Wednesday, December 19, 2018
Tuesday, December 18, 2018
Oh come on, Greenwald, Trump this, Trump that, ditch the Trump derangement syndrome already
Trump was the needed not-Hillary, that's all.
Next!
Amy Siskind remains blind to Hillary underperforming Barack Obama 2008 by 3.65 million votes
The sign of a growing movement is building on past achievements, at which Hillary miserably failed.
She didn't even beat Obama 2012, but hey, go for alienating the voters again with her.
And there's your slogan for 2020, too: "I'm (alienating the voters again) with her".
AP confirms sportswear sold on US college campuses is made by the forced labor of Muslim prisoners in Western China
In locked compound, minorities in China make clothes for US:
The Associated Press has tracked recent, ongoing shipments from one such factory inside an internment camp to Badger Sportswear, a leading supplier in Statesville, North Carolina. ... At least 10 times this year shipping containers filled with thousands of men’s, women’s and youth polyester knitted T-shirts and pants were sent to Badger Sportswear, a 47-year-old athletic gear seller. ... Dozens of college bookstores advertise their gear printed on Badger Sportswear, including Texas A&M, University of Pennsylvania, Appalachian State University, University of Northern Iowa, University of Evansville and Bates College. ... [I]n April this year, it began importing 100 percent polyester T-shirts and pants from Hetian Taida Apparel, according to U.S. customs data provided by ImportGenius, which analyzes consumer shipments. The address on the shipping records is the same as for the detention camp.
Monday, December 17, 2018
FBI and Mueller framed Flynn, 302 evidence against Flynn is seven months old, isn't contemporaneous with the January 2017 informal interview
Missing Flynn document in Mueller file could rile judge at sentencing hearing :
U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan had ordered
the special counsel to turn over all government documents and
“memoranda” related to the questioning of Flynn, after his attorneys
claimed the FBI had discouraged him from bringing a lawyer to his
fateful Jan. 24, 2017 interview with agents at the White House. ...
Mueller met Sullivan’s Friday afternoon deadline and provided documents, some of which were heavily redacted.
Apart
from a new memo from Mueller's team defending the FBI's handling of the
interview -- and saying nothing about the way it was conducted “caused
the defendant to make false statements to the FBI” -- the filing
included a January 2017 memo on Flynn from then-FBI Deputy Director
Andrew McCabe and a "302" (a document memorializing
interviews) detailing a July 19, 2017 interview with then-FBI agent
Peter Strzok. Strzok, one of two agents who interviewed Flynn, described
that meeting in the document, filed Aug. 22 of that year.
But not included in the filing was an original 302 from the period of the January 2017 Flynn interview.
It's
unclear whether the document exists. However, the Strzok interview file
appeared to repeatedly refer to a 302 drafted after the Flynn
interview. "Strzok conducted the interview and [REDACTED] was primarily
responsible for taking notes and writing the FD-302," one section said.
Another said that throughout the interview, Flynn did not give any
indication of deception and only hedged once, "which they documented in
the 302."
James Trusty, a former senior Justice Department
official who now works as a criminal defense attorney at Ifrah Law,
predicted Sullivan would notice that the 302 submitted Friday is dated
seven months after the Flynn interview took place.
“Judge Sullivan
has a well-established history of taking on discovery issues head-on,”
Trusty said. “So providing a seven-month-old FBI 302 is absolutely going
to be a red flag for the judge, and I can’t imagine there are not going
to be questions tomorrow about whether there are contemporaneous notes,
or a contemporaneous report, that is in the FBI’s possession.” ...
Strzok was removed from the Russia probe in late July 2017 -- just
days after he apparently gave the interview that formed the basis for
the 302 in Mueller's filing -- for his apparent anti-Trump bias. No
audio recording or other documentation of Flynn's comments to the FBI
have been produced. ...
Last week, Comey was asked how the FBI agents ended up at the White
House to interview Flynn in the first place. Comey’s response provided
new details about the circumstances that fueled criticism of the
bureau’s conduct:
“I sent them,” Comey said in a panel discussion
with MSNBC’s Nicolle Wallace, and added that it was “something I
probably wouldn’t have done or maybe gotten away with in a
more…organized administration.”
The interview was arranged directly with Flynn, he explained, acknowledging this was not standard procedure.
I wish it were The Mark Steyn Show instead of The Rush Limbaugh Show
Steyn just called for the entire US justice system to be torn down and rebuilt.
Hooah, Mark.
Sunday, December 16, 2018
Obamacare liar Jonathan Gruber decides it's safe to lie again, this time in The Boston Globe
Jonathan Gruber leaves out that millions of Americans already have unusable insurance right now under Obamacare, and that it already costs them tens of thousands of dollars out of pocket every year because their crappy, no-good rotten piece of shit Obamacare-era health insurance plan SUCKS, covering nada, nothing, nichts, doodlysquat.
Gruber just decides not to mention them.
Major lying asshole yesterday, today and forever.
