The Evening Blues - 5-27-16



eb1pt12


Hey! Good Evening!

This evening's music features blues rocker Bonnie Raitt. Enjoy!

Bonnie Raitt - Angel from Montgomery

"At least in Russia, you cannot just go and tap into someone's phone conversation without a warrant issued by court. That's more or less the way a civilized society should go about fighting terrorism."

-- Vladimir Putin


News and Opinion

Secret Text in Senate Bill Would Give FBI Warrantless Access to Email Records

A provision snuck into the still-secret text of the Senate’s annual intelligence authorization would give the FBI the ability to demand individuals’ email data and possibly web-surfing history from their service providers without a warrant and in complete secrecy.

If passed, the change would expand the reach of the FBI’s already highly controversial national security letters. The FBI is currently allowed to get certain types of information with NSLs — most commonly, information about the name, address, and call data associated with a phone number or details about a bank account.

Since a 2008 Justice Department legal opinion, the FBI has not been allowed to use NSLs to demand “electronic communication transactional records,” such as email subject lines and other metadata, or URLs visited.

The spy bill passed the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday, with the provision in it. The lone no vote came from Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., who wrote in a statement that one of the bill’s provisions “would allow any FBI field office to demand email records without a court order, a major expansion of federal surveillance powers.”

Bill would expand FBI's warrantless access to online records, senators warn

While NSLs typically apply to phone or banking records and email addresses, the bill, which cleared the Senate intelligence panel on Tuesday by a 14-1 vote, appears to change the scope of the longstanding term “electronic communications transaction records”.

“While this bill does not clearly define ‘electronic communication transaction records’, this term could easily be read to encompass records of whom individuals exchange emails with and when, as well as their login history, IP addresses, and internet browsing history,” Ron Wyden, a Democrat from Oregon who voted against the bill, told the Guardian.

Wyden’s colleague on the panel, Democrat Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, said in a Thursday statement that the measure represents “a massive expansion of government surveillance that lacks independent oversight and potentially gives the FBI access to Americans’ email and browser histories with little more than the approval of a manager in the field”.

Heinrich voted for the bill because of its other provisions. His office said he would seek to remove the NSL expansion when it comes to the Senate floor.

Chelsea Manning completes six years in military custody for whistleblowing

The US army intelligence analyst, who has appealed to reduce 35-year sentence, has endured the most severe punishment ever given to a whistleblower

Chelsea Manning, the US army intelligence analyst who leaked a huge cache of state secrets to WikiLeaks, has entered her seventh year in military custody amid renewed concern about the Obama administration’s harsh treatment of whistleblowers.

Manning, 28, was arrested at the Forward Operating Base Hammer outside Baghdad on 27 May 2010 and has endured traumatic times during her return to the US and prolonged detention in solitary confinement. ...

The anniversary of Manning’s arrest and detention comes as the spotlight has again fallen on the Obama administration’s tough approach to pursuing whistleblowers. John Crane, former head of the Pentagon’s whistleblower unit, revealed this week that instead of providing a safe channel for government employees to report internal wrongdoing, the system actively retaliates against them for daring to sound the alarm. ...

WikiLeaks’ founder and editor, Julian Assange, speaking from the Ecuadorean embassy in London where he is fighting extradition to Sweden to face questioning on sexual assault allegations, said that Manning had already won the moral battle: “Every year, new whistleblowers step forward to follow her example. Now it is time for Manning to win her legal battle. The only just outcome in Chelsea Manning’s case is her unconditional release, compensation for the unlawful treatment she has undergone, and a serious commitment to investigating the wrongdoing her alleged disclosures have brought to light.”

National Propaganda Radio is doing its best to support Hillary Bloodyhands.

Obama Plays a Dove in NPR’s Historical Fiction

The second thing NPR wants you to know about Hillary Clinton and foreign policy—after “she’s Experienced”—is “she’s more hawkish than President Obama.” White House correspondent Scott Horsley (All Things Considered, 5/17/16) says:

Clinton is less reticent when it comes to deploying military force than President Obama. While she hasn’t advocated large-scale ground operations, she has pushed for the creation of “safe zones” in Syria, and she was a strong advocate for the US military intervention in Libya.

... But what is the evidence that Obama is “reticent when it comes to deploying military force” in the first place? He’s bombed at least seven countries during his time in office—Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen and Libya, and drone strikes continue in all of these but Libya. The deadliest airstrikes, those against ISIS-held territory in Iraq and Syria, have killed more than 25,000 people, according to US officials.

Obama currently has troops on the ground in at least six countries: Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Cameroon, Uganda and Yemen. In his biggest commitment of ground forces, he sent 50,000 troops to Afghanistan, doubling the US presence there. (I say “at least” because Obama has a great enthusiasm for deploying Special Forces, most of whose operations are classified.)

