The last post was foreshadowing a
future that could mean massive destruction for life on this planet as
we know it. Depressing, I know, so this post is looking at some of
the advances, or missteps, that human civilization is embarking on
even while the change in our climate may make some of them impossible
or irrelevant.
I ran across some rather interesting
predictions for major stories put forth by The Economist back in
December 2018 for 2019 and beyond. From advances in technology that
have wide ranging applications to political upheaval in the West they
are snippets of events that will affect all of us. In the case of
Trump they already are. The massive airport hubs in China, and
another rather surprising country, will impact not just air travel
but climate change. The realization in Japan that they can't sustain
their lifestyle when most of their population is aging rapidly and
the supply of workers is dwindling has implications for other
countries who will find themselves in the same boat. Japan's solution may surprise some of us. And the moon? Yes, it looms over
all of us.
So if you are sitting inside on another
snowy day, like I am, and have some time to while away, here are the
videos of our future... maybe sort of. Yes, I will always qualify
that because one doesn't really know what the future holds.
Part 1:
Part 2:
93 comments:
This is kinda off-topic, but I was noticing on this morning's news that Trump (who does his own hair it's said), Trump is getting progressively more sloppy on the Great Swirl of Trump. I wonder if it means that the pressures of the office are wearing him down.
Our own Democratic presidential candidate(there are so many out there) Amy Klobuchar did speculate in a tweet about what it would look like in a snowstorm. This after Trump's tweet regarding her resemblance to a snowman(woman) when she made her announcement that she was running.
I am, so far, not particularly negative about Amy Klobuchar. (As, for instance, I think Kirsten Gillibrand has demonstrated a cheap opportunism and a willingness to switch policy positions at just the hint of a polling advantage; just not sure I can trust her to mean what she says--okay that pretty much goes for any politician, but she seems to have it worse than most).
On the subject of ‛cheap oppotunism’, it appears that Trump's recent slide in the polls is causing him to seek ways to fire up the Evangelical element of his right-winger base--we may hear a lot more about ‛Two Corinthians’ and similar semi-Biblical Trumpisms this next election cycle.
‛oppotunism’ ??
Not sure how I missed that the first time. Guess I need more coffee.
I shall attend to that need now.
It looks like McCabe initiated conversations about removing Trump from office under article 25.
At least someone was watching. Although it apparently didn't go very far.
I am, so far, not particularly negative about Amy Klobuchar.
She is well liked here in Minnesota. She is a down to earth, no nonsense kind of person. Basically the anti-thesis of Trump. Having said that I doubt she will make it all the way, but she has my vote. I really don't know if the American public is ready for a woman president. It would be a shame, though, in her case I think she would bring a stability and intelligence to government that is sorely lacking at the presidential level at the moment.
Of course, you really can't rule out anything at the moment. Amy's tough.
"…McCabe initiated conversations about removing Trump
from office under article 25…"
I knew there had been such discussions at the Justice Department, and I knew that Rod Rosenstein had been involved in those discussion, and it had been strongly suggested that McCabe was up to his eyeballs in it as well, but I think this is the first time McCabe himself has admitted to his involvement in those discussions and taken the credit for initiating them.
Well, Sean Hannity has done a 180 within the space of a single hour-long show and moved his rhetoric describing the recent deal to keep the government open; it's changed from "garbage" to proof that Trump is "tenactious", this on account of Hannity is assured that Trump will declare that national emergency that's lookin' real likely now.
But, let's not let them kid anybody--it was important to them that Trump successfully inflict their minority will on an unwilling majority of the country, and that emergency declaration ain't likely to get that done. In spite of them now deciding that was ‛garbage’ is now a great thing; they're gonna remember that their champion lost this round.
Took like 12 words into the comments of a New post and then it was "Trump". And yall wonder why not even the obnoxious swede comments here anymore?
Orange Man Bad!!!
We get it.
"And yall wonder why not even the obnoxious swede
comments here anymore?"
Where did you get the idea that anybody wondered about the absence of the obnoxious Swede?
^ so gay
The National Football League has settled the employment discrimination complaint brought against the league by Colin Kaepernick, who alleged conspiracy and collusion among the teams in the league to keep him off the football field. The league demanded, and got, a non-disclosure agreement from Kaepernick, so I imagine that means they payed some big league caliber money to make that complaint go away.