Texas court strikes down Affordable Care Act, putting the health of Americans and our democracy at risk:
Millions of Americans who don’t read the fine print of their insurance contracts could once again buy insurance that leaves them with tens of thousands of dollars in uncovered medical bills.
Friday, December 14, 2018
Priceless: As The Weekly Standard shutters Bill Kristol says "Onward"
Kristol, meanwhile, tweeted optimistically that “we have much more to do. Onward.”
Close enough.
"Investor confidence cracking" in US, record flight to cash in the last week as China misses on two big measures
Uh oh.
Record $46 bln pulled from US-based stock funds in a week, according to Lipper:
More than $46 billion thundered out of U.S. stock mutual funds and
exchange-traded funds, the most ever, while a near-record $13 billion
poured from bonds, according to the research service. Relatively
low-risk money market funds pulled in $81 billion, also the most
recorded, the research service's data showed.
The withdrawals appeared to show investor confidence cracking in the
waning days of a wild year of up-and-down trading that has left many
people with losses across both stock and bond funds, a rare occurrence.
China just reported 'ugly' industrial output and retail sales growth that missed expectations:
The weaker Chinese data in November shows that the positive impact of
front-loading had begun to taper off and that downward pressure on the
Chinese economy was increasing, wrote Sue Trinh, head of Asia foreign
exchange strategy at RBC Capital Markets in Hong Kong.
The industrial output and retail sales data released on Friday were "ugly," she added in a Friday note.
Thursday, December 13, 2018
Ben Shapiro hated on Pat Buchanan as early as 2003, said he was yesterday's news, embraced neoconservatism as mainstream
A guy named Shapiro said all that? Color me shocked!
After Iraq, attack Pat Buchanan:
The conservative movement has progressed beyond the ideology of Pat
Buchanan. But if the conservative movement continues to tolerate him,
even as a fringe character, it endangers the gains it has made.
And fifteen years later some people think Pat Buchanan's doppelgänger currently occupies the White House even as the neoconservative flagship The Weekly Standard is about to close its doors.
The horror . . . the horror.
In Nigel Farage's mind the rioters in France are the Tommy Robinsonites who co-opted his UKIP
Feelings of bitterness can overpower reason and cause one to engage in false equivalencies, as in blaming the American Revolution on the Presbyterians.
Things haven't changed much.
BREXIT is the new chartered right of Englishmen. Unfortunately for them the result of the democratic process matters as little to the duly elected government of Britain as colonial representation mattered to George III.
Nigel is nothing if not a loyalist.
Wednesday, December 12, 2018
Whenever I'm hating Michigan for some reason I just look at this map to remind myself why I'm here
Tuesday, December 11, 2018
Tablet Magazine exposes how anti-white racists and anti-Semites of the black Muslim variety co-opted the Women's March on Washington
Calypso Louie strikes again.
Is the Women’s March Melting Down?:
According to several sources, it was there—in the first hours of the
first meeting for what would become the Women’s March—that something
happened that was so shameful to many of those who witnessed it, they
chose to bury it like a family secret. Almost two years would pass
before anyone present would speak about it.
It was there that, as the women were opening up about their
backgrounds and personal investments in creating a resistance movement
to Trump, Perez and Mallory allegedly first asserted that Jewish people
bore a special collective responsibility as exploiters of black and
brown people—and even, according to a close secondhand source, claimed
that Jews were proven to have been leaders of the American slave trade.
These are canards popularized by The Secret Relationship Between Blacks and Jews, a
book published by Louis Farrakhan’s Nation of Islam—“the bible of the
new anti-Semitism,” according to Henry Louis Gates Jr., who noted
in 1992: “Among significant sectors of the black community, this brief
has become a credo of a new philosophy of black self-affirmation.”
To this day, Mallory and Bland deny any such statements were ever
uttered, either at the first meeting or at Mallory’s apartment. ...
None of the other women in attendance would speak openly to Tablet about
the meeting, but multiple sources with knowledge of what happened
confirmed the story.
Monday, December 10, 2018
Ben Shapiro, rhymes with Cuck Hero, talks so fast all I can think of when he comes on is motormouth John Moschitta Jr.
It's amusing. For one or two minutes, three minutes max. Then it's suddenly annoying as hell.
This never comes up in Vanity Fair's recent “LET ME MAKE YOU FAMOUS”: HOW HOLLYWOOD INVENTED BEN SHAPIRO, which is all about how his makeover artist used video to make Shapiro into a brand.
Shapiro is set to replace Michael Savage on the radio for two hours everyday next year, a strictly aural medium which Shapiro has already shown he can't resist filling up with more words in a half hour than most hosts use in a week.
Savage listeners are going to be very disappointed.
Democrat Socialist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez comes out as Sephardic Jew
Glad we got that cleared up.
