;)
The Commentariat -- December 14, 2017
** Greg Miller, et al., of the Washington Post write an extraordinary front-page piece on Donald Trump's refusal to accept Russia's successful attempts to swing the 2016 election to him. Among the intelligence James Clapper & Jim Comey shared with Trump during the transition: 'Putin's specific instructions on the operation' to hack the election. "Rather than search for ways to deter Kremlin attacks or safeguard U.S. elections, Trump has waged his own campaign to discredit the case that Russia poses any threat and he has resisted or attempted to roll back efforts to hold Moscow to account.... Overall, U.S. officials said, the Kremlin believes it got a staggering return on an operation that by some estimates cost less than $500,000 to execute and was organized around two main objectives -- destabilizing U.S. democracy and preventing Hillary Clinton, who is despised by Putin, from reaching the White House." The WashPo report is based on "is based on interviews with more than 50 current and former U.S. officials, many of whom had senior roles in the Trump campaign and transition team or have been in high-level positions at the White House or at national security agencies."
Jim Tankersley of the New York Times: "House and Senate Republicans have reached an agreement, in principle, on a consensus tax bill on Wednesday, keeping the party on track for final votes next week with the aim of delivering a bill to President Trump's desk by Christmas, according to people briefed on the deal. Senator John Cornyn of Texas, the majority whip, told reporters that Republicans will be briefed on the deal today, and that he is confident it will be approved next week. Details on the deal were not immediately available." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) The story has been updated. ...
... Paul Krugman: "So, it seems that Republicans are responding to the devastating defeat in Alabama ... by ... doubling down on a massively unpopular tax plan, whose main focus is on cutting corporate taxes. In fact, they're rushing to jam the thing through before Doug Jones can be certified, in a stunning act of hypocrisy from the same people who demanded that Obamacare wait until Scott Brown was seated and held up a Supreme Court seat for a year. It's outrageous. But it also looks like really bad politics, especially given what we know is coming: calls next year for cuts in popular social programs, because of a deficit Republicans just voted to explode." Krugman attempts to explain Republicans' magical thinking & provides examples of just how "magical" it is. ...
... Binyamin Appelbaum of the New York Times: "The Federal Reserve, buoyed by a steadily strengthening economy, raised interest rates on Wednesday for a fifth time since the financial crisis and predicted that a proposed tax cut moving through Congress would modestly increase economic growth for the next few years without stoking inflation.... The Fed's highly anticipated economic assessment, delivered after a two-day meeting of its policymaking committee, amounted to a lukewarm endorsement of the Trump administration's top economic priority. Mr. Trump has suggested that the $1.5 trillion tax cut could nearly double economic growth to as much as 6 percent, a level far greater than most economists think likely. 'My colleagues and I are in line with the general expectation among most economists,' said Janet L. Yellen, the Fed's chairwoman. She said they expected the bill to provide 'a modest lift.'" Mrs. McC: Sounds as if the Fed is being generous to avoid appearing "political."
Can't make it up: Obama now wants credit for the booming Trump economy. At least we can all agree the economy is better under President Trump. -- Sarah Huckabee Sanders, in a tweet, Dec. 10, 2017
Sanders suggests that its outlandish to give Obama credit for the current economy, claiming that "we can all agree the economy is better under Trump." The problem is, Trump's economy owes largely to trends started in the Obama era. By almost every economic measure, the upward trends Sanders and Trump cite began while Obama was still in office. -- Nicole Lewis of the Washington Post
Ashley Parker & Josh Dawsey of the Washington Post: "Shortly after Democrat Doug Jones wrested back one of Alabama's solidly Republican U.S. Senate seats for the first time in more than two decades, President Trump offered an optimistic and forward-looking assessment on Twitter, congratulating Jones on his 'hard fought victory.' But by Wednesday morning, as Trump watched the unflattering portrait of the loss unfold on television, the president grew piqued at the notion that he, somehow, was responsible. 'I won Alabama, and I would have won Alabama again,' Trump said, according to a senior administration official. He told advisers that he didn't want the results to be seen as a referendum on him and asked if he still had a solid base of support in the state. He also questioned Wednesday if he had made the right decision and if Sen. Luther Strange -- the Republican he grudgingly endorsed who went on to lose the party's primary -- could have beaten Jones in the general election.... The president himself spread the blame. He faulted ...his former chief strategist, Stephen K. Bannon, for selling him what one outside adviser described as 'a bill of goods' in urging him to support Roy Moore, and he faulted Moore himself for being an abysmal candidate. In the lead-up to Tuesday night, he had also groused about Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), saying he had been too aggressive in trying to push out Moore." ...
