The Weekly Watch

Lessons Learned?

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Trump seems to have selected Trump loyalists for his cabinet. Many are Israel first people. There's plenty of China and Iran war mongers in the group as well. No doubt we'll have to wait and see, first if they make it through the senate after McConnell installed Thune as a poison pill, and secondly if they live up to their claims of challenging the system. Did Trump learn from his first term of disastrous appointments?

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US President-elect Donald Trump has moved quickly to form his proposed new administration. His team is better prepared to take power than it was in 2016 – when neither the candidate himself nor the vast majority of his supporters believed he could win. It’s too early to draw far-reaching conclusions, but in general, the composition of the preferred government reflects the ideological and political coalition that has gathered around the president-elect. From the outside, it may look motley, but so far it is all in line with Trump’s views. Contrary to the perception actively propagated by Trump’s opponents, he is not an unpredictable and inconsistent eccentric. More precisely, we should separate his character and mannerisms, which are flighty, from his overall worldview. The latter has not changed, not only in the years since Trump entered big politics, but more generally in his public life since the 1980s.

I'm reserving judgement, but he does seem better prepared than he was in 2016.

The Great ‘Splainin’ Cometh

So now Mr. Trump has picked a cabinet that scares the blob to death — for good reason. They are aiming to systematically disarm and disassemble the blob. They are a team of serious and intelligent warriors and they mean business, in particular Gaetz, Gabbard, Kennedy, Ratcliffe, and Homan, with Elon and Vivek riding shotgun. (A new FBI Director has not yet been named.) You must wonder how the blob is planning to defend itself, for it surely will resist.

No doubt "the deep state" will do everything possible to retain their power.

Deep State Plot to SABOTAGE Trump Presidency REVEALED | ‘TREASON?!’

Mike Benz’s Warning (36 min)
No doubt the blob will be difficult to bring under control.

TPTB have been after Trump since he was first elected starting with the Russiagate hoax. One reason they are freaked out about the Gaetz appointment is that their crimes will be exposed...
Rep. Clay Higgins:
“The FBI’s involvement was deep, not just on J6, but on the days and weeks and months prior.”
“The FBI was not only involved in the actions on J6 from within. They had, over 200 agents embedded… dressed as Trump supporters before the doors were opened,”
In other words, the FBI and the DOJ carried out the biggest setup in the history of this country and Ms. Elizabeth Lynn Cheney covered it up.

The Duran and Alex have done a good job this week covering the cabinet picks. First the Duran...
Trump shake-up; Deep State, Ukraine and Five Eyes
The video discusses Trump's cabinet picks, focusing on his strategy to surround conventional figures with loyal, unorthodox choices. It analyzes potential challenges in confirming these picks and Trump's priorities, including ending the Ukraine conflict and addressing the 'deep state'.

Alex from Cyprus and Greece... He covers the cabinet picks in the first 10 min or so.
RUBIO rumors. Elensky NEW Victory Plan, sell Ukraine to Trump. Germany, early snap elections

Hegseth at Pentagon. Elon, Vivek; drain swamp. Boris, UK troops to Ukraine. Kallas will punish China

Gabbard DNI. Gaetz AG. Bolton BALLISTIC. EU freak out as Russia wins. Economist, Elensky clueless

Alastair Crooke has an interesting take...

Israelis, as a whole, are exhibiting a rosy assurance that they can harness Trump, if not to the full annexation of the Occupied Territories (Trump in his first term did not support such annexation), but rather, to ensnare him into a war on Iran. Many (even most) Israelis are raring for war on Iran and an aggrandisement of their territory (devoid of Arabs). They are believing the puffery that Iran ‘lies naked’, staggeringly vulnerable, before a U.S. and Israeli military strike. Trump’s Team nominations, so far, reveal a foreign policy squad of fierce supporters of Israel and of passionate hostility to Iran. The Israeli media term it a ‘dream team’ for Netanyahu. It certainly looks that way. The Israel Lobby could not have asked for more. They have got it. And with the new CIA chief, they get a known ultra China hawk as a bonus.

But in the domestic sphere the tone is precisely the converse: The key nomination for ‘cleaning the stables’ is Matt Gaetz as Attorney General; he is a real “bomb thrower”. And for the Intelligence clean-up, Tulsi Gabbard is appointed as Director of National Intelligence. All intelligence agencies will report to her, and she will be responsible for the President’s Daily briefing. The intel assessments may thus begin to reflect something closer to reality. The deep Inter-Agency structure has reason to be very afraid; they are panicking – especially over Gaetz. Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy have the near impossible task of cutting out-of-control federal spending and currency printing. The System is deeply dependent on the bloat of government spending to keep the cogs and levers of the mammoth ‘security’ boondoggle whirring. It is not going to be yielded up without a bitter fight.

So, on the one hand, the Lobby gets a dream team (Israel), but on the other side (the domestic sphere), it gets a renegade team. This must be deliberate. Trump knows that Biden’s legacy of bloating GDP with government jobs and excessive public spending is the real ‘time bomb’ awaiting him. Again the withdrawal symptoms, as the drug of easy money is withdrawn, may prove incendiary. Moving to a structure of tariffs and low taxes will be disruptive. Whether deliberate or not, Trump is keeping his cards close to his chest. We have only glimpses of intent – and the water is being seriously muddied by the infamous ‘Inter-Agency’ grandees. For example, in respect to the Pentagon sanctioning private-sector contractors to work in Ukraine, this was done in coordination with “inter-agency stakeholders”.

I found Alastair's good domestic policy, bad foreign policy, a reasonable analysis.