Ocasio-Cortez Reveals Jewish Heritage at Hanukkah Event: 'My Family Was Sephardic':
Incoming Democratic congresswoman says it's the first time she's shared her Jewish heritage in public: 'Our destinies are tied beyond our understanding'
Sunday, December 9, 2018
Cuban American Republican Loser in FL-27 Maria Salazar to Sean Hannity: "We are more American than you are"
About 245,000 votes were cast in the 2018 contest lost by Salazar. It was a supposedly safe Republican seat, but about 43,000 fewer votes were cast than in 2016. There seems to have been a distinct lack of enthusiasm all around. Neither Salazar nor the winner Shalala got anywhere near the votes the retiring incumbent received in 2016. The 73% Hispanic district ended up picking a 77 year old Lebanese dwarf instead of one of their own. Must've been something really wrong with Salazar. I wonder what it could have been.
Salazar made the remark on Friday's Sean Hannity Radio Program.
Comey's stonewalling the institutions just shows that the institutions are already finished: one side disrepects them
Open rebellion is sure to follow, and then a tyrant to quell the violence with maximum violence. It's just a question of when. Democracy doesn't die in darkness, as The Washington Post claims. It dies in the broad light of day for everyone to see, as they gather round and take pictures of it with their iPhones.
He's the same as Hillary and the other Democrat liars to Congress, going back at least to Eric Holder.
November 2018 climate update for Grand Rapids, Michigan, goes from hot to cold like someone flipped a switch
Grand Rapids, Michigan, Climate Update for November 2018:
Max temp 52 (lowest on record), Mean Max temp 66
Min temp 20, Mean Min temp 17
Av temp 34.6 (10th coldest on record), Mean Av temp 39.1
Precip 2.73, Mean precip 2.84
Snow 14.4, Mean snow 6.3
Heating Degree Days 908, Mean HDD 770
By heating degree days, November 2018 was 18% colder than normal and the 10th coldest November on record.
Pat Buchanan blames Clinton, Bush 43 and Obama for squandering away the world Bush 41 gave us
Jawohl, the Baby Boom presidents, except Pat won't yet admit that Trump is simply Squanderbucks IV.
Was it not the three presidents who sat so uncomfortably beside President Donald Trump at the state funeral of 41?
Saturday, December 8, 2018
One more time, Democrat General Michael Flynn is not a criminal but a victim of an Obama political hit job
What was Flynn's real sin?
As the director of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) from July 2012 until he was forced out in August 2014, he clashed mightily with the Obama administration's policies on ISIS and the Iran nuclear deal, among other things. As a result, the decorated general put himself "on the wrong side of history" and at odds with the Obama-friendly deep state.
The outspoken general continued to rock the boat after he left the administration.
For instance, in November 2015 during an appearance on Fox News, Flynn called for an investigation into the ISIS intel-skewing scandal, recommending that it "start right at the top."
"Where intelligence starts and stops is at the White House," Flynn said. "The president sets the priorities and he's the number one customer. So if he's not getting the intelligence that he needs and he's not paying attention to what else is going on, then something else is going wrong between him and the advisers that he has."
Obama already despised Flynn. But his hate likely turned to fear when his former DIA decided to throw his support behind Donald J. Trump, another boat-rocker who had a real chance of winning.
As Sheld noted, Obama made a point after the 2016 election of advising Trump not to hire Flynn. But Trump didn't listen.
Next thing Flynn knew, government spies were listening in on his innocuous phone conversations with Kislyak, his name was unmasked by someone in the Obama administration, and the contents of the call were leaked to the Washington Post (which remains the only serious crime to have emerged in the Russia investigation). ...
On January 12, 2017, a "high-ranking" Obama official leaked Flynn's intercept to David Ignatius at the Washington Post, which is a felony.
Friday, December 7, 2018
FL-27 Republican loser Maria Elvira Salazar's arrogance was front and center immediately after her primary win in August
Today on Hannity's show this loser told Hannity that Hispanic people like her "make better Americans than you".
Her defeat has done nothing to put any humility in her.
“I don’t think it’s going to be hard [to win in November]. Ileana won by 10 points and she’s very much loved,” Salazar said. “It’s going to be a seamless transition between Ileana and myself.”
At an election night watch party in Westchester, Salazar was joined by Ros-Lehtinen, former U.S. Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart and the parents of U.S. Rep. Carlos Curbelo, who won the primary Tuesday night in Florida’s 26th Congressional District.
Republican Valadao concedes in CA-21
Valadao concedes in California congressional race:
Valadao called Cox to concede Thursday and released a statement,
saying “representing the Central Valley in Congress has been the honor
of a lifetime.” ...
Valadao was almost 5,000 votes ahead of Cox on election night, but
late returns caught up with the three-term congressman – as they did for
six of his fellow California Republicans. With the certification of
elections in Fresno, Kings, Tulare and Kern counties this week, the
final margin appears to be 862 votes – less than one percentage point –
in Cox’s favor.
Don't piss down my back Brainard and tell me this is full employment, beyond full employment, or pearly shells
I love Pearly Shells.
Twelve years ago 63.4% of the population had a job. In November 2018 it's just 60.6%. We could easily have 164 million employed. Instead we've got only 156.8 million, 7.2 million fewer adjusted for population.