... Annals of "Journalism," Ha Ha Ha. Eli Rosenberg of the Washington Post: "Democrat Doug Jones's victory in Alabama's U.S. Senate special election shocked political observers, setting off a cascade of commentary about its political significance as the country heads toward midterm elections in 2018.... But how did it play in conservative media?" Well, first, it was "not Bannon's fault." Second, just ignore the story & go with FBI EMAILS!!! AND FBI TEXTS!!! Third, chalk Moore's loss up to voter fraud. (Mrs. McC: Never mind that Alabama has a very effective voter suppression law.) Looks like most of Jones' voters were "dead people" or Nee-gros bussed in from Mississippi. (Mrs. McC: Never mind that allowing dead people & out-of-staters would require large-scale cooperation with Alabama election officials.) ...
... MEANWHILE. Elliot Hannon of Slate: "... on Wednesday Moore released a video to tell you why he's not giving up on the race he lost by 20,000 votes or roughly a point-and-a-half. 'In this race, we have not received the final count to include military and provisional ballots,' Moore said in his video statement. 'This has been a very close race and we are awaiting certification by the Secretary of State.' OK, yeah, sure, but that's kind of, like, a technicality at this point, Roy." Hannon points to some of Roy's other reasons not to concede. Among them: "Today, we no longer recognize the universal truth that God is the author of our life and liberty. Abortion, sodomy, and materialism have taken the place of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.... We have allowed Judges and justices to rule over our Constitution, and we have become slaves to their tyranny." ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: That is, Roy doesn't understand that it's the job of "Judges and justices to rule over our Constitution," which is extra-odd since Roy hisself was once the chief justice of the Alabama State Supreme Court where it was his job to uphold the U.S. & Alabama constitutions. He didn't do that, of course, forcing the other state justices to remove him. Twice. Well, maybe he just thinks Marbury v. Madison was a bad call. ...
... Kyle Swenson of the Washington Post: "It was a four-minute fire-and-brimstone video about abortion, same-sex marriage, school prayer, sodomy and 'the right of a man to claim to be a woman and vice versa.'... Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill has called it 'highly unlikely' that Jones would not be certified as the winner."
Nicholas Fandos of the New York Times: "The release Tuesday night of F.B.I. officials' text messages describing the possibility of a victory by Donald J. Trump as 'terrifying' and saying that Hillary Clinton 'just has to win' is fueling a Republican campaign to attack the impartiality of the Justice Department and its special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III -- and possibly hamper him with an investigation of the special counsel's office. Accusations of bias, primed by the newly released texts from an F.B.I. agent, Peter Strzok, and an F.B.I. lawyer, Lisa Page, took center stage on Wednesday when Rod J. Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general who appointed Mr. Mueller as special counsel, began testifying before the House Judiciary Committee. Republicans pressed Mr. Rosenstein to appoint a second special counsel to investigate political partisanship in the department and to scrutinize Mr. Trump's former presidential rival, Mrs. Clinton." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: This is fairly nutty. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) in questioning Rosenstein, went over a list of contributions Rosenstein & other top DOJ officials had given to Republicans (and zero to Democrats). In other words, Republican partisanship is A-okay, but even lower-level officials cannot support Democrats. Could someone please explain "hypocrisy" & "double standards" to these dopes?
Gabriel Sherman of Vanity Fair: "Roger Stone Is Already Writing the Story of Trump's Downfall." He has a book deal! Stone thinks Bob Mueller will bring "process-related" charges (like obstruction of justice) against Trump, & disloyal cabinet members -- like Nikki Haley -- will bring him down. Stone doesn't favor this outcome; he's just ready to cash in on it." Mrs. McC: Akhilleus had some justifiably derisive comments about Roger's literary career in yesterday's thread.
Mark Landler of the New York Times: "President Trump and Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson are once again at odds over how to deal with nuclear-armed North Korea after Mr. Tillerson declared on Tuesday that the United States was ready to open talks with the North 'without precondition.' The secretary's comments were remarkably conciliatory for an administration that has repeatedly threatened North Korea with military action, and ruled out any negotiations, if it did not curb its missile and nuclear programs. But a few hours later, the White House distanced itself from his overture. In an unusual statement released to reporters on Tuesday evening..., Sarah Huckabee Sanders, said Mr. Trump's position on North Korea had not changed -- namely, that talks were pointless if the North's leader, Kim Jong-un, continued to menace his neighbors."
Omarosa Has Left the Building. Julia Glum of Newsweek: "The White House confirmed Wednesday morning that Omarosa Manigault Newman, the former Apprenticecontestant often known by just her first name, is leaving her job in the Trump administration. Press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters Omarosa resigned Tuesday 'to pursue other opportunities' and will leave her position as director of communications for the Office of Public Liaison on January 20.... Journalist April Ryan tweeted that she'd heard there was 'drama' surrounding the departure. Ryan described the alleged resignation as a 'firing' and said Omarosa had been escorted off White House property. 'Sources say General Kelly did the firing and Omarosa is alleged to have acted very vulgar and cursed a lot and said she helped elect President Trump,' Ryan, the White House correspondent for American Urban Radio Networks, added." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: The scuttlebutt on CNN is that Omarosa tried to break into the residence, & the Secret Service had to stop her. Everything is going very smoothly. ...