Trump's Foreign Policy Team May ‘Double Down on Stupid’ in Ukraine, Middle East, China
Larry Johnson
“He doesn't understand that the world has changed. They still believe, foolishly, naively, that they can easily split Russia from China, that there's no natural alliance between Russia and China so that we can we can manipulate Russia into joining with us to defeat China. They just don't get it,” the ex-CIA analyst underscored.
“They believe that they can boss people around in the Middle East and control what they do. Not recognizing the fact that Saudi Arabia and Iran, who were at odds two years ago, have now reestablished diplomatic relationships, are exchanging defense ministers to visit each other's capital, and are planning joint military exercises. The Organization of Islamic Countries has made it quite clear that there should be no normalizing any relations with Israel until there is a Palestinian state and the Palestinians are secure. The Trump team doesn't get that… And they're going to probably have to get punched in the face to wake up and grasp the new reality,” said Johnson.

Many of the doctors I like are thrilled with the RFK selection for the HHS.
John Campbell is hopeful...RFK appointed (12 min)
President Trump:
I am thrilled to announce Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as The United States Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). “For too long, Americans have been crushed by industrial food complex and drug companies who have engaged in deception, misinformation, and disinformation when it comes to public health,”
“Mr Kennedy will restore these agencies to the traditions of gold standard scientific research, and beacons of transparency, to end the chronic disease epidemic, and to make America great and healthy again”
Department of Health and Human Services oversees:
Food and Drug Administration
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
National Institutes of Health
Medicare and Medicaid Services

RFK Jr. Is Poised To Save The Health And Lives Of Millions Of Americans
What is the value of someone who has the potential to literally save millions of lives and improve the health of tens of millions of children and adults? We may be on the verge of revolutionizing America’s failing health care system for the better, and two men will be responsible: President-elect Donald Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Trump has long been a fan of Kennedy’s intellect, independence from special interests, passion, empathy and connection with the American people. Trump also no doubt realizes that Kennedy’s value to his incoming administration is immeasurable, as RFK Jr. can wear multiple hats of expertise. Trump has picked him to run the Department of Health and Human Services. And it is from under that HHS hat that Kennedy will transform our “sick-care” industry and literally save millions of lives in the process.

It will be a challenge to get him confirmed, but we'll see.

Donald Trump has tapped Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for HHS chief – the top advisor to the president on health-related matters, and chief administrator overseeing the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health, Medicare and Medicaid. Here’s what he can actually do to make real change. Fixing even a fraction of the problems contributing to America’s health crisis could prove daunting, with the nation facing an obesity epidemic (over 70% of American adults are obese or overweight), an addiction scourge (15% use illicit drugs, 20% suffer from alcohol dependency), a prescription drug crisis (66% use at least one prescription medication), contaminated drinking water (a concern for nearly half of the population), skyrocketing autism (which affects one in 36 children, compared to about one per 1,000 in the 1980s), and other serious health-related issues.
Kennedy has recognized the gargantuan scope of the challenge, saying in a recent interview that the US health care system as it’s presently set up means there’s “nothing more profitable” than keeping Americans sick “for life,” with chronic disease a big business he estimates to be worth some $4.3 trln (i.e. about five times the size of the US’s 2024 defense budget). Kennedy has yet to lay out the details of his agenda as potential Trump Health and Human Services Secretary, including for make good on promises to rein in Big Pharma...

We know big pharma will pull out all the stops to insure he isn't confirmed.

Tulsi is another nominee who faces a conformation challenge...
Tulsi Gabbard, The New US Intel Chief

The nomination of Tulsi Gabbard as the United States intelligence supremo has sent shockwaves through the American and NATO establishments. The Western news media – always a dutiful echo chamber for deep-state policymakers – is reverberating with horror at her nomination by President-elect Donald Trump. That reaction is a good sign that something significant has happened. The potential appointment of Gabbard as Director of National Intelligence (DNI) could be the most consequential decision yet by Trump in forming his cabinet. If one move could signal the foreign policy direction under the 47th president, Gabbard’s nomination is the most salient and potentially the most constructive on the key issue of world peace. Time magazine headlined with the U.S. intelligence community’s response to Gabbard’s selection. “We are reeling,” it was reported. Reuters reported that the Western “spy world is vexed.” Meanwhile, in The Atlantic, an establishment mouthpiece, Gabbard was denounced as a “threat to the security of the United States.”
That’s a staggering charge to levy on the person who is going to be head of national security. It is almost hilarious to see the apoplectic reaction in the U.S. establishment and its servile mainstream media. CNN’s news anchor Jim Sciutto was distraught in sharing his concerns with colleague Richard Quest, remarking that Gabbard’s views “contradict” almost everything about U.S. foreign policies. If we may paraphrase that exchange, the sentiments were: Oh my God, how terrible! Whatever shall we say now about all the lies we have been spinning for years and getting fat salaries for? After all, as far as the U.S. corporate media are concerned, especially those channels and newspapers associated with the Democrats, the establishment, and the deep state intelligence apparatus, Tulsi Gabbard has been smeared as a “Russian asset.” It is indeed profoundly challenging – one might even say, earth-shattering – to the deep state if Gabbard becomes Director of National Intelligence.

The MSM is coming unglued with Trump's nominations.

