POST #700: Random Observations
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| The Blizzard of '17: Wasn't that a time?
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Hi, folks! How's President Donald Trump working out for ya? I'm sorry, I'll stop.
The following are a series of unrelated thoughts regarding the present-day train wreck in the life of Idiot Nation. So sue me.
The following are a series of unrelated thoughts regarding the present-day train wreck in the life of Idiot Nation. So sue me.
1: BREAKING NEWS!
Secretary of State and Exxon Stooge, Rex Tillerson, is this morning threatening North Korea with military action. Here's a gentle prediction for you:
Before it's is all over, this maniacal administration is going to be responsible for the deaths of thousands of innocent people. I do hope and pray that I'm not understating the situation.
2: A Pox Upon the Elderly
In another perfectly hideous idea (The current administration is overflowing with perfectly hideous ideas - or haven't you noticed?) the Trump Mob has decided that the government will no longer fund something that is known as "Meals on Wheels". In a lame effort to justify the unjustifiable, House Speaker Paul Ryan stated (with a straight face, I swear!) that he has not seen any "effects" from the program. Really?
I once chauffeured a woman delivering those meals whose automobile was on the fritz. For three consecutive days I assisted her as she made her rounds, even entering the homes of the elderly and housebound people she helped to feed. If anyone reading this has any pull with Speaker Ryan, tell him that I have seen the "effects" firsthand. The looks of appreciation and thankfulness on the faces of everyone I encountered were impossible not to see. The love was palpable. It's hard to estimate the number of folks who will be greatly harmed by the loss of Meals on Wheels. Some of them will die. I hope the Republicans reexamine this one. Wishful thinking, I know.
I had this beautiful experience about twenty-five years ago. I'm sure none of the many people I encountered during those three memorable days lived to see the era of Donald Trump. That's probably just as well.
3: Blame the Limeys
Two weeks ago tomorrow, Donald Trump - in a pathetic attempt to distract attention from the ever-metastasizing Russian/wiretapping scandal - tweeted early in the morning that he had uncovered evidence that his phone had been tapped by Barack Obama. Apparently, the man is too heartbreakingly stupid to understand that he was accusing the former president of committing a felony. After a bi-partisan investigation proclaimed that Trump had not been bugged (electronically speaking only) he made the jaw-dropping declaration (via Sean Spicer) that it hadn't been American intelligence agents doing the dirty deed, it was British spies all along - possibly, we may assume, even James Bond himself. To say that the government of merrie olde England was not amused is putting it mildly. It's quite an achievement to piss off the Brits; in fact I do not recall any American president in my lifetime upsetting them at all.
Are you last holdouts ready to concede what is by now an embarrassingly obvious point? The president of the United States of America is out of his fucking mind. Case closed.
4: Guns For All
In the wake of every mass murder for years, the right wing (within congress and without) have repeated the same stale talking point endlessly: It's not about the availability of guns, they say, the problem is all those crazy people out there. It's hard to argue with that logic. Certainly one of the many reasons for Idiot Nation's appallingly high murder rate is the fact that there are too many guns out there - and that way-too-many mentally ill persons have easy access to them. So what did the House of Reprehensibles do this week? They approved legislation that would make it easier for veterans who are "mentally incapacitated" or "deemed mentally incompetent" to obtain even more of them. Ain't that somethin'? Twelve Democrats joined two-hundred and forty members of the GOP in supporting the bill. If nothing else, this will make the suicide rate of those veterans (already disturbingly high) soar into the stratosphere. This is one way to lighten the load of caring for them I suppose. It also makes the NRA smile.
Three-and-a-quarter years ago, twenty-six human beings (twenty of them little children) were slaughtered inside of a Connecticut elementary school. You would assume that something that horrific would have touched the hearts of our "representatives" in Washington, wouldn't you? Think again. Fuck the children. Let 'em bleed buckets
I just now learned an interesting statistic that I'd love to share with you: If the members of congress committed suicide at the same rate as American veterans, the joint would be deserted within twenty-five days. Isn't that a lovely thought?