... Update: Here's April Ryan's story (audio). (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
... AND the Last Word Goes to Maggie Haberman & Yamiche Alcindor of the Paper of Record: "Ms. Newman was escorted off the premises on Tuesday night, one of the officials said. The Secret Service, in an unusual Twitter message, denied being a part of that. But the tweet added, 'Our only involvement in this matter was to deactivate the individual's pass which grants access to the complex. While she will be paid through Jan. 20, Ms. Newman is not expected to return to work, the officials said.'... Three administration officials described reports of Ms. Newman being hauled off the White House grounds as overstated. Still, all three said that there was a precipitating event that finally got Mr. Trump on board with an effort by John F. Kelly, the current chief of staff, to remove her." ...
... As Haberman & others reported late last week, Trump thinks of every day at the White House as a an episode of a reality show in which he must avenge his enemies (or something like that). Looks like that's one thing he's right about. It's an extremely stupid reality show, but it sure gets high ratings. One of my favorite parts of this episode: as this loud, physical slapstick routine is going on behind her, Mrs. Huckleberry slams the door on the ruckus & voices her straightlaced, straightfaced claim that everything is indeed going smoothly & Omarosa voluntarily walked off her $180K/year White House gig to "pursue other opportunities." Nothing to see here, folks.
Paul Kane of the Washington Post: "Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) has been admitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for recovery from the side effects of another round of treatment for brain cancer, according to his office. McCain, who missed a third straight day of Senate votes Wednesday, has been undergoing rounds of chemotherapy and radiation to treat glioblastoma, the terminal form of brain cancer he was diagnosed with in July. McCain has been undergoing treatments since early September at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda.... He suffered an Achilles' tendon tear in early November that put him in a walking boot, and in recent weeks he has used a wheelchair to get to and from his office and the Senate floor for votes.... Two friends close to McCain ... said there were no plans for the senator to resign."
... I desire you would Remember the Ladies, and be more generous and favourable to them than your ancestors. Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of the Husbands. Remember all Men would be tyrants if they could. If perticuliar care and attention is not paid to the Laidies we are determined to foment a Rebelion, and will not hold ourselves bound by any Laws in which we have no voice, or Representation. -- Abigail Adams to John Adams, March 31, 1776.
As to your extraordinary Code of Laws, I cannot but laugh.... Depend upon it, We know better than to repeal our Masculine systems.... [This] would compleatly subject Us to the Despotism of the Peticoat, I hope General Washington, and all our brave Heroes would fight. -- John Adams, to Abigail Adams, April 14, 1776
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.... -- Thomas Jefferson, et al., July 4, 1776 ...
... Gail Collins: "... when Donald Trump beat Hillary Clinton it triggered a visceral response in masses of American women, and that trauma may be turning into a political uprising more powerful than the Tea Party.... We truly could be seeing a new wave of feminist reform." ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: Don't kid yourself, Gail. Women's empowerment affects almost every aspect of society in a more comprehensive way than does any other civil rights movement. It's easier for a white "Christian" man to work alongside a black or gay man than it is for him to go home & find his wife is working late & hasn't put his dinner on the table, which is his due. The black, gay co-worker may implicitly challenge the white guy's power & sexuality but not in the direct way a powerful female partner can. The backlash against minority rights has riled out country since before it was a country, & more recently resistance to gay rights has elevated the stupid. The Despotism of the Peticoat, I'm afraid, still is a bridge too far.
Kyle Cheney of Politico: "House oversight committee chairman Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) has referred allegations that ... Donald Trump sexually assaulted women to the Justice Department, rebuffing a request from House Democrats that his committee investigate the claims. 'This Committee, nor any other Committee of Congress, does not, and cannot, prosecute crimes...,' he wrote in a reply to Rep. Lois Frankel (D-Fla.), who gathered signatures from Democratic colleagues calling for the investigation.... Gowdy copied Attorney General Jeff Sessions on the letter." ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: Pretty sure JeffBo will get on this right away.
M.J. Lee of CNN: "A former senior aide to Rep. Blake Farenthold has approached the House Ethics Committee to share a damning account of working for the Texas Republican, with the intent of describing the congressman as verbally abusive and sexually demeaning -- and his congressional office as an intensely hostile environment that drove the aide to physical and emotional distress. Michael Rekola, who was Farenthold's communications director in 2015, described in an interview with CNN new details of the congressman's abusive behavior. It ranged from making sexually graphic jokes to berating aides -- bullying that Rekola says led him to seek medical treatment and psychological counseling, and at one point, caused him to vomit daily." ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: Want an example? "Rekola was about to leave town to get married in July 2015, when, he said, Farenthold, standing within earshot of other staffers in his Capitol Hill office, said to the groom-to-be: 'Better have your fiancée blow you before she walks down the aisle -- it will be the last time.' He then proceeded to joke about whether Rekola's now-wife could wear white on her wedding day -- a clear reference, Rekola said, to whether she had had premarital sex."