At the rate we're going it'll be the year 2025 before we're back to 63%.
Brainard knows NOTHING!
The country's a triangle apparently, and has a north coast: Nancy Pelosi oddly omits the east coast in border security statement
And you thought that 57 states thingy and hundreds of millions of Americans enrolling in Obamacare was just Obama.
Democrats evidently have spatial relations thinking impairment.
We have a responsibility, all of us, to secure our borders, north, south, and coming in by plane, on our coasts -- three coasts, north, south and west. And that -- that's a responsibility we honor, but we do so by honoring our values, as well.
Tucker Carlson tells it like it is on our one term president, unhappily concludes socialism is the future
Though often a measured Trump supporter, Tuesday’s interview was not Carlson’s first verbal-lashing of the president; he called Trump’s attacks on then-attorney general Jeff Sessions, following his recusal from the Russia investigation, a “useless, self-destructive act.” ...
“His chief promises were that he would build the wall, defund Planned Parenthood and repeal Obamacare, and he hasn’t done any of those things,” Carlson said, adding that those goals were probably lost causes. Trump, he said, doesn’t understand the system, and his own agencies don’t support him.
“He knows very little about the legislative process, hasn’t learned anything, hasn’t surrounded himself with people that can get it done, hasn’t done all the things you need to do, so it’s mostly his fault that he hasn’t achieved those things,” he added. ...
He has come to believe that Trump’s role is not as a conventional president who promises to achieve certain things and then does. Instead, it’s to “begin the conversation about what actually matters.” ...
[H]e called Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and her socialist group “the future.” He also criticized the Republican Party, suggesting that it “will die” if it doesn’t begin to fairly represent middle-class American voters.
Thursday, December 6, 2018
Striking a blow for white nationalism on its way out the door, The Weekly Standard informs us Cory Booker is a lot more injun than Elizabeth Warren
See Cory Run:
The country’s racial history is an ever-present issue for Booker, one
of only three African American senators, but he wants to see his
complicated heritage as a source of communion rather than anger. Some of
his ancestors were slaves but several were slave owners—and one was a
Confederate soldier. A DNA test revealed that he’s 47 percent African,
45 percent European, and 7 percent Native American (which is about 70
times more Native American than Elizabeth Warren).
One term president is down to $5 billion for part of a wall: Lame Duck Republicans kick shutdown can from tomorrow to Dec. 21
It would give lawmakers more time to hash out an agreement on spending and President Donald Trump’s demand for $5 billion to fund his proposed border wall.
Congress has approved spending bills for five government agencies, such as the Departments of Defense and Health and Human Services. It has to fund seven more, including the Department of Homeland Security, which has emerged as the biggest sticking point as Congress tries to avoid letting funding for those agencies lapse.
Sen. Crazy Hirono of Hawaii insults the voters like Hillary did, says Dems too smart to connect well with voters
It's tough out here on the plantation, yes sir, not knowing what to do and all without constant direction from our betters.
Wednesday, December 5, 2018
Selective prosecution by DOJ undermines faith in the justice system, divides the country and threatens the peace
With a Republican president in place and soon-to-be Democrat-run House, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has conveniently remembered that they have the ability to prosecute people who lie to Congress. This was a power they had inexplicably forgotten about during the 10 years that Democrats were benefiting from witnesses who lied.
W's eulogy for his father is so good . . .
. . . it makes you wish his father had died more often.
You can watch him, here.
And here's the transcript (I've edited out the "laughters", you can supply your own):
GEORGE W. BUSH: Distinguished guests, including our presidents and first ladies, government officials, foreign dignitaries and friends, Jeb, Neil, Marvin, Doro and I and our families thank you all for being here.
I once heard it said of man that the idea is to die young, as late as possible.
At age 85, a favorite pastime of George H.W. Bush was firing up his boat, the Fidelity, and opening up the three 300-horsepower engines to fly -- joyfully fly -- across the Atlantic with the Secret Service boats straining to keep up.
At age 90, George H.W. Bush parachuted out of an aircraft and landed on the grounds of St. Ann's by the Sea in Kennebunkport, Maine, the church where his mom was married and where he worshiped often. Mother liked to say he chose the location just in case the chute didn't open.
In his 90s, he took great delight when his closest pal, James A. Baker, smuggled a bottle of Grey Goose vodka into his hospital room. Apparently, it paired well with the steak Baker had delivered from Morton's.
To his very last days, Dad's life was instructive.
As he aged, he taught us how to grow with dignity, humor and kindness, and when the good Lord finally called, how to meet him with courage and with the joy of the promise of what lies ahead.
One reason Dad knew how to die young is that he almost did it, twice. When he was a teenager, a staph infection nearly took his life. A few years later, he was alone in the Pacific on a life raft, praying that his rescuers would find him before the enemy did.
God answered those prayers. It turned out he had other plans for George H.W. Bush.
For Dad's part, I think those brushes with death made him cherish the gift of life, and he vowed to live every day to the fullest.
