Month: January 2017

Asshat “Assie” Award–Jan2017

It is Sunday and I continue my two days away from the headlines and the utter stupidity of the DC two step….

Before I go any further there is some sad news….actor John Hurt has died at age 77…….

The versatile British actor Sir John Hurt, who could move audiences to tears in The Elephant Man, terrify them in Alien, and spoof that very same scene in Spaceballs, has died. He was 77. Hurt, who battled pancreatic cancer, died Friday in London, according to his agent, Charles McDonald. Twice nominated for an Oscar, for playing the tortured John Merrick in David Lynch’s The Elephant Man and for his role as the heroin addict Max in Midnight Express, Hurt’s career spanned over 50 years. After minor television and film appearances, his breakout came in 1966 as Richard Rich in Fred Zinnemann’s A Man For All Seasons, followed by his portrayal of Caligula in the BBC miniseries I, Claudius in 1976.

(let’s not forget his portrayal of Winston in the movie 1984 with Richard Burton)

Sad day…he will be missed….may he rest in peace.

I let my readers know that I was re-starting my award, the “Asshat” Award, the “assies”…..there will be 11 monthly winners and an annual winner to be announced in late December…..and I will ask my readers to join in the process of picking the annual winner…..

January of 2017 had so much utter ignorance and stupidity with people spouting bullshit and passing it off as truth that it was difficult to pick a winner for the month…..so to re-start the award there will be 2 winners…..

IST monthly Winner of the Asshat Award…….

January 2017

Winner

“I’m concerned that somebody with a platform like Meryl Streep’s is inciting people’s worst instincts”  Kellyanne Conway on FOX and friends….

And the co-winner is…….

New White House press secretary Sean Spicer eased off his confrontational approach with reporters at his first official press briefing Monday, following a weekend in which he berated reporters and then took all kinds of flak for his “alternative facts.” Questioned about his honesty Monday, he responded, “Our intention is never to lie to you,”

There you have the winner/s for the month of January 2017…. congrats to them…the award is richly deserved.  An email will be sent to their offices announcing their winning of this much coveted prize….

I believe the reason they won is obvious…if not get a 10 year old to explain it to you.  i am sure that I will hear back from the winners because this batch of morons has zero sense of humor.

If any of my readers has an idea for a winner please pass it on and if used they will be given full credit for the submission.  It is non-partisan so if you see, hear or read something dumb uttered by a Repub or Dem please pass it on to me and we will see how it shakes out….I do not care where it comes from a moron is a moron.

Since I cannot be everywhere all the time I could use your help…..

The award will be announced the last weekend of each month…..keep your eyes open and help this old fart out…..

Enjoy the rest of your day…be safe and be well….chuq

A Small Departure

It is Saturday and I am searching for something good for today’s post…..and then I hit upon it…I use to a daily musical interlude so why not do something along those lines….

One of my favorite songs was “Dock Of The Bay” by Otis Redding….not that white boy that tried but failed to deliver the song….what made me think of the song was an article I read yesterday…..

To set the scene of the man who was on the stage: It’s early April 1966, and for three days, Otis Redding is in residence at Los Angeles’s Whisky A Go Go. He is far from his Chitlin’ Circuit base back in the South, playing a club that would be at the epicenter of rock’s psychedelic movement, where Jefferson Airplane, Grateful Dead, and the Doors performed some of their most unhinged sets. Redding will be dead in less than two years, killed when his tour plane crashed. Here at the Whisky A Go Go, he is 24.

Unlike jazz, rock tends to be stingy with its archival releases. That is, we may get a live album, scooped together from a run of performances or featuring one concert. But it’s rare that a release like this package hits the market, where an entire residency of shows is documented.

Source: Sittin’ on the Eve of the Bay | The Weekly Standard

And enjoy your weekend and enjoy Otis……”The Dock Of The Bay”…….

But Wait!  There is more!

Closing Thought–27Jan17

America’s longest war……

We have a new president and his cabinet is beginning to take shape…..and he, Trump, will have to deal with the US longest war…Afghanistan….

Mr. Trump has not said much on this subject…I am hoping it is not because he is unaware but rather just has not given it much thought…..

But to help him out I will let him know that there is mixed signals coming out of Afghanistan and the Taleban…..

Two days after President Donald Trump took office, the Taliban asked him to remove all U.S. troops from Afghanistan but hinted at a willingness to work with the United States.

The insurgent group posted a statement on its website Sunday calling on Trump to “put an end to the invasion.” But it also asked him to “help countries with their development” rather than with “bloodshed and destruction.”

Well that was about as a positive comment from the Taleban than we will ever hear….