Tulsi Gabbard Right Pick to Shake-Up US Spy Agencies
President-elect Donald Trump nominated the former Democratic congresswoman and a 21-year army reserve veteran to oversee the bewildering array of 18 US spy agencies in his incoming administration. “A foreign policy and national security appointment that has created considerable dissent is that of Tulsi Gabbard as Director of National Intelligence [DNI],” Philip Giraldi, a former CIA operations officer with experience in Europe and the Middle East, told Sputnik. The CIA veteran said much of the dissent comes from inside the ‘intelligence community’, including active officers and former staff of organizations like the CIA and NSA. Objections to Gabbard’s nomination have focused on her lack of intelligence experience, claiming she will “be unable to perceive problems among an unruly 18-member intelligence community,” the pundit said.
But Giraldi countered that she was “smart, experienced and capable enough to gather her own staff around her that will guide her way through the shoals of Washington DC.” “To my mind, she is an excellent choice, coming from outside of the intelligence community ‘club,’ and could be an effective and ethical DNI,” he added. The former CIA officer noted that Gabbard is viewed as a “peace candidate” for her opposition to endless overseas wars, the US military occupation of parts of Syria and the demonization of China. But she is also known for her support for Israel, currently waging a war against the Palestinian territory of Gaza. “It is likely that Trump appointed her to shake up the intel community, which is regarded by many as the black heart of the deep state,” Giraldi said. “She will, of course, be both helped and handicapped by being provided with plenty of ‘direction’ by a president who is fundamentally ignorant of foreign policy and national security issues.”

RAY McGOVERN: Will Gabbard Be Able to Direct the Intelligence ‘Community’?

Tulsi and the Establishment Meltdown
“A lot of crazy things have happened in this country over the last few years, so you may have forgotten this one minor story from eight years ago: The US intelligence agencies framed the sitting US President for treason. They all knew that Donald Trump wasn’t involved in a conspiracy with the Russians, but they lied. Well, that President is back AND the boss of the Intelligence agencies is now, not only someone completely outside of that conspiracy, but someone who was slandered with that same accusation, by the same nasty woman whose campaign came up with the whole Trump frame job to begin with.”
Interesting times. As for Matt Gaetz, they really don’t like him. John Bolton says Gaetz “must be the worst nomination for a cabinet position in American history.” National Review Online has a predictable article against him. JD Vance snapped back: “The main issue with Matt Gaetz is that he used his office to prosecute his political opponents and authorized federal agents to harass parents who were peacefully protesting at school board meetings. Oh wait, that’s actually Merrick Garland, the current attorney general.” They’re appalled that the attorney general isn’t being chosen from D.C. swampdom, because that’s what they’ve come to expect. But John F. Kennedy didn’t do that, and neither did Ronald Reagan. If Gaetz gets in, I do believe he will cut the legs out from under the giant lawfare operation that has grown up around his office in recent years — and this, rather than genuine concerns about his qualifications (these people care about qualifications all of a sudden?) is what the people screaming about him are actually worried about.

Here’s Why They REALLY Don’t Want Matt Gaetz! (13 min)

He looks to have the most difficult path to confirmation.

Rubio is perhaps the most curious nomination as SOS. Evidently he campaigned for the position, and with Desantis able to appoint a replacement, they maintain their small senate majority. Perhaps there is more to the reasoning...
Lara Trump reveals if she will fill Marco Rubio’s Senate seat (5 min)
RNC co-chair Lara Trump joins ‘Fox & Friends Weekend’ to weigh in on Trump’s historic Cabinet selections and its impact on his political agenda

Opinions on the nominations have been varied. Here are a few:
Amb. Chas Freeman: looks like disappointment (1st few min)
Col. Douglas Macgregor:The Case For Radical Changes In US National Defense (32 min)
Larry Johnson - Signals Trump is Sending w/His Cabinet Picks (12 min)
Max Blumenthal : Trump’s Neocons (32 min)
Daniel Dumbrill: (14 min)
Why Trump's 2nd Term Doesn't Bother Many Global Leftists This Time Around: A Foreigners Perspective

Maybe Joe is right...
JOE ROGAN: “Trump is totally himself. What you see is what you get. I like Trump. I’ve grown to like him. I had a much more negative opinion of him back in the day, but as time went on I realized you need a guy who is completely crazy to expose how corrupt the whole system is.”

Screenshot 2024-11-17 at 05-56-01 Lara Trump reveals if she will fill Marco Rubio’s Senate seat - YouTube_0.png

There's no way one column can cover all these nominations, so I hope you'll chime in below with people and stories I missed. Considering that some of my least favorite people are the ones hollering the loudest against these picks makes me want to see them confirmed. One thing for sure, Trump 2.0 will be entertaining. Perhaps there even a chance something productive might happen. I guess hope springs eternal.

This thread is open....

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QMS's picture

The punditry class is having a field day with Trumps
projected picks in his new administration. Tulsi is a
Russian asset? RFK Jr. is not qualified? Gaetz is a
bomb thrower? Just the threat of Elon Musk paring down
government inefficiency must scare the daylights out of
the DC swamp critters. Losing their grip on the strings of
power must give them a fever. Swamp fever.

Thanks for the Watch!

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Lookout's picture

@QMS

...have been the entertainment for me. The idea that the blob can be dissolved is a bit too ambitious in my opinion, but it sure is a good idea. Get the pop corn ready as we progress to 2025.

Just heard on the weather that the NE is dry and has fire danger. Hope y'all are fine. We finally have gotten some rain but we're still dry. Looks like rain is due up your way next week.

Thanks for coming by!

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

@QMS The much more pertinent smear against Bobby Jr.: "Anti-science"

As outlandish as the Tulsi bullshit of being a "Russian Asset," but even easier to rebut. What the hell is "anti-science" supposed to mean? He practices witchcraft?

The dems are still playing to their imaginary audience of wokefolk.

I still do not take Trump seriously -- he is neither a crazed wannabe Hitler nor a serious-minded guy who wants to do good among the wicked trolls of Washington. DC.