A related, but lesser known claim by Eric Reid, once a teammate of Kaepernick, who also took a knee during the anthem while playing with the 49rs way back when, was also settled--likewise for a sum large enough to justify the league keeping it secret.
Took like 12 words into the comments of a New post and then it was "Trump". And yall wonder why not even the obnoxious swede comments here anymore?
Anyone is free to initiate a conversation on whatever topic they choose, even one pertaining to the post. If you had wanted to discuss, say, what Japan is doing to deal with its worker shortage or the political climate in the EU and its possible affect on global stability you could have jumped right in. I would have been quite happy to participate in such a discussion.
But noooo you just faded away into the ether. So I will go with what Lee chooses to discuss or whatever I am feeling in the moment. Such as my lamenting our constant, and I mean constant snowfall.
P.S.
Orange Man Bad!!!
So's his hair.
The league demanded, and got, a non-disclosure agreement from Kaepernick, so I imagine that means they payed some big league caliber money to make that complaint go away.
Apparently everyone has a price.
"Apparently everyone has a price."
That crossed my mind too, from very public protest to very private pocket the settlement money.
There's a rumor going around that Trump is trying to get Justice Clarence Thomas (age 70 now) to retire so that he, Trump, can appoint a right-winger, preferably even a Protestant, Bible-Thumping, Evangelical type, in their 40s or 50s to a position on the Supreme Trumpkins.
"If you had wanted to discuss, say, what Japan is doing
to deal with its worker shortage or the political climate
in the EU and…"
Actually, I'd been wondering what was the attitude in Europe towards Trump's somewhat fanciful declaration of victory against Da’esh in Syria and against the Taliban/al-Qaeda/Da’esh elements competing in Afghanistan. (Although, the obnoxious Swede's knowledge on that score might be limited to how it's playing amongst the Nordic neo-Nazi types.)
Doesn't look like much, but a ¼ inch of black ice can cause a prudent hillbilly to just stay home on a Saturday morning.
Nate Silver, at 538 blog has a fairly long and detailed analysis of Amy Klobutchar's prospects for winning the Democratic nomination.
Short version is, "It's doable; she might be able to pull it off."
There's a rumor going around that Trump is trying to get Justice Clarence Thomas (age 70 now) to retire so that he, Trump, can appoint a right-winger,...
It worked with Justice Kennedy. I would be more concerned about Bader Ginsburg's age and health. That would really cause a huge shift. At least Chief Justice Roberts seems concerned enough about the politicizing of the court to weigh his decisions carefully.
Actually, I'd been wondering what was the attitude in Europe towards Trump's somewhat fanciful declaration of victory against Da’esh in Syria and against the Taliban/al-Qaeda/Da’esh elements competing in Afghanistan.
That's the thing about Trump, his actions reverberate in ways that will affect everyone. Not least of which are his environmental and economic (tariffs against China) policies. I think even Petes has come to realize this.
Even the benefit to Russia can't be counted on to actually further their agenda. It reminds me a bit of Chaos Theory.
Doesn't look like much, but a ¼ inch of black ice can cause a prudent hillbilly to just stay home on a Saturday morning.
Can't stand that stuff. You can't see it until you're in a skid.
I spent a little time yesterday and today rearranging my snow. My driveway had started to narrow a bit at the end. Obviously I hadn't snowblowed straight at some point. I also wanted to push back the piles at the end where you couldn't see around and the sides to allow for more snow. They are predicting some more snow Sunday and later this week. I am hoping it will slide south of the Cities. But I don't hold out much hope.
They say March is our snowiest month. I am hoping that we have flip flopped that this year and actually got the bulk of our snow in February, and March will actually be quieter.
Nate Silver, at 538 blog has a fairly long and detailed analysis of Amy Klobutchar's prospects for winning the Democratic nomination.
That was an interesting take on Amy's chances. Honestly I would dearly love to see her debate Trump. She is an intelligent, tough person who would stand up against his nonsense, I am thinking. We could definitely do worse for president.
I don't know about the issues with her staff, but I can't imagine anyone who would be worse to work for than Trump. I also have to wonder if some of that would't even be an issue if she were a man.