[See article for excellent comparisons of the imperial adventures of all of the post-ww2 US presidents. - js]

Barack Obama appears to have engaged in direct combat operations against more foreign nations than any other post–World War II president. ... Obama probably out-hawks Bush senior, given that their most intense wars (Desert Storm and ISIS) have similar death tolls, and Obama had more smaller wars; how you rank Bill Clinton depends on whether you count the deadly sanctions regime against Iraq as a part of the ongoing military operation or not.

NPR glosses over all this history, presenting Obama as a relative dove in a way that suggests that its institutional memory doesn’t reach back much before the 21st century. Its presentation of Hillary Clinton as the Goldilocks commander-in-chief—more hawkish than Obama, more dovish than George W. Bush—helps to establish the constant military intervention of the “War on Terror” era as the new normal.

Kai Bird on Hiroshima & Obama's Calls for World Without Nukes

No, You Can’t Have a Small Nuclear War

In the event of a rapidly escalating conflict with the Russians, should the United States conduct a “limited” nuclear strike to coerce the enemy to back down? Or, in Cold War nukespeak, should the United States “escalate to deescalate” the situation?

Believe it or not, that is a real question that is being debated in the Pentagon today. And the answer is no. Thinking we can use nuclear weapons in a “limited” way without inviting nuclear catastrophe is a dangerous fantasy. ...

In 1983, amidst heightened tensions with the Soviets, the Reagan administration put the U.S. war-plan to the test in a war game called Proud Prophet.

According to author and Defense Department advisor Paul Bracken, it was unlike any other war game in Cold War history. Whereas most other war games cast staffers from think tanks, former administration officials and pentagon employees in the roles of U.S. president or Soviet commanders, Proud Prophet involved actual U.S. national-security decision-makers, including Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger and the chairman of the joint chiefs.

Furthermore, “to make it as realistic as possible, actual top-secret U.S. war plans were incorporated into the game … [making it] the most realistic exercise involving nuclear weapons ever played by the U.S. government during the Cold War,” Bracken wrote. ...

The result? “Many of the strategic concepts proposed to deal with the Soviet Union were revealed to be either irresponsible or totally incompatible with current U.S. capabilities and immediately thrown out.”

Chief among them were the use of limited de-escalatory nuclear strikes. Like in our hypothetical scenario above, “the idea behind these was that once the Soviet leaders saw that the West would go nuclear they would come to their senses and accept a ceasefire … they were supposed to limit a nuclear war.”

But that isn’t how it played out.

“The Soviet Union team interpreted the nuclear strikes as an attack on their nation, their way of life and their honor,” Bracken wrote. “So they responded with an enormous nuclear salvo at the United States.

“The United States retaliated in kind."

Hiroshima Survivor Setsuko Thurlow Recalls U.S. Bombing

On President Obama’s Hiroshima Visit

President Obama will be the first sitting U.S. president to visit Hiroshima since the bombing 71 years ago in 1945.

Japan seeks not an apology or reparation but an awareness and intimate connection to the common humanity we all share and that is at once threatened by the continued existence of nuclear weapons.

Any nation that continues to keep these weapons is not more secure or powerful but rather a bully ready to threaten others and indeed themselves.

Current scientific and medical research has drawn an even closer connection between nuclear war and catastrophic climate change. We now recognize that a small regional nuclear war for example between Pakistan and India using 100 Hiroshima size bombs and representing less than ½% of the global nuclear arsenals would put at risk the lives of 2 billion people on the planet from the global famine that would follow.

The weapons on a single U.S. Trident submarine can produce this same disaster. The U.S. has 14 of them, plus a fleet of land based missiles and strategic bombers.

The old adage of MAD for Mutually Assured Destruction is now better termed SAD for Self Assured Destruction as whomever would unleash such an attack would put their own people at risk from this climate change becoming defacto suicide bombers.

We must ignore the voices who continue to promote the myth of nuclear deterrence which in reality is the greatest driver of the arms race. They do so out of ignorance on the effects of these weapons, suicidal ideation or financial gain from the purveyors of these weapons of extinction.

‘Flow of trucks carrying weapons and ammunition from Turkey continues’ – Russian military

US Special Forces Increasingly Involved in Syrian Kurdish Combat Operations

The Pentagon today reiterated that the US special forces on the ground in Syria are in a purely non-combat role, despite a new spate of photographs showing the troops embedded with Kurdish YPG forces in combat operations.

The photos showed the US Green Berets wearing the insignia of the Kurdish YPG on their uniform, likely to be a topic of contention with US ally Turkey, who considers the YPG to be a terrorist organization. Pentagon officials say it is “fairly common” for US troops to wear other factions’ insignia. ...

Pentagon officials have twice confirmed US troops inside Syria participated in Kurdish combat operations, above and beyond the engagement shown in the new photographs. Despite this, the official narrative that they would never participate in combat operations remains unchanged, with some officials seemingly determined to keep up this pretense at all costs.