But just a short time later……

The Taliban has warned President Donald Trump to reverse U.S. policy on Afghanistan or face a “historically shameful defeat”, a U.S.-based monitoring group reported Sunday.

An article, which the SITE Intelligence Group said appeared on the Taliban’s website and social media, described the freshly inaugurated leader of the free world as “an enigma both to the Americans and the billions of people around the world”.

Here is my thought….BRING THE TROOPS HOME!

But what will Trump do in Afghanistan?  Heed the words of the Taleban or something else?

From Ehsanullah Amiri, Jessica Donati, & Gordon Lubold, The Wall Street Journal: ““President-elect Donald J. Trump said he would certainly continue to support Afghanistan security forces and will consider a proposal for more troops after an assessment,” according to one Afghan official briefed on the call.”

We have spent enough blood and treasure in this country….time to leave them to their fate.

The weekend approaches….Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy…..Be Well and Be Safe…..chuq

Who’s Your Friend?

Syria has been raging for years and the world could care less….the death and destruction is massive….the US is arming those “moderate Rebels”….and that is a big joke….a joke that has NO one laughing…..

I wrote about this silly paradigm about 3 years ago….and so far not much has changed….we have NO idea who is good….or who is bad…..but we keep sending arms and cash with NO idea who is getting the aid…..

Source: Our Friends The Rebels – In Saner Thought

Plus I wrote a post about her visit when news first came out…..

Source: Finally, Some Leadership! – In Saner Thought

Recently Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard and former Congressman Dennis Kucinich made a secret trip to Syria as a fact finding mission….

US Congresswoman and war veteran Tulsi Gabbard, along former U.S. Representative Dennis Kucinich traveled to Syria, met with Assad, met with families torn by the war, met with religious leaders, saw the results of US regime change first hand, on the ground in Aleppo and Damascus.

The two US leaders confirmed what we at The Duran have been reporting since our inception…the war in Syria, Obama’s war to overthrow a democratically elected, sovereign, internationally recognized government was, is and remains illegal. Syria’s invasion by US funded ISIS and Al Qaeda forces aligned with Saudi Wahhabi terrorists did not, and does not serve the US interest.

Source: Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard travels to Syria, CONFIRMS: “no difference between ‘moderate’ rebels and al-Qaeda or ISIS  – they are all the same”

If you have more questions as I did then here is the full interview with Gabbard on CNN……

Source: Full CNN interview with Rep Tulsi Gabbard on Syria trip: Debunks neocon lies on air ‹ The Ugly Truth ‹ Reader — WordPress.com

There is so much going on in Syria that it boggles the mind….and we are about to enter into another phase of this conflict…the Trump phase…..and it could go horribly wrong….(a future post to explain is forthcoming)…..

Her visit has gotten Gabbard some flak…..

Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D – HI) continues to be pilloried by Congressional hawks from both parties over her visit to Syria last week, with a number of representatives declaring the very idea of going to Syria and talking peace “reprehensible,” with one Congressional aide quoted claiming there was widespread “disgust” over the visit.

Most of the efforts to attack Gabbard for visiting Syria, and talking with President Assad about the possibility of peace, center on nothing specific that Gabbard did, as it doesn’t appear she violated any laws or even political norms in doing so. Rather, most seem to object to Gabbard’s support for peace in Syria at all, with multiple Congressional officials including in their comments demands for regime change in Syria as a precondition to peace.

These attacks are typical of slugs that have NO idea what the science of conflict management is about…..Peace cannot be found without talk to ALL sides of the conflict…pretending otherwise is just moronic and typically ignorant.

Tulsi Gabbard should be celebrated for her bravery and foresight…she has done what NO other Congressional tool has had to the courage to do….

She has my support.

Executive Orders–Part Deux

One last thought about the EOs being signed at a rate almost unheard of in these days……

To my friends on the Right–you remember Obama and his use of executive orders (EOs)….remember you guys called it an affront to American democracy and a circumvention of the Constitution?  Does any of that ring a bell?  I thought not.

It appears that our new president has started his rule with the issuance of EOs…if you recall that was called “lawless tyranny”……just as late as last month.

I wrote about this just the other day in my Closing Thought……(just in case you may have missed my poignant post…..link is below)

Source: Closing Thought–24Jan17 – In Saner Thought

Since I wrote that piece, just days ago, more has come to light……it appears that he is just as good at it as his predecessor, Obama……..