5: A Tip of the Hat to the S.S.
Now that the administration of Barack Obama is officially history, I can say out loud what I only dared think for the last eight years: For most of his stay at 1600, I honestly believed that he would not leave office alive. No president since Abraham Lincoln ignited such extreme hate from the less enlightened quarters of American society. No president since Lincoln had received as many treats against his life. Whenever I watched live televised footage of him mingling with crowds of strangers, it would make me wince. It is a tribute to the Secret Service that the man was able to get out of town alive. Let's hear it for them.
6: Donnie and Angie
A few minutes ago the joint press conference in the East Room of the White House with Trump and Germany's Angela Merkel came to a merciful end. The tension between the two was fairly apparent. Merkel was probably wondering what the hell she was doing being seen on the same podium as this putz. The Donald was twice asked by German reporters about his wiretapping charge against Barack Obama. He denied making the charge and blamed it on Fox News. At an Oval Office photo-op, when asked by a photographer to shake hands with each other, both of them ignored the question. It was so awkward and uproariously funny. Say what you will about this president, he never fails to provide the unintentional comedy. In this respect he makes George W. Bush look like an amateur.
This is a president who doesn't do the diplomacy thing very well at all. This is black comedy at its strangest.
Happy St. Paddy's Day!
Tom Degan
Goshen, NY
SUGGESTED LISTENING:
A Drop of the Hard Stuff
by Peter Sellers
A St. Patrick's Day greeting from one of the greatest comic actors of the last century. This was recorded in 1958 in Studio Number Two at Abbey Road in London. Every ethnic stereotype is presented in this record - and yet it still plays well fifty-nine years later. That's the beautiful thing about being Irish. You just can’t offend us! Here’s a link to give it a listen:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=di6yX3yVAtM
The man is irreplaceable.
SUGGESTED READING:
PBS Changed Our Lives
from The Rant, 3/5/11
In the wake of every mass murder for years, the right wing (within congress and without) have repeated the same stale talking point endlessly: It's not about the availability of guns, they say, the problem is all those crazy people out there. It's hard to argue with that logic. Certainly one of the many reasons for Idiot Nation's appallingly high murder rate is the fact that there are too many guns out there - and that way-too-many mentally ill persons have easy access to them. So what did the House of Reprehensibles do this week? They approved legislation that would make it easier for veterans who are "mentally incapacitated" or "deemed mentally incompetent" to obtain even more of them. Ain't that somethin'? Twelve Democrats joined two-hundred and forty members of the GOP in supporting the bill. If nothing else, this will make the suicide rate of those veterans (already disturbingly high) soar into the stratosphere. This is one way to lighten the load of caring for them I suppose. It also makes the NRA smile.Three-and-a-quarter years ago, twenty-six human beings (twenty of them little children) were slaughtered inside of a Connecticut elementary school. You would assume that something that horrific would have touched the hearts of our "representatives" in Washington, wouldn't you? Think again. Fuck the children. Let 'em bleed buckets
I just now learned an interesting statistic that I'd love to share with you: If the members of congress committed suicide at the same rate as American veterans, the joint would be deserted within twenty-five days. Isn't that a lovely thought?
5: A Tip of the Hat to the S.S.
Now that the administration of Barack Obama is officially history, I can say out loud what I only dared think for the last eight years: For most of his stay at 1600, I honestly believed that he would not leave office alive. No president since Abraham Lincoln ignited such extreme hate from the less enlightened quarters of American society. No president since Lincoln had received as many treats against his life. Whenever I watched live televised footage of him mingling with crowds of strangers, it would make me wince. It is a tribute to the Secret Service that the man was able to get out of town alive. Let's hear it for them.
6: Donnie and AngieA few minutes ago the joint press conference in the East Room of the White House with Trump and Germany's Angela Merkel came to a merciful end. The tension between the two was fairly apparent. Merkel was probably wondering what the hell she was doing being seen on the same podium as this putz. The Donald was twice asked by German reporters about his wiretapping charge against Barack Obama. He denied making the charge and blamed it on Fox News. At an Oval Office photo-op, when asked by a photographer to shake hands with each other, both of them ignored the question. It was so awkward and uproariously funny. Say what you will about this president, he never fails to provide the unintentional comedy. In this respect he makes George W. Bush look like an amateur.