Megan Messerly of the Nevada Independent: "Once-rising Democratic star Rep. Ruben Kihuen [Nev.] made repeated and unwanted sexual advances toward a female lobbyist while he was a state senator, the woman told The Nevada Independent. The woman, who requested anonymity..., says that Kihuen touched her thighs or buttocks on three separate occasions without her consent. She also showed the Independent hundreds of suggestive text messages she received from Kihuen -- including invitations to come sit on his lap in the middle of a committee hearing and repeated requests to spend the night at her place -- over the course of the 2015 legislative session.... The woman told the Independent that she never dated Kihuen.... The woman said she decided to tell her story after reading a BuzzFeed article in which Kihuen's former campaign finance director alleged the freshman congressman propositioned her for dates and sex despite repeatedly rejecting him and touched her thighs without consent on two occasions during his 2016 congressional campaign. Kihuen, in a statement after the BuzzFeed piece published, said he didn't recall any of the described circumstances. He has rebuffed requests from Democratic leaders to step down."
Heather Caygle of Politico: "A female Democratic House member shocked fellow lawmakers Wednesday when she said that the revealing clothing that some members and staffers wear is an 'invitation' to sexual harassment. Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) made the comments during a private Democratic Caucus meeting Wednesday to discuss sexual harassment issues, according to two Democratic sources in the room.... Kaptur said women on Capitol Hill should have to abide by a stricter dress code, like those adopted by the military or corporations."
Annals of "Journalism," Ha Ha Ha. If you're looking for the difference between real news & fake news, look no further than Kelly Weill's report in the Daily Beast on how winger "journalists" Charles Johnson & Mike Cernovich hyped a fake story about Chuck Schumer's supposedly harassing a former aide. Johnson & Cernovich did zero research on a document that they alleged was a copy of a lawsuit against Schumer. But the signatures on the complaint were forged & the body of the document was lifted from a suit against Rep. John Conyers -- a copy of which Cernovich also had been shopping around. In other words, all Cernovich had to do was look on his own desk to see that the document he said would bring down Schumer was a fake. "Reached by The Daily Beast on Wednesday, Cernovich said he was the victim of a 'sophisticated forgery' and provided the supposed 'number of the hoaxer,' which was disconnected. Johnson, for his part, wouldn't directly answer questions about the forgery." Needless to say, actual journalists would not have run with this hoax -- they would have checked numerous sources to determine the veracity of any document they received. But right-wing media blast out this kind of crap every day.
Daniel Holloway of Variety: PBS has indefinitely suspended distribution of the Tavis Smiley show in the wake of an investigation of allegations of Smiley's "misconduct."
Joe Coscarelli & Melena Ryzik of the New York Times: "In recent interviews, four women spoke on the record about a pattern of violent sexual behavior by [music mogul Russell] Simmons, disclosing incidents from 1988 to 2014. Three of the women say that he raped them. In each case, numerous friends and associates said they were told of the incidents at the time."
** Brooks Barnes of the New York Times: "The Walt Disney Company said on Thursday that it had reached a deal to buy most of the assets of 21st Century Fox, the conglomerate controlled by Rupert Murdoch, in an all-stock transaction valued at roughly $52.4 billion. While the agreement is subject to the approval of antitrust regulators -- and the Justice Department recently
Joel Achenbach of the Washington Post: "Wednesday morning two independent research teams, one based in the Netherlands and the other in California, reported that the deluge from Hurricane Harvey was significantly heavier than it would have been before the era of human-caused global warming. One paper put the best estimate of the increase in precipitation at 15 percent. The other said climate change increased rainfall by 19 percent at least -- with a best estimate of 38 percent. Meanwhile another team of scientists released a blockbuster report on extreme weather in 2016, saying that for the first time they could declare that three separate weather events -- the weirdly warm 'blob' of water off the Alaska coast, a heat wave in Asia and the record global warmth -- would have been impossible without human-caused climate change." ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: Count this as one of the many fact-based reports that White House staff will not be putting on Donald's desk when they deliver their twice-daily "propaganda reports" today.
