America needs a foreign policy we can be proud of again...
(Any country can do middle-of-the-night killings off the record, and under cover of darkness; we need a military that understands it's easy to use money and technology to take lives, break and destroy...
That is not America's mission in the world any longer.)
Mr. Trump, the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination, pledged a major buildup of the military, the swift destruction of the Islamic State and the rejection of trade deals and other agreements that he said tied the nation’s hands.
He also pointedly rejected the nation-building of the George W. Bush administration, and reminded his audience that he had opposed the Iraq war.
“America is going to be strong again; America is going to be great again; it’s going to be a friend again,” Mr. Trump declared. “We’re going to finally have a coherent foreign policy, based on American interests and the shared interests of our allies.”
“The world must know that we do not go abroad in search of enemies, that we are always happy when old enemies become friends and when old friends become allies,” he said. “That’s what we want: We want to bring peace to the world.”
If our nation can rebuild our own economy here at home, we will be stronger than any national military and set a shining example, once again, as to what truly powerful nations can achieve... without destruction, cheating and lying about our collective actions.
This would also help end our new national mantra that Life is Cheap, and the world is but one big Police State where Might Makes Right.
Re “Trump in a Sweep of Eastern States; Clinton Wins in 4” (front page, April 27):
One of the hot topics of the primary elections is whether Donald Trump will win enough delegates to avoid a contested convention. I’m not writing this in support of him or any other candidate, but let me get this straight. If Mr. Trump is just a few votes shy of the 1,237 mark, other candidates actually have a viable chance of securing the nomination at the Republican Convention?
Can we allow a small number of establishment delegates to reverse the decision of the overwhelming majority of Republican voters? While the answers to both questions should be a resounding “No!,” that is exactly what might happen.
Love Mr. Trump or hate him, America and our entire electoral system were founded on the principle of democracy by the people. Barring a virtually impossible comeback by Ted Cruz in the remaining primaries, a Trump loss at a contested convention would undermine everything our great country was built upon, and would mean that the votes of you, me and every other American citizen mean absolutely nothing.
AUSTIN RODGERS
Apopka, Fla.
--------------------------------------
To the Editor:
Re “The Donald Trump Pygmalion Project” (editorial, April 26):
Millions of voters agree with you that Donald Trump is unfit to be president, as do I. Yet Mr. Trump should be commended for having brought to the fore the voices of many millions who feel disenfranchised and disaffected from the current political and economic situation. These voter concerns should be a priority for the next president.
It seems even the "old media" is catching on to the "new Change" underfoot in the country... (When the masses of little people lead, the establishment "leaders" have no choice but to follow.)
“And you know, the system is a bad system. And whether it’s their system or our system. You look at what goes on, but you know, the best way to beat the system is have evenings like this where you get record-setting votes, where you get record setting delegates."
"I use the analogy of the boxer, you know. When the boxer knocks out the other boxer you don’t have to wait around for a decision. So that’s what it is, and that’s what happened tonight and that’s what happened last week in New York, and that’s really what’s been happening throughout.”
...
“We had some rallies—all over—but we had some rallies in Maryland and Pennsylvania that were absolutely unbelievable. Yesterday in Pennsylvania, we were in an arena that was like Madison Square Garden. They turned away thousands and thousands of people. Unfortunately the press never reports it. They always show my face. They go like this. I said, does anybody ever want to show this arena that’s got tens of thousands of people in it. But they don’t do that, but that’s okay because I’ll at least explain it to you. But we’re gonna have our country back. We’re gonna make America great again.”
You don't have to like him.
But you can't continue to deny him his rightly earned successes...
Americans of all stripes will rightly respond to that mesage.
-----------------------
Trump Beat Expectations Everywhere, Suggesting a Shift
By NATE COHN
Wherever he could squeeze out additional delegates Tuesday, he did, and the nomination seems well within reach.
-------------------------
Donald Trump’s Success Carries Lessons for Democrats, Too
By THE EDITORIAL BOARD
Both political parties are susceptible to the failures of leadership, tone-deafness and elitism that fueled Mr. Trump’s rise.
--------------------
Clinton and Trump Are Pulling Away From Rivals
By PATRICK HEALY and JONATHAN MARTIN
The victories by Donald J. Trump and Hillary Clinton intensified the aura of inevitability around their nomination bids and increased Mr. Trump’s chances of winning enough delegates to avoid a contested Republican convention.
The House may be a tad light on the legislative front these days, but on the message front, Mr. Ryan, the House speaker, is keeping busy.
Even the facts of the story back up the nickname...
The House may be a tad light on the legislative front these days, largely focusing on bills like those that target the Internal Revenue Service and that have no chance of being signed by President Obama. But on the message front, Speaker Paul D. Ryan is keeping busy.
Mr. Ryan, who plans to roll out a policy platform this spring, has already been trying to build a social media and youth movement around the House Republican agenda. This week, Mr. Ryan wil participate in a town-hall-style event at the Georgetown Institute of Politic and Public Service. In advance of that event, his office has rolled out its latest video holding up Mr. Ryan as a man with a plan, though the details of that plan, obliquely intended to distract from the presidential campaign of Donald J. Trump, are very much a work in progress.
While Mr. Ryan has repeatdly said that he has no intention of becoming his party’s nominee this year, he has been busy creating a personality and policy alternative to run alongside the presidential effort to provide both a platform for House Republicans to run on and a foundation to rebuild if Republicans fall apart in November.
Mr. Ryan is not a candidate. But his videos continue to make it seem as if he is running for something.
I wonder if young Mr. Ryan is honestly oblivious to the fact that there's no there there, or he's just playing a role and hoping to get a style trophy?
Tell me who in this house know about the quake?
(We do...)
I mean, really? Really?
If you know how to party say "Yeah..."
If you know how to rock me say "Oh yeah..."
If you aint hip get it right: Housequake! Shut Up Already. damn.