Now that he is almost as old as Joe, it is not inconceivable that he has been hit with some variety of Divine Intervention that has induced him to leave his Eddie Haskell With Money and Power Act behind. I still doubt that this has happened or will happen, and I expect him to make a ton of noise while following the dictates of the Power Structure. His fans will revel in the noise while his detractors will shiver in fear over every blowhard comment from the Orange Fartcloud.

The show must go on.

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I cried when I wrote this song. Sue me if I play too long.

earthling1's picture

@fire with fire
for the Eddie Haskell comparison.

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Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.

@earthling1 not everybody enjoys Baby Boomer humor.

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I cried when I wrote this song. Sue me if I play too long.

Lookout's picture

@fire with fire

I still do not take Trump seriously -- he is neither a crazed wannabe Hitler nor a serious-minded guy who wants to do good among the wicked trolls of Washington. DC.

Spot on...

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

same as the old blob. They don't want to wreck the car, they just want to be the driver.

PS, thanks for the OT, informative as always.

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Lookout's picture

@Snode

The blob is kinda like the tar baby. The more you're around it, the more you become absorbed.

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

Cassiodorus's picture

when the guy with the mustache and beard referred to the "big beautiful dreams that we are now starting to dream." What, is this guy a billionaire? Can he, then, buy all of DC at will?

In the real world, of course, the billionaires are the people who can realize big beautiful dreams, whereas the rest of us must comfort ourselves with delusional notions of having a say in government. I think the Benny Show people are in the category of "the rest of us."

As for Alastair Crooke, he may know a lot about foreign policy, but if he thinks Trump's ideas of domestic policy are any good (and reading his piece I don't see any explicit evidence of that), he needs to study the subject further. The important things about domestic policy are inflation, which tariffs will cause more of, and the epidemic of the unhoused, which according to the official statistics is out of control, and the official statistics are a severe undercount.

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“When there's no fight over programme, the election becomes a casting exercise. Trump's win is the unstoppable consequence of this situation.” - Jean-Luc Melanchon

Lookout's picture

@Cassiodorus

He believes Trump will take on the deep state which is his dream.

Alastair is seeing the cabinet as disruptors who might improve things domestically.

That my take on their opinions.

As to dismantling the deep state/blob, all I can say is I wish them the best of luck because it is a steep climb.

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

Cassiodorus's picture

@Lookout @Lookout From 2019:

Trump Spends Two-Thirds of his Time as President Doing Nothing in Particular, Leaked Documents Show

The great virtue of being a "disruptor," then, is not that any great beautiful dream will be accomplished, but, rather, that less harm will be done. This was the sense in which Trump was, in 2016 and this year, a lesser-evil candidate. I still did not vote for him.

20241104_105813_0.jpg

Our problems are, as suggested, inflation and homelessness. The state being a great representative of the bourgeois class now as previously, it appears that we are the ones who must solve our problems. Inflation could be mitigated by guaranteeing everyone a living wage and, lacking that, an adequate universal income subsidy. Homelessness could be resolved through judicious use of eminent domain. But, lacking any real say-so in the affairs of the state, we must lobby for solutions as the anarchists do, through direct action. I don't see Trump changing that state of affairs.

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“When there's no fight over programme, the election becomes a casting exercise. Trump's win is the unstoppable consequence of this situation.” - Jean-Luc Melanchon

Lookout's picture

@Cassiodorus

but I am interested in seeing what unfolds. Here in the South if you're not tolerant of Trumpism you won't have many friends...especially in the rural south. I've learned to be more sympathetic to Trump from the lawfare, lies, and MSM smears. TDS still reigns among the mostly urban minority of dims here.

I too voted for Jill, not that it accomplished anything.

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

enhydra lutris's picture

anti-vaxxer, meddling, and most of the rest of today's socio-political locutions, are simply Fnords, aka FNORDS. They re currently scattered throughout the media with astonishing frequency and threaten to overwhelm our ability to have rational discussions. I predict it will get much worse before it gets any better.

"fnords" are keywords that are deliberately inserted into texts like newspapers and magazines. Children are taught to be unable to consciously see the word, and the word's subconscious appearance throughout life generates feelings of unease and confusion.

...

The purpose of the fnords is to stifle rational thought and create fear and anxiety in readers. The word's invisibility is part of its brilliance, as readers are still able to read the non-element, even if their minds render it invisible.

Source = google AI overview.

In reality the words are not invisible, but they are, to a large extent glossed over and not at all pondered or subject to conscious thought through the fact that they are a form of bafflegab strewn about so widely with no definitive uniform interpetation that we don'r really "see" them or consciously assign a specific denotation or connotation to them, which pretty much amounts to the same thing.

A possibly better look at their use, effect and invisibility is here: https://2x4.org/ideas/2010/if-you-dont-see-the-fnord-it-cant-eat-you/

be well and have a good one

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

Lookout's picture

@enhydra lutris

is probably a better term. Thanks for the introduction to Fnords.

Have a lovely Sunday!

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

QMS's picture

@enhydra lutris
.
ties in to an essay found this morning

The basic tool for the manipulation of reality is the manipulation of words. If you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use the words. George Orwell made this clear in his novel 1984. But another way to control the minds of people is to control their perceptions. If you can get them to see the world as you do, they will think as you do. Comprehension follows perception.

~

An electroencephalogram (EEG) of a person watching TV shows that after about half an hour the brain decides that nothing is happening, and it goes into a hypnoidal twilight state, emitting alpha waves.

This is from P K Dick in his essay How to Build a Universe That Doesn’t Fall Apart
Two Days Later
published in 1978.