In any case, I think it all comes down to whether or not the people believe that a woman can beat Trump. Given the fact that I like her despite not always agreeing with her kind of shows that she may be a dark horse that could come from behind and win.
P.S.
I think she is the real deal. That is, I don't believe she is running out of some kind of ego trip, but because she really does want to improve the lot of all Americans.
I don't know if it's been noticed yet in the wilds of Minnesota (what with it being winter there and all), but the right-winger media has been going off these last few days on the utter weirdness of Democratic presidential candidate Corey Booker (Booker's a vegetarian). A few links
It's been an especially big deal on FoxNews of late.
Apparently we're gonna take custody of approximately 800 Da‛esh fighters currently held in Syria (in the technical custody of the Kurdish rebels as I understand it), and release them back into their native European habitats. Trumptweets It appears that the Trump administration is solicitous of a at least some endangered species.
McCabe is being interviewed on 60 Minutes talking about the conversation he had with Rosenstein about invoking the 25th Amendment. It seems to be more of a speculation on who in the Cabinet might vote to do so.
He is now talking about the situation with North Korea, that Putin had told Trump that the North Koreans didn't have the missiles that our intelligence agencies say they do. When questioned about this Trump told them that regardless of what our people said he believed Putin.
It's been an especially big deal on FoxNews of late.
*sniff*
Carnivores.
Apparently we're gonna take custody of approximately 800 Da‛esh fighters currently held in Syria (in the technical custody of the Kurdish rebels as I understand it), and release them back into their native European habitats.
might explain why when Mike Pence brought Trump's greetings to people at his recent meeting in Europe he was met with dead silence.
Ummm, no… The meeting Pence with silence thing came a day or so before the catch and release notice on Da’esh fighters.
Ummm, hmmm, must be something else then....
Experts rank the best presidents
0 being a failure, 50 as average, and 100 as great
I won't give away who ranks where.
Anne Applebaum, writing in the WashingtonPost, has an opinion about why Pence's address to the Munich Security Conference was met with ‛stoney silence’.
A true leader is someone who has earned the respect of those he/she would lead. Trump has so not done that it is laughable to think he would be applauded...anywhere.
Yes, Marcus, Orange Man Bad. And if only other people would have stood up and badgered people into listening during some rather significant periods in our history then perhaps some serious damage could have been avoided way back when. So I will continue to stand up and harp on Trump's lack of qualifications and the stability needed to hold an important office like president of the United States.
Apparently those who voted in that link to the best presidents agreed with me, since Trump was dead last.
It seems that while Amy Klobuchar doesn't have national name recognition CNN has chosen to give her a spot on their broadcast when she holds a townhall in Manchester New Hampshire tonight. I will try to catch it to see how she does. She was in Iowa and Wisconsin earlier.
I did manage to watch all of the town hall with Amy Klobuchar. It was actually not boring. But then I like her. She did have the guts to come out and say that she does not support free tuition for 4 year colleges. This on a 4 year college campus. I liked that. She is also right. It's not affordable. But she did have some ideas that might actually help with college tuition.
Anyway, I will let others decide what they think of Amy. I already know.
My major consideration at this point is, "Can he/she beat Trump in the general election?"
Couple of folks I have my doubts about, or just don't much like. But, first and foremost the question for me is, "Can he/she beat Trump in the general election?"
It's a good question. Personally I think she has a better chance than the far left wing of the Democratic Party. But I guess we will have to wait and see what shakes out.
If it were just a question of competency and personality I think she could very easily beat Trump. But it's more than that, it's about who's ideas have come, and the progressive side of the Democratic Party smell blood in the water, I'm afraid.
"…and the progressive side of the Democratic Party
smell blood in the water, I'm afraid."
The ‛progressive’ side of the Democratic Party isn't much of a danger. Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and Nancy Pelosi would all claim membership in the ‛progressive’ side of the party. It's the radical leftists we gotta worry 'bout.
Happily, they're not near the danger that they're made out to be.