It was relentlessly raining in Miami on Feb. 4, 2007, and organizers of the Super Bowl XLI halftime show were concerned that Prince, who was scheduled to perform, might have a problem with that.
But when someone called him to ask, this was Prince’s response:
“Can you make it rain harder?”
In an online tribute, the National Football League published those memories and the video of Prince’s performance that night.
The New York Times review said Prince’s performance “will surely go down as one of the most thrilling halftime shows ever; certainly the most unpredictable, and perhaps the best.”
Prince kicked it off with a whisper — “Dearly beloved” — intoning the famous first words of “Let’s Go Crazy.” Soon came “Proud Mary” by Creedence Clearwater Revival. That gave way to a piece of Bob Dylan’s “All Along the Watchtower,” which melted into “Best of You,” the 2005 hit by the Foo Fighters.
As Kelefa Sanneh reported, the heavy rain made the smoke and lights seem mysterious, instead of ridiculous. “And there was a sneaky thrill in watching Prince steal the field from guys three times his size, if only for a few moments.”
She had the nerve to ask me if I planned to do her any harm...
I was working part time in a five-and-dime
My boss was Mr. McGee
He told me several times that he didn't like my kind
'Cause I was a bit too leisurely
Seems that I was busy doing something close to nothing
But different than the day before
That's when I saw her, ooh, I saw her
She walked in through the out door, out door
She wore a
Raspberry beret
The kind you find in a second hand store
Raspberry beret
And if it was warm she wouldn't wear much more
Raspberry beret
I think I love her
Built like she was
She had the nerve to ask me
If I planned to do her any harm
So, look here
I put her on the back of my bike
And we went riding
Down by old man Johnson's farm
I said now, overcast days never turned me on
But something about the clouds and her mixed
She wasn't too bright
But I could tell when she kissed me
She knew how to get her kicks
She wore a
Raspberry beret
The kind you find in a second hand store
Raspberry beret
And if it was warm she wouldn't wear much more
Raspberry beret
I think I love her
The rain sounds so cool when it hits the barn roof
And the horses wonder who you are
Thunder drowns out what the lightning sees
You feel like a movie star
Listen
They say the first time ain't the greatest
But I tell ya
If I had the chance to do it all again
I wouldn't change a stroke
'Cause baby I'm the most
With a girl as fine as she was then
(Raspberry beret)
The kind you find (The kind you find)
The kind you find (In a second hand store)
Oh no no
(Raspberry beret)
(And if it was warm)
Where have all the raspberry women gone?
Yeah (Raspberry beret)
I think I, I think I, I think I love her
(Raspberry beret)
No no no
No no no (The kind you find)
(In a second hand store)
(Raspberry beret)
Tell me
Where have all the raspberry women gone?
IN THE BEGINNING
Prince Roger Nelson was born June 7, 1958, at Mount Sinai Hospital in Minneapolis to Mattie Shaw and John Nelson. They had been in a jazz ensemble called the Prince Roger Trio. Since Mattie called her husband Prince, she dubbed her son Skipper “because he was small in size and he was just real cute — he was a darling baby.”
LENNY WARONKER (Warner Bros. VP): You could not only tell there was talent but there was a vision. He went out and played guitar, then overdubbed drums. By the time the drum part was recorded, it was clear. We didn’t want to insult him by making him go through the whole process, but he wanted to finish. As I was walking through the studio, he was on the floor. He looked up and said, “Don’t make me black.” I thought, “Whoa!” He said, “My idols are all over the place.” He named an array that was so deep in terms of scope of music that for an 18-year-old kid to say what he said was amazing. That, as much as anything, made me feel that we shouldn’t mess around with this guy.
PRINCE (on “Larry King Live,” 1999): [Minnesota] was interesting because I grew up getting a wider array of music. I grew up with Santana and Larry Graham and Fleetwood Mac, all kinds of different things.
HIS MOTHER (Star Tribune interview, 1984): He could hear music even from a very early age. When he was 3 or 4, we’d go to the department store and he’d jump on the radio, the organ, any type of instrument there was. Mostly the piano and organ. I’d have to hunt for him, and that’s where he’d be — in the music department.
PRINCE (Star Tribune interview, 1978): Around the time I was 8, I had a pretty good idea what the piano was all about. I had one piano lesson and two guitar lessons as a kid. I was a poor student, because when a teacher would be trying to teach me how to play junky stuff, I would start playing my own songs. I’d usually get ridiculed for it, but I ended up doing my own thing. I can’t read music. It hasn’t gotten in the way yet. Maybe it will later, but I doubt it.
BOBBY Z (drummer): Prince was playing the piano. It was an upright or spinet — a small thing. It was moving, waving like a cartoon, responding to his fingertips. The music was rich and full. I never heard anything like that. I’d never seen anyone play the piano like that. I was taken immediately.
JIMMY JAM: We were at Bryant Junior High. I was a year younger than him. We were in a band to back up the choir at school. I was gonna play drums, and I knew Prince played keyboards. He showed up at practice and picks up a guitar and plays, note for note, the intricate solo from Chicago’s “Make Me Smile.” I made the mistake of getting up from the drums, and he sat there and he killed ‘em. He had the biggest Afro in the world — that wasn’t fair, either.
Don't cry, he is coming
Don't die without knowing... the cross.
Ghettos to the left of us
Flowers to the right
There'll be bread for all of us
If we can just bear... the cross.
Sweet song of salvation
A pregnant mother sings
She lives in starvation
Her children need all that she brings...
We all have our problems...
Some big, some are small
Soon all of our problems
Will be taken by the cross.
Black day, stormy night
No love, no hope in sight
Don't cry for he is coming
Don't die without knowing the cross...
Ghettos to the left of us
Flowers to the right
There'll be bread for all, y'all
If we can just, just bear the cross, yeah
We all have our problems
Some are big, some are small
Soon all of our problems, y'all
Will be taken by the cross
The cross
The cross!
