The semi- but not quite wholly respectable chances of Nikki Haley’s nomination may have gone up in smokes. I mean, I guess I should look at the editorial headlined that even conservatives falling for this to see if that veers into the lack of nuance of not taking an answer on the causes of the Civil War that does not mention slavery (It’s current year!) or if it beers into Haley’s “liberal set up” line — as though we don’t know that exists. And I gather if chances did not suggest the need for a perfect strike, unless this actually does not count as even any kind of hit for a Republican primary electorate, it throws her off of winning New Hampshire, so — game about over.
The deus-ex-machina of 14th Amendment state disavowals for Trump loom as something, though it is hard to figure what. The tedium is, of course, that I can see the point for this, and I can see why it might as well drive forward despite the “partisans will use it against Dems” claim. Yep. There the governor of Texas chimed in, saying Texas should dump Biden from the ballot, because of … Hm… Border. A loopy definition of the supposed “treason”. The question here is it some deus- ex – mechanisms process — does that still represent Haley as the second most likely winner of the Republican nomination — just now moved from slim to slimmer?
There is this weird feeling I habeon this line of “wait a minute”, maybe not all but a good deal of it, which is — “Screw it”. Take this …
Consider the 1994 classic The Santa Clause, in which Tim Allen’s character, Scott Calvin, accidentally kills Santa when he falls off Calvin’s roof. As a result, he finds himself forced to take on jolly St. Nick’s role.
On social media, some people have started to reconsider the film on the plot point alone.
This is the line of journalism that pulls together social media posts — as much as everyone says Elin Musk has destroyed Twitter it sure still gets cited a lot — which fits a prior premise. By definition the people watching Tim Allen’s movie, enjoying it, and not giving this plot premise a second thought are not tweeting their lack of reconsideration or impression. Further, I have two reminders on this.
One: it is a mercy death. Tim Allen’s character has saved this Santa Claus from a thousand years of torment. Years down the line, he will himself be trying to get himself into the position for someone to kill him and end this torment.
Two: For balance — Santa Claus as killer instead — just double bill it with Silent Night, Deadly Night. Your new reconsidered issue with the movie’s premise — solved.
Maybe it is absurd to pull hair reading some articles in the National Review, as I read their commenters talk their way into voting for Donald Trump. Like, it is one thing if their reasoning is some policies outweigh the bad but this is not what I am getting. Or maybe it is but they miss the point on “bad” when framing the issue that “I am no supporter of Trump, BUT” — failing to drop in on anything but the most superficial of oppositions to Trump.
The equivalence argument. It slides past Trump’s unconstitutional acts by linking to Biden’s great act of unconstitutionality. And what was that? Oh, it was the political game he played with student debt, at its core a policy issue you can support or oppose at your leisure, and which Biden needed to at keast feign an attempt to get at but couldn’t through congress. Advisors told him his subsequent attempt wouldn’t work, the courts rebuffed him, and that was the end of that. I stare at this reasoning blankly, muttering “You can not be serious”.
Good news, though. Even if the next Trump follows through on the vast media-now-hyperventilating-by-taking-serious-stump-speech-declarations-about-“dictator”-on-“day”-“one”-and-tgen-beyond — as we saw last time in office the Republican congress did plenty of push back on policy aims, there will be a handful of Republicans from districts that voted for Biden, and Hey! Collins and Murkowsi are in the Senate and they stomped the Stress test indeed — I mean, they kept Trump from ripping up “Obama-care”. (Again with middling policy issues). They have missed the fact we have a new Speaker. Also “he hits hard, but the defended hold” sure makes a weird argument.
I have trouble bending over backwards to meet anything here. Like, the “constitutional” issue has already been shot with the statement that is never resolved, and which until it is resolved nothing else here matters. “Obviously, all Americans should support the prosecution of the people who violently attacked police and forced their way into the Capitol.”. Trump disagrees with that statement – – he opens campaign rallied with a call in from these “patriots” in jail right now. And, like, you can argue a good defense that Trump was not an “insurrectionist” by law, but the manner of politics versus the law should put it in political terms as “close enough”.
The game continues. See where we are in three months.
Continue to stumble on hic-ups in otherwise sound political electoral analyses. Try this about here:
If you think Joe Biden’s endorsement from Representative Jim Clyburn ahead of his 2020 South Carolina primary victory means Sununu can do the same for Haley in New Hampshire, think again. Biden was never behind in South Carolina polling, let alone trailing by double-digits.