Beyond the Beltway
Thomas Novelly of the Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky State "Rep. Dan Johnson died by 'a probable suicide' Wednesday night, just two days after allegations surfaced that he had sexually abused a teenage girl at the church where he was a pastor. Bullitt County Coroner David Billings said Johnson was found with a single gun shot wound to the head at Greenwell Ford Road in Mount Washington.... Johnson was accused by a woman of molesting her when she was 17 after a New Year's party in 2012, according to a wide-ranging report published Monday by the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting. That was followed by calls for Johnson's resignation from both Republican and Democratic leaders. But at a press conference Tuesday morning, Johnson said that he wouldn't step down.... Around 6 p.m. Wednesday, Johnson wrote on Facebook that the allegations were false and sent a farewell to his church followers and family. 'The accusations from NPR are false GOD and only GOD knows the truth. Nothing is the way they make it out to be ... GOD LOVES ALL PEOPLE NO MATTER WHAT,' Johnson wrote. Johnson's Facebook post was taken down later Wednesday evening."
Share Article
Reader Comments (22)
Favorite line on the Confederate tax fraud being hustled through at close to light speed:
“Details on the plan were not immediately available.”
Yeah. No kidding. And they won’t be either. Because they don’t want anyone to see the details of their reverse Robin Hood film flam. Not gonna wait for Doug Jones? Gee, another big surprise. Certainly not when they have an appointed Confederate flunky who’ll vote for their con game sight unseen.
If Democrats do wrest control of either chamber in 2018, however, look for these charlatans to rediscover the concepts of fairness, transparency, and the proper way to handle legislation, ie, not written by six guys with a flashlight under the covers at midnight with zero input from either the other side or the public, no debate, and no oversight.
Fucking crooks.
During the last throes of my foray into becoming a Marriage and Family therapist the head honcho professor/therapist emphasized over and over the importance and necessity of "leaving your baggage outside the door" (she sometimes said "shit"). This of course precludes that you "know" your baggage which you pretty well do after this training. She then added, "and if you can't leave your baggage outside the door, you have no business being a therapist."
I thought of this when watching the Republicans grill poor Deputy Attorney Ron Rosenstein during the House Judiciary Cmt. Hearing yesterday. What we witnessed were vituperative accusations of Mueller's group because of their political affiliations (spurned on by the Peter Strzok text). Never mind that Mueller (and Rosenstein) are Republicans, the problem as they see it is that Mueller's team consists of Democrats. In other words, they are not doing their job BECAUSE they are prejudiced from the get go. These republican bull dogs, many of them lawyers themselves, miraculously dismiss the ability to compartmentalize. This hypocritical display, engineered with bravo and sincerity was something to behold. They failed in their performances; the desperation to shut down Mueller's quest was all too evident.
One of the Democrats said re: Strzok's text: "Isn't that what we were all thinking?" I would bet your bippy that Peter, like most FBI agents are able to leave their own baggage (read political leanings) outside the door. If not, they have no business doing that job.
Re: the Omarosa soap opera: what I'd love to see happen is Omarosa, furious that she was fired, spills the beans on her boss whom she thought would protect her, but didn't, telling the world that she and he had "quickies in the closet"–––"oh, no, not in the White House, during the Apprentice" (roomier closets there). She has been his loyal advocate; this is a woman not to be scorned––believe me!
Moore's comments after losing tells all about how religion is having problems. He wants America to return to 1AD. When someone tells me that god says no gay marriage I ask what is gods view on guns?
"I'm going to bring back jobs, jobs, jobs...companies are going to come back to the US..."
Ford Motor Co has told suppliers it plans to shift production of midsize Fusion and Mondeo sedans out of Mexico and Spain in 2020 and move it to China, three sources said on Wednesday.
Yup! guy gots his finger on the pulse, don't he?
Here's an in-depth piece I just read on the Rosenstein hearings:
U.S. REP. STEVE CHABOT (R-OH) WINS THE PRIZE
for the most odious attack on Mueller. Hypocrisy, thy name is Chabot!
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2017/12/this-congressman-wins-the-prize-for-the-most-odious-attack-on-bob-mueller.html
@Marvin: Does your question to the believers about what god thinks about guns reduce them mute or do they tell you, don't be silly, there were no guns in god's day? And then you jump in and say...These believers, stuck as tightly as tuna in a can, will not budge, no matter what. It's their bread and butter–-their sustenance–-their need for protection and love. Akhilleus' joke yesterday about the bloke who believed his god would save him from the floods but did nothing to save himself from actual help given, is a perfect example of this "belief" system of the religious gone amuck.
PD, you got it. I follow by telling them there is no bible discussion on same sex marriage because it's a new idea. The usual response is I don't get it. Logic plays no role.
CNN: "Trump can claim 'fairly serious achievements' in first year, Putin says".
Putin figured out how to conquer America!
God and Guns.
God's view on guns? Hey, he invented guns! No kidding. Prob'ly got a wall full of 'em. AK's, Uzi's, everything from 12th C Chinese fire lances to flintlock rifles, a Colt 45 Peacemaker once owned by George Armstrong Custer, a Sharps rifle used by Buffalo Bill, and a Star Wars blaster autographed by George Lucas (he gets all the really good shit). The Pearly Gates have been remade. They're now made of old gun stocks and decorated with Emiliano Zapata autographed cartridge belts (See? What'd I say about good shit?)