Read more: Prince - The Cross Lyrics | MetroLyrics
“I’m not a bull artist,” she said last year.
“I tell it like it is. I’m not some celebrity thinking I’m greater than anybody else. I’m one of the people. And they know that. It’s wonderful when they say to me ‘Thank you for the humor you’ve brought us all these years.’ I am a lucky son of a gun. I get paid for it."
On Saturday, April 9, Colorado had an “election” without voters. Delegates were chosen on behalf of a presidential nominee, yet the people of Colorado were not able to cast their ballots to say which nominee they preferred.
A planned vote had been canceled. And one million Republicans in Colorado were sidelined.
In recent days, something all too predictable has happened: Politicians furiously defended the system. “These are the rules,” we were told over and over again. If the “rules” can be used to block Coloradans from voting on whether they want better trade deals, or stronger borders, or an end to special-interest vote-buying in Congress—well, that’s just the system and we should embrace it.
Let me ask America a question: How has the “system” been working out for you and your family?
I, for one, am not interested in defending a system that for decades has served the interest of political parties at the expense of the people. Members of the club—the consultants, the pollsters, the politicians, the pundits and the special interests—grow rich and powerful while the American people grow poorer and more isolated.
No one forced anyone to cancel the vote in Colorado. Political insiders made a choice to cancel it. And it was the wrong choice.
Responsible leaders should be shocked by the idea that party officials can simply cancel elections in America if they don’t like what the voters may decide.
The only antidote to decades of ruinous rule by a small handful of elites is a bold infusion of popular will. On every major issue affecting this country, the people are right and the governing elite are wrong. The elites are wrong on taxes, on the size of government, on trade, on immigration, on foreign policy.
Why should we trust the people who have made every wrong decision to substitute their will for America’s will in this presidential election?
Mr. Cruz has toured the country bragging about his voterless victory in Colorado. For a man who styles himself as a warrior against the establishment (you wouldn’t know it from his list of donors and endorsers), you’d think he would be demanding a vote for Coloradans. Instead, Mr. Cruz is celebrating their disenfranchisement.
Likewise, Mr. Cruz loudly boasts every time party insiders disenfranchise voters in a congressional district by appointing delegates who will vote the opposite of the expressed will of the people who live in that district.
That’s because Mr. Cruz has no democratic path to the nomination. He has been mathematically eliminated by the voters.
While I am self-funding, Mr. Cruz rakes in millions from special interests. Yet despite his financial advantage, Mr. Cruz has won only three primaries outside his home state and trails me by two million votes—a gap that will soon explode even wider. Mr. Cruz loses when people actually get to cast ballots. Voter disenfranchisement is not merely part of the Cruz strategy—it is the Cruz strategy.
The great irony of this campaign is that the “Washington cartel” that Mr. Cruz rails against is the very group he is relying upon in his voter-nullification scheme.
My campaign strategy is to win with the voters. Ted Cruz’s campaign strategy is to win despite them.
What we are seeing now is not a proper use of the rules, but a flagrant abuse of the rules. Delegates are supposed to reflect the decisions of voters, but the system is being rigged by party operatives with “double-agent” delegates who reject the decision of voters.
The American people can have no faith in such a system. It must be reformed.
Just as I have said that I will reform our unfair trade, immigration and economic policies that have also been rigged against Americans, so too will I work closely with the chairman of the Republican National Committee and top GOP officials to reform our election policies. Together, we will restore the faith—and the franchise—of the American people.
We must leave no doubt that voters, not donors, choose the nominee.
How have we gotten to the point where politicians defend a rigged delegate-selection process with more passion than they have ever defended America’s borders?
Perhaps it is because politicians care more about securing their private club than about securing their country.
My campaign will, of course, battle for every last delegate. We will work within the system that exists now, while fighting to have it reformed in the future. But we will do it the right way. My campaign will seek maximum transparency, maximum representation and maximum voter participation.
We will run a campaign based on empowering voters, not sidelining them.
Let us take inspiration from patriotic Colorado citizens who have banded together in protest. Let us make Colorado a rallying cry on behalf of all the forgotten people whose desperate pleas have for decades fallen on the deaf ears and closed eyes of our rulers in Washington, D.C.
The political insiders have had their way for a long time. Let 2016 be remembered as the year the American people finally got theirs.
---------------------------- Mr. Trump is a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination.
Hillary Clinton: "The Libyan people deserve a chance at democracy and self- government. And I, as president, will keep trying to give that to them." Think closer to home. Nttawwt.
Clinton on the Fiasco in Libya:
"What
we did was to try to provide support for our European and Arab allies
and partners. The decision was the president’s. Did I do the due
diligence? Did I talk to everybody I could talk to? Did I visit every
capital and then report back to the president? Yes, I did. That’s what a
secretary of state does.
But
at the end of the day, those are the decisions that are made by the
president to in any way use American military power. And the president
made that decision. And, yes, we did try without success because of the
Libyans’ obstruction to our efforts, but we did try and we will continue
to try to help the Libyan people."
-----------------------------
= I failed, but give me the A anyway. I tried really hard!
Look at all the busywork I put in, and I'm not ready to quit yet, even though my actions have led to worse failure -- and most importantly, more deaths -- than not trying to help at all...
Bernie Sanders on NATO:
Dana Bash has a question.
BASH:
Senator Sanders, in 1997, you said this about NATO, you said, quote:
“It is not the time to continue wasting tens of billions of dollars
helping to defend Europe, let alone assuming more than our share of any
cost associated with expanding NATO.”
Do you still feel that way?
SANDERS:
Well, what I believe, if my memory is correct here, we spend about 75
percent of the entire cost of the military aspect of NATO. Given the
fact that France has a very good health care system and free public
education, college education for their people, the U.K. has a good
National Health Service and they also provide fairly reasonable higher
education, you know what, yeah, I do believe that the countries of
Europe should pick up more of the burden for their defense. Yes, I do.