This is a president who doesn't do the diplomacy thing very well at all. This is black comedy at its strangest.
Happy St. Paddy's Day!
Tom Degan
Goshen, NY
SUGGESTED LISTENING:
A Drop of the Hard Stuffby Peter Sellers
A St. Patrick's Day greeting from one of the greatest comic actors of the last century. This was recorded in 1958 in Studio Number Two at Abbey Road in London. Every ethnic stereotype is presented in this record - and yet it still plays well fifty-nine years later. That's the beautiful thing about being Irish. You just can’t offend us! Here’s a link to give it a listen:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=di6yX3yVAtM
The man is irreplaceable.
SUGGESTED READING:
PBS Changed Our Lives
from The Rant, 3/5/11
Not to the surprise of anyone who bothers to pay attention, it has long been a dream of conservative politicians to kill the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The Trump administration has announced that they have every intention of doing just that. This is a particularly atrocious idea (one of a bazillion perfectly atrocious ideas). I covered this touchy subject in a piece I wrote six years ago this month. Here is a link to read it if you’d like:
`
Understatement: Sending these nincompoops to Washington was not a particularly nifty idea.
posted by Tom Degan @ 12:30 PM
24 comments
24 Comments:
These Republicans nowadays seem like they all belong to a satanic cult. Every thing they do is evil, spiteful, and selfish. Their whole purpose in life is to take from the poor and the middle class and give to the 1 percent.
Trump wants to get rid of the CAFE standards just so the car companies can make a little more money selling gas guzzlers and the oil companies can sell more gas. The public gets screwed and air pollution increases dramatically.
Who of sound mind can defend this nonsense and bullshit that the Republicans are going forth with?
In the ever depressing drama that feels like an unreal dream that is unfolding before our eyes, I do appreciate that you can find humour in this administration's blunders.
Dark days indeed.
woodenman1954: "Who of sound mind can defend this nonsense and bullshit that the Republicans are going forth with?"
None, of course, but they'll die trying.
Equally apparent and not to be ignored, the Democrats are complicit -- and have been for a very long time. Until the American people abandon the mindset of "two-party" domination, and instead vote for their own self-interests -- not that of the ruling one-percent -- they'll wallow in this cesspool provided by the elite; for the elite.
The stock market bubble so lauded by cultists of the ruling Republican party, several of which troll this very blog, is close to bursting. Prime financial indicators are worse than just prior to the Great Depression -- and also the mini-collapse that started rearing its ugliness in late 2007.
The powers-that-be either see it coming and are too impotent to stop it, because they don't know how and are transitioning to "higher ground" in hopes of riding out the storm -- or they're intentionally milking the system for all that it's worth, ignoring the telltale signs, and in their irrational and psychopathic syndrome think they're immune to the effects of worldwide collapse.
Either way, or even if one chooses to select a third option, the current financial paradigm is running out of assets, slowing in velocity, and is approaching the inevitable.
Tom,
I'm upset that Rachel Maddow exposed Trump's 2005 tax return which showed that Trump paid 25% while Bernie only paid 13%. Bernie said everybody should pay their fair share. I guess everybody but him. Whose side is Rachel on, maybe she is now working for the Russians?
Also, Donna Brazile finally admitted giving Hillary questions in advance of debates. It is so sad to see what wikileaks has exposed about corruptness within the Democrat party. No wonder Trump got elected.
The end of Bird Bird is near unless liberals start a "Go Fund Me".
https://funds.gofundme.com/dashboard/create
So depressing, almost as depressing to find Uncle Bernie pays only 13% in taxes to the IRS. Yet he owns 3 homes. Maybe he could sell one of them to save Big Bird, putting HIS money where his mouth is. lol
So sad.
Tom,
It must have been awkward for Angie. Remember when the previous administration tapped her cell phone?