And off to a link showing South Carolina primary polling, polling which showed that — yep! Biden was never behind. And results showing a 13 point surge from the final polls, which itself were about 10 points above the bottoming out a week or so prior. And, no I was not ever going to specify Sununu in particular, but as a conglomeration with anyone and anything else — message to pre Trump Republicans: it is Haley or no one — the effect of a 23 point swing — is what is needed — to win New Hampshire, and into South Carolina — and there is the only chance in Hell.
In the meantime, Iowa sits there. Stops whatever thought anyone has of such a thing. Caucuses. And I have a bit of a theory — you know that idea, a shy Trump voter — so much social stigma in certain parts and places to admit that, yes I am casting my lot with Trump — throw the polls off in 2016, maybe? Well, at this point who wants to be the lead of a bunch of Republicans in a room of Trump Republicans saying we need someone else? I guess someone was in 2020 — Bill Weld came away with a delegate.
The Biden re-election is some combination a three legged stooll of big D Democracy, Abortion, and Rust Belt factories. Those are the themes he and his lackeys will hammer as best they can. But I can see some of the frissure mounting on getting the messaging together — MSNBC, cable news mouthpiece of the Democratic Party, is promoting the new Lynn Cheney book to the hilt, and covering Abortion cases in the manner of messaging how, say, the far right is prosecuting women in Texas. It is the headache that a Democrat running against a second Trump term needs to simultaneously run a normal campaign — hit the Democratic Party bullet points on Abortion and Economics — while highlighting the perils of “Trumpism” — a thing that has the problem that so many Democratic voters conflate the two anyways or expand the definition of “Trumpism” to include their objections over long standing Republican party goals. So. Where does Cheney for in the mix? And when discussing the travails on the election front, the problem comes in that in hammering the policy isdues, a socially conservative or even moderate factory worker can look at the race and make the presumption that we are dealing with the same partisan dealings we have always dealt with, and judge it in the same manner they always have. The problem on that which is really at stake in the name of “Trump”ism — is “being against” is not enough of a message, and in the terrain of politics there is always enough in “both siderism” (even when there is no equivalence) to blow up dirt to obfuscate. Is George Santos fabricator of a life story? Wow! You should check out Joseph Biden circa 1987!
Let us play the game the National Review plays with this here and see if we can spot the problem.
In the interim, the Biden Justice Department commenced a scorched-earth investigation aimed at promoting the Democratic Party storyline — elucidated by the House Democrats’ “Incitement of Insurrection” impeachment article against Trump — that American democracy was besieged by hordes of white-supremacist domestic terrorists (i.e., Trump supporters or, as President Biden and other Democrats put it, “MAGA Republicans”). Obviously, all Americans should support the prosecution of the people who violently attacked police and forced their way into the Capitol. In the event, however, the Biden Justice Department prosecuted hundreds of people on trifling misdemeanor offenses that would never have been charged in normal cases untainted by partisan politics.
We then have a comparison with the unrest during the Floyd demonstrations, which to be sure — they did prosecute bad actors. And they did let low-level rioters at the January 6th off (I can cite the head of “Walk Away” as an example). But even if we suppose a mis-balance and reticence to label yahoos for the cause of social justice and drag a wider tent for in levelling causes rightward — we got a snag right about here:
Obviously, all Americans should support the prosecution of the people who violently attacked police and forced their way into the Capitol.
Donald Trump opens campaign events with a call out to the imprisoned “patriots” — the people at that January 6 riot who violently attacked police and forced their way into the Capitol — a suggesting that he will pardon them. So. Donald Trump disagrees with this “obvious” statement.
Maybe the Democrats can solve the age problem by nominating Hunter Biden. It solves the disjointed problem Trump and the Republicans throw out with their impeachment process — and they may have us convinced that Hunter Biden should not be president, but now we are in the line of having to vote a choice — Hunter Biden versus Donald Trump — the way low approval rating politicians need to frame elections — and not a judgement — the way high approval politicians seek to get elections framed.
I. I heard intimations of that inevitable ” — was an Inside Job” for the Hamas attacks of 10/7. And after mooting the late night radio host’s argument — a tad circular– really, Mossad? Foiled of every fanned attack on that country that gets threatened more than constantly — which ignores the obvious rebuttal — constant threat — and it really isn’t getting Netanyahu any political boost anyways in that “you had one job, and yet you were off in a pile of b-s instead.”