(APPLAUSE)
BASH:
And just following up, Senator Sanders, Donald Trump also argues that
NATO is unfair economically to the U.S. because America pays a
disproportionate share. So how is what you say about NATO and your
proposal different than his?
SANDERS:
Well, you got to ask — you got to ask Trump. All I can tell you is,
with a huge deficit, with 47 million people living in poverty, with our
inner cities collapsing, yeah, I do think countries like Germany and
U.K. and France and European countries whose economy, or at least its
standard of living and health care and education, they’re doing pretty
well.
So
I would not be embarrassed as president of the United States to stay to
our European allies, you know what, the United States of America cannot
just support your economies. You got to put up your own fair share of
the defense burden. Nothing wrong with that.
Nothing wrong with that, indeed! Take care of our own, first.
Now that's the spirit.
I wonder if that is part of the common-sense security message that young Americans coming up are warming to...
Donald J. Trump met
with roughly 30 reporters for Jewish media outlets and with Orthodox
Jewish activists in his office on Thursday afternoon. ...
Midway through the meeting, according to the publication The Forward,
Mr. Trump was asked how he would refer to what are commonly described
as the West Bank settlements. Mr. Trump turned to Jason Greenblatt, who
is not a campaign adviser, but is the chief legal officer of the Trump
Organization.
“Jason, how would you
respond to that?” Mr. Trump said. He said that Mr. Greenblatt would
better understand the issue.
Mr. Greenblatt, in turn, said that he would
not describe the land as “occupied” and that there was little reason to
get “hung up on terminology,” according to The Forward’s account. Mr.
Trump never directly answered the question.
...
Yossi Gestetner, a
Rockland County activist and a co-founder of the Orthodox Jewish Public
Affairs Council, said he had arranged the meeting, arguing that some
politicians in New York “shun the Jewish community.”
...
Mr. Gestetner said. “He smartly found a good way not to
answer, which whatever he would have said would anyway be criticized by
another segment involved in this issue.”
By Jason Horowitz, NYT
The Sanders campaign’s
announcement on Tuesday that Simone Zimmerman would be its national
Jewish outreach coordinator delighted her fellow left-wing Jewish
political activists and encouraged their belief that public expressions
of disgust with the Israeli government had edged into the acceptable
mainstream of Democratic politics.
They might have been getting ahead of themselves.
On Thursday, Senator
Bernie Sanders’s campaign suspended Ms. Zimmerman, 25, after revelations
that she had used vulgarities in Facebook posts about Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel and Hillary Clinton.
That's the goal...
If Wisconsin voters were too smart by half,
thinking of themselves as nation-builders here at home with a plan to vote for Ted (whom nobody even supports) in order to install a potential slate of in-state candidates: good ole young boys who could not earn it themselves -- hell Ryan could not even win his own state for Mitt Romney in 2012, then I hope New York shows the nation...
Not even one New York delegate should got to Ted Cruz.
That's the goal, and I think New Yorkers are smart enough to pull it off...
We've had enough Texans playin' tough to last the world a lifetime.
Mr. Trump hailed the “straight talk” and “big energy” of New Yorkers, and “the families playing in Central Park.” But as he has done repeatedly in attempting to make Mr. Cruz pay a political price for deriding his “New York values,” the Queens-bred developer saved his most impassioned definition of the phrase to associate it with the victims and heroes of the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
“In our darkest moment as a city, we showed the world the very, very best in terms of braveness and heart and soul,” he said.
Mr. Trump singled out the Rev. Mychal F. Judge, the New York Fire Department chaplain who was killed as he attempted to rescue the wounded at ground zero. “He died praying and taking care of people,” said Mr. Trump.
It was a sober turn for the Republican front-runner, who usually speaks extemporaneously. But Mr. Trump is attempting to win convincingly enough here next week to take all of the state’s 95 delegates and steady his campaign, which has suffered from staff turmoil and has struggled to win delegates at a series of recent state contests.
With a bank of television cameras and dozens of reporters in attendance, Mr. Trump did not mention Mr. Cruz by name and only glancingly noted that he is “millions of votes ahead” of his chief rival. ...
“Jobs, freedom, security,” he said. “These are not 51 percent, narrow wedge issues.”
-----------------------
ADDED: Protesting does not pay like real jobs do... this is child's play:
Earlier in the
evening, about 100 protesters marched around Grand Central Terminal,
carrying red and black flags symbolic of anarchy. They went into the
MetLife building and then roamed through the terminal, chanting “Stand
up, fight back” and “Donald Trump, KKK, racist, sexist, antigay.”
A large contingent of
police officers followed the demonstrators. Eventually the crowd exited
the terminal and marched east on 42nd Street toward the hotel.
When they encountered Trump supporters, they chanted, “Nazi scum, off our streets.”
Saul, still breathing murderous threats against the disciples of the Lord,
went to the high priest and asked him
for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, that,
if he should find any men or women who belonged to the Way,
he might bring them back to Jerusalem in chains.
On his journey, as he was nearing Damascus,
a light from the sky suddenly flashed around him.
He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him,
“Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”
He said, “Who are you, sir?”
The reply came, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.
Now get up and go into the city and you will be told what you must do.”
The men who were traveling with him stood speechless,
for they heard the voice but could see no one.
Saul got up from the ground,
but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing;
so they led him by the hand and brought him to Damascus.
For three days he was unable to see, and he neither ate nor drank.
There was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias,
and the Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.”
He answered, “Here I am, Lord.”
The Lord said to him, “Get up and go to the street called Straight
and ask at the house of Judas for a man from Tarsus named Saul.
He is there praying,
and in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias
come in and lay his hands on him,
that he may regain his sight.”
But Ananias replied,
“Lord, I have heard from many sources about this man,
what evil things he has done to your holy ones in Jerusalem.
And here he has authority from the chief priests
to imprison all who call upon your name.”
But the Lord said to him,
“Go, for this man is a chosen instrument of mine
to carry my name before Gentiles, kings, and children of Israel,
and I will show him what he will have to suffer for my name.”