Also I think Rachel Maddow must have received an envelope of cash from the Russians to display Trumps tax return which shows he paid 25% while Bernie pays 13%.
Bernie has 3 houses and pays 13% and says everybody must pay their fair share of taxes. Everybody but him. amirite?
The truth about "Meals on Wheels"
Source: Investors Business Daily
www.investors.com/politics/editorials/the-meals-on-wheels-lie-keeps-rolling-along/
"Let's start with a basic fact. Contrary to news reports last week, President Trump is not eliminating funding for Meals on Wheels. He's not even cutting it.
How do we know this? Meals on Wheels says so. A statement issued by Meals on Wheels America on Thursday notes that 35% of the revenues at the 5,000 or so local Meals on Wheels programs come via the Older Americans Act Nutrition Program.
Trump's budget outline says nothing about this program whatsoever.
What Trump's budget does propose is cutting is the corruption-prone Community Development Block Grant program, run out of Housing and Urban Development. Some, but not all, state and local governments use a tiny portion of that grant money, at their own discretion, to "augment funding for Meals on Wheels," according to the statement."
So what's really going on?
As Meals on Wheels America explained, some Community Development Block Grant money does end up going to some of the local Meals on Wheels programs.
But it's a small amount. HUD's own website shows that just 1% of CDBG grant money goes to the broad category of "senior services." And 0.17% goes to "food banks."
We looked at several local Meals on Wheels programs and found that block grant money was often a pittance, and as often as not the programs got no CDBG money from their local governments.
Last year, for example, Rockland County, N.Y., sent $25,000 of its CDBG money to its local Meals on Wheels program — which amounted to less than 1% of that program's budget.
Kennewick, Wash., directed $18,500 in CDBG funds to Senior Life Resources' Meals on Wheels program in 2015, a year in which the charity got $13.3 million in total government grants.
Fairfield, Calif., gave its local Meals on Wheels $10,539 of CDBG money in 2015, after giving it $0 for the previous four years.
Meals on Wheels of Trenton, N.J., asked for $50,000 in community grant money last year, and got nothing. It received no grant money the year before, either.
All of this information was EASILY available to anyone reporting on this story, or anyone commenting on it, which would have prevented the FALSE claims about the Meals on Wheels program from spreading in the first place. But why bother reporting facts when you can make up a story that will drive Trump's approval ratings even lower, even if it means needlessly scaring seniors?
As it turns out, however, this FAKE budget-cutting story ended up revealing how programs like Meals on Wheels can survive without federal help.
As soon as the story started to spread, donations began pouring into Meals on Wheels. In two days, the charity got more than $100,000 in donations — 50 times more than they'd normally receive. Clearly, individuals are ready, willing and eager to support this program once they perceive a need.
Isn't this how charity is supposed to work, with people donating their own time, money and resources to causes they feel are important, rather than sitting back and expecting the federal government to do it for them?"
Not holding breath for retraction from Tom.
Komrad Michael and Komrad Major have a lot of distracting to do now that Dear Leader and his apparatchiks are under FBI investigation for collusion with Putin.
And Comey's exposing Dear Leader's lie about Obama's wiretap is icing on the cake.
Better bitch about Bernie and Rachel, amirite?
It's not easy living in Trump's Republican LIE LIE LAND.
Odd, Tom has not published my post showing his claim about Meals on Wheels is wrong.
It wasn't the Russians who bungled Benghazi, it wasn't the Russians who cheated Uncle Bernie during the democrat primary's, it wasn't the Russians who promised if we liked our DR. we could keep them, it wasn't the Russians who designed Obamacare, it wasn't the Russians who bragged about fooling the American public about Obamacare, it wasn't the Russians who picked the most unlikable candidate in years(HRC) for the democrats, it wasn't the Russians who told HRC not to campaign in MI, PA, OH, it wasn't the Russians who caused HRC to pass out and have to carried into her waiting SUV, it wasn't the Russians who convinced HRC to believe the polls showing her winning in a land slide, it wasn't the Russians who started the controversy over transgender.