Trump, FoxNews, Radio-Right-Wing, and the reactionary right winger pundits all want them to be a danger (gives them something to run against). The media wants them to be real force to be reckoned with (makes for a much more compelling story to put on their pages than the simple--‛Trump's Gettin' Slaughtered in the Polls’ story that a more conventional ‛progressive’ choice would make into the headlines.) But, aside from that Democratic Socialist girl from New York and a couple of female Muslims from the enclaves around Detroit, the radical left wingers got slaughtered by the more mainstream candidates in the Democratic primaries. It was swing districts, once Trump districts that went for traditional Democrats this last time that swung this past election back to the Democrats. Them what swing the election is them what's got the power going forward
Three loud young female radicals make for interesting headlines, so the media pumps them up as best they can. But it's still only three loud young female radicals, and they ain't sure fire to win reëlection once Trump is gone. Trump makes them look better. Once there's no Trump, they gotta compete in the real world. I don't expect them to last long, one session of Congress, maybe two.
I notice that Clarence Thomas has come out, pretty much unbidden, and called for a reversal of the landmark libel case of New York Times vs Sullivan (In that case Sullivan, a white supremacist southern politician, sued the New York Times for carrying a paid advertisement from a political committee that had formed to support Dr. Martin Luther King--the advertisement was soliciting funds for Dr. King's legal defense for being a uppity nigger in Alabama. The advertisement did not name Mr. Sullivan, but he sued anyway on a fairly harebrained theory that wouldn't have flown anywhere except in the deep south and then only because it was intended to put a stop to uppity niggers.)
Anyway, the upshot of that case was the Supreme Court ruling that public figures had to prove ‛actual malice’ to win public libel cases.
Trump has been raging against that law since he first started running for President, raging against it even more now that he is President, and now Clarence Thomas comes swooping down out of the blue and writes obiter dicta that it should be struck down. This probably pleases the hell outta Trump, but my guess is the purpose here is to get Trump to lay off of Thomas, quit trying to get him to retire.
We've got a long way to go until election day and the field of Democrats is pretty big to even start to get excited about any of them. It's true I like Amy, but that probably means that she won't last. I am just tired of all of the flash with no substance in many of our politicians. We have too many serious problems to deal with to elect more incompetent people. Right or left.
On another cheery note our next snowstorm is scheduled to move in tonight and last through a good portion of the day tomorrow, dumping 6 to 10 inches of that white fluffy stuff all over us. We will have a one day reprieve on Thursday before the next system moves in on Friday. That one is set to last all the way into Sunday, dumping even more of that evil white fluffy stuff all over us.
Oh, joy.
"We've got a long way to go until election day and the
field of Democrats is pretty big…"
Yeah, that's pretty much where I'm at this early. I got a couple of whom I'm leery. Kirsten Gillibrand is one; Bernie Sanders is another. But aside from starting out with an unfavorable view of a couple of 'em….
Klobuchar is still on my ‛maybe she'll do’ list; could go either way as the season progresses.
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We started with sleet turning to freezing rain after dark. At least the ice is white this time.
(Most of the ice is white--it's the sleet layer that's showing in the headlights.)
I've been reading ‛analyses’ in both the conservative and the liberal press which suggest that Mueller, in the end, will not discover a connection between Trump himself the Russians during the 2016 campaign.
Take too long to read the tea leaves in public, so I'm not going to go into a detailed ‛why’ over this, but my reading of the mystic signs is different.
I think it's fairly likely, maybe 30% or even a little more, that Mueller actually names Trump himself as an unindicted co-conspirator in an espionage against the United States, and of conspiring with the Russians to swing the 2016 election to Trump.
I'm not sure the chances are even 30% that the Trump Justice Department will allow such a report to be released to the public without a fight.
Bernie Sanders is another.
That's the one that really bothers me. I don't know enough about Kristen Gillibrand or Kamala Harris to make an informed decision on either. But I am of the opinion that there are too many on the left that would overspend. At least Amy Klobuchar is realistic and honest enough to tell voters.
There's a reason that voters become disappointed with politicians not doing what they promise they would do. It's because they promise the sun the moon and the stars and then find out when they get into office that some things just aren't possible or there are people who won't work with them.
I was reading an article by a more left leaning analyst. She was theorizing that if only we could get rid of Amy Klobuchar then the progressives would have a clearer field. Her meaning, of course, being that Amy is too pragmatic, middle of the road, and, ummm, bland. Yet she kind of liked her honesty. I wonder if Amy actually made it to the final round if this analyst would vote for her anyway?