Battle for Fallujah: Civilians evacuated from first Iraqi city taken by Islamic State group

Israeli Minister: Lieberman’s Appointment None of America’s Business

Israeli Tourism Minister Yariv Levin, a top figure in Israel’s ruling Likud Party, issued a statement blasting the US State Department’s comments on Avigdor Lieberman, the nation’s incoming defense minister, saying the makeup of the Israeli government is a purely “internal matter” and none of America’s business.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office has so far refused to comment on the matter, while Lieberman sought to reassure Western officials by insisting that he would act in a “responsible manner” and pursue peace with the nation’s neighbors.

French labour reform: Prime Minister's neck could be on the line

Cops and Protesters Clash in Paris as Strike Shuts Down France’s Nuclear Plants

Nuclear power plants in France joined the nationwide industrial action this week, as protests against a controversial labor reform law escalated into more violence.

A spokesperson for French trade union CGT told AFP that 19 refineries had voted to join the strike. At the Gravelines nuclear power station, in the north of France, disgruntled employees burned tires in the road and handed out anti-reform law flyers. Workers also picketed outside the Tricastin nuclear site, in the south of France. Even though production has slowed down, officials were not anticipating any power outages as a result of the industrial action. According to AFP, ten nuclear power stations reported lowered production Thursday.

Earlier in the week, workers went on strike in the country's oil refineries, triggering a huge fuel shortage. Five of the country's eight refineries reported slowed down or stalled production Thursday, as reports came in that workers on the French island of Corsica had joined the movement. According to French daily Le Figaro, picketers and members of the CGT barred access to the island's two oil depots. On Wednesday, the government started dipping into its emergency fuel reserves, using up three of the country's 115 days of strategic gas reserves. ...

Dock workers also joined the movement this week, with industrial action expected in "most [French] ports," reported Les Échos. Speaking Wednesday to a reporter from French daily Le Monde, the general secretary of the local CGT branch in Brest said that, "workers want laws that protect them."

Unions and much of the public fear the proposed law — which is designed to revive France's stagnant job market — will rob workers of hard-earned rights. ...

According to a survey by French pollster Ifop, 62 percent of the French believe the protests against the labor reform are justified.

The Hustle Continues: Why the Feds Haven’t Nailed the Big Banks

Americans still want to see some measure of justice for the misconduct that precipitated the financial crisis. But Monday’s decision by an appeals court to throw out a $1.27 billion civil penalty against Bank of America will surely generate some despair. So few cases have even been attempted that when a successful one gets reversed, it can raise questions about whether there were any good ones to make in the first place.

The truth is that there were cases out there—but the Department of Justice chose not to pursue them. The Bank of America case, though promising at first glance, wasn’t the most fertile ground for true accountability. When DoJ decided in the wake of the crisis to take the path of least resistance by engaging in this inadequate enforcement, what they really did was take a path to letting big banks and their executives off the hook.

The Justice Department initially won the case in U.S. District Court against Bank of America, though it primarily concerned conduct instigated by Countrywide Home Loans, which Bank of America purchased back in 2008. ... A three-judge panel of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the lower court, ruling that while Countrywide breached its contract with Fannie and Freddie by selling them lower-quality loans than promised, the government did not prove what it had to: that Countrywide acted “knowingly and with a specific intent to defraud” at the time that the loans were sold. In other words, the Justice Department didn’t get sufficiently inside the minds of the executives to prove a deliberate scheme to defraud Fannie and Freddie. ...

What could the Department of Justice have done to bring some real justice to the perpetrators? There is an alternative set of cases that could have been brought, involving millions of pieces of documentary evidence of fraud. That’s the misconduct I detail in my new book Chain of Title, and it’s known as foreclosure fraud. Mortgage companies routinely delivered false documents to courts and county recording offices to show standing in foreclosure cases. Otherwise, they didn’t have the evidence necessary to prove they owned the loans.

Fraud upon state courts is in itself a violation of law, requiring no special statute or argument to bring the case. Any police detective would tell you that the way to prosecute the case would be to go up the chain, from who fabricated the document to who authorized it at their company, to which client asked for it, to who at that company authorized that. It would have been slow and meticulous, but if done properly, I have no doubt it would have implicated every major bank on Wall Street, because it was a standard industry practice. And it would have been informed by a paper trail, rather than insinuations about what was in an executive’s mind, as the Countrywide case hinged on.

Watch This Courageous Trial Lawyer Explain How Wall Street Is Like the Gambino Crime Family

Even the IMF—the IMF!—Turns on Neoliberalism

In what may be a sign of a "shifting zeitgeist," a new paper published this week by economists with the International Monetary Fund questions the very neoliberal policies the body has imposed.

