Leading man

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Since election day I've noticed a shift in the media in its attempts to manipulate Trump's appointments to various cabinet and administration posts by "leaking" picks he has already made that turn out to be erroneous. Pompeo being the first.
It's as though they were trying to shape the battleground by giving Trump subliminal suggestions and hoping the public would clamor in approval, driving Trump to follow.
Really. These people are that stupid.
Now they are trying to shape his actions when he takes office by escalating the killings in Russia and Palestine and inching the world closer to WW3.
Granted, it will not be the world battling it out, but the US vs Russia will suck all into a conflagration that will not end well for humankind and other living things.
Truly is a head-on train wreck on a bridge over nowhere and all 8 billion of us are just passengers.
Dipped down into the 30s last night and saw some slushy rain and all the mountains around the PNW are white with snow. Still harvesting broccoli, zucchini, and peppers.
They will roast well right on the bush.
It is an open thread. Any last words?

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QMS's picture

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so long and thanks for all the fish
(as the whales swiggle into space)
Douglas Adams in Hitchhikers Guide

thanks for the OT e1!

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question everything

earthling1's picture

@QMS
All 4 books of his trilogy were great..
Don't panic.

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7 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.

The Russian missile defense system kicked ass, took names. Russia looks to profit bigly as those systems will soon be sold 'round the non-NATO part of the globe.
Our attempts to poke the bear and get Putin thrown out of office are having the reverse effect.
The US would benefit greatly if Biden disappeared in the jungle.
We will have a temperature drop Thursday evening down to 38 deg. This calls for chili con carne and that super heavy fleece robe!
It is strange that we just didn't hear that much smearing of Trump's first appointees. Now, he is surrounding himself with pure traitorous evil, including but not limited to, pervs.
Who would want to be in his ranks now? Who would volunteer for the smear?
Strange times, e1, et. al.!
Thanks for the OT, friend!

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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

@on the cusp
Putin will arm up the Huthis,Hesbolla, Syria, and the militia in Iraq with state of the art AD systems and control the skies over Israel, the Red Sea, and even the Suez Canal.
Nothing will move in the air or on the seas.
This will cause fatal heart attacks all across the western world riveling the deaths in Ukraine and Palestine.
Just thinking the next move.

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5 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.

earthling1's picture

@on the cusp
of white bean soup with a big 'ole ham hock thrown in.
Paid $5 for two ham hocks. Seems a little pricey, but inflation ba bla.
Thanks for stopping by.

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5 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.

@earthling1 Sounds like a dream meal for a cold night.
I haven't made that in forever. May have to look for ham hocks.
Some guy drove past the office in his Dodge truck, windows down, this song was blaring:

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

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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

usefewersyllables's picture

@on the cusp

Hoppin' John style, with blackeyed peas and rice. Sautee up the trinity in a nice dark bacon-fat roux as the base, and toss in a chunk or two of andouille to taste, to accompany the ham hock. If some pork fat is good, more is better... Serve with a good liberal splash of Crystal sauce.

After all, we could all use a little extra luck, here lately. Doesn't have to wait until New Years- that's a long, long ways away...

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Twice bitten, permanently shy.

@usefewersyllables Onions, carrots, celery...
You are right. Don't wait too long. Get 'er done.

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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

QMS's picture

@usefewersyllables
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for the spatchcocked big bird next week ..

Dirty-Rice-4-1.jpg

Dirty Rice, sometimes called ‘rice dressing,’ is a classic savory Louisiana rice dish that starts with browning spicy meats, then layering in rich flavor with onion, bell pepper, celery (the Trinity of Louisiana cooking) and a handful of spices before folding in rice. The rice achieves its “dirty” brown color from simmering in all that goodness and absorbing its deep flavor.

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question everything

usefewersyllables's picture

@QMS

Big birds need heat. We've often put some Crystal under the skin along with some good big knobs of butter for autobasting, and then sprinkle some cayenne here and there just so the bird can think about what it has done... Then, the pan drippings become a whole different thing come gravy-time.

As my dear departed gray-haired mammy used to say, "Everything in moderation- including moderation". Of course, she also said "Your liver's a muscle, son; if you don't use it, you'll lose it!". So there's that.

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Twice bitten, permanently shy.

QMS's picture

@usefewersyllables
.
nana used to say the same thing
she lived to the ripe old age of 94
so guess she knew about that stuff

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question everything

We're just those odd squealy things the 1% run over at night on their way to the next party.

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earthling1's picture

@Snode
The backtop will get so slick from the roadkill they will lose control and crash over a cliff between parties.
Which makes me think; What will they do with all our bodies? And who's going to do it?
Thanks for the post.

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7 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.

Cassiodorus's picture

Nerdrotic's analysis in this video seems pretty rational. I have to say, though, that if Disney is "doing the best," then it's pretty bad for all of them. Wait until Disney puts out another Star Wars sequel trilogy -- that should do the trick. At some point we'll be down to buskers. Everyone with a library card will go to the public library and watch movies for free. I thought it was amusing that when I bought a basic subscription to Paramount+ for seven bucks, they wanted me to watch shows with ads, like with mainstream television. I canceled of course.