So far, Kamala Harris is also on my ‛maybe she'll do’ list.
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Politico claims that there is already a noticeable, ‛sustained and ongoing’ on-line effort by the Russian government hackers to knock down Trump's Democratic challengers and boost Trump's reëlection chances in 2020.
We started with sleet turning to freezing rain after dark. At least the ice is white this time.
I snowblowed this morning, went to work, came back 2 1/2 hours later and snowblowed again. There was a fine line between driving slow enough so I didn't slide into another lane or the ditch and fast enough so that I wouldn't get stuck. At noon there was 7 1/2 inches on my back deck and it's still snowing. The plows don't seem to be able to keep up.
I'm not sure the chances are even 30% that the Trump Justice Department will allow such a report to be released to the public without a fight.
I think others are making an effort to inform the American people, including McCabe who finally came right out and said that there was a possibility that Trump is a Russian asset.
The NYT has an article out regarding Trump's effort to undermine the Cohen case by putting someone in charge who he thought would be more favorable for him.
However, I'm leery of Elizabeth Warren.
Politico claims that there is already a noticeable, ‛sustained and ongoing’ on-line effort by the Russian government hackers to knock down Trump's Democratic challengers and boost Trump's reëlection chances in 2020.
Well now maybe the Russians will make Mueller's case for him.
"I think others are making an effort to inform the American people…"
Oh, Hell yes. If Trump tries to sweep it under the rug, there will be a fight.
However, I'm leery of Elizabeth Warren.
I don't care for her either.
On another subject… I noticed that almost 60% of the black voters of Virginia were polling in favor of letting Gov. Ralph Northam off the hook for that blackface incident of 35 years ago. They just weren't convinced it mattered more to them than the last 35 years since then.
I would support an appointment of Ms. Warren to be head of the federal Consumer Protection Agency. I just don't want to see her become the Democratic nominee for President. I think we'd have to worry 'bout whether or not she could beat Trump.
The main targets appear to be Sens. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), and former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas), four of the most prominent announced or prospective candidates for president.
Perhaps Amy will slide under the radar because she isn't perceived as a threat. :)
They just weren't convinced it mattered more to them than the last 35 years since then.
I would imagine there are other more serious concerns for them. While it was stupid it wasn't a life threatening incident. And if he has been a good advocate since then perhaps he has grown up.
There will be some lag time between the time when she starts getting noticed by the Democrat's probable primary voters and the time the Russian hackers pick up on that fact.
So far they've gone with the Democrats who were generating the most news a month/six weeks ago--take maybe that long for them to notice her after she starts making serious splashes.
I just don't want to see her become the Democratic nominee for President. I think we'd have to worry 'bout whether or not she could beat Trump.
She tends to be a little too far to the left for me and I too would worry about her beating Trump. Having said that, however, if it came down to those two I would vote for her.
There will be some lag time between the time when she starts getting noticed by the Democrat's probable primary voters and the time the Russian hackers pick up on that fact.
Probably so. Of course, if she doesn't bust out of the pack she probably won't be worth their time.
Morning weatherman opened up the 6 o'clock hour by telling us that anybody headed to Minnesota today might just wanna rethink that notion.
Only if they can slip back out before Friday night. Right now it looks nice and sunny. But they are saying we will get another large storm Friday night into Saturday. I am hoping to do my errand on Friday.
It seem that the Trump administration is setting up another fight with California. This time over fuel emissions standards.
Hannibaugh has been often known to rant about California's 55 electoral votes always going for Democrats. The dedicated Trumpkins are already acclimated to hating on California. So, he's just giving them some easy hating to do, to keep their spirits up. (Kinda reminiscent of 1984's infamous daily ‛Two Minutes Hate’ regularly scheduled for the afternoons if I remember the book right.(
Now this does kind of fall under the category of news of the weird. I'm not sure how any comb would work to eat a salad. And in any case that sounds extremely unsanitary. I'd rather use my fingers.
"…comb…to eat a salad…"
I heard that one. Not sure I believe it. Maybe the Russian trolls have discovered her candidacy for President.
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Trump made it official today, we're not pulling out of Syria after all (although we're going to keep pretending that we're pulling out so's not to agitate Trump).