So how exactly did the Russians help President Trump win?
Komrad Michael and Komrad Major have a lot of distracting to do
...And Komrad Major is off doing exactly as predicted. Dear Leader has his own version of "Benghazi and emails" hanging around his neck. LOL.
Benghazi is old news. Liar Trump and his apparachiks are now the ones under FBI investigation.
LOCK HIM UP!! LOCK HIM UP!!
LOL!!
Major wins a free Russian flag with "Thank you Russia" across it. The Trump Zombies actually have these.
"Thank you Russia, for making America great again".
That makes sense only in the crazed zombie cult of Trump's Lie Lie Land.
Putin thanks you, Komrads. Very, um, "useful" of you.
It makes no sense to continue to claim President Trump's budget is cutting out "Meals on Wheels" when the leadership of Wheels on Meals have stated that is not the truth. I provided Tom that fact with supporting evidence, he declined to publish.
It makes no sense to believe President Trump asked Vlad Putin to hack John Podesta’s emails.
It makes no sense to overlook or ignore the fact that Podesta first made contact with a Russian firm in 2011, Rusnano, a state-run company founded by Russian President Vladimir Putin, that Podesta joined the boards and executive committees of three related entities: Boston-based Joule Unlimited; Rotterdam-based Joule Global Holdings; Joule Global Stichting, the company’s controlling interest.
Three months after Podesta’s arrival, Joule Unlimited accepted a 1 billion ruble investment from Rusnano, amounting to $35 million in U.S. currency. The firm also awarded a Joule board seat in February 2012 to Anatoly Chubais, Rusnano’s CEO, who has been depicted as a corrupt figure.
It makes no sense to ignore how the Clinton Foundation was funded. It makes no sense to ignore the fact that the Clinton Foundation since the Nov election is no more. It makes no sense to not ask "WHY"?
Dave wins a Clinton flag with, "Almost fooled you again" across it. It does make sense that the truth is called lies by these liberal zombies.
It makes no sense to trust or believe any Republican, let alone Dear Leader Don the Con and his stooges and shills.
Present company included.
It makes no sense to believe President Trump asked Vlad Putin to hack John Podesta’s emails.
But it is a fact Trump invited Russia to hack Hillary. It is also a fact Trumpists LIED about their meetings with Russians. What else are they lying about? Everything, apparently.
The Republican liars also don’t want us to know Trump’s budget is a very real threat to Meals on Wheels. (Take from the poor, give to the rich. This is what con-servatism is at its core.)
NPR clarifies:
The brouhaha stems from two community development block grants that would be eliminated under Trump's budget. States and cities receive the grants to help them fight poverty, and some of them use that money to help pay for Meals on Wheels programs.
But by far, the biggest source of federal funding for Meals on Wheels programs comes from another source: the Older Americans Act Nutrition Program, which is run by the Department Of Health and Human Services. In the aggregate, Bertolette says Meals on Wheels programs across the country rely on the HHS program for 35 percent of their funding.
The White House has proposed slashing the Health and Human Services budget by nearly 18 percent.
Jenny Bertolette, vice president for communications for the national group says "it's difficult to imagine a scenario in which these critical services would not be significantly and negatively impacted if [the budget proposal is] enacted into law," she says.
Even at current federal funding levels, some Meals on Wheels programs are struggling to meet demand.
Along with what Majormajor said, the news is so biased that if you only get yours from one source, you will see the world totally differently than if it's from another. The latest from the FBI director made no sense to be new news since Obama said the day after the election that he wanted to launch an investigation into the Russian connection. Who didn't remember that? And then all the leaks that requires someone eavesdropping which made it clear that surveillance was ongoing. The purpose? That depends on from which side you get your news.
In Maryland a 14 year old girl was raped in her own school by an 18 and 17 year old, both from Central America and either refugees or illegal entries. But what were they doing being registered in a high school as freshmen, alongside the 14 year olds??? Here's what I think is we need a better set of policies for the refugee illegals when they need to get an education and it should be in community colleges, where we don't charge them but we don't put them in a school with what amounts to children. It's not fair to them or the kids in that school. So to me this is an issue, with grandchildren out there, but it didn't even get covered by the left wing stations or if it eventually did, it hadn't when it should have been. Why not cover it? Because it might make it look as though Trump had a point.