Jimmy Dore ( we can pretty much define as a Trump supporter) throws his two cents in.
I assume the former food into some the recent polling. And a sense of dread comes in when I reckon the late night radio host. He touches on PNAC document, saying it is right there that. Always a forced for connection . A caller gets in and goes into “real history” — Balfour Declaration, all very British — scares us by dragging in the Rothschild because he received a letter of support for the Zionist Movement ,and the the caller drops in the connection for today — “The Ukraine War. Zelensky — he’s Jewish. And all of the Biden fiasco Administration — they’re Jewish. Connect the dots!” The next caller gets in “I sympathise with my country even though I knew 9/11 was an Inside job!”. And we are lost in Hell.
Unfortunately, author Rothschild lets everyone but far-right conspiracy theorists off the hook too easily when he writes, “If someone has to be blamed for the genesis of the Soros conspiracy, blame it on Lyndon LaRouche.” LaRouche — known for his extremist views and multiple presidential runs — played his part in pushing baseless claims in the United States, but he is not necessarily more blameworthy than Dennis Hastert, who was speaker of the House, or Glenn Beck, who devoted three consecutive evenings of his Fox show to Soros in 2010.
There’s a parallel level of intellectual fraud as well, since gold is both an investment opportunity and an ideological cause. But the Republican Party has long played a shell game on this issue, uttering goldbug sentiments to stir the base while keeping policy securely in the hands of Wall Streeters who know there is no plausible path for a return to gold.
The Republican hypocrisy can best be seen in the 1982 Report to the Congress of the Commission on the Role of Gold in the Domestic and International Monetary Systems—a commission convened to placate the goldbug faction. On the stump, at least, President Ronald Reagan often preached the goldbug gospel. Another goldbug, the notorious conspiracy nut and extremist Lyndon Larouche, submitted a statement to the commission. Congressman Ron Paul, for whom gold and opposition to the Federal Reserve were career-long obsessions, was among the commission’s members.
But all this pro-gold sentiment was just for show. Reagan’s chief of staff, Donald Regan, and his secretary of state, George Shultz, were opposed to any return to the gold standard. Reagan adviser Murray Weidenbaum claimed that his role on the commission was a “damage-limitation function or the avoidance of economic harm.” The eminent economist Anna Schwartz, the executive director of the commission, claimed that it was hobbled by the fact that the Reagan administration had no intention to return to the gold standard.
Adherents to every niche point view showed up for the start of the political scion’s post-partisan crusade. Devotees of the personality cult of the late Lyndon LaRouche—a perennial presidential candidate who was convicted of mail fraud—went up to attendees and asked them if they were familiar with George Washington’s Farewell Address before trying to sell them on a fringe Senate candidate in New York. Falun Gong members were promoting their own social media website that promised a “nonaddictive algorithm.” The crowd included a QAnon celebrity and a Mike Flynn acolyte. The speakers included a Native American elder giving a land acknowledgment and former presidential hopeful Dennis Kucinich.
VIII. Harley Schlanger does theMel K show. The basic one of these — Mel K, her team, other whistleblowers, proud patriots, warriors of truth and freedom, are here to bring the ‘truth to light’ through facts and logic. Her ultimate goal is to emancipate humanity from the tyrannical forces who’ve been running the show for far too long! Moving on to “fringe radio” where Activist and Historian, Harley Schlanger, rejoins the program to share what happened at the latest Jackson Hole, Wyoming annual bankers meeting. We also discuss the overall bankers plan, China, Russia, Ukraine war and more. A conversation thats hard to find elsewhere. The monologue part of it is easily found with LORG. But Topics here? Fringe Christians, bigfoot, aliens, ufo, alternative science, conspiracies, ghosts, paranormal, prophecy, prophets, parapsychology, demons, spirits, possession, alternative archeology, alternative geology, crypitids, dogman, goatman, black projects, government experiments, time travel, tesla and all things fringe!
she also wrote three books: “How We Got to the Moon, the Story of the German Space Pioneers”; “Challenges of Human Space Exploration,” about the scientific work done by Russian cosmonauts and American astronauts on the Russian Mir space station, a predecessor to the ISS; and “Krafft Ehricke’s Extraterrestrial Imperative,” reviving the work of one of the most creative and imaginative of the German space engineers, who came to the U.S. after the Second World War — also a dear friend of Marsha’s, who died in his sixties in 1985
X. Hillary Clinton Back in the News
Somewhere in the list of people I have not thought much about is Hillary Clinton. But she still has enough juice to attract the nuts. Enter Robert Castle.