The speed with which President Trump issued executive orders on pipelines, abortion, and trade deals in recent days has alarmed critics—but he’s not behaving very differently than his predecessor. Trump’s pace on executive orders is similar to that of Barack Obama, whose orders in his first week included one to close Gitmo within a year, though George W. Bush and Bill Clinton went a lot slower. Bustle describes the trend as a product of partisanship, with Trump following Obama’s lead in using the “absolute maximum of presidential power” without seeking the approval of Congress. A roundup of executive order coverage:

  • The Washington Post looks at how far presidents from Harry Truman onward have gone in revoking the orders of previous presidents. Obama holds the speed record, with eight in his first 30 days, while George W. Bush set the record for quantity by reversing 64 previous executive orders during his term.
  • According to the Pew Research Center, Obama issued fewer executive orders per year than any president since Grover Cleveland 120 years ago, with Obama’s 277 executive orders working out to 35 per year, compared to 36 for George W. Bush, 48 for Ronald Reagan, a record 307 per year for FDR, and one per year for George Washington. A full list is here.
  • Roll Call takes a look at all the executive orders issued in the early days of the last four presidencies, noting that Trump is the first since Clinton to sign one on his very first day in office.
  • CNN looks at what can and cannot be done with executive orders, and at the pros and cons of using them instead of laws passed by Congress. One big plus for laws passed by Congress is that they can’t be so easily overturned by the next president.

The wall is moving forward: President Trump on Wednesday signed an executive order authorizing work to begin on his long-promised border wall with Mexico, reports the Washington Post.

Trump actually signed two executive actions related to immigration while at DHS. He also will beef up border security by increasing the number of detention centers and field agents, and he’ll penalize US cities—so-called “sanctuary cities”—that fail to comply with immigration laws by withholding federal grant money.

Why is this necessary for Trump….I mean he has control of both Houses of Congress…that should speed his agenda along…unless he does not trust the democratic process.

Is it still “lawless tyranny”?  Is he, Trump, circumventing the Constitution?  Is this more acceptable than when Obama use them?  Just what about Trump makes him above the same criticism that followed Obama around for 8 years?

Here is a final suggestion….why not dismiss the Congress and let them go back home for apparently they are not needed any longer?

(I promise this will be it for the EO controversy)

That Thing Called “Free Speech”

Here in the US there has been a debate about this issue for over 200 years…what is and what is not….free speech or as some prefer “freedom of expression”….but what is it…no really….what is it?

What me to thinking about this subject was something I wrote about late last year…….you see the president, the old one not the new one, signed a bill into law that basically bans “fake news””……(in case you were not paying attention then I can help)…..

The Birth Of The “Ministry Of Truth” – In Saner Thought

That one post got the old mental synapses firing at an alarming rate….

When did the whole idea of the freedom of speech start?  (The Highlights)

399BC Socrates speaks to jury at his trial: ‘If you offered to let me off this time on condition I am not any longer to speak my mind… I should say to you, “Men of Athens, I shall obey the Gods rather than you.”‘

1215 Magna Carta, wrung from the unwilling King John by his rebellious barons, is signed. It will later be regarded as the cornerstone of liberty in England.

1516 The Education of a Christian Prince by Erasmus. ‘In a free state, tongues too should be free.’

1633 Galileo Galilei hauled before the Inquisition after claiming the sun does not revolve around the earth.

1644 ‘Areopagitica’, a pamphlet by the poet John Milton, argues against restrictions of freedom of the press. ‘He who destroys a good book, kills reason itself.’

1689 Bill of Rights grants ‘freedom of speech in Parliament’ after James II is overthrown and William and Mary installed as co-rulers.

1770 Voltaire writes in a letter: ‘Monsieur l’abbé, I detest what you write, but I would give my life to make it possible for you to continue to write.’

1789 ‘The Declaration of the Rights of Man’, a fundamental document of the French Revolution, provides for freedom of speech.

1791 The First Amendment of the US Constitution, as enshrined in the Bill of Rights, guarantees five freedoms: of religion, speech, the press, the right to assemble and the right to petition the government for the redress of grievances.

And the debate has continued almost non-stop since 1791…..

For a little historic perspective on the subject of free speech…..

Millions of Americans support free speech. They firmly believe that we are the only country to have free speech, and that anyone who even questions free speech had damn well better shut the #$%& up.

Case in point: In a recent essay in The Daily Beast, Fordham Law Professor Thane Rosenbaum notes that European countries and Israel outlaw certain kinds of speech—Nazi symbols, anti-Semitic slurs, and Holocaust denial, and speech that incites hatred on the basis of race, religion, and so forth. The American law of free speech, he argues, assumes that the only function of law is to protect people against physical harm; it tolerates unlimited emotional harm. Rosenbaum cites recent studies (regrettably, without links) that show that “emotional harm is equal in intensity to that experienced by the body, and is even more long-lasting and traumatic.” Thus, the victims of hate speech, he argues, suffer as much as or more than victims of hate crime. “Why should speech be exempt from public welfare concerns when its social costs can be even more injurious [than that of physical injury]?”