So if you want to know what's going on, get it from diverse sources. Don't repeat something until it's been multiple places. We are the most divided we have ever been and that says a lot given the Revolutionary and Civil wars... The media isn't making it better because I am not sure there is a news source that actually reports what is happening without pontificating. And leaving out a story that matters to many Americans who have kids is as bad as false reporting to me.
Rain,
I appreciate your wanting to present a moderate viewpoint. And it is good to check multiple news sources. However, you're bending over backwards with your "both siderism". When a conservative says the sky is yellow and a liberal says it is blue, the answer is not the moderate middle. The sky is still blue, not green.
the news is so biased that if you only get yours from one source, you will see the world totally differently than if it's from another.
Which is WHY Murdoch created his right wing propaganda empire. From Hitler's "Lugenpresse" (lying press) to Nixon's hatred of those who exposed Watergate, to our Dear Leader saying our free press is the "enemy of the people", Journalism has always been the enemy of tyranny and the far Right.
Can you see this lean towards false equivalence is supporting the far Right’s “Liberal media” propaganda point? If you believe the “Liberal media” line, you have bought the far Right Big Lie and have assisted them in undermining journalism.
It is corporate media with a corporate bias. Period. Bernie knows this. Do you?
FOX, Bretbart, Limbaugh, etc are proven to be Right Wing propaganda. NOT NEWS. NOT JOURNALISM. They have a clearly political agenda. Period.
"Both Siderism" is why we have the confusion. It is why we have Trump. I hoped you figured that out by now.
Why not cover it? Because it might make it look as though Trump had a point.
CNN DID cover it.
http://www.cnn.com/2017/03/21/us/maryland-undocumented-student-rape/index.html
Undocumented immigrant accused of raping classmate
I am not sure there is a news source that actually reports what is happening without pontificating.
So, just where is the "pontificating" in this story? It will be from the Right.
Don't repeat something until it's been multiple places.
If both FOX AND Breitbart say it, then it must be true? Sadly, no.
You make it look as if Trump has a point, with not a word about his outrageous and unending dishonesty and those who parrot it.
Dare you now tell us Trump is no more a liar than Obama? Or even Hillary?
That is where "Both Siderism" will take you. As the late great George Carlin said, "It is bullshit, and it is bad for you".
More “Liberal Media” pontificating? The facts show us how toxic the Big Lie of the radical Right is.
==
How Broadcast Networks Covered Climate Change In 2016
In 2016, evening newscasts and Sunday shows on ABC, CBS, and NBC, as well as Fox Broadcast Co.'s Fox News Sunday, collectively decreased their total coverage of climate change by 66 percent compared to 2015, even though there were a host of important climate-related stories, including the announcement of 2015 as the hottest year on record, the signing of the Paris climate agreement, and numerous climate-related extreme weather events.
Combined Climate Coverage On ABC, CBS, NBC, And Fox News Sunday Decreased Significantly From 2015 To 2016, Despite Ample Opportunity To Cover Climate Change.
ABC, CBS, NBC, And Fox Failed To Discuss Climate-Related Ramifications Of A Clinton Or Trump Presidency Until After The Election.
PBS NewsHour Was The Only Show To Discuss Climate Ramifications Of A Clinton Or Trump Presidency Prior To The Election.
Major Networks Completely Ignored The “Exxon Knew” Story. Reports from InsideClimate News and the Los Angeles Times revealed that Exxon’s own scientists had confirmed by the early 1980s that fossil fuel pollution was causing climate change, yet Exxon-funded organizations helped manufacture doubt about the causes of climate change for decades afterward in what became known as the “Exxon knew” scandal.
CBS, Fox, And PBS Aired A Combined Five Segments That Included Unrebutted Climate Science Denial In 2016 -- All From Trump Or Trump Officials.
