Day: October 24, 2018

Gary Hart Was Set Up!

Closing Thought–24Oct18

May I see a show of hands……who knows who Gary Hart is and what is his significance?

I am an old fart and I remember and even supported the candidacy of Dem. Gary Hart….the year was 1988 and the GOP had G.H.W. Bush as their candidate….after 8 years of a Reagan it was time for the US to move to a more sensible president.

Well into his run for the nomination a photo emerged of a cute blonde sitting on Hart’s lap( hint not his wife)….and his run collapsed as quickly as it had come to life…..

One of the biggest political sex scandals of the modern era—one that perhaps helped the elder George Bush become president—may have been a set-up. So writes James Fallows in the Atlantic regarding the fate of Colorado Sen. Gary Hart in 1987. Hart had been a leading contender for the Democratic nomination that year when an infamous photo emerged of a young model named Donna Rice sitting on Hart’s lap on a pier in Bimini. The photo effectively ended Hart’s bid for the White House. Now the new twist: Legendary GOP operative Lee Atwater, who served as Bush’s campaign manager, reportedly made a deathbed confession in 1991 to Hart consultant Raymond Strother that he orchestrated the photo and resulting scandal. “I thought there was something fishy about the whole thing from the very beginning,” Strother tells Fallows.

“Lee told me that he had set up the whole Monkey Business deal,” he adds, referring to the name of the boat on which Hart had sailed to the Bahamas. ‘I did it!’ he told me. ‘I fixed Hart.’” Strother says he kept this information mostly to himself over the years but decided to go public because of a cancer diagnosis. Atwater reportedly arranged for a donor to invite Hart on a cruise, concocted a boat switch to that of the aptly named Monkey Business, made sure young women were on board, created a snafu that required the boat to stay overnight, then orchestrated the photo as they waited out the delay. “It was clearly staged, but it was used after the fact to prove that some intimacy existed,” Hart himself tells Fallows. More details on the alleged scheme are in the full story. (This woman says she’s the Miami Herald tipster who triggered a damning Hart investigation.)

Of course as a supporter I felt that he had been set up….but in those days we did not have the many conspiracy sites on which we could make our case.

Plus the woman was sitting on his lap….kinda of mild after the sexual crap we have these days, huh?

Hart was an  antiwar candidate…I say candidate for if elected who knows what direction he would have turned….

Ever noticed that good candidates seldom go on to be nominated?

BTW….1836 the match gets a patent.

“Make America Great Again”–Part One

My regular visitors know that I am a history nut….I enjoy all aspects of history and subject that some in our society turn their back on….I have found that many of my regulars also like history especially when I post something that they may not be aware of……

I have found a good historian…….. a man that was a professor at West Point, Major Danny Sjursen…..he has written a series foe Truthdig.org….I will be posting each article…I would post all at once but I know bloggers and he would be ignored after about 2 or 3 parts….Maj. Sjursen takes a look at our history and the roots of “Make America Great Again” (which is not unique to the Trump era)…….

Part One in our American History series……..

American Slavery, American Freedom (Colonial Virginia 1607-1676)

Origins matter. Every nation-state has an origin myth, a comforting tale of trials, tribulations and triumphs that form the foundation of “imagined communities.” The United States of America—a self-proclaimed “indispensable nation”—is as prone to exaggerated origin myths as any society in human history. Most of us are familiar with the popular American origin story: Our forefathers, a collection of hardy, pious pioneers, escaped religious persecution in England and founded a “new world”—a shining beacon in a virgin land. Of course, that story, however flawed, refers to the Pilgrims, and Massachusetts, circa 1620. But that’s not the true starting point for English-speaking society in North America.

The first permanent colony was in Virginia, at Jamestown, beginning in 1607. Why, then, do our young students dress in black buckle-top hats and re-create Thanksgiving each year? Where is the commemoration of Jamestown and our earliest American forebears? The omission itself tells a story, that of a chosen, comforting narrative (the legend of the Pilgrims), and the whitewashing of a murkier past along the James River.

https://www.truthdig.com/articles/american-history-truthdiggers-original-sin/

I hope my readers enjoy this series….I found it interesting and informative….I hope you do so as well.

Limp Dick Penalties

I need to apologize for my internet is spotty at best today….I am posting in between brown outs and such…..hopefully these toads will get it right some time today.

Now for the news of the day (well yesterday)……

We have been waiting for all the information to trickle into the White House so that Our Dear Supreme Leader can flex American muscle and make the Saudis pay for the gruesome murder of a WaPo journalist, Jamal Khashoggi.

After all the semi-tough talk from Trumpy Boy (I could not use “Trumpy Bear for it is a registered trademark) Trump has decided and Pompeo stepped forward and as usual gave his limp dick verdict.