Dad was always busy, a man in constant motion, but never too busy to share his love of life with those around him.
He taught us to love the outdoors. He loved watching dogs flush a covey. He loved landing the illusive striper. And once confined to a wheelchair, he seemed happiest sitting in his favorite perch on the back porch at Walker's Point, contemplating the majesty of the Atlantic.
The horizons he saw were bright and hopeful. He was a genuinely optimistic man, and that optimism guided his children and made each of us believe that anything was possible.
He continually broadened his horizons with daring decisions.
He was a patriot. After high school, he put college on hold and became a Navy fighter pilot as World War II broke out.
Like many of his generation, he never talked about his service until his time as a public figure forced his hand. We learned of the attack on Chichi Jima, the mission completed, the shoot-down. We learned of the death of his crew mates, whom he thought about throughout his entire life. And we learned of the rescue.
And then another audacious decision: He moved his young family from the comforts of the East Coast to Odessa, Texas.
He and Mom adjusted to their arid surroundings quickly. He was a tolerant man. After all, he was kind and neighborly to the women with whom he, Mom and I shared a bathroom in our small duplex, even after he learned their profession: ladies of the night.
Dad could relate to people from all walks of life. He was an empathetic man. He valued character over pedigree. And he was no cynic. He looked for the good in each person and he usually found it.
Dad taught us that public service is noble and necessary, that one can serve with integrity and hold true to the important values like faith and family. He strongly believed that it was important to give back to the community and country in which one lived. He recognized that serving others enriched the giver's soul. To us, his was the brightest of the thousand points of light.
In victory, he shared credit. When he lost, he shouldered the blame. He accepted that failure is a part of living a full life, but taught us never to be defined by failure. He showed us how setbacks can strengthen.
None of his disappointments could compare with one of life's greatest tragedies, the loss of a young child. Jeb and I were too young to remember the pain and agony he and Mom felt when our 3-year-old sister died. We only learned later that Dad, a man of quiet faith, prayed for her daily. He was sustained by the love of the Almighty, and the real and enduring love of our mom. Dad always believed that one day he would hug his precious Robin again.
He loved to laugh, especially at himself. He could tease and needle, but never out of malice.
He placed great value on a good joke. That's why he chose Simpson to speak.
On e-mail, he had a circle of friends with whom he shared or received the latest jokes. His grading system for the quality of the joke was classic George Bush: The rare sevens and eights were considered huge winners, most of them off-color.
George Bush knew how to be a true and loyal friend. He nurtured and honored many -- his many friendships with a generous and giving soul.
There exists thousands of handwritten notes encouraging or sympathizing or thanking his friends and acquaintances. He had an enormous capacity to give of himself.
Many a person would tell you that Dad became a mentor and a father figure in their life. He listened and he consoled. He was their friend.
I think of Don Rhodes, Taylor Blanton, Jim Nance, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and perhaps the unlikeliest of all, the man who defeated him, Bill Clinton. My siblings and I refer to the guys in this group as brothers from other mothers.
He taught us that a day was not meant to be wasted. He played golf at a legendary pace. I always wondered why he insisted on speed golf. He was a good golfer. Well, here's my conclusion: He played fast, so that he could move on to the next event, to enjoy the rest of the day, to expend his enormous energy, to live it all.
He was born with just two settings: full throttle, then sleep.
He taught us what it means to be a wonderful father, grandfather and great grandfather. He was firm in his principles, and supportive as we began to seek our own ways. He encouraged and comforted, but never steered.
We tested his patience. I know I did.
But he always responded with the great gift of unconditional love. Last Friday, when I was told he had minutes to live, I called him. The guy who answered the phone said, "He -- I think he can hear you, but he hasn't said anything for most of the day." I said, "Dad, I love you, and you've been a wonderful father." And the last words he would ever say on earth were, "I love you, too."
To us, he was close to perfect. But not totally perfect. His short game was lousy.
He wasn't exactly Fred Astaire on the dance floor.
The man couldn't stomach vegetables, especially broccoli.
And by the way, he passed these genetic defects along to us.
Finally, every day of his 73 years of marriage, Dad taught us all what it means to be a great husband. He married his sweetheart. He adored her. He laughed and cried with her. He was dedicated to her, totally.
In his old age, Dad enjoyed watching police show reruns, the volume on high.
All the while, holding Mom's hand. After Mom died, Dad was strong, but all he really wanted to do was hold Mom's hand again.
Of course, Dad taught me another special lesson. He showed me what it means to be a president who serves with integrity, leads with courage and acts with love in his heart for the citizens of our country.
When the history books are written, they will say that George H.W. Bush was a great president of the United States, a diplomat of unmatched skill, a commander-in-chief of formidable accomplishment, and a gentleman who executed the duties of his office with dignity and honor.
In his inaugural address, the 41st president of the United States said this, "We cannot hope only to leave our children a bigger car, a bigger bank account. We must hope to give them a sense of what it means to be a loyal friend, a loving parent, a citizen who leaves his home, his neighborhood and town better than he found it.