Bernie Sanders Brought Up Climate Change Four Times As Much As Hosts Did On ABC, CBS, And NBC Sunday Shows.
==
When the Zombie Lie of “Liberal media” is held by so-called moderates, it is all over, folks. Toss is "both siderism" and we have our post-truth culture.
Welcome to Trumpistan, where the free press and corporate media are the enemy of the people...because "liberal" is bad, Trump is honest, and truth is dead.
Dave, you and I won't agree on this and I have not got the time to get into it. I do think they all lie. Especially Hillary and Bill. The fact that you only see one side does not mean there isn't more than one on many things. Anyway, not going on with this. I do write about it in my own rant from a viewpoint that doesn't take either side consistently. As a moderate, I'm used to be insulted by both. Whether Obama has lied, only time will tell... but a liberal will say he was just wrong and that's different. I do believe in hearing both sides and don't like a news site like MSNBC eventually only had one side. I haven't been back recently to see if that's changed but the last time I was, it hadn't. On my rant blog, I post links to viewpoints with which I disagree because I find it interesting to see how the 'other' sides think.
Rain,
Thank you for your comment.
I do think they all lie. Especially Hillary and Bill. Yes they did, but with far less frequency and bile than from Dear Leader. This is easily provable.
I do "see both sides" which is why I make the effort to find the truth, which may not be on either "side". This is a moderate, reality-oriented perspective.
Example: Some liberals say "Trumpcare will force 24 million people off health insurance". No, many will stop buying insurance on their own accord. But that doesn't take away the prospect of many being forced out of healthcare against their will.
Denouncing MSNBC with no mention of FOX/Bretibart also shows a lack of moderate perspective.
If you think fact checkers are liars you are further enabling the Right's "liberal media" propaganda. This is also not moderate in any way.
Bernie agrees with me that corporate media has a corporate bias. (As any observant person would.) If you supported Bernie, I would think you might understand that. I would also wonder why you think corporate media ignoring climate change makes them "liberal media".
Once again, this belief (Hillary and Bill being worse liars than Trump) is why Trump won, no matter how much he lied, and lies every day.
I simply have to wonder why Trump is immune to your "honesty meter"? Perhaps for some reason you hate the Clintons to the point they are worse liars than Trump. This seems an emotionally clouded judgment on your part. This is not a moderate viewpoint. It lacks understanding and perspective.
IOKIYAR is the unavoidable conclusion.
I'm beginning to theorize being a "moderate" is someone half as blind as a right winger. The lockstep lies from Republicans and Trump should have shown by now that Colbert had a point, "Reality has a well-known liberal bias".
Both siderism and false equivalence are the traps a moderate needs to avoid. If he cannot, he is no moderate at all, but a dupe of the Right.
I agree. I do believe in hearing both sides. I also believe in evaluating the information and thinking for one's self. And for the record, "both sides" is "Both Siderism". There are more than two sides to many issues. Moderates should know this.
I'm not asking for a detailed response. I'm just hoping I'm offering something you might consider as a reality oriented perspective.
Reduced climate change coverage. How the hell is that liberal? Really.
If this point fails to register, my theory above is looking more sound.
I wish you well in sorting these things out.
The reason I said that about MSNBC came from years of watching it and finding myself disillusioned last year when it turned to only one side. You are wrong about Fox. It has pundits who are righties but it offers both sides of any issue with inviting guests who defend the 'other' side-- sometimes effectively. It can be annoying to watch arguments, but at least both views are argued. definitely the Fox pundits have a viewpoint. It also has some actual news anchors, who aren't the drama queens the rest are. Maybe MSNBC does too but that's not Matthews, Maddow or Hayes.
A moderate doesn't mean I don't have strong views on various issues like abortion, gay rights, guns, immigration, wars, etc. It means they don't fit in a partisan box. There really isn't a word for people like me. Moderates can and do lean left or right on different things. I actually prefer independent or party-less American lol. I tend to feel the party I have been in since I registered to vote left me behind and I can't imagine registering as a Republican.
