November 13, 2018

Lt. Colonel Ralph Peters gave the best explanation for drumpf bailing on memorials

"He just didn't feel like it."

Peters absolutley nailed it. It wasn't the rain or anything else. The fat piece of shit coward just didn't feel like it. Doesn't give a shit about heroes who gave their lives or anyone in our current military, just like he doesn't care about anyone but himself.

And can you imagine the uproar if Obama had done this?

October 26, 2018

Herald reports he is in his 50s

I think we're getting the picture here.

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/national/article220667845.html

October 5, 2018

When Dems take back the WH and Congress, just ignore the Supreme Court

Repubs have broken the system, so what are they going to do when Democratic Congresses, President and governors ignore their rulings? Cry about Dems being unfair?
Good article on how Dems could respond to the illegitimate Court we will likely have, or already have. Dems would have to be united and forceful in going down this path, but they would be right in doing so because they would be following the will of the majority of voters.


https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/10/brett-kavanaugh-confirmation-constitutional-crisis.html

September 5, 2018

Stylometry could tell us who the op-ed author is

Assuming the author has some public previous docs out there to work with for comparison. Lots of tools out there to determine authorship and people who know how to use them.

http://www.aicbt.com/authorship-attribution/online-software/

Not that this WH would be smart enough to do it. But I do think we will know sooner rather than later.

August 1, 2018

Swedish crown jewels: Speedboat thieves steal priceless treasures

Source: BBC

Police in Sweden have launched a manhunt after thieves swiped some of the country's crown jewels from a cathedral and escaped by speedboat.

Two priceless crowns and an orb belonging to a 17th Century king and queen were taken at around midday on Tuesday in Strängnäs, near Stockholm.

Witnesses said they saw two men running from the cathedral, which was open to the public and hosting a lunch fair.

They were seen motoring off into Lake Malaren, and have not been seen since.

Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-45028732

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Stealing is bad yes, but won't y'all be thinking 'but this was a pretty cool way to do it'?

July 22, 2018

Radosh: Sanders, Ocasio-Cortez are losing the way home

Many here will remember Michael Harrington, the great socialist thinker who helped inspire the Kennedy-Johnson war on poverty, and a few may remember long time democratic socialist Ronald Radosh. Radosh recently penned a piece about what Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez are getting wrong in their campaigns in the heartland and elsewhere, and says Harrington never would have approved of their approach that could help elect repubs.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/democratic-socialists-gain-momentum-and-lose-their-way?ref=home

July 5, 2018

Tomasky: Bogus Dems in disarray media narrative belies positive news for November

Tomasky points out that the numbers for November are better for Dems than for repubs in the Tea Party year and that the media has grealy overblown Democratic infighting:

https://www.thedailybeast.com/democrats-in-disarray-no-thats-the-myopic-media?ref=home

June 13, 2018

Trump has turned words winto weapons. And he's winning the linguistic war

Snip
Trump knows the press has a strong instinct to repeat his most outrageous claims, and this allows him put the press to work as a marketing agency for his ideas. His lies reach millions of people through constant repetition in the press and social media. This poses an existential threat to democracy.
Language works by activating brain structures called “frame-circuits” used to understand experience. They get stronger when we hear the activating language. Enough repetition can make them permanent, changing how we view the world.

Snip
Even negating a frame-circuit activates and strengthens it, as when Nixon said “I am not a crook” and people thought of him as a crook.

Scientists, marketers, advertisers and salespeople understand these principles. So do Russian and Islamic State hackers. But most reporters and editors clearly don’t. So the press is at a disadvantage when dealing with a super salesman with an instinctive ability to manipulate thought by 1) framing first 2) repeating often, and 3) leading others to repeat his words by getting people to attack him within his own frame.


https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jun/13/how-to-report-trump-media-manipulation-language

My take:
I wish people would listen to Lakoff, not just journalists but also Democratic leaders, about how to win the message wars. Much of this is about understanding how the brain works.

April 24, 2018

James Shaw is such an impressive young man

The Waffle House hero who doesn't want to be called a hero. Why? Because he is being honest and saying he was trying to save himself. But with his courage he saved many others.

He was just on Anderson Cooper. He went to the hospital to comfort victims. He promoted a gofundme page for the victims.

He didn't need to tout himself, he cares about others and has tremendous courage. The young man has the kind of personal qualities every parent should hope their children will have. Totally the opposite of you know who.

April 17, 2018

ARIZONA SPECIAL HOUSE ELECTION WILL BE TIGHT ACCORDING TO NEW POLL

Source: Newsweek

A new poll published by Emerson College on Monday says that a special House election in Arizona next week will be tight.

The poll has Democratic candidate Hiral Tipirneni in a “statistical dead heat” with Republican Debbie Lesko for Arizona’s 8th Congressional District. Tipirneni had a slight lead, 46 percent to 45 percent. The Emerson poll is a swing from previous polling. A poll last week by OH Predictive Insights had Lesko up 10 percent.



Read more: http://www.newsweek.com/hiral-tipirneni-debbie-lesko-conor-lamb-donald-trump-887807

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This is a solid repub district but Franks (the incumbent) and Lesko (the repub nominee) both have ethical issues. Plus, Democrat Hiral Tipirneni is a likable, smart new face.

To help her, go to:
https://secure.actblue.com/donate/specialelection-az-08