Current plan is to draw down from the approximately 2,000 troops we've got in Syria now to about 400 troops in Syria by some later date to be expected to come around one of these days, by and by, someday, whenever,…. Meantime they're gonna try to refer to them separately as the troops in Northern Syria, and the troops in Southern Syria and hope they can get away with pretending it's gonna be just 200 troops there, not the entire 400, 'cause they won't talk about both groups at the same time. Not to mention that we don't know when they're actually gonna reduce the numbers, which they're currently scheduled to increase but not talk about.
I heard that one. Not sure I believe it. Maybe the Russian trolls have discovered her candidacy for President.
I did wonder about that. I's guessing they haven't found anything of more serious concern yet to beat her over the head with. I'm not even sure how you could eat a salad with a comb, but whatever...
More snow overnight. I'm not in a rush to clear it, I'm hoping not to have to go anywhere today. I might try to cut down the piles at the end of the driveway and pull some from the roof. I can't reach very far with the rake so that may be just a waste of time. I don't have any icicles so hopefully no major heat loss.
I'm wondering if the Syria shell game may be Trump's effort to please two masters.
Venezuela is looking rather chaotic. Humanitarian aid is being blocked by Maduro. There seems to be protesters on both sides, those who support Maduro and desperate people who need aid. Looks like a bus on fire now.
"Venezuela is looking rather chaotic."
Venezuela's been chaotic for a couple of years now. They're mostly just louder these past couple of months.
I haven't mentioned Jussie Smollett, the TV actor who apparently faked an attack on his own person to increase his public visibility (and, apparently, hope to work a pay raise out of his new notoriety). Mostly I've been ignoring that because the ongoing culture wars are not as interesting to me as they appear to be to other people (not exactly complex questions coming up there). But, TheNewRepublic has an interesting take on why culture-war offenses against the right-wingers (and white folks in particular) get so much more publicity than more serious offenses against the liberals.
Some people are just extremely vocal in their efforts at misdirection.
I mentioned on these pages once before, several months back, that Lindsey Graham could switch from being John McCain's sidekick to now being Trump's sidekick because, at heart, Lindsey Graham is a sidekick; that's his natural predilection, to play sidekick to a principle, to an alpha. The ideology and principles in play are secondary. Lindsey Graham is a sidekick by nature.
NewYorkTimesMagazine has an article that largely agrees with what I said way back when. That doesn't make my analysis right (I was already right), but it's always good to get some backup (well, usually good to get some backup).
By the way, it went by almost without notice from our mainstream press, but our Dear Leader has given up on getting North Korea to surrender their nukes, or even freeze their nuclear program.
Now he'll be happy if they just delay testing until after the 2020 elections. And the dedicated Trumpkins all seem fine with this.
My amusement for the day, apparently even Mitch McConnell isn't even sure if Trump's emergency declaration for his wall is legal.
Sure, Mitch, wrap yourself in the Constitution when you can't think of any other way to wiggle your way out of Trump's latest authoritarian gambit.
By the way, it went by almost without notice from our mainstream press, but our Dear Leader has given up on getting North Korea to surrender their nukes, or even freeze their nuclear program.
I think channel 5 was pointing out a certain discrepancy in Trump's words regarding that very thing just this evening. But your are right about Trump supports not caring about his shifting views.
Oh, and just as a small aside, the tax reform act did not shorten the 1040. Information that was contained on two pages is now contained on four. lol! Ain't government simplification grand?
More snow...and more tomorrow...and more on Thursday.
*Deep mournful sigh*
At least I managed to get a replacement chute for my snow blower, and do the change myself. I also tightened up the adjustable piece so hopefully it won't blow straight up in the air like it has been. lol! The other one was cracked. Must have been that early ice storm.
"…apparently even Mitch McConnell isn't even sure if Trump's
emergency declaration for his wall is legal…"
The Resolution overruling Trump's declaration of a nation emergency passed the House today. It's a ‛privileged’ bill, which means that McConnell can't just sit on it and refuse to allow a vote (his usual play when he doesn't like how the vote's gonna come out). This time he has to allow it to be voted on in the Senate within 15 days (I think it's 15--something along those lines). He can't stop it, and he's beginning to think he can't get enough Republicans behind him to vote it down. So, he's looking to crawfish on Trump if he has to.