"What do we want the men and women who work with us to say when we are no longer there? That we were more driven to succeed than anyone around us, or that we stopped to ask if a sick child had gotten better, and stayed a moment, there, to trade a word of friendship."
Well, Dad, we're going to remember you for exactly that and much more. And we're going to miss you. Your decency, sincerity and kind soul will stay with us forever.
So through our tears, let us know the blessings of knowing and loving you, a great and noble man, the best father a son or daughter could ask. And in our grief, let us smile, knowing that Dad is hugging Robin and holding Mom's hand again.
You can watch him, here.
And here's the transcript (I've edited out the "laughters", you can supply your own):
GEORGE W. BUSH: Distinguished guests, including our presidents and first ladies, government officials, foreign dignitaries and friends, Jeb, Neil, Marvin, Doro and I and our families thank you all for being here.
I once heard it said of man that the idea is to die young, as late as possible.
At age 85, a favorite pastime of George H.W. Bush was firing up his boat, the Fidelity, and opening up the three 300-horsepower engines to fly -- joyfully fly -- across the Atlantic with the Secret Service boats straining to keep up.
At age 90, George H.W. Bush parachuted out of an aircraft and landed on the grounds of St. Ann's by the Sea in Kennebunkport, Maine, the church where his mom was married and where he worshiped often. Mother liked to say he chose the location just in case the chute didn't open.
In his 90s, he took great delight when his closest pal, James A. Baker, smuggled a bottle of Grey Goose vodka into his hospital room. Apparently, it paired well with the steak Baker had delivered from Morton's.
To his very last days, Dad's life was instructive.
As he aged, he taught us how to grow with dignity, humor and kindness, and when the good Lord finally called, how to meet him with courage and with the joy of the promise of what lies ahead.
One reason Dad knew how to die young is that he almost did it, twice. When he was a teenager, a staph infection nearly took his life. A few years later, he was alone in the Pacific on a life raft, praying that his rescuers would find him before the enemy did.
God answered those prayers. It turned out he had other plans for George H.W. Bush.
For Dad's part, I think those brushes with death made him cherish the gift of life, and he vowed to live every day to the fullest.
Dad was always busy, a man in constant motion, but never too busy to share his love of life with those around him.
He taught us to love the outdoors. He loved watching dogs flush a covey. He loved landing the illusive striper. And once confined to a wheelchair, he seemed happiest sitting in his favorite perch on the back porch at Walker's Point, contemplating the majesty of the Atlantic.
The horizons he saw were bright and hopeful. He was a genuinely optimistic man, and that optimism guided his children and made each of us believe that anything was possible.
He continually broadened his horizons with daring decisions.
He was a patriot. After high school, he put college on hold and became a Navy fighter pilot as World War II broke out.
Like many of his generation, he never talked about his service until his time as a public figure forced his hand. We learned of the attack on Chichi Jima, the mission completed, the shoot-down. We learned of the death of his crew mates, whom he thought about throughout his entire life. And we learned of the rescue.
And then another audacious decision: He moved his young family from the comforts of the East Coast to Odessa, Texas.
He and Mom adjusted to their arid surroundings quickly. He was a tolerant man. After all, he was kind and neighborly to the women with whom he, Mom and I shared a bathroom in our small duplex, even after he learned their profession: ladies of the night.
Dad could relate to people from all walks of life. He was an empathetic man. He valued character over pedigree. And he was no cynic. He looked for the good in each person and he usually found it.
Dad taught us that public service is noble and necessary, that one can serve with integrity and hold true to the important values like faith and family. He strongly believed that it was important to give back to the community and country in which one lived. He recognized that serving others enriched the giver's soul. To us, his was the brightest of the thousand points of light.
In victory, he shared credit. When he lost, he shouldered the blame. He accepted that failure is a part of living a full life, but taught us never to be defined by failure. He showed us how setbacks can strengthen.
None of his disappointments could compare with one of life's greatest tragedies, the loss of a young child. Jeb and I were too young to remember the pain and agony he and Mom felt when our 3-year-old sister died. We only learned later that Dad, a man of quiet faith, prayed for her daily. He was sustained by the love of the Almighty, and the real and enduring love of our mom. Dad always believed that one day he would hug his precious Robin again.
He loved to laugh, especially at himself. He could tease and needle, but never out of malice.
He placed great value on a good joke. That's why he chose Simpson to speak.
On e-mail, he had a circle of friends with whom he shared or received the latest jokes. His grading system for the quality of the joke was classic George Bush: The rare sevens and eights were considered huge winners, most of them off-color.
George Bush knew how to be a true and loyal friend. He nurtured and honored many -- his many friendships with a generous and giving soul.
There exists thousands of handwritten notes encouraging or sympathizing or thanking his friends and acquaintances. He had an enormous capacity to give of himself.
Many a person would tell you that Dad became a mentor and a father figure in their life. He listened and he consoled. He was their friend.