Makes you wonder what is getting past the rational filters?

ref: https://lithub.com/we-have-a-dangerous-blur-philip-k-dicks-cult-essay-ab...

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soryang's picture

Gabbard's appointment as DNI is a PR stunt. The DNI position is actually relatively toothless.

Aki Azuma sings Camellia Lady an old popular trot tune. I read somewhere while looking through her videos an assertion that Korean trot genre evolved from a Japanese style called En Kka. I'm not sure about this. This is usually a dispute when another country claims to be the source of a well established custom or cultural tradition of one's own country, at least as far as China, Korea, and Japan are concerned. I'm unable to determine the relationship of Korean trot and enkka. I'm not a musician, my subjective focus is on lyrics, historical context, mood, etc. (ie. who has the most to be sad about?). I'm inclined to think that the Japanese composer(s) were influenced by their experience living in Korea during the colonial period, rather than the other way around, but it's impossible for me to tell. Perhaps it's a chicken or the egg thing. I'm sure most Koreans would dispute the Japanese origin although both styles appeared to emerge during the colonial period.

엔카

Enka (Japanese: 演歌) is a genre of Japanese popular music that became popular after the Meiji period, and is a genre based on the unique sensibility and emotion of the Japanese.[1]

Most of the scales used in enka are the pentatonic scales used in traditional Japanese folk songs. This scale method became established as a unique scale of enka after it was established as Koga melody by Koga Masao. This melody was a clone singing method that authentically interpreted the vocal technique of Ichiro Fujiyama, a graduate of Tokyo University of the Arts, an early classical orthodoxy, and was popular for a period. After strengthening the technical expression of Japanese music, it was established in the 1960s with the appearance of maestro Hibari Misora. After that, each singer sang Koga melody in a similar scale in their own unique way.

It often depicts sad love between a man and a woman, focusing on themes such as the sea, alcohol, tears, women, rain, the northern region, snow, and separation. Representative songs include Hibari Misora's "Sad Sake".

This latter topic would actually bear further research. I'm disadvantaged by my inability to read Japanese.

Thanks for the WW Lookout.

(edited to add link)

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語必忠信 行必正直

Lookout's picture

@soryang

...if confirmed would give Trump his daily briefings. The office has the potential to be impactful with CIA, FBI and many other agencies under the director. Not saying it will be, but might.

The music I play (folk/old time) is an amalgam of primarily European and African influence. Music has floated through various cultures since there was music.

Thanks for the clips and song!

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

enhydra lutris's picture

@soryang

Different subcultures have different ingrained word associations. I'm glad you delved further into "Korean trot", because my mind initially went right here:

Trotzky [Trotsky] (LOC)

be well and have a good one

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

I got my shopping done yesterday, and this morning, I wrote a script for a mock trial I will present to a small group of private schoolers. I think the average age will be maybe 8 yrs old. It is a 10 to 15 minute presentation of a criminal trial involving the theft of a white rabbit. What I want the kids to take away from it is to tell the truth, do not steal, and the value of the 5th amendment right to remain silent.
People everywhere are going nuts thinking Trump is a savior, or Trump is the devil. Crazy times, friend!
We have warm weather, but T-storms today and tomorrow. Well, we don't have to drive anywhere but back and forth to town. I suppose we need the rain.
I intend to read and watch your WW, see if I can form any opinion on Trump other than he bores me to death, and nothing significant will change. I do think the upcoming recession will be blamed on him. How convenient!
Thanks for the essay, and I hope everything is safe and beautiful in the Holler!

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"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

Lookout's picture

@on the cusp

...and you are so right, people see Trump as the devil or the savior, and not much in between.

In 2016, I gave him a chance to follow through on his claims of peace. I'm not hopeful the leopard has changed his spots.

Have a great day, and have fun with the mock trial.

Molly says: "I have loved the story of Alice in Wonderland since I read the book as a kid and played the Queen of Hearts in my school play. I chose to cover ‘White Rabbit’ back in the fall of 2020 for a live stream of songs by San Francisco Bay Area artists. Grace Slick of Jefferson Airplane is from Palo Alto, CA, just like me, and this song gives me the nostalgic feeling of growing up, but recording it also pushed my band forward into new territory musically. This is the first song I have arranged, produced and recorded from the ground up with the band members that I've been on the road with all year. Golden Highway—aka Shelby Means, Dominick Leslie, Kyle Tuttle, Bronwyn Keith-Hynes—and I have formed a strong musical bond after playing almost 100 shows together this year. Each band member brought ideas to the table, making this a truly collaborative effort."

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

QMS's picture

@Lookout
the costuming alone
deserves an Emmy

thanks for sharing this
just made my day
I like fun stuff, hehe.

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Lookout's picture

@QMS

She also has Alopecia and is bald, but usually wears a wig as in the clip.
Glad you liked it.

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

@Lookout I bet only a handful of that young crowd had ever heard the song before.

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"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

earthling1's picture

going to be an interesting "first 100 days".
Got a full week of rain coming here, following a week of King tides and high storm driven surf along the north coast.
Thanks for the WW and OT.

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6 users have voted.

Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.

Lookout's picture

@earthling1

As you may see below Biden may have instigated WWIII to leave in Trump's lap. I wish us all luck!

Thanks for coming by today!

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7 users have voted.

“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

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7 users have voted.

@humphrey

significant!

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6 users have voted.
Lookout's picture

@humphrey

I remember Stammer coming to the US and Biden wanting to agree to long range missile, but the pentagon said "NO!" It pissed off Biden too.

Did they (the pentagon) suddenly relent as they saw Trump coming for them?

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6 users have voted.