So Ananias went and entered the house;
laying his hands on him, he said,
“Saul, my brother, the Lord has sent me,
Jesus who appeared to you on the way by which you came,
that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”
Immediately things like scales fell from his eyes
and he regained his sight.
He got up and was baptized,
and when he had eaten, he recovered his strength.
He stayed some days with the disciples in Damascus,
and he began at once to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues,
that he is the Son of God.
The trouble with artificially elevating select minorities to top corporate positions is that once there, they rarely represent in order to maintain the protected safety of their own. Nttawwt.
The black columnist at the New York Times is "bored" with the presidential preference political races, and tells us all that Hope and Change based on promises is just not happening, people...
I
fear that the cynicism the president describes is inevitable because
this country, in its founding documents, wasn’t designed to easily facilitate change, let alone revolutionary change.
It took centuries for this country to arrive at its current condition and will take time to shift away from it.
That
isn’t what people want to hear in an anti-establishment, revolutionary
change cycle, but that doesn’t make it any less true.
I
fear that we are going to move from the race’s current banality to an
eventual, and most assured, sense of betrayal in which armies of voters
see promises of radical change come crashing to earth. That to me is
unfortunate and even frightening.
He even defines CP time, for white liberals not in the know who bought the promises. Turns out the president was operating on a different timeline. This one's for Charles, then:
Let's Hang On... to What We Got... Don't Let Go 'Cause We Got A Lot!
Who said all the black voices are shut out of the prosperity chorus, anyway? Sounds like money for nothing...
Illustrating what happens when the votes of the American people are stolen by another candidate because he had ... the good organizational sense to install lying delegates on the ground willing to promise one thing, and then turn around and do another at the first opportunity.
That wasn't "cute" even when we were all kids...
It was a sign you could not be trusted to keep your word, even with the "fingers crossed, behind the back" out.
God help ya if you admire men like that, or work for them.
Real Don Blankenship-types.
News Q’s | Journalist Responds to Her Critics and Becomes a Media Star
By KATHERINE SCHULTEN
What do you think? Is “this cute little girl” a “real journalist”? Why or why not?
I presume she is cashing the checks, so there's that...
She's on the anti-Trump bandwagon, solidifying her skill...
Rush Limbaugh once called her out for shame by name!
She credits Dave Barry, and Gail Collins, as influences...
Harvard legacy, from college paper to WaPo columnist...
Humor, guys! It's all about the funny in news today!!
I Vote Yes. Thanks for asking.
ADDED: Isn't this how Megyn Kelly got her start? She's got legs; she knows how to use them...
UPDATE: I forgot though. Not enough to just have a bangin bod in journalism today. How easily does she bruise? Remember, the women journolists who get their names known nationally have to be able to quickly insert themselves into the action, to mix it up in the press-conference scrum and sustain fingerprint bruising on the arm very quickly, after only a seconds-only near-contact with protected national leaders. Not everyone has the physical ability to take abuse like that in their career...
"I just have to say thanks for the endorsement, Bill. Took you long enough,” Clinton told her former campaign manager.
“Sorry, Hillary, I was running on C.P. time,” de Blasio replied to gasps from the crowd. Clinton then appeared to rescue de Blasio by saying he meant "cautious politician time.”
The skit did not go over well with social media, where many users took issue with the racial nature of the material...
He should have called her "my bitch"
if he was doing racial humor.
All in good fun, of course.
To be down with the natives,
both of them white folk
batting for Team Black.
Nttawwt.
I liked the joke actually. Never mind the social media clucks -- fuck em. It would have been funny, in a non-PC world.
But the fact that people like Hillary Clinton have helped create the sense of political correctness in their bubble world -- passed on to their children raised in the Baby On Board,
make-a-special-safe-place-for-me generation ...
And most of all,
the fact that someone felt the need to explain the punchline and what was being riffed on, set her, and the joke, up for failure ...
It didn't feel natural. Either you got it, or not. Never explain; let them catch up...
If people today are faking outrage over the allegedly risque humor, it only goes to show how far we have fallen in our... dialoging, how artificial everything has become.
Truth is, plenty of Republicans like this status-quo stagnation:
Don't address the immigration issue in Washington: pass on to local governments and school districts the burden of the lack of planning for all the lives already here;
Reward those "Too Big To Fail" by making them even bigger...;
Nevermind the income inequality that is turning our nation into a Great Britain, where one is locked into their social status via networking and connections, and even education cannot help lift a person above their career station.
America deserves to live 4 years under a Hillary Clinton reign, if we are going to cheat the winner of so many primary contests out of the ability to compete in the general election.
If "success" means growing up to play the career game like Ted Cruz, with the accompanying results -- afterall, everyone can see the man's track record of leadership in Washington -- then it's a game not worth playing...
Teach Your Children Well.
You can look at the menu but you just can't eat.
You can feel the cushions but you can't have a seat.
You can dip your foot in the pool but you can't have a swim.
You can serve the punishment but you can't commit the sin.
You can build a mansion but you can't live in it.
You're the fastest runner but you're not allowed to win...
You can see the summit but you can't reach it.
It's the last piece of the puzzle but you just can't make it fit.
Doctor says you're cured... but you still feel the pain.
Aspirations in the clouds but your hopes go down the drain...
If personal character means so little in Ted Cruz' America, then the country deserves what it has coming... wait until the carnage comes home here again. Divided We Fall, and cheaters never win.
ADDED: Ironically, America is turning its back on the lessons hard-earned in Europe about assimilation and civic participation:
If the establishment elites are allowed to tell the people of both parties that their voices do not matter, then their voices will be heard in other ways. =Violence, in Brussels for those unassimilated into their civic fold, seemingly with little way up or out...
In America,
we want to encourage more participation, more grass-root growth, more seeds taking root, more voices speaking out to diversify the range of our collective conversations.