On the health care debacle, I am angry at both sides. Dems who crow over this are ignoring the problems in ACA for many Americans. When the Dems had the power, the Repubs wouldn't work with them on anything. Now the shoe is on the other foot. I'd like to think both parties could learn from this latest imbroglio, but history says that doesn't happen. It's those, with soaring premiums or a chronic condition that has bankrupted them, who are paying the price for that stubborn determination to have power and damn those who get in their way. And anyone who finds this funny doesn't have friends who are suffering and will continue to do so until we get politicians who forget their party affiliation and buckle down to work on a real issue-- reasonably priced health care for everyone.
Dave my progressive brother,
Maybe this will refresh your memory about Hillary Rodham Clinton written by William Safire of the New York Times in 1996.
There have been many more whoppers and lies since then.
Take your blinders off my friend so that you can see the light.
The fact that the Clinton Foundation has collapsed like a cheap suitcase tells you state favors can no longer be bought. amirite?
http://www.nytimes.com/1996/01/08/opinion/essay-blizzard-of-lies.html
I didn't see my post in here. So chalk it up to user-error. What I wanted to say, especially after reading some of the other back & forth here, is that I knew this guy who bragged to me about living in the former USSR for 17 years. He leaned very close to me and whispered that he had been a spy. We do it. They do it. Everyone has always done it. BTW, the Amerikan guy and his wife adopted a boy from Ukraine...
It is obvious even a fake, out-of-character, memory-impaired, meathead doesn’t know the difference between a Right Wing opinion essay by Nixon stooge Safire and factual reporting.
Safire offered few facts, no evidence, and quoted no “lies” for some reason.
William Safire’s dubious legacy
Safire was zero-for-eight years in chasing Clinton scandals. Looking back at the roughly 800 biweekly columns Safire penned during Clinton’s years in office, it’s hard to find a single one of the issues he returned to obsessively — hush money, obstruction of justice, perjury charges — where Safire was vindicated by the facts.
In November 2001, Safire, leaning heavily on the flimsy evidence of a purported meeting between 9/11 hijacker Muhammad Atta and an Iraqi intelligence officer in Prague, wrote about the “undisputed fact connecting Iraq’s Saddam Hussein to the Sept. 11 attacks.” “Intrepid journalists,” Safire predicted, “will ultimately bring the full story of the Saddam-bin Laden connection to light.”
Safire was wrong as wrong can be. In other words, far Right.
Now for an actual lie from Hillary that was of serious consequence:
"In the four years since the inspectors left, intelligence reports show that Saddam Hussein has worked to rebuild his chemical and biological weapons stock, his missile delivery capability, and his nuclear program. He has also given aid, comfort, and sanctuary to terrorists, including al Qaeda members.”
Sen. Hillary Clinton (D, NY), Oct 10, 2002
So Hillary’s worst lie was agreeing with Bush and Cheney. Of course even Dear Leader had no problem with invading Iraq, with his, “I guess so”.
It seems only liberals, not meatheads, can truly be fair and balanced.
While the Clinton Global Initiative is shutting down the foundation is not. And unlike the Trump Foundation that only serves Trump, the Clinton Foundation has helped many in need.
Since Mikey trusts a far Right NYT opinion piece, maybe he'll listen to a journalist's perspective:
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/02/us/hillary-bill-clinton-foundation.html
Soul-Searching at Clinton Foundation in Trump Era
The foundation was formed in 1997 during Mr. Clinton’s presidency and has raised roughly $2 billion since then. Its work has spanned 3,500 projects and 180 countries including the United States, with projects as varied as earthquake recovery in Haiti and health initiatives in Rwanda.
During the presidential campaign, political opponents pounded the foundation, criticizing its dealings with foreign donors and financiers. No evidence emerged of a quid pro quo while Mrs. Clinton served as secretary of state, but the overlapping interests of foreign donors to the foundation and official international affairs dogged her candidacy.
Maybe there's a foundation for low-information Right Wing meatheads...
lol Dave,
I bet Bill Clinton would never have had sexual relations with Ms. Lewinsky if that blue stained dress had not showed up. amirite?
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