“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

@Lookout

Dementia Joe or those running the foreign policy Blinken and Sullivan

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6 users have voted.
Lookout's picture

@humphrey

To further the dimwits agenda and destroy Trump....while negatively impacting the people of this country?

These self centered elitists are too much. TPTB can't let go of their globalist hegemonic agenda.

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4 users have voted.

“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

snoopydawg's picture

@humphrey

Biden has authorized the Ukrainian Armed Forces to use short-range ATACMS missiles with a range of 50 miles in the Kursk region.

The weapons will likely initially be used against Russian and North Korean troops to protect Ukrainian troops in the Kursk region in western Russia, officials said”

This decision was made in response to the involvement of the North Korean military.

Russia has every right to have whatever country’s troops fight alongside Russian troops because it’s their damn country. Biden can’t tell Putin that he can’t allow them to. And he’s confirming what Putin said. This is America committing to war against Russia.

Biden is taking the blame for this, but it’s Blinken, Sullivan or Austin who made the decision. Another boneheaded move. Another bad mark on Biden’s horrific legacy. Worst and most dangerous president in history.

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8 users have voted.

There were problems with running a campaign of Joy while committing a genocide? Who could have guessed?

Harris is unburdened of speaking going forward.

snoopydawg's picture

@snoopydawg

"Putin is desperate!"

But…..

Now that Putin knows he will control the US government come Jan 20, 2025, I doubt he’s interested in starting WWIII. He’s already won.

Also too

"Putin knows that if he uses nukes that America will flatten Russia."

No concerns about Russia flattening America. Biden should have long ago set up a no fly zone over Ukraine according to them. It’s not just the right who think that America’s military is still the biggest bully in the sandbox.

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7 users have voted.

There were problems with running a campaign of Joy while committing a genocide? Who could have guessed?

Harris is unburdened of speaking going forward.

enhydra lutris's picture

@snoopydawg

Korean troops, unlike your average Russkie, none of which have been shown to have ever et any.

be well and have a good one

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4 users have voted.

That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

Lookout's picture

@snoopydawg

...without the US driving them, and Russia knows it. I hope it isn't WWIII there nor in SW Asia.

Hope you and Sam are doing well. All the best!

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5 users have voted.

“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

enhydra lutris's picture

@humphrey

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5 users have voted.

That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

@humphrey
why he had that shit eating grin when he met with Trump.

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8 users have voted.
Lookout's picture

@JtC

...to spite his replacement and then try to assassinate Trump's agenda by burdening him with WWIII?

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4 users have voted.

“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

It's funny how you hear the same exact words and phrases over and over again, no matter what TV channel you watch. For years whenever they discussed RFK Jr., it was always coupled with the phrase "anti-vaxxer." The other day, the news called him a "vaccine skeptic." I guess that's an improvement.

Tulsi Gabbard is always called a "Putin Puppet," and accused of treason and consorting with the enemy. If this were true, then why wasn't she arrested, tried, and sitting in a prison cell.

How come my Congressman Matt Gaetz wasn't arrested with his good buddy who was sentenced to 11 years in prison for trafficking underage girls. If they had the evidence, he would have been gone 2 or 3 years ago. But yet they always bring up the fact that he was investigated for it, whenever he is mentioned.

Even Trump gets this treatment. He's a "fascist." He's Hitler. Now whenever something negative is attached to someone, I now tend to look at who it benefits. I believe that all of this over-the-top rhetoric has finally reached the tipping point where people don't believe any of this crap anymore.

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8 users have voted.
QMS's picture

@Enchantress
perhaps that is the plan?
dissociate truth from fiction
to mold policy into an unrecognizable
conglomeration of gray

there ain't no good guys

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7 users have voted.
snoopydawg's picture

@QMS

Shitlibs believe the accusations against Tulsi and they go even further with them.

Weird how after she visited Assad in Syria she still held enough security clearance to serve in the military as a loot kernel and on some of the highest intelligence levels in congress.

Saw a tweet the other day showing Pelosi visiting Assad during Bush even though his administration didn’t want her to do it.

Greenwald has a video of Warren calling her a Russian asset and a danger to US intelligence. He says that the accusations are defamatory, but since she’s a public figure it’s a hard case to make.

Warren says that Rubio doesn’t come with the same concerns…..

Warren is an idiot and a sellout.

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7 users have voted.

There were problems with running a campaign of Joy while committing a genocide? Who could have guessed?

Harris is unburdened of speaking going forward.

Lookout's picture

@Enchantress

Against Gaetz and most of the others. DOD sec nominee also accused of sex crimes. No charges nor convictions, just accusations. Try them in the MSM public court.

Speaking of which maybe Trump will release the Epstein client list. I know wishful thinking.

Hope all is well in the panhandle!

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9 users have voted.

“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

Pluto's Republic's picture

@snoopydawg

@Enchantress


Objections to Gabbard’s nomination have focused on her lack of intelligence experience, claiming she will “be unable to perceive problems among the 18-member intelligence community.”

.
Remember when 17 of those 18 Imembers of the intelligence Community deceived the American People by swearing up and down that the DNC computer was hacked by the Kremlin — and further insisted that Trump and Putin had been in collusion to rig the US election?

I think Tulsi, and millions of People-Who-Can-Think, know exactly who has been sabotaging the Federal government to further the agenda of the Neocon usurpers embedded in the White House, the State Department, the Pentagon, and the Department of Justice.

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8 users have voted.
IMAGINE if you woke up the day after a US Presidential Election and headlines around the the world blared, "The Majority of Americans Refused to Vote in US Presidential Election! What Does this Mean?"
snoopydawg's picture

@Pluto's Republic

Did Blinken’s bidding to say that the Hunter Biden laptop was Russian disinformation. I wonder if that is actionable and he can be charged with something? Election interference for one or something worse? Hillary’s campaign had to pay a huge amount for making up the Steele dossier.