His voice cracking, he went on a tangent about Eleanor Roosevelt and John Foster Dulles, eating away at Clinton’s patience. She then tried to introduce Ugandan activist Frank Mugisha, “who’s actually on the front lines fighting for human rights, not just yelling about it.”
Bat signal to Jimmy Dore. Who identifies Castle as Jose Vega. And sells Cannabis.
The Larouche cohort of twitterers ‘re-tweeted the political activist Counterpunch writer Dan Kovalick’s encounter with John Fetterman — award winning dramatist Dan Kovalick. Hm. A civil enough lecture, Fetterman listened as long as He did. Ultimately he got his point in and you really can’t complain… much.
They reposition the take in with the one where Kynan T. wins another Drama Award shouting at Adam Kinszinger from the seats. Or maybe he loses one, because like Kovalick, who at least has some grounding for sympathy on his shoving, I am having trouble understanding why I or anyone are to care on this one. You really can’t just allow random shouters at a guy’s reading event — that will cavalcade into incoherence.
In the 1970’s, the Teamsters acted as leg-breakers for the big growers forcing the largely Mexican workforce into sweetheart deals, in an effort to crush the United Farmworkers Union (UFW). The Teamsters, under General Presidents Frank Fitzsimmons and Jackie Presser, employed a bizarre, violent, fascist cult the U.S. Labor Party, led by Lyndon LaRouche to smear the new reform movement led by the Teamsters for a Democrauit tic Union (TDU) and the Ralph Nader-inspired PROD.
XII. Some podcast blips. “It can happen here” has Andrew tells Garrison about the far-right Trotsky inspired cult leader Lyndon Larouche. They recite the narrative told by Tim Wohlworth, which to be sure is better than reading the Wikipedia article.
XIII. At a Palestine “from the river to the sea” rally. Diane Sare and Daniel Burke pop in at 3:14. (Green Party shows up at 5:09.)
This multi series is in itself interesting — If you have only time for one part, watch the “Quit complaining about NATO Expansion” one — but with this — 13:28 — Larouche gets a focus as and at the 20 minute mark, we have this quote — “The Russians are irrationalists. They’re racists. They’re Russian racists. Great Russian racists. You don’t believe me? Ask the Ukrainians.”
Larouche is largely a stop-over before he brings in who he considers the chief propagandists. At 42 minutes we get the return of Putin, which I can’t help but think about in relation to the next Trump administration. There are a number of things to unpack as you roll into the vast scheme of “Color Revolution Mania”, where every bit of political unrest is viewed as a scheme of … Gay Liberationist Jews, more or less.
Fisher blames his conviction on a political action committee for perennial presidential candidate Lyndon LaRouche, which he had worked for but was trying to break free of what he now calls a “cult.”
“It was a political situation that happened between me and Lyndon LaRouche,” Fisher said. “It was a member of his camp, his party, that made the accusation. They pushed it through. It was really a railroad job.”
Ironically, Menendez has been the loudest voice about this as it relates to the Senate primary. He has called Murphy’s run, and the county chairs’ actions, a “blatant maneuver at disenfranchisement.” Of course, it’s one he benefited from until this year. And unless a federal lawsuit challenging the ballot line accelerates, it may be how Menendez’s successor is chosen.
IN 1996, RUSH HOLT DECIDED TO STEP AWAY from the Plasma Physics Laboratory at Princeton University and make a go at a run for Congress. Holt, whose father was once a U.S. senator from West Virginia, sought the endorsements of the five county Democratic parties in his district. Some of those endorsements were decided at a convention of elected committee members, two from each precinct, who met and deliberated on the candidates. In two of the five counties, the county chair effectively decided who got the endorsement, regardless of the committee’s viewpoint.
“In those two counties I shared the line with Lyndon LaRouche, who was running for president at the time,” Holt told me. “I didn’t fare too well in the primary. If you don’t have the column or the line, they can relegate you to a distant part of the ballot.”
Holt got the county line endorsements in his next try in 1998 and won the seat, holding it for eight terms. When he ran for Senate in 2014 in a primary against Cory Booker, he went to each chair, asking for their support. While some party chairs simply asked Holt about the issues, in many cases, he said, it was “the most old-fashioned thing you can imagine… truly a smoke-filled room with one person.”
At that time a group of Jewish and non-Jewish party activists created Democrats for Israel. We squelched all anti-Israel resolutions and platform proposals, in part because the fanatics were a tiny minority.