And the dude is an eternal member of the NRA. Hell, he created the NRA. That was on the ninth day. "And on the ninth day, after resting, god created the NRA and he saw that it was good, so he gave them a shitload of gunpowder and, as a Biblical lagniappe, a Saturday Night Special, he just having invented Saturday, which was a good thing cuz otherwise he'd have to call it 'Cheap little gat for capping scumbags in the bar after last call', which doesn't sound nearly as cool." Biblically speaking, of course.
Well, the whole gun idea really took off. Even the angels got into the act. Uriel, the archangel sent to guard the gates of Paradise with a flaming sword after the whole Adam, Eve, Snake thing, traded it in for a Glock. I guess fiery swords can be a hindrance when you're in the crapper. I mean, where do you put it? Okay, and here's a spoiler. Samson didn't use the jawbone of an ass to whack all those Philistines, he used a Gatling gun. Shh...don't tell anyone. They changed it because they got a giggle out of all those high toned religious types saying "ass" whenever they read "Judges".
Anyway, the whole idea was that god tired of constantly having to punish all the sinning and screwing around and crazy shit humans were always getting into. Plus, he really screwed up with those Seven Deadly Sins. Why seven? Too many to keep track of. Gluttony, Greed, Wrath, Jesus, what a pain. He prob'ly wished he only made one deadly sin: "Evil Shit". Much simpler. Covers the waterfront. Besides, gluttony? Shoot, you can see plenty of that at the Denny's all-you-can-eat buffet.
But after a while things got out of hand and he got pissed and did the flood thing and, Christ, what a mess afterwards. Storm drains clogged for years, black mold everywhere, not a dry towel in the house. Everyone praying to him for some kind of Hovel Improvement Store so they could fix their gutters and build a new pen in the backyard for the slaves. Sheesh. So he said "Fuck this for a game of soldiers. No more floods. It'll be fire next time." And he meant it. Gun-fire. And that's how god decided to destroy the world a second time.
Plan's not goin' too well in civilized nations, though. Millions and millions of people but only a handful of guns, so not nearly enough murders. Practically none in some places. But here in the good ol' US of A? People be shootin' each other in the head by the hundreds, ever' day, for things like sneakers and runnin' red lights and X box games on Black Friday.
And god saw the craziness and said "These bastards are nuts. I'm takin' a nap."
And there you have it. God's take on guns.
@Akhilleus–-don't take a nap yet. Here's a piece in TNR that warns us to beware of the "Black voters are super heroes' narrative from Alabama's election.
"Black women are not political mules to be used every time a mediocre white candidate needs to win. No amount of verbal appreciation will do us justice. Turn over the money, resources and power, then we can talk." (Charlene Carruthers: National director of a black youth org.)_
Read about the extreme poverty (guess which group) in the great state of Alabama––with no help forthcoming.
https://newrepublic.com/minutes/146265/beware-black-voters-superheroes-narrative-alabamas-election
P.S. sorry, AK, it's god that needs a nap, not you, but after that supreme rendition of gods and guns, you must be tuckered out as well. Very clever and made my morning. Thanks.
Blameless victims right to the bitter end.
In Kentucky, a "preacher" calling himself the pope finds out that the authorities are reopening a case of sexual molestation against him. He whines that this woman is a liar (lots of that going around it seems, all these lying women and plenty of truth-telling, faultless men. Hmmm...), that she's on Hillary's payroll or some crazy thing (oh, yeah, she voted for Hillary--clear evidence that she's lying) and she hates him for his conservative Christian lifestyle.
Hmm..let's examine that "conservative Christian lifestyle":
According to an amazing article written by the Kentucky Center for Investigative Journalism (known in evangelical Confederate circles as "Satan Spawn"), Pope Danny Ray Johnson has a, whatchamacallit, colorful history.
In addition to getting hammered at a New Year's Eve bash at his "church" and sexually molesting a sleeping friend of his daughter, there are these delightful tidbits:
1985, the Pope pleads guilty to insurance fraud, after being caught paying a couple of jabronis to torch his caddy for the insurance money.
2000, he's at it again. He torches his own church. Insurance company smells a rat and investigates. Pope Johnson blames "the Klan". No charges were filed.
And here's a good one:
"Alcoholic Beverage Control officers have cited Johnson and the church three times for selling alcohol without a license. These sales happened at regular weekend church parties. KyCIR described them as 'Bikers, booze and, occasionally, bare breasts ... a costume party featuring zombie nuns in short skirts.' In a 2009 trial Johnson, dressed in a priest’s collar and wearing a cross, claimed that the drinks were served as part of a 'communion.'"
Wow. Communion sure has changed since I was a kid. It never used to come with a proof rating.