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7 users have voted.

There were problems with running a campaign of Joy while committing a genocide? Who could have guessed?

Harris is unburdened of speaking going forward.

Lookout's picture

@Pluto's Republic @snoopydawg

To those who can still look and see. The more attacks the shitlibs hurl the worse they look. Kinda like the sanctions...the more we issue the worse our economy responds and the better theirs does.

glad y'all came by today!

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3 users have voted.

“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

usefewersyllables's picture

took in a fantastic concert Friday night- the Brubeck Brothers at a local performing arts center. And yes, the two Brubecks are indeed Dave Brubeck’s two youngest sons, with Chris on bass and Dan on drums. Excellent jazz, and done with a real sense of joy. My earworm du jour is Blue Rondeau a la Turk…

Traditional jazz is not dead!

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7 users have voted.

Twice bitten, permanently shy.

Lookout's picture

@usefewersyllables

was commonly played in my home as a child. Always liked Brubeck. Glad to hear the legacy continues!

Circa 1959. Excellent live performance for broadcast. Time signature is 9/8 with a 4/4 swing. Paul Desmond is smooth (as always) on alto. Dave Brubeck plays a very energetic piano solo.

Live music is special!

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6 users have voted.

“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

Dawn's Meta's picture

the president elect, the picks and more. Me I'm waiting for someone who can stop Netanyhu and the rest of Israel crazies. It's my red line. Getting the selections through congress is I have no idea how it will go.

Love the White Rabbit version. There are many covers of this. I love an artist named René Marie. I believe she is the pianist on this version of White Rabbit. When she plays and sings jazz with this group of people, it is the best.

Next is a Wiki bio of her. I think she has the loss of hair problem also.
Personal life
René Marie married at age 18, and was a mother of two children by age 23. When her husband issued an ultimatum after 23 years of marriage for her to stop singing or leave, she chose music over her turbulent marriage.[9]

René Marie

We had mostly rain and thunderstorms until almost mid August for the year. We had between ten and twelve inches of rain in September and October so maybe six weeks of Summer. Maybe one week or ten days of Fall. Now it's getting quite cold with a hard frost last night. Bit things I haven't gotten into Winter storage. Mums seem to hold on quite well. Hoping for Lettuce, Broccoli and Chard to continue. Snow by Wednesday, so not ready. But our pellet stove/boiler is working well and we love the warm floors. Radient heat is wonderful.

Thanks for the work, scope and sheer volume of information you send each week. Superb.

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5 users have voted.

A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they know they shall never sit. Allegedly Greek, but more possibly fairly modern quote.

Consider helping by donating using the button in the upper left hand corner. Thank you.

Lookout's picture

@Dawn's Meta

I often think about how nice it would be if we could even out the weather. But then I think they would weaponize it if they had that power.

Glad to hear y'all are doing fine on the other side of the pond. Thanks for the kind comment!

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3 users have voted.

“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

studentofearth's picture

a satire on adventures of the popular gang at an elite British boarding school and their groupies. The leaders know if discovered The system will lay the blame and consequences on others of less importance.

Leaks expose secret British military cell plotting to ‘keep Ukraine fighting’ The Gray Zone Nov 16, 2024

...
It appears the British premier, Keir Starmer, fell under the influence of the Project Alchemy cabal soon after his election in July, when he eagerly embraced the role of “wartime prime minister.” After pledging to support Ukraine “as long as it takes,” however, Starmer is quietly backing away from the maximalist policy. In Kiev, Ukrainians are left to ponder how their “friends” in London got them into this mess, and why they can not, or will not get them out of it.

The British spooks who gathered around Project Alchemy reasoned that the longer the proxy war continued, the more Russian president Vladimir Putin’s “credibility at home and abroad drops, and his ability to fight NATO is degraded.” Today, Project Alchemy’s gambit has clearly backfired, as Putin remains popular within Russia, while a crumbling Ukrainian army loses territory by the day despite constant re-arming by the West. But the war planners in London remain staunchly committed to escalation, refusing to shelve their diabolical proposals.

Project Alchemy was founded on the personal orders of Lt. General Charlie Stickland, who is charged with “planning, executing and integrating UK led joint and multinational overseas military operations” as the head of Britain’s Permanent Joint Headquarters. Stickland boasts in leaked communications that his family “come from a long line of pirates and buccaneers.” In his email signature, the general identifies himself as an “LGBTQ+ Advocate” in rainbow-colored text.
...
In an email to British military apparatchiks dated March 3 2022, Stickland described Alchemy’s paper as the result of “some mischief I’ve been up to” with “a group of ‘sideways thinkers.’” He expressed satisfaction that “this has been seen by all sorts of people,” including senior British government and military officials, “and landed well.”
...
Project Alchemy members openly fantasized about absorbing Russia into the Western-dominated financial order afterwards under the guise of a “Post Putin Marshall Plan.”
...
Also listed as a participant in information operations was longtime British psychological warfare operative Amil Khan, founder of the “counter-disinformation” analysis firm Valent Projects.

In 2021, The Grayzone revealed how the then-Prince of Wales, King Charles, enlisted Khan’s Valent Projects to astroturf a pseudo-socialist YouTube influencer to attack skeptics of the government’s ham-fisted response to Covid. Previously, Khan participated in the UK Foreign Office’s program to foment regime change in Syria.

US has its own descendants of pirates and buccaneers, and many admires of pirate culture.