The Trump administration revoked the visas Tuesday of some Saudi officials implicated in the killing of writer Jamal Khashoggi in its first punitive measure against its longtime Middle East partner, as President Donald Trump denounced the kingdom for one of the “worst cover-ups in the history of cover-ups.” Shortly after Trump made the comment, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the administration was moving to revoke the visas of Saudi government and intelligence agents suspected of involvement in the death of Khashoggi. Visa records are confidential and Pompeo was not more specific about who the revocations would affect, but the State Department later said 21 “Saudi suspects” would have visas revoked or would be declared ineligible to enter the US, the AP reports.

Revoking thew visas of minor Saudi players that were working under orders….cannot get more Limp Dick than that.

To be honest Pompeo did say that there is the possibility of further consequences…….

“These penalties will not be the last word on this matter,” Pompeo told reporters at the State Department. The administration “will continue to hold those responsible accountable. We’re making very clear that the United States does not tolerate this kind of ruthless action to silence Mr. Khashoggi, a journalist, with violence. Neither the president or I am happy with this situation.” Members of Congress have demanded that sanctions be imposed on Saudi Arabia. Trump has resisted calls thus far to cut off arms sales to the kingdom and Pompeo stressed the strategic importance of the US-Saudi relationship. But in his remarks to reporters at the White House, Trump derided the initial Saudi denial of any wrongdoing and efforts to conceal what happened to Khashoggi. “They had a very bad original concept,” he said. “It was carried out poorly and the cover-up was one of the worst cover-ups in the history of cover-ups. Somebody really messed up and they had the worst cover-up ever.”

It should be very telling when further penalties are announced ….if ever.

How about putting some teeth in this decision…..first, an international investigation for the Saudis will do nothing and Turkey is probably up to something….second, NATO should expel Saudi ambassadors….third suspend arms sales (do not believe the hype they will continue to buy our weapons they have a war in Yemen that needs the armament)…these would be the bare minimum of penalties for now.

But as was predicted the Saudis will get a free ride for their actions.

A closing statement…..Khashoggi’s bodily remains may have been located….

Three weeks after he entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, and never emerged, Turkish officials are reporting that journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s body and personal effects have finally been found. The circumstances once again support the idea that a Saudi kill-team that arrived at the consulate at the same time indeed killed and attempted to dispose of him.

Though Turkish investigators are so far not confirming or denying it, top Turkish official Dogu Perincek is reporting that Khashoggi’s body was found cut-up and disfigured, and dumped in the well in the garden belonging to the Saudi consul general.

This all supports the audio recording of Khashoggi’s murder, in which the then-consule general objected to the kill-team killing and cutting up Khashoggi in the consulate, saying he’d “get in trouble.” He’s been fired, and recalled to Saudi Arabia for an investigation.

(antiwar.com)

Now ask yourself why are we not more strict on the Saudis?  It is not the oil for we have more than they do and we could make up any short fall if they, Saudis, want to retaliate……arms deals?  They need us more than we need them they will continue to buy our implements of destruction….so just what is the reason that we feel we must continuously give them oral sex?

Homeless And Hungry (Just Another Country Song)

There are two situations that have been with us since the beginning and will be with us when this world ends its life cycle……homelessness and hunger.

The promise of politicians says that if you live right then these two situations will never know your name……well my dear friends….that is a LIE! (capitalized for effect)

Take homelessness…….

These men and women, and increasingly children, are the collateral damage of the corporate state, their dignity and lives destroyed by the massive transference of wealth upward, deindustrialization and the slashing of federal investment in affordable housing begun during the Reagan administration.

It is 8 a.m. I am in the small offices of Street Roots, a weekly newspaper that prints 10,000 copies per edition. Those who sell the newspaper on the streets—all of them victims of extreme poverty and half of them homeless—have gathered before heading out with their bundles to spend hours in the cold and rain.

https://www.commondreams.org/views/2018/10/08/homeless-america

The necessities are shelter (home) and food…..in some regions food is almost a luxury item…..famine is always with us somewhere in the world….(BTW an Iphone is not a necessity)

Scientists are getting concerned about the global food supply…..

Researchers from Washington State University have published a new report of the Great Drought, the most destructive known drought of the past 800 years – and how it sparked the Global Famine that claimed the lives of 50 million people. The scientists warn that the Earth’s current warming climate could spark a similar drought, but even worse.

One of the lead researchers, Deepti Singh, a professor in WSU’s School of the Environment, used rainfall records and climate reconstruction models to characterize the environmental conditions leading up to the Great Drought, a period in the mid-1870s known for widespread crop failures across Asia, Brazil, and Africa. The drought was connected to the most extreme manifestation of the El Nino supercycle ever recorded.

“Climate conditions that caused the Great Drought and Global Famine arose from natural variability. And their recurrence — with hydrological impacts intensified by global warming — could again potentially undermine global food safety,” lead author Singh and her colleagues wrote in the Journal of Climate, published online Oct. 04.

The release of the study came days before the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warned that global warming could cause intense droughts, floods, extreme heat and poverty for hundreds of millions of people.