I think of Don Rhodes, Taylor Blanton, Jim Nance, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and perhaps the unlikeliest of all, the man who defeated him, Bill Clinton. My siblings and I refer to the guys in this group as brothers from other mothers.
He taught us that a day was not meant to be wasted. He played golf at a legendary pace. I always wondered why he insisted on speed golf. He was a good golfer. Well, here's my conclusion: He played fast, so that he could move on to the next event, to enjoy the rest of the day, to expend his enormous energy, to live it all.
He was born with just two settings: full throttle, then sleep.
He taught us what it means to be a wonderful father, grandfather and great grandfather. He was firm in his principles, and supportive as we began to seek our own ways. He encouraged and comforted, but never steered.
We tested his patience. I know I did.
But he always responded with the great gift of unconditional love. Last Friday, when I was told he had minutes to live, I called him. The guy who answered the phone said, "He -- I think he can hear you, but he hasn't said anything for most of the day." I said, "Dad, I love you, and you've been a wonderful father." And the last words he would ever say on earth were, "I love you, too."
To us, he was close to perfect. But not totally perfect. His short game was lousy.
He wasn't exactly Fred Astaire on the dance floor.
The man couldn't stomach vegetables, especially broccoli.
And by the way, he passed these genetic defects along to us.
Finally, every day of his 73 years of marriage, Dad taught us all what it means to be a great husband. He married his sweetheart. He adored her. He laughed and cried with her. He was dedicated to her, totally.
In his old age, Dad enjoyed watching police show reruns, the volume on high.
All the while, holding Mom's hand. After Mom died, Dad was strong, but all he really wanted to do was hold Mom's hand again.
Of course, Dad taught me another special lesson. He showed me what it means to be a president who serves with integrity, leads with courage and acts with love in his heart for the citizens of our country.
When the history books are written, they will say that George H.W. Bush was a great president of the United States, a diplomat of unmatched skill, a commander-in-chief of formidable accomplishment, and a gentleman who executed the duties of his office with dignity and honor.
In his inaugural address, the 41st president of the United States said this, "We cannot hope only to leave our children a bigger car, a bigger bank account. We must hope to give them a sense of what it means to be a loyal friend, a loving parent, a citizen who leaves his home, his neighborhood and town better than he found it.
"What do we want the men and women who work with us to say when we are no longer there? That we were more driven to succeed than anyone around us, or that we stopped to ask if a sick child had gotten better, and stayed a moment, there, to trade a word of friendship."
Well, Dad, we're going to remember you for exactly that and much more. And we're going to miss you. Your decency, sincerity and kind soul will stay with us forever.
So through our tears, let us know the blessings of knowing and loving you, a great and noble man, the best father a son or daughter could ask. And in our grief, let us smile, knowing that Dad is hugging Robin and holding Mom's hand again.
Shameless Sen. Alan Simpson can talk of Bush 41's no new taxes betrayal and his loyalty in the same breath without blinking an eye
Yeah, Bush 41 was loyal to everyone but the taxpayer.
Bush 41's Americans with Disabilities Act has made the Social Security disability insurance trust fund nearly insolvent because no one ever imagined people would milk it
Contrary to critical analysis, Bush 41 did have a vision thing, it was just a mistaken vision.
He imagined a kinder gentler America full of kinder gentler people, at the expense of a sober estimation of human nature which recognized and reckoned with the baser instincts residing in every human heart.
Conservatives are supposed to specialize in that, but Bush 41 did not.
This mistaken example of liberalism wasn't just a one-off, either. The lack of sobriety extended also to his hate crime legislation.
Bush 41 imagined you could eradicate hate by criminalizing it, as if America ought to become a theocracy with "Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer" becoming the law of the land. But who doesn't kill except out of hate? "Nothing personal, just business" is for the movies, not reality. It's as if long established laws differentiating involuntary manslaughter from murder never existed. Now the damn idea has metastasized into the force which is at the heart of America's perilous polarization, and its insanity. We aren't allowed to hate anything except the haters, while entertaining our hate secretly all the while. Enter cognitive dissonance on a national scale. Everyone knows the truth, they just can't say it.
So they're saying Bush 41 was a patrician as they bury him today. Puritan was more like it.
No one expected that more Americans with disabilities would be dependent on government 25 years later, but that’s what has happened. ...
The ADA made no change to Social Security, yet there has been a substantial increase in the number of people who saw the offered hand described by President Bush bearing a monthly check.
The number of workers who receive Social Security disability-insurance payments has almost tripled. At the end of 2014, 9 million workers had a disability award that entitled them and their dependents to a monthly government check. This was a 197 percent increase over the 1990 number; over the same period the working-age population had increased by only 29 percent.
The disability path out of the labor market has become much more inviting since the ADA became law. More claims point to pain and other conditions whose diagnoses largely rely on patients’ subjective experiences rather than the self-evident disabilities of those who have appeared in coverage of the ADA’s 25th.