Sad read about a sub-culture tradition in Anglo/Saxon culture which keeps re-appearing causing death and destruction.

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5 users have voted.

Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.

snoopydawg's picture

@studentofearth

Project Alchemy members openly fantasized about absorbing Russia into the Western-dominated financial order afterwards under the guise of a “Post Putin Marshall Plan.

Did they really think that Russia would implode from the sanctions and then they would just swoop in and take whatever they wanted? I guess the American neocons also thought that defeating Russia would be easy.

The UK has turned into an Orwellian nightmare with all its draconian censorship and basically outlawing going against the Zionist ideology. Now they are arresting people for what they tweeted years ago including young kids who act up on the playground. Calling other kids names is part of growing up, but now it comes with severe consequences. More insanity.

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4 users have voted.

There were problems with running a campaign of Joy while committing a genocide? Who could have guessed?

Harris is unburdened of speaking going forward.

Lookout's picture

@studentofearth @snoopydawg
The Novichok Attack Was A British Operation, Not A Russian One

George Galloway does a god job of describing the UK dilemma/ hate of Russia...

(19 min) 1st few minutes deal with the long range strike permission by Biden.

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2 users have voted.

“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

@studentofearth Brits are nuts.
Carry on!

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3 users have voted.

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

When he delved into economics, I couldn't believe it. Keep immigrant workers at low wage, or pay Americans high wage, oh, horrors!
I could not believe how much he sounded like a corporate tool. I will remember that going forward.
To him, robots are great, workers bad if they demand actual living wages.
So disappointed. He should stick to military and diplomatic analysis.

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2 users have voted.

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

but his handlers will not let him go without creating havoc.

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2 users have voted.
Lookout's picture

@humphrey

...but like the rest of the Zionists, terrible on Israel's genocide.

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2 users have voted.

“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

snoopydawg's picture

.

As the war in Ukraine heads into its third full winter, the US and its allies "have grown extremely concerned" about Pyongyang’s decision to deploy its forces in combat and assessments by some Group of 20 nations suggest North Korea could eventually send as many as 100,000 troops to Russia. The allies believe the deepening cooperation between Putin and Kim Jong Un could have consequences for the security balance in the Indo-Pacific region, Bloomberg has reported previously.

Nothing has happened. Nada, but because some people think that something could happen it’s best to risk a major war with the possible use of nukes. The world knows that Biden’s brain is not working at full strength and that he should have been removed from office at least a year ago or more. Does it matter that he might not have made the decision? Maybe he did after all…but we should know who is running the country and there should be a debate in Congress whether this is a good idea.

Remember after T won last time Obama kicked 80 Russians out of their embassy and maybe to hijack T from becoming friendly with Russia? The Ukraine war was already planned and making peace with Russia was not in the cards. Is this Biden’s Obama move?

Judge Nap addressed this issue which I posted in Joe’s music thread.

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3 users have voted.

There were problems with running a campaign of Joy while committing a genocide? Who could have guessed?

Harris is unburdened of speaking going forward.

snoopydawg's picture

Oh yeah?

As the media and Democrats attack Trump’s nominees—RFK Jr, Tulsi Gabbard, Matt Gaetz etc—let’s take a look at how unqualified Biden’s nominees are for their jobs -

Xavier Becerra, HHS - not a doctor, he’s a lawyer, ex-attorney general of California

Jared Bernstein, Chair of Council of Economic Advisors – not an economist, Bachelor’s degree in music, masters in sociology

Pete Buttigieg, Transportation Secretary – no transportation background, Mayor of Indiana, “pothole Pete”

Mayorkas, DHS Secretary – no security background, lawyer, Asst U.S. attorney, Obama transition team

Jennifer Granholm, Energy Secy – no energy background, Michigan Governor

Gina Raimondo, Commerce Secretary – No trade background, Gov of Rhode Island

Deb Haaland, Interior Secy – New Mexico Congressman

And just for kicks…Bill Nye, the environmentalist “Science Guy” — no background in environmentalism or science, he’s a mechanical engineer and comedy writer.

Aah well at least none of them were Russian assets. Right?

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3 users have voted.

There were problems with running a campaign of Joy while committing a genocide? Who could have guessed?

Harris is unburdened of speaking going forward.

Lookout's picture

@snoopydawg
TDS still rules the shitlibs, and apparently there's no mirrors in DC. Now and in 2016, the dimwits have no desire for reflection and correction. Titanic full speed ahead.

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2 users have voted.

“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

Lookout's picture

Y'all keep the conversation going...
I love singing this old chestnut. I love the first line..."It's a lesson to late for the learning..."

I thought I might be asked to play for a recent funeral, but wasn't. This was the song I thought I might sing because there was "no word of farewell" in his sudden death. Funerals are almost always hard to play. The closer you are to the dead person, the more difficult it is. Weddings on the other hand are mostly happy.

I hope you all had a happy weekend and are doing well. See you around the site!

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2 users have voted.

“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

snoopydawg's picture

.

Last week the judge was questioning his guests about Israel’s Dermer and his trip to Russia.

Here’s an explanation.

https://www.raialyoum.com/syria-in-the-eye-of-the-storm/

Putin’s response might be why Russia doesn’t protect Syria from Israeli attacks. I’ve been questioning this for some time. I still think it’s chicken shit for Russia to allow Syrians to be killed when it’s given Syria air defense systems. But I’d love to see Russia's response if Israel attacks Russian bases.

Boy I sure wish I ran the world. Won’t even 1 country take Israel down a notch?

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2 users have voted.

There were problems with running a campaign of Joy while committing a genocide? Who could have guessed?

Harris is unburdened of speaking going forward.