This is a telling time:
do the political and media elites listen to our frustration with their lack of progress, or do they turn their backs on the American people, telling them that this is a top-down kingdom -- like a military or police hierarchy -- where we pay lip service to ideas of equality, assimilation, participation, competition and strength -- all the while protecting our political minorities clustering at the top?
Choose Wisely.
I choose open dialogue and building, over violence and tearing things down. I choose the rule of law and the spirit of fair play over slick trickery and minority conniving. I choose not to compete in a rigged system, because I know my personal worth. I am bigger than the role assigned me by those who wish to hold me back. I will not cooperate in my subjugation, I choose to be free.
Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont has accepted an invitation from the Vatican to attend a conference on social, economic and environmental issues.
The Sanders campaign made the announcement on Friday as the senator made the rounds of the morning television news programs. Mr. Sanders will take a break from campaigning in New York, just days ahead of the April 19 primary there, to attend the conference hosted by the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences.
Mr. Sanders, clarifying what he said earlier of an actual sit-down with Pope Francis, said he had not confirmed yet whether the two men would actually meet.
“I am delighted to have been invited by the Vatican to a meeting on restoring social justice and environmental sustainability to the world economy,” Mr. Sanders said in a statement.
“Pope Francis has made clear that we must overcome ‘the globalization of indifference’ in order to reduce economic inequalities, stop financial corruption and protect the natural environment. That is our challenge in the United States and in the world.”
On MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” program, Mr. Sanders explained that while he disagrees with Pope Francis on issues relating to women’s rights and gay rights, he admires the pope for speaking about income inequality and the need for people to help one another.
“He has played an unbelievable role, an unbelievable role of injecting a moral consequence into the economy,” said Mr. Sanders, who would become the first Jewish president in the United States if elected.
“He is talking about the idolatry of money, the worship of money, the greed that’s out there, how our whole culture is based on: ‘I need more and more and more. And, I don’t have to worry about veterans sleeping out on the street or elderly people who can’t afford their prescriptions.’”
President Obama at the University of Chicago Law School on Thursday, April 7, 2016:
After talking about the changes he has made to “transform” the
federal court system from a “diversity standpoint,” Obama said, “And so,
when I look at Merrick Garland, that was the person that… you know, the
difference between the Supreme Court is that it’s just a handful of
seats come up at any given time. Now, I appointed a Latino woman, and
another woman right before that, so…”
“You know, he is. I think that’s important,” he added.
Kinda a shame, when you contrast that to the unselfish play that led to the victory in the closing milliseconds of the recent NCAA tournament...
Some folks still got some evolving to do, it seems. Good thing anchor baby Sasha/Natasha is keeping 'em in Washington for a few more years to adjust, before the former first presidential couple returns to Chicago and what they have left behind...
Just take the power out of the hands of voters! by David Brooks
The
Republican presidential campaign just changed. ... Suddenly the
delegates have all the power and the candidates have to woo them for
their support. The crucial question is, how are delegates going to use
their power?
Well,
they could go the solitary path. ...
Or they could choose the collective path.
This
is the path that recognizes that the situation we’re in now is more
like a parliamentary process than a presidential process. Even very
small groups can have an amazing influence over big candidates who are
trying to build a majority coalition. Think of the way small Israeli
religious parties extract concessions from the much larger Israeli
parties.
I've long said, on this blog and consistently in my real life, that America is not Israel. The idea of our becoming a religious state like Israel, where our political religious extremists "extract concessions" from the much larger political parties is not a path Americans wish to pursue... Duh!*
(How far is Brooks removed from "minority" status in the United States to see how that type of alleged power sharing is working for our true political minorities here?? Check your privilege, David. We simply don't have enough haters here, Thank God, to elect religious extremists like Ted Cruz who believe in the natural superiority of some like himself and his family, over the human rights of allegedly lesser others.)
In the end, David Brooks is really trying to teach the Republicans how to continue losing in the alleged service of a greater good:
The
first thing the Lincoln Caucus would do is plant a flag for a different
style of Republicanism. Members of the caucus would remind the country
that there still are Republicans who believe in prudent globalism,
reform conservative ideas to lift up the working class. There are still
Republicans who believe in certain standards of polite behavior in
public and pragmatic compromise.
If
the Republican ticket gets devastated in November, members of the
Lincoln Caucus could say, “We stood for something different,” and they’d
be in a good position to lead the rebuilding process.
If he were listening, he'd understand that American voters are already rebuilding their parties -- from the ground up -- starting yesterday... No more promises about Change from our political "leaders" gifted with speechmaking; we are already making changes, and they are adding up...
Unlike Israelis, Americans are not enamored with political stagnation. The leaders, and pundits, will learn to follow the direction being set by the voters in this race. We do not need outside money telling us what we need; we know.
And most importantly, we know what we don't need: more Middle East wars that displace populations and lock them into refugee camps for decades. If that is the New Normal, then Israel and America ought to agree to part ways, with dual citizens like Brooks free to follow his heart, afterall.
Just don't expect the American collective to join your pilgrimage journeys, Mr. Brooks. We have a country here, and we'd like to keep it.
-----------------------------
* Reread the Bill of Rights to understand the special distinction between the guarantees America makes to her minority citizens compared to ... how Israel does it.
We. Don't. Want. To. Go. There. and start treating our minorities as second-class citizens again under the law. Ted Cruz preaches hatred and division; having him at the helm assures defeat and America is not a country of losers or victims but of equals. Never Forget.
"Send Lawyers, Guns, and Money... the Shit has Hit the Fan"
Remember, despite the 9-11 attacks in America and the crushing oppression of women, the Sauds are our best buds...
CAIRO -- A Saudi Arabia-led military coalition used bombs supplied by the United States in an attack on a market in Yemen last month that killed at least 97 civilians, including 25 children, Human Rights Watch said in a report released Wednesday.