Jim Morrison is our prophet now. Hollywood is simply the vanguard for a decline that all of America is seeing, now. The music will soon be over.

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The ruling classes need an extra party to make the rest of us feel as if we participate in democracy. That's what the Democrats are for. They make the US more durable than the Soviet Union was.

earthling1's picture

@Cassiodorus
the ads for cable: "Come to cable, it's commercial free!"
Classic bait and switch.
Thanks for the video.

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8 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.

Cassiodorus's picture

@earthling1 of Trump's victory in the so-called election:

"Protesters": "Trump is not a legitimate President"
My reaction: Michael Moore is not a legitimate film-maker

Not any more at least. Planet of the Humans and Roger and Me were pretty cool though.

I'm imagining that our main source of entertainment, in the future, will be in imagining that there was such a period of history as the "late '60s." How could such an era have happened? People who educated themselves about history will be asking. Well, that and busking and guerrilla theater and gardening and the various hippie arts.

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7 users have voted.

The ruling classes need an extra party to make the rest of us feel as if we participate in democracy. That's what the Democrats are for. They make the US more durable than the Soviet Union was.

Cassiodorus's picture

@earthling1 They're cutting back on that too:

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3 users have voted.

The ruling classes need an extra party to make the rest of us feel as if we participate in democracy. That's what the Democrats are for. They make the US more durable than the Soviet Union was.

Perhaps it was a coordinated effort.

https://thehill.com/homenews/house/4998047-matt-gaetz-hacker-witness-tes...

A hacker gained access to witness testimony related to investigations into former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), who resigned from Congress last week after President-elect Trump tapped him for attorney general, multiple news outlets reported Tuesday.

The unidentified person, using the name “Altam Beezley,” downloaded the information on Monday afternoon, according to The New York Times, which was the first to report on the breach.

The file contained 24 exhibits and is said to include testimony from a woman who said she had sex with Gaetz when she was 17, and testimony from another woman who said she witnessed the encounter, according to The Times.

The Times and CBS News reported that the file is part of a civil defamation case. The Times also reported it includes sealed files from the Justice Department and House Ethics Committee.

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earthling1's picture

@humphrey
Especially with the involvement of the NYTimes and probably the three letter agencies.
Thanks for the update.

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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.

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earthling1's picture

@humphrey
He got snubbed at another meet, where he was put in the back.
Won't be long he'll be sitting at the little kids table for dinner.

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5 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.

@earthling1 strictly supervised if little kids are in sniffing range.

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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

QMS's picture

.
to the Ukies just got killed - oops
maybe he should just stay in the Amazon?
another embarrassing moment in US war policy

Russian Air Defenses Down 5 ATACMS Missiles Over Bryansk Region

Where-is-Bryansk-on-map-Russia-2695289685.jpg
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question everything

enhydra lutris's picture

@QMS

and the invisible Koreans said one or more lying pieces of shit who knew that 1) they would be used anywhere and everywhere they could reach and 2) You cant hit invisible Koreans with missiles. Meanwhile, this means that all of NATO and every other US alliance is now deemed to have attacked the Rus, all of them, per paragraph, I think, 11, of the latest out of Moscow. Check out the discussion at the Military Summary Channel, here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_h-H3t6nWyw, I think. It's in the first 4 or 5 minutes, briefly.

1) Attack by Ukies with US weapons is deemed to be joint attack by Ukies and USAstan under the clause everybody is talking about.
2) (Deemed) Attack by US is deemed to be attack by all members of any alliance it is part of under another clause nobody seems to be paying any attention to.

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 --

QMS's picture

@enhydra lutris
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even for Raytheon 'wonder weapons'
especially with a mature air defense system
wake-up call for the pentagoons
just another wasted billion
Ze probably got a stiffy on that one

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question everything

If those NATO missiles are used Ritter thinks Kiev will be leveled. Well at least the center of the city, but using conventional weapons.

I would stay away from NATO HQ in Brussels I believe.

WWIII it is. Europeans learned nothing from History.

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enhydra lutris's picture

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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 --

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usefewersyllables's picture

@humphrey

the first shipments of Russian-supplied latest/greatest hypersonic missiles and the associated materiel are due to arrive in Iran? That'll be all sorts of exciting, won't it?

If the Russians decide not to go after NATO right now, but rather decide to go out of their way to thoroughly embarrass Amerael by supplying the other side, that might kick the can of everybody getting vaporized down the road a few yards. And in that interval, perhaps someone with half a brain will start to inform our actions. Either that, or perhaps the aliens will show up and say "You've had your fun. Now get into this interstellar stock trailer, and we'll add you to our own food pyramid..."

After all, all that adrenaline spoils the meat. Just like hunting game- you don't want to get them all worked up before you frag 'em. Popping them in their sleep makes for the best eating.

And "asleep" describes the vast majority of the American public to a T.

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Twice bitten, permanently shy.

enhydra lutris's picture

@usefewersyllables

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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 --

earthling1's picture

@usefewersyllables
To Serve Man.
s/

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3 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.

usefewersyllables's picture

@earthling1

and absolutely where I was going with that.

I always thought that the answer to the Fermi paradox was “We weren’t ripe yet”…

Perhaps now, we are. (;-)

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Twice bitten, permanently shy.