And as the walls closed in on him, he did what any rat bastard religious hypocrite would do: blame everyone else and paint himself as a martyr for his conservative beliefs.
Certainly that young woman knows what happened. She reported it to the police. Why the original investigation was quashed without even so much as a how'de do to Pope Danny Ray is unclear but it seems that things were about to become a lot clearer, something Danny Ray couldn't put up with.
I'm sure not every evangelical (if that's what he was) would go this route. Not even every religious person. The point is that the ground for truth has been salted so completely by right-wing propaganda and propagandistic techniques, every winger who gets nailed doing something illegal or dirty believes they can escape by shouting "fake news" and "god loves me!" and painting themselves as the sad victims of liberal hatred, rather than owning up to their own bad acts.
The president does it. Why not a guy like Danny Ray?
Of course wingers in Kentucky, especially the state's governor, another scam artist, Matt Bevin, are full of grief and prayer and sympathy for the pope.
What about the girl he attacked?
Oh well, she's just a girl. Nothing to get excited about. But POOR DANNY! A victim of a lying bitch and dirty liberal reporters "out to get him".
And that's how it goes.
@AK, at least Danny solved his problem the righteous right-wing way - by exercising his god-given NRA 2nd-amendment rights on himself.
In a 1991 survey of western thought, "The Passion of The Western Mind", Richard Tarnas wrote an epilogue that, at the time, I thought was intriguing and perhaps far-fetched. But Mrs. McC's comments today about Ms. Adams' injunction brought it to mind.
Dr. Tarnas' epilogue concluded that virtually all of documented western thought was based on the masculine push for dominance and actuation, but has repressed earlier matriarchal and feminine values of soul, unity, and the "participation mystique" with nature.
He discusses it at length. But here's the bottom line he advances:
"... to achieve ... reintegration of the repressed feminine, the masculine must undergo a sacrifice, an ego death. The Western mind must be willing to open itself to a reality the nature of which could shatter its most established beliefs about itself and about the world. *This* is where the real act of heroism is going to be. A threshold must be crossed, a threshold demanding a courageous act of faith, of imagination, of trust in a larger and more complex reality; a threshold, moreover, demanding an unflinching self-discernment. And this is the great challenge of our time, the evolutionary imperative for the masculine to see through and overcome its hubris and onesidedness, to own its unconscious shadow, to choose to enter a fundamentally new relationship of mutuality with the feminine in all its forms. The feminine then becomes not that which must be controlled, denied, and exploited, but rather fully acknowledged, respected, and responded to for itself. It is recognized: not the objectified "other," but rather source, goal, and immanent presence."
... "This is the great challenge, yet I believe it is one the Western mind has been slowly preparing itself to meet for its entire existence. " .... "... much of the conflict and confusion of our own era reflects the fact that this evolutionary drama is now reaching its climactic stages." ... "Man is not a goal. Man is something that must be overcome -- and fulfilled, in the embrace of the feminine."
Interesting.
Also interesting, you can find that epilogue here.
Skip to the end, "Bringing It All Back Home" (h/t R. Zimmerman)
I only found that online because I looked up Tarnas right after posting the above.
Patrick,
Thanks for the link to the Tarnas epilogue. I read this book when it came out and was impressed. There are a mountain of books examining the rise of civilizations of the Axial Age (Karl Jasper's shorthand way of referring to those few hundred years BCE when disparate cultures from west to east seemed to independently develop a more nuanced approach to philosophy, science, religion, and our place in the whole shootin' match), all taking a slightly different tack.
Tarnas's approach, which I admit I found a tad deterministic (even maybe a bit teleological) at the time (not a fan of determinism), has the virtue of reminding readers of earlier cultures in which gender equality was much more than a nice idea, communities that revolved around the goddess cultures, seeing equality as not just an organizing principle, but a necessity for a balanced society.
With that in mind, since we're recommending stuff to read, I'd like to toss out, as an adjunct to Tarnas's work, a book that came out a few years earlier, Rianne Eisler's immensely interesting "The Chalice and the Blade". She makes the distinction that patriarchal cultures tended (and still do) to be dominance cultures (just look at the big baby in the White House) with a large helping of authoritarianism. Whereas societies based more on matriarchal underpinnings tend to be cooperative cultures (Eisler calls them partnership cultures).
Recent science (by recent, I mean last week) seems to provide hard evidence to back up such claims, indicating that prehistoric societies relied on both men and women for hard physical labor (not just the little cave ladies sitting at home minding the kiddies while the big strong manly men did all the hard work):
"Prehistoric women had stronger arms than elite female rowing teams do today thanks to the daily grind of farming life, researchers have revealed, shedding light on their role in early communities.
The study of ancient bones suggests that manual agricultural work had a profound effect on the bodies of women living in central Europe between about the early neolithic and late iron age, from about 5,300BC to AD100."