Source: Free Speech Isn’t Free – The Atlantic

There is also a very good piece on the subject from Australia…..

The term “free speech” is not ideal. The “free” part skews in favour of those who oppose regulation and the “speech” part puts the focus on the spoken word, even though the discussion embraces wider communication including art, writing, films, plays, flag burning and advertising.

It might, therefore, be better to drop the term “free speech” to highlight that the debate is really about whether or not we should regulate the communication of ideas, thoughts and beliefs.

Source: Explainer: what is free speech?

This is a right that we Americans need to protect.

Trump’s Foreign Policy

I like my studies of foreign policy and international relations….and now that we have a new president I would like to take a look at his policies in these areas…yes, it is early in his hold on the halls of power but we can get an overview of his intended policies…..I am sure there will be some minor adjustments but the meat of his policies are there……

“On The Issues” is a non-partisan group that looks at all political leaders and their stand…..this was put out before the election when Trump was just the GOP nominee….it covers just about everything that the man ever said on foreign policy and international situations…..

Source: Donald Trump on Foreign Policy

I am sure that there are those that will not bother to check his positions before jumping to his defense….and that is why we so many international problems…everyone is too partisan for rational thought.

Personally, I think his policies are very inconsistent….to me they are not much more than ramblings to appease whatever audience he is addressing….most of it was nationalistic mumbo jumbo….divisive and cruel…..

Throughout the presidential campaign, Donald Trump’s foreign policy positions have been anything but consistent. One day we heard that NATO was obsolete and the US needs to pursue better relations with Russia. But the next time he spoke, these sensible positions were abandoned or an opposite position was taken. Trump’s inconsistent rhetoric left us wondering exactly what kind of foreign policy he would pursue if elected.

The President’s inaugural speech was no different. On the one hand it was very encouraging when he said that under his Administration the US would “seek friendship and goodwill with the nations of the world,” and that he understands the “right of all nations to put their own interests first.” He sounded even better when he said that under Trump the US would “not seek to impose our way of life on anyone, but rather to let it shine as an example. We will shine for everyone to follow.” That truly would be a first step toward peace and prosperity.

Source: Trump’s Foreign Policy: An Unwise Inconsistency? by — Antiwar.com

If there is no solid front on international situations then this country is headed into some rough territory.  (and the peasants danced)……

Closing Thought–26Jan17

It’s all that voter fraud!

If one wants to know what is on the mind of those Right wing dillies without having to brows the gambit of sites then pick one Right wing blog to follow and read…..once you have read that blog no need to go any further….why?  Because whatever you read is the talking point of the day in the world of the Alt Right and the sheeple follow.

Since Trump made his infamous statement that there were 3-5 million votes by those people not qualified to vote…..massive fraud and they all voted for Clinton (the odds are pretty staggering of this)…….this is a lame attempt to explain away the almost 3 million popular votes that went to Clinton…..

To further this pipe dream Trump is calling for a massive investigation into the “voter fraud”……

President Trump isn’t just doubling down on his claims that voter fraud cost him the popular vote, he says he plans to call for an investigation. In twotweets Wednesday morning, Trump wrote: “I will be asking for a major investigation into VOTER FRAUD, including those registered to vote in two states, those who are illegal and…even, those registered to vote who are dead (and many for a long time). Depending on results, we will strengthen up voting procedures!” Earlier this week, the president repeated his claim that 3 million to 5 million “illegals” voted, and he says that’s the only reason Hillary Clinton beat him in the popular vote by about 3 million ballots.

On Tuesday, White House press secretary Sean Spicer backed up his boss. Trump “has believed that for a while based on studies and information he has,” said Spicer, per CNN. The problem is that no news service can find any such studies. The New York Times notes that a post on the discredited InfoWars website made the claim about millions of fraudulent voters in November, and Trump has appeared on the show with host Alex Jones. Spicer did reference a Pew study, but that study’s own author says there’s “zero evidence” of fraud in the 2016 vote. The Washington Post fact checker blog digs into the particulars and remains unswayed: “Spicer cited repeatedly debunked research,” it says, adding that “these studies do not support Trump’s Four-Pinocchio claims of ‘millions’ of people voting illegally.”

I know this will hit home to the “alt-ers” for the Tea Party and some in the GOP have been pushing this paradigm to try and limit who gets to vote.  Even though there is NO evidence of this massive fraud…even conservs think this is a bullshit issue.  Besides…yes there has been some voter fraud in the past but unfortunately most of it has been tied to the GOP and their people (please notice I said “most” not all)

But since he has called for an investigation and Comey is a brown nose bastard he will get it and maybe he should start the investigation a little closer to home….