It sounds like he might load it up with all sorts of things that Democrats would find unpalatable.
But it won't be the last of this, since there are a number of lawsuits pending.
"It sounds like he might load it up with all sorts
of things that Democrats would find unpalatable."
He may not have the votes for that either. Which is why he's lookin' to maybe crawfish on Trump if he has to.
Michael Cohen just finished his opening statement to the House Intelligence Committee. One thing he said that I found especially noteworthy is that he had no direct, first-hand knowledge of Trump colluding with the Russians to influence the outcome of the 2016 presidential election.
It appears that the Michael Cohen testimony is recessed for the day.
I got to watch some of it. Cohen came across well. Considering he's already going to jail for, among other things, lying to Congress; he managed to make a convincing argument that he's done all the lying he intends to do. (Didn't work out for him as well as he might have hoped, so he's not eager to do it again.)
From what I saw the Republican defenders of Trump forgot to defend Trump. They got so wrapped up in howling about how Cohen was a liar, a lying liar, liar-liar, lawyer liar, pants on fire… One after another after another, that none of them ever actually got around to defending Trump. (Of course, this will not matter to the dedicated Trumpkins, who are only interested in attack--no interest available for actually defending Trump--attack is everything. But, it might get noticed by any swing voters still available, if any such exist.)
One thing he said that I found especially noteworthy is that he had no direct, first-hand knowledge of Trump colluding with the Russians to influence the outcome of the 2016 presidential election.
What I found interesting is that apparently Roger Stone was in contact with Julian Assaunge about the email data dump before it happened and that Stone told Trump. No direct collusion with the Russians? I would think that the Russians are smart enough to make sure there is no apparently direct link.
"No direct collusion with the Russians?"
Cohen had no direct, first hand knowledge proving collusion with the Russians. That doesn't mean Mueller doesn't have direct evidence by now. Manafort may have tried to play him, but Mueller also has Manafort's right-hand man, Rick Gates, who's apparently being continually coöperative.
Trump, who declared that he was in ‛no rush’ to get North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons program appears to have achieved his targeted outcome. North Korea doesn't look to be giving up its nuclear program in the foreseeable future; there will, in fact, be ‛no rush’ on that.
Local Radio-Right-Wing morning host is twisting himself into a veritable rhetorical pretzel spinning the now-concluded Hanoi meeting into a great victory for Trump. It's hilarious; I hope a get a chance to listen to Hannity's three hour radio spinning this afternoon. I think Rush Limbaugh might be catchable even earlier.
Well, I missed Limbaugh entirely, and Hannity is broadcasting from Hanoi about the evils of the Iranians and Obama. Kinda disappointing; I was looking forward to some laughs.
Give them time, I'm sure that another opportunity will arise.
It seems that the Trump meeting with Kim isn't getting the type of press that Trump would have hoped. In my paper this morning this story was below the fold. It was the Cohen testimony that got the above the fold attention.
"It seems that the Trump meeting with Kim isn't
getting the type of press that Trump would have hoped."
Yeah, well… When the headlines read ‛Trump walks out with No Deal’ and the Congressional reaction (both Democrats and Republicans alike) is ‛Whew…thank gawd…’
Ain't gonna be the kinda press that Trump would have hoped in any press this side of FoxNews.
Meantime, back at the ranch…
Shit just seems to keep on comin’….
Jared Kushner's security clearance--House Hearings thereon.
Cohen hearings--both the one we got to see and the two we didn't get to see.
Otto Warmbier--the dedicated Trumpkins are havin' real trouble ignoring that one, they're trying gamely to get 'er done, but it's a stretch for 'em.
And the Republican Senate still hasn't figured out how to handle that Resolution from the House disapproving of Trump's national emergency declaration.
Shit just keeps on comin'….
Shit just seems to keep on comin’….
But we kind of expected that, didn't we?
It was just a question of when.
Speaking of...
I could say the same for the snow. We got more yesterday, although I don't think as much as what they were expecting. I had someone shovel off around the edges of my roof and also the entire lower roof. There must have been at least 3 feet of snow up there. Now I've got piles of the stuff all around my house.
The snowplow went again this morning so I better clear the driveway again...
*sigh*
Never ending.
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