The
group said it had found fragments of two American-made bombs at the
market, in the northern district of Mastaba, linking the United States
for the first time to the March 15 airstrikes, which were believed to be the deadliest coalition bombings during Yemen’s
yearlong civil war. The high death toll, along with images of children
killed in the blasts, ignited international outrage and prompted calls
for an investigation.
And keep telling yourself,
the people who died on September 11? More have died since then slipping and falling in bathtub accidents. It's supposed to be the mantra you chant at terror and evil, to keep it all in perspective.
"Less people die in terror attacks than die annually in bathtub falls." There, feel better now? Just don't forget, the next time you hear news of deadly terror attacks that kill innocent men, women and children...
Don't be outraged.
This is the New Normal.
God Bless America?
People confuse this with Midwestern friendliness.
They forget: it's a slam on the hypocrisy of those passive people in the Upper Midwest. Sure, they'll be nice to your face -- in that "Bless Your Heart" way they allegedly have in the South...
But the knife twist is: they are condescending to you. Of course, you'll never be one of them, so confident they are in their superiority. The hard thing to process is: you can literally go years, thinking well of your friend, neighbor or co-worker who is being so friendly to you... only to discover oh-so-much later, that it was all an act.
Not everyone in Minnesota or Wisconsin plays the Minnesota Nice game. Plenty are honest, or not passive. But perhaps it is the Scandinavian temperament and desire to avoid conflict and appear warm and friendly...
This is the opposite of Minnesota/Wisconsin Nice.
This is open honest emotion, and a direct addressing of thoughts to the appropriate person.
I just hope the drop-in writers who harp on the alleged educated people of Milwaukee's suburbs, or the alleged niceness of Wisconsin people in naturally rejecting Donald Trump's supporters, understand the importance of downstate money in our politics here, and also the importance of conforming -- in going along to be getting along. From there, it's a very short step to "It's not what you know. It's who you know."
That explains a great deal about the state.
We could use a little Bronx-grade honesty here, to tell ya the truth:
“Mr. Blankenship, I’ve given great consideration to this sentence, and I find that the sentence of 12 months followed by one year of supervised release and a variant fine of $250,000 is reasonable. The jury found in its deliberation, after listening to evidence for a period of six weeks, that you had conspired with others of Massey Energy to willfully violate mine safety and health laws.*
In so doing, I have found, and I find it to be fact, that you abused the trust of the Massey Energy shareholders, your fellow officers and directors and, most importantly, the trust of the employees who looked to you for leadership and for a safe workplace. Mining has carried the State of West Virginia for generations, as you well know. Each day and each shift that miners don their hats and boots and proudly go underground generally without any trepidation to make a living for themselves and for their families, they necessarily rely on owners and operators and administrators of these mines to provide a safe workplace. Safety simply has to be paramount.
Although there was evidence, presented of an S-1, P-2 program, or a safety first and production second program at the mine, it was not borne out by the testimony that we heard presented during the course of the trial. By putting profitability of the company ahead of the safety of your employees, you, Mr. Blankenship, created a culture of noncompliance at Upper Big Branch, where your subordinates accepted and, in fact, encouraged unsafe working conditions in order to reach profitability and production targets.
The legacy of that conduct was visible in the testimony of the miners from Upper Big Branch in this case, who described dire working conditions where their safety was routinely compromised and preventable hazards were tolerated. There was testimony that I recall that the miners had to hide their efforts at safety, or that they had to hide nonproduction time where they were making efforts at safety. As chief executive officer, you were ultimately responsible for ensuring that these miners went to work each day in mines which followed M.S.H.A.’s safety and health standards. Having grown up in West Virginia coalfields, you had to be aware, and having risen through the ranks of the company you had to be aware of the vital importance of safety in the coal industry.
I take no pleasure in imposing this sentence here today, Mr. Blankenship. Although I believe the sentence to be warranted and I believe it to be appropriate, there’s no pleasure in my imposing it. Quite frankly, having given a bit — a good bit of consideration to this case, you should be someone that we are able to tout as a West Virginia success story.
You were raised by a single mother in southern West Virginia. You attended public schools in southern West Virginia, attended Marshall University, where you obtained a degree. You then became a C.P.A. and rose through the ranks of Massey to become its chief executive officer. And you’ve given back to your community. Instead of being able to tout you as one of West Virginia’s success stories, however, we are here as a result of your part in a dangerous conspiracy. I’ve considered your lack of criminal history, Mr. Blankenship. I have reviewed in excess of 100 character letters written on your behalf. I think your lawyer submitted 110, and there were four or five which came directly to me that were not included in the batch that was sent to me by the lawyers.
Some of those who wrote letters flatly disagree with the jury’s verdict based upon their opinions of your work ethic and your commitment to safety. Some simply express their opinion that you were, in fact, committed to safety, while others tout the community programs for children and others you initiated including the Christmas Extravaganza which a number of them mentioned for underprivileged children, and of scholarships that you initiated.
Other writers knew you personally from childhood. And still others had personal stories of how you helped when they went through personal health or other crises. I’ve given consideration to all of that.
In my consideration of the 3553(a) factors, the direct and circumstantial evidence in this case, I disagree with your lawyer about the status of the evidence as it relates to a conspiracy. The nature of conspiracy cases is that oftentimes there’s not direct evidence of some express agreement and, more often than not, the evidence is borne out through circumstantial evidence. He and I simply disagree on the status of that. But having considered it, I have considered the length of time that the conspiracy lasted. I’ve also considered that during that time, the risk of injury and death was present every single day for employees in the mines. I’ve considered the pervasiveness of that conspiracy.
Neither of those issues is addressed in the guideline range. I have found, given the nature and extent of the conduct, that the fine range under the guidelines is simply not sufficient in this case to meet the goals of sentencing and, therefore, have imposed a fine above that applicable advisory guideline range at the statutory maximum. Specifically, in my consideration of just punishment for the serious crime of conspiring to willfully violate mine safety and health standards, of deterring you and others from engaging in similar conduct, and promoting respect for the law, I find a sentence of one year of incarceration coupled with that maximum fine is sufficient and, yet, not greater than necessary to meet the goals of sentencing.