When President Trump called for an investigation into voter fraud Wednesday morning, he tweeted that it would include people registered to vote in two states. He might want to have a talk with top adviser Steve Bannon: The Guardian reports that Bannon is still registered in both Florida and New York. Bannon voted for Trump in New York, listing his rented apartment in Manhattan for an address. However, state records in Florida show that he remains registered there, too, with his given address the home of Breitbart News friend Andy Badolato in Sarasota County. The newspaper points out that it’s not illegal to be registered in two states, only to vote in two states.

Remember that private email account that was so troublesome for Clinton?

I wondering whether it was really all that important as Trump made it seem……

Senior Trump administration staffers, including Kellyanne Conway, Jared Kushner, Sean Spicer and Steve Bannon, have active accounts on a Republican National Committee (RNC) email system, Newsweek has learned.

The system (rnchq.org) is the same one the George W. Bush administration was accused of using to evade transparency rules after claiming to have “lost” 22 million emails

But after then-candidate Donald Trump and the Republicans repeatedly called for “locking up” Hillary Clinton for handling government work with a private server while secretary of state, the new White House staff risks repeating the same mistake that dogged the Democrat’s presidential campaign. They also face a security challenge: The RNC email system, according to U.S. intelligence, was hacked during the 2016 race. “They better be careful after making such a huge ruckus over the private email over at the State Department,” says former Bush administration lawyer Richard Painter.

(Since this story was published, the RNC has deleted the emails of Bannon, Kushner and Conway. Newsweek is waiting for further comment.)

This will do nothing to change the tune…..there are large enough rugs on the White House under which it can be swept.

The Heart Of GOP’s Medicaid Plans

After decades of trying to screw up the Medicaid program the GOP may get its wish now that we have a president and the GOP has a strangle-hold on the Congress.

They, the GOP, wants to kill any and all provisions of the ACA…when they are done fucking that up they will turn to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid…..

Let’s start with their plans for Medicaid….”Block Grants”……

It’s called “block granting.” Right now, Medicaid, which was expanded under the 2010 health law to insure more people, covers almost 75 million adults and children. Because it is an entitlement, everyone who qualifies is guaranteed coverage and states and the federal government combine funds to cover the costs. Conservatives have long argued the program would be more efficient if states got a lump sum from the federal government and then managed the program as they saw fit. But others say that would mean less funding for the program —eventually translating into greater challenges in getting care for low-income people.

Block granting Medicaid is a centerpiece of health proposals supported by House Speaker Paul Ryan and Rep. Tom Price, Trump’s nominee to run the Department of Health and Human Services. This weekend, Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway emphasized the strategy as key to the administration’s health policy.

Republican plans to transform Medicaid could help set debate on the role of government and entitlements. Here’s an explanation of how it could work.

Source: Everything You Need To Know About Block Grants — The Heart Of GOP’s Medicaid Plans | Kaiser Health News

It all sounds so idyllic…..but the GOP has never been one to really care about the health of others….plus this smells like something other than a “good deal”…..

But as with any health program….there is someone waiting to rape the people/states out of their money.

Does VA Have A Future?

Before I begin I want to say good-bye to Mary Tyler Moore R.I.P.  She was there whenever you turned on the TV now she leaves us for a better place…Good-bye Mary we will miss you.

There have been hints that the VA could go through some changes and even a hint of those that want it privatized…..then there is Marco Rubio……

Rubio was an outspoken voice against a couple of Trump’s choices for the cabinet and in the end it was all bullsh*t he rolled over and did what he was told….just like those spineless twats, McCain and Graham, all their tough talk was just that…talk….they played to the cameras for all those gutless words will make a good campaign ad if needed…..political theater at its best.

Enough about the cowards….Rubio is offering up a bill to help the VA get its sh*t together……this has redeemed him in my eyes a bit…….

U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., has brought back his proposal to reform the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Last week, Rubio reintroduced his “VA Accountability First and Appeals Modernization Act.” Back in July, Rubio teamed up with then U.S. Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Fla., who was serving as the chairman of the U.S. House Veterans Affairs Committee, to bring out the bill last summer.

Source: Marco Rubio brings back his proposal to reform the VA

About time for someone to concentrate of fixing the VA….my problem is that it should start with seeing that the vets asking for help gets it and at a time no longer than 3 months…..fix the rest of the crap later…the vets should be the number one priority.  PERIOD!

This is a good start and maybe there will be some support, bi-partisan support, for this bill.