The essence of both books seems to suggest that we are approaching a recombination of cultures. The Me Too movement may represent the first wave of such a restructuring of our societies. Women are now allowed into the military. There are, I heard yesterday, thousands of women contacting Emily's List declaring their interest in a political career. There is obviously far to go, but it could be that the rampant, painfully obvious misogyny of such as president* pussy grabber, and his virulent reaction to women who might challenge his role as dominant douchebag, could be expediting the Δ in gender roles.
We shall see.
The WaPo piece (linked above) investigating the Trumpian decision to put the nation--and democracy itself--at risk so as to soothe his own wounded ego is an astounding article with stunning conclusions:
"The result [of Trump's willful ignorance] is without obvious parallel in U.S. history, a situation in which the personal insecurities of the president — and his refusal to accept what even many in his administration regard as objective reality — have impaired the government’s response to a national security threat. The repercussions radiate across the government."
Unfit? He isn't even unfit. Unfit seems to suggest someone who can't do the job. This is a guy who doesn't even rise to the level of "unfit". He's just "un". You can't even include the word "fit" in a calculation of this idiot's pure, unadulterated inadequacy.
In so many ways, Trump is the Black Swan of American political history. The unaccountable, unforeseen, but remotely possible thing. The founders were prescient in so many ways. But they never accounted for an idiot so blankly egocentric and so far removed from reality. I was about to suggest that they also did not provide us with the necessary tools to remove such a surly pig, but they did. Surely, however, they could never have contemplated, in their most absurd nightmares, that the United States would be sickened by not only a narcissistic dolt, but an equally doltish controlling congress at the same point in history.
The final stopgap for such a horrible syzygy is democracy: the voters, who can, perhaps not instantaneously, but certainly eventually, throw the bums out. But Confederates are making that a much dicier challenge with gerrymandering and voter suppression.
Putin must love it. His obsequious puppet doing the hard work of bringing down the most preeminent western liberal democracy in history, just by being himself, a scared, insecure, self-involved, not very smart, narcissistic asshole.
Collins is caving.
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/republicans-race-again-to-avoid-a-government-shutdown
Trump's lackey on the FCC, Ajit Pai, with his Confederate pals, has killed net neutrality.
Pai sniffs that anyone thinking this is a bad idea is some kind of idiot. Typical Confederate insult. You don't agree with us? You're un-American.
He whines that he can PROVE that the repeal of rules designed to ensure consumer protection won't change a thing because tomorrow (the day after this outrageous handout to enormous corporations) no one will be able to tell the difference.
Nice one, Pai. Tomorrow it won't look any different.
This is like stating that we declare war at midnight, and by 6:00 AM no bombs are dropping, therefore, nothing will change. What about six days from now? Or six weeks? How about we start a round of low dose strychnine injections. After the first one, the patient is still alive. Great! Proof positive that strychnine is harmless.
Five months later, the patient has been dead for three months.
Oops.
You know, I wouldn't mind it so much if they didn't treat us as if we were stupider than bubble gum mashed into a carpet. If they at least tried to drum up some gobbledygook to "prove" their point. But they don't even bother. TrumpHoles just say "Trust us". And that's that. They could be saying "Hey, the Amazon is filled with sugar water, and here's some charts (we made up) to prove it". But no. They just say "The Amazon is filled with sugar water. Trust us."
And so, internet services are handed on a platter to Trump's rich pals and we have nothing to say about it.
The Confederate Way.
JustAGuy,
They'll all cave. Of course. That's what Confederates do.
Marco Rubio is making some dry fart noises (not even juicy fart noises) about child tax credits. Oooh. He must be a "serious" senator. A real stand-up guy.
Hahahahahahaha....we're talking about Marco Rubio here, right?
But no. McConnell and Ryan will give Rubio a little Tootsie Pop he can wave around as proof that poor kids jeopardized by the Trump, Ryan, McConnell Giveaway to the Rich won't be screwed to the wall.
At least not totally...
They'll have a fucking Tootsie Pop!
Yay!
I'm sure there's a few who will hedge their bets.
Eerie.
Had no sooner read of net neutrality's demise this morning when our internet service went down. Back up now, but am wondering if I should take it as a sign of things to come.
Am also wondering what others thought of Rep.Marcy Kaptur's remarks. Should they have been met with stunned silence from fellow Democrats, as they were reported to have been--or some reasoned discussion?
Weigh in.
@Ken: I would be interested to know–-to actually see–-these outfits that might tantalize the male populace in congress. Extremely short skirts? Lots of cleavage? What exactly? If you know the atmosphere you work in is fraught with male predators you may want to think twice before dressing like you could in a place where eunuchs presided. On the other hand––I suppose an argument could be made that women should dress the way they want and expect the males around them to behave. Given what has gone down lately, I'd abide by Marcy's remarks––-long pants and bulky sweaters with maybe a knife tucked in for good measure.