency fervor or Palin’s picks. However, I have yet to hear any talking head attribute chromosomes as a major contributor to these surprising primary upsets, Christine O’Donnell in Delaware, Kelly Ayotte in New Hampshire, Sharron Angle in Nevada, Linda McMahon in Connecticut, Meg Whitman in California, etc., etc. And I strongly suspect that this gender-bending will carry over to the general elections in November. (Remember, you heard it here first.)

One only has to listen to talk radio for a few days to realize that the preponderance of emotional call-ins who decry what is happening in Washington are coming from women. Yes, many men are upset with what has transpired, myself included, but it seems to be the “Momma Grizzlies” that are the most distraught. If one has ever watched a wildlife movie in which the smaller female bear ferociously attacks the much larger male bear to protect her cubs, you will understand this phenomenon. Mothers seem incensed that Washington is besmirching the future prospects for their offspring. Interestingly, many of our erstwhile political pundits, Carl Rove and Joe Scarborough included, seem to be tone-deaf to this building symphonic crescendo. Therefore, if many of the above mentioned X-chromosomers win in November, Sarah Palin will have again shown her political adroitness by coining the term “Momma Grizzlies.”