I also find specifically, Mr. Blankenship, that the sentence reflects the seriousness of the offense. And I want to be clear that this court has considered the evidence at trial. I want to place on the record, because it was brought out during the course of arguments, that I’ve not even seen a “60 Minutes” production about this case. But the evidence and the impact of the offense, and giving consideration to the 3553(a) factors, tells me that this sentence is appropriate and that it’s warranted.
Again, I believe the sentence promotes respect for the law. It also reflects the seriousness of the offense. And it serves to protect the public from other such crimes. It also serves to avoid unwarranted sentence disparities, in my opinion, between you and others who are similarly situated. The crime is serious. There’s been discussion here about the acquittal of felony offenses and your conviction of a misdemeanor. Those of us in the legal community put tags on offenses. Congress puts tags on offenses. But when we seek to sentence someone, we sentence based on the conduct, which I find to be very serious not only in its commission but in its potential impact in terms of risk in this particular case. And, again, I find it to be appropriate given those 3553(a) factors.
----------------------------------------
*Prior history of safety violations and fatalities
In 2009, the company, Massey Energy, was fined a total of $382,000 for "serious" unrepentant violations for lacking ventilation and proper equipment plans as well as failing to utilize its safety plan properly.[29] In the previous month, the authorities cited the mine for 57 safety infractions. The mine received two safety citations the day before the explosion, 600 in the preceding 18 months, and 1,342 in the preceding five years.
The CEO of Massey Energy, Don Blankenship, has received criticism for his apparent disregard of safety. The Upper Big Branch Mine-South, where the explosion occurred, has been in operation since October 1994. Between 2000 and 2009, two fatalities occurred at this mine.
In the previous year, 50 of the safety violations, more than 10%, were categorized as "unwarrantable failures to comply," which indicates willful or gross negligence; this was higher than the 2% national average.
According to miners at Massey, many employees knew the Big Branch mine was hazardous; to protect themselves some experienced miners had left in months prior to the explosion.
“I would not as an Israeli be worried about the future of our relationship. I think it’s going to strengthen.” The alliance with Congress is extremely warm and firm, he elaborates, and ordinary Americans understand “that our ties with Israel are deep and strong, and that they’re mutual… We need Israel for our own national security. We need Israel to keep ourselves safe as well.”
...
Ryan’s first order of business is to make clear that he very deliberately chose to visit Israel now so as “to reinforce our alliance” and to underline his conviction that the US-Israel partnership should and will grow stronger in the future.
The 46-year-old father of three from Wisconsin, who was last in Israel late in Ariel Sharon’s prime ministership in 2005, emphatically endorses Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s view that Palestinian terrorism directed against Israel is ultimately no different from the Islamic terror afflicting Europe and threatening the United States, and that the civilized world must unite to fight it.
“They’re coming at Israel but they’re ultimately coming for us,” he says. “So we are partners in this war on terror, radical Islamic terrorism. Israel is an indispensable ally in that. Israel is on the front line in so many ways with respect to it.”
----------------
Except, I don't think the American majority is willing to send their sons to die so the settlers of Israel, a religious state, can expand their borders to consume more Palestinian land. America is a Judeo-Christian country, and we believe the new covenant made the first more inclusive. My God, Your God. My Land, Your Land....
Perhaps Paul Ryan can lead a round in between his powerful visits?
"This Land Was Made for You and Me..."
Why must we take the lead in confronting and containing Putin in Ukraine, Crimea and Georgia? No vital U.S. interest is imperiled there, and Russia’s ties there are older and deeper than ours to Puerto Rico.
Why is it the responsibility of the U.S. Pacific Fleet to defend the claims of Hanoi, Manila, Kuala Lumpur and Brunei, to rocks, reefs and islets in the South China Sea – against the claims of China?
American hawks talk of facing down Beijing in the South and East China Seas while U.S. companies import so much in Chinese-made goods they are fully subsidizing Beijing’s military budget.
Does this make sense?
Yes you can!
Patriotism, preserving and protecting the unique character of our nation and people, economic nationalism, America First, staying out of other nation’s wars – these are as much the propellants of Trumpism as is the decline of the American working and middle class.
Trump’s presence in the race has produced the largest turnout ever in the primaries of either party. He has won the most votes, most delegates, most states. ...
If, through rules changes, subterfuge and faithless delegates, party elites swindle him out of the nomination, do they think that the millions who came out to vote for Trump will go home and say: We lost it fair and square?
Do they think they can then go back to open borders, amnesty, a path to citizenship, the Trans-Pacific Partnership and nation building?
Whatever happens to Trump, the country has spoken.
Someone should tell him, all the downstate Wisconsin support he is receiving? Nobody is voting for him as president.
The establishment Republicans in Wisconsin are all voting Cruz, so they can eliminate Trump on technicalities.
If Ted Cruz thinks that anyone approves of his work in Congress, or wants to see him as president one day, he ought to wake up to the Jeb Bush/Paul Ryan/Scott Walker plans for him...
He's seen as a spoiler: nothing more, nothing less.
Ted Cruz Insists Only He, or Trump, Should Be Nominee
MADISON, Wis. — Senator Ted Cruz of Texas on Monday warned the Republican Party against pushing an “uber-Washington lobbyist” as a possible nominee at a contested convention, insisting that only he or Donald J. Trump should be chosen.
MEANWHILE: Somebody help the poor old female law professor to decide who she should vote for in Wisconsin's primary tomorrow. C'mon fellas: independent thinking is not her strong suit...
(Aren't the ladies all supposed to be satisfied with the right to terminate the lives of their unborn children? What is a more powerful issue than that to entrust in their hands? I mean: what other issues could matter to the women voters? Free daycare/breakfasts/Head Start for their impoverished children born out of wedlock? Let the men handle the economy and foreign policy: help her out on how to vote, gentlemen.)