Tuesday, December 4, 2018
Camille Paglia: So far the Democrats have no one to run against Trump
Kamala Harris = ruthless inquistor without crossover appeal
Elizabeth Warren = screechy representative only to the upper middle class
Kirsten Gillibrand = a wobbly mediocrity
Cory Booker = has all the gravitas of a cork
Andrew Cuomo = yapping puppy with a muddy tail
Bernie Sanders = old and creaky
Joe Biden = creaky and old
Hillary = damaged goods, stumbling, hacking and shop-worn
Monday, December 3, 2018
Mark Levin tonight in the second hour is pointing out how Bush 41 required resignations from all 3000 Reagan political appointees after his 1988 election
Bush was much more moderate, Levin says, and wanted to appoint similar.
Quite right, on all counts.
Sunday, December 2, 2018
Florida Governor Rick Scott suspended Brenda Snipes on Friday, so on Saturday she UN-resigned!
A lot of moolah is involved.
This woman is in the top 2.7% of all earners nationally making $178K, in a government job. The governor only makes $130K.
And as if that's not bad enough, she's been in this job just 15 years and expects to pull in a $71K/year pension at taxpayer expense.
What job in the private sector pays that kind of deal?! And for chronic INCOMPETENCE?!
I could just scream.
The governor Friday replaced Snipes with Republican Peter Antonacci, president and CEO of the state’s business-recruitment agency Enterprise Florida. ...
After the November election, which brought unflattering national attention to her operation, Snipes submitted a letter of resignation that was to take effect Jan. 4, a date that likely would have kept the current governor from selecting her replacement. Scott was elected to the U.S. Senate and will be sworn in on Jan. 3. ...
Snipes was set to receive $71,000 a year pension from her time in the elections office. The job itself paid $178,865 annually. But the suspension could cost Snipes that pension, Norris Weeks said. She said Snipes was unable to get answers to her questions about the pension but intends to fight for it.
AP rescinds two called races for the Republicans in NC-9 and CA-21, Democrats could finish with net pickups of 41 in the US House
The Associated Press has uncalled the race, as state authorities examine allegations against Republican Mark Harris' campaign. ... The North Carolina contest marks the second time this week the AP has rescinded one of its election-night race calls. On Monday night, the wire service — which supplies election results and projections to news organizations all over the country — said it no longer considered Republican Rep. David Valadao the winner of a congressional race in California’s Central Valley, after his Democratic opponent, TJ Cox, inched ahead of Valadao in the state’s protracted vote count. As of early Friday, Cox’s lead in the California race stood at 591 votes, with the counties planning to certify their results next week.
Meanwhile NY-22, as expected, became a Democrat pickup as did UT-4. The GOP held on in TX-23 and GA-7.
Real Clear Politics still shows NC-9 today as a GOP hold giving Republicans 200 in the new House, which is incorrect, so the math should show the new House at Democrats 234, Republicans 199, with CA-21 and NC-9 to be re-adjudicated.
So far, Democrats have picked up 42 seats, Republicans 3 seats, for a net Democrat pickup of 39 (so also Real Clear Politics).
The French government of Macron raised the fuel taxes causing the protests, socialist interior minister blames Marine Le Pen and the far right
Typical projection. Antifa in the US has been in constant violence mode since 2015 stirring up trouble and attacking Trump supporters and destroying property but everywhere you turn it is Trump and the far right which is said to be the cause of all the violence. These left wing lunatics are the same everywhere.
Christophe Castaner, France's Interior Minister, said there would be identity checks and bag searches for all pedestrians in the Champs-Elysees area.
Mr Castaner has blamed Marine Le Pen, leader of the Far Right National Rally party, for encouraging unsavoury elements to get involved in trouble. ...
The movement, organised through social media, has steadfastly refused to align with any political party or trade union but has grown into a mass movement amid frustration at Macron's presidency. The 'yellow vests' include many pensioners and has been most active in small urban and rural areas where it has blocked roads, closed motorway toll booths, and even walled up the entrance to tax offices. Chantal, a 61-year-old pensioner who came from an eastern Paris suburb, said she was avoiding the 'hooligans' but was determined to send President Emmanuel Macron a message on the rising costs of living. 'He has to come down off his pedestal,' she said under cold rain on the Champs Elysees. 'Every month I have to dip into my savings.' The immediate trigger for the protest wave was Macron's decision to raise tax on diesel fuel in a move to encourage the driving of less-polluting cars.
CNBC/Reuters can't decide if the socialist spokesman for France's government is a man or a woman
How does anyone think someone named Benjamin is a woman, especially when he clearly needs a shave?
“We have to think about the measures that can be taken so that these incidents don’t happen again,” government spokeswoman Benjamin Griveaux told Europe 1 radio. ... When asked about imposing a state of emergency, Griveaux said it would be among the options considered on Sunday. “It is out of the question that each weekend becomes a meeting or ritual for violence.” Griveaux urged the yellow vest movement to disassociate itself from the radical groups that had instigated the violence, organize itself and come to the negotiating table. However, he ruled out a change in government policy. “We won’t change course. It’s the right direction. We are certain of that,” he said.
Saturday, December 1, 2018
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