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-10-15/scientist-warn-world-brink-major-famine-lead-severe-shocks-global-food-system

I realize that the term “climate change” is a dirty word in some circles…..but that should not matter…..making damn sure that the food supply holds should be a priority…..not a partisan issue….sadly it is not.

Why not?

On a side note….Americans lead the world in wasted food……Americans waste about a pound of food per person each day, with people who have healthier diets rich in fruit and vegetables the most wasteful, research has found.

About 150,000 tons of food is tossed out in US households each day, equivalent to about a third of the daily calories that each American consumes. Fruit and vegetables were the most likely to be thrown out, followed by dairy and then meat.

How pathetic is that?

It’s Iran!

When Our Dear Supreme Leader pulled out of the Iranian nuke deal I said then that the toads in his admin, the Neocons, are pushing all the buttons to a possible conflict, armed conflict, with Iran.

Trump is throwing new sanctions at Iran after the deal he did not like…..

Representatives from the nations that, along with the United States, signed on to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JPOA), are still trying desperately to salvage the agreement, which is on life support since the U.S. pulled out of it. The latest attempt concerns SWIFT, and Iranian access to it. SWIFT, officially the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, is a secure messaging service that transmits millions of instructions per day to banks and other financial institutions. Among the many sanctions that Trump is re-imposing on November 5, in violation of an international agreement to which the U.S. is a signatory, one is to prevent these communications to and from Iran.

https://www.counterpunch.org/2018/10/16/trump-iran-and-sanctions/

Does Trump have an Iran policy?  Or is he just pushing the buttons for a new war?

Much indicates that the likely murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi will be transformative for Saudi-U.S. relations. But whether it will affect the one issue where Saudi pressure on the United States was the greatest—Iran—is unclear. The Iran strategy favored by Saudi Arabia and the Netanyahu government in Israel, and eagerly adopted by the White House, will likely lead to a military confrontation regardless of whether its assumptions about the status of Iran’s economy and political survivability are true or not.

The Trump administration’s pressure strategy on Iran assumes that the Islamic Republic is standing on its last leg. The White House believes a gentle nudge will cause its collapse in the next few months. This is a shaky assumption—one which makes the policy immensely risky for a simple reason: what if President Donald Trump and the Saudi Crown Prince are wrong? What if the Iranian theocracy survives, albeit far angrier and hostile than it was before? And what if the assumption is correct? Will the clerical rulers sit quietly as the United States, Saudi Arabia and Israel orchestrate their demise? History is riddled with examples where pressure has triggered confrontation rather than capitulation—even when the underlying assumption has been correct.

https://nationalinterest.org/blog/skeptics/trump%E2%80%99s-iran-policy-meant-start-war-33541

For the last 30 years Israel has had a plan to make Iran the aggressor…..fist it was their search for nukes….yes Iran has been chasing nukes for at least 30 years and so far they have nothing…..but now that Israel got the US to pull out of the Iranian nuke deal….they are looking at Iran in Iraq and accusing them of planning to attack from Iraqi soil……

Israeli Internal Security Minister Gilad Erdan said yesterday that Iran would launch attacks on Israel from Iraq, Israel Hayom reported.

Speaking at a conference hosted by the Jerusalem Institute for Strategic Studies, Erdan underscored the increasing military presence of Iran and its allies “along Israeli borders”, according to the Israeli newspaper.

He said that Iran had sponsored Hezbollah in the south of Lebanon “along the Israeli border”, stating that Hezbollah’s arsenal had grown to more than 150,000 missiles and rockets.

The extremist Israeli minister stressed that Iran maintains strong ties with Iraq and this could draw it into a potential war with Israel in the future.

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20181022-mk-iran-could-launch-attacks-on-israel-from-iraq/

Seriously?  Israel will generate a threat if they cannot find one occurring naturally….it is almost pathetic to watch the poor bastards search for a reaso0n to be the aggressor.

When Trump replaced the different people with the uber Neocons like Pompeo and Bolton then the die has been cast……

In covering President Donald Trump’s recent pregnant comments about Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, The Wall Street Journal tucked away in its story an observation that hints at the president’s foreign policy direction. In an interview for CBS’s 60 Minutes, the president described Mattis as “sort of a Democrat if you want to know the truth” and suggested he wouldn’t be surprised if his military chief left his post soon. After calling him “a good guy” and saying the two “get along very well,” Trump added, “He may leave. I mean, at some point, everybody leaves…. That’s Washington.”

Actually that’s Trump. He demands total and utter loyalty from his people and gives none in return. In just his first 14 months as president, he hired three national security advisors, reflecting the unstable relationships he often has with his top aides. Following the 60 Minutes interview, Washington was of course abuzz with speculation about what all this might mean for Mattis’s fate and who might be the successor if Mattis were to quit or be fired. It was just the kind of fodder Washington loves—human drama revealing Trump’s legendary inconstancy amid prospective new turmoil in the capital.

https://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/general-mattis-vs-trumps-warhawks/

Iran is in he cross hairs and Trump policies are showing the ammo he is using to rev up the weapons of war.