XVII. Mindy Pechenuk is Running
When last I noted the electoral attempts of L-PAC, it was with the decidedly disturbing crimes of Solomon Peña in a post election loss “but I won!” reprisal. Today we see that Mindy Pechenuk is making the rounds — here stumping for support of her next electoral bid on Charles Simon’s “Do Not Talk” podcast. A firm believer in Jesus Christ against the Church, and redeeming America from God’s judgement, especially in the “septic tank” he pronounces San Francisco. Mindy gets her introduction at about 10:49 or something. She pisses on Jefferson — which, come to think of it does ally her with the Antifa jackasses she so positions herself against. You could skip to the latest episode where our host asks and explores the question — End times looming? Uncover truth in prophecy and action now! Right in line with LPAC’s history of recurring money-making opportunity apocalypses.
As far back as 2001 I could see the thing was a joke, and probably not even worth noting, complaining or complimenting. Time Magazine’s “Person of the Year” is Taylor Swift. Odd choice. Or maybe not. She is the biggest star in the NFL, so that’s worth something.
I imagine, and know that a quick search will get me this, there is out there a complaint — Beyonce did not get this honor a few years’ back — records sold, stand taken. The complaint would now have to be tainted by its association and relation with the same complaint by Kanye West — who has not aged well. But Swift has made herself only vaguely political — but maybe there is some racial dynamic in analyzing this. I was about to point out she didn’t make it into the NFL, but then realised it was a half time performance that solidified her position, but then further realized that football fans just ignored it.
I know I am out of step with the culture, but also know I have heard Swift songs in the background (biggest star anywhere and all that) but only recently bothered to id them to her. I had assumed my opinion was dead center neutral indifference, but actually I have an ever so slight negative “but whatever” opinion on it — but definitely negative. Maybe I am just getting her earlier work before she stumbled out of a suburban girl-hood mindset, though.
Looking down the list of Congress critters who cast a “no” vote on the expulsion of George Santos — this time out giving us a pretty even split in the Republicans (the previous expulsion vote left the NY contingent and some others wanting him gone) — and trying to think of the big names to figure out some line of demarcation for politics here, I still have no idea.
The Democrats have gone from 31 voting to keep ‘im to 2. The “everyone gets their day in court” / “keep the process going” line followed across the ideological divisions in the party back then. Today’s two outliers allow for a quicker search through on reasons — they stand out and they issued a press press release and if you want to read the stated reasoning for Democratic votes to keep Santos you only have to read two pages. And figuring out the political profile requires a quick study of only two individuals.
So. Who is Bobby Scott of Virginia? Who is Nikema Williams of Georgia? What do they have for George Santos?
Williams has the shorter statement.
George Santos is not worthy of serving in the House of Representatives. He will likely be convicted of the crimes of which he was accused. This is the People’s House – and although the House Ethics Committee findings were damning, the people of New York’s Third Congressional District should decide who represents them. I’ll always side on giving power to the voters.
Short enough. Scott? A paragraph to tell us that the man sucks, another going on about due process, another about the last vote, and –that great ballyhoo clarion call of “censure” (tsk tsk indeed) — the final paragraph starts by telling us again the man sucks and continues —
Furthermore, the proceedings were complicated by the subjective reality that an overwhelming portion of the House, and in fact most of the public, just wanted him to leave, and only expulsion, rather than reprimand and censure, could achieve that objective. In the final analysis, we have to recognize that expelling a Member is one of the most serious and solemn actions Members can take, we have to recognize that precedent will be set. Unlike both prior cases of expulsion since the Civil War, Mr. Santos has not been convicted of a crime, and few of the allegations involve conduct that occurred during his service as a Member of Congress. And unlike the other cases, after the Committee reviewed and considered the evidence, it did not make a recommendation to expel him.
Ronny Elliott "Mr. Edison's Electric Chair"
Bobby Short "Don't Bring Lulu"
TV On the Radio "Dreams"
Archers of Loaf "White Trash Heroes"
Murray Attaway "Fear of God"
Fountains of Wayne "I Want an Alien for Christmas"
The Divorce "Yes"
The Bluetones "Mudslide"
Black Box Recorder "Brutality"
Meat Puppets "Leaves"
Gorillaz "Clint Eastwood"
Neil Young "Keep on Rocking in the Free World"
The Louvin Brothers "The Great Atomic Power"