Entitled "Neoliberalism: Oversold?" (pdf) the IMF's Jonathan Ostry, Prakash Loungani, and Davide Furceri focus their analysis on two policies of what British writer George Mobiot dubbed the "zombie doctrine": "removing restrictions on the movement of capital across a country's borders (so-called capital account liberalization); and fiscal consolidation, sometimes called 'austerity,' which is shorthand for policies to reduce fiscal deficits and debt levels."

An evaluation of these two neoliberal policies, the authors write, leads to "three disquieting conclusions," As they note in the paper:

The benefits in terms of increased growth seem fairly difficult to establish when looking at a broad group of countries.

The costs in terms of increased inequality are prominent. Such costs epitomize the trade-off between the growth and equity effects of some aspects of the neoliberal agenda.

Increased inequality in turn hurts the level and sustainability of growth. Even if growth is the sole or main purpose of the neoliberal agenda, advocates of that agenda still need to pay attention to the distributional effects.

They go on to note that "since both openness and austerity are associated with increasing income inequality, this distributional effect sets up an adverse feedback loop. The increase in inequality engendered by financial openness and austerity might itself undercut growth, the very thing that the neoliberal agenda is intent on boosting.

The authors add: "The evidence of the economic damage from inequality suggests that policymakers should be more open to redistribution than they are."

[See also: New IMF Paper Challenges Neoliberal Orthodoxy - js]

A Colonial Takeover: Juan González on Puerto Rican Debt Bill

US returns remains of 54 indigenous people to New Zealand

Four mummified Māori heads have been returned to New Zealand as part of the second-largest repatriation of indigenous remains in the country’s history.

Following five years of negotiations, the Smithsonian Institution in the US agreed to return the objects, made up of the remains of at least 54 Māori and Moriori individuals.

Descendants of the people whom the remains belong to were at Te Papa museum in Wellington to extend a powhiri, a traditional Māori welcome.

Haami Piripi, a Māori elder and member of the repatriation team, said the return of the remains has helped to unite disparate Māori tribes across the country, some of whom had historically been at odds.

“Today one of the people being returned was one of my own ancestors,” he said. “It is really a joyful occasion. It is meant to be grieving and mournful, but it is joyful. Our ancestors were whisked away in dubious circumstances centuries ago, and they are finally returning home, after a very long journey.”



the horse race



Clinton’s Imperious Brush-Off of Email Rules

State Department functionaries faced a hopeless task as they tried to spin their own Inspector General’s matter-of-fact critique of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s imperial attitude toward basic security measures everyone else is required by law to follow.

It turns out that she deliberately chose to use a hacker-friendly, unprotected email server, and not so much for convenience – unless you define “convenience” as the ability to operate in total secrecy with no possibility of being held accountable for your policies or behavior. In one email to an aide, Clinton explained, “I don’t want any risk of the personal being accessible.” ...

Pity the State Department spokespeople tasked with putting the best face on the IG’s stark criticism. Media representatives actually posed some direct questions to those applying the cosmetics, who showed themselves far more guilty than Socrates in “trying to make the worst case the better.” At several points, I sensed them wishing some hemlock came in their job jar.

Just doing their job, I know. But it was bizarrely clear that their instructions included taking a bullet for Secretary Clinton. It wasn’t really her fault, you see. It was actually the State Department’s fault, collectively. There were only a few variations on the meme: “We could have done a better job ensuring that people understand security policies;” “We could have done better job at preserving emails;” “We have not lived up to all our obligations.” In other words, “we” failed the Secretary, not that Clinton failed in her duty to ensure that government information was properly secure.

I counted no fewer than 15 examples of this kind of self-criticism, and it was more than a little nauseating. ... The fly in the ointment preventing the usual careful orchestration of such announcements was an early leak of the IG report. Worse still, for the State Department spokespeople, several of the journalists had actually read the report and noticed that its declarative prose did not square with the collective self-flagellation serving as a diversion. Even the mainstream press corps could see through the transparent attempt to direct the public lashes onto a group of whipping boys and girls to spare the ex-Secretary and likely Democratic presidential nominee.

Clinton's Candidacy Will Unite the Corporate World

Clinton says State Department emails report won't affect campaign

Hillary Clinton said on Thursday her campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination would not be affected by a report by an internal government watchdog saying her use of a private email server while secretary of state broke government rules.


Trump-Sanders debate would be Hillary Clinton's worst nightmare

A Donald Trump vs. Bernie Sanders debate in the coming days before the June 7th California primary is getting closer to becoming a reality. If this happens, it will likely be a huge boost for Sanders, a mild aid to Trump, and -- to borrow the key buzz word of this election so far – a YUGE pain in the neck for Hillary Clinton .

For Sanders, this entire election has been a "nothing to lose" proposition. He was given no chance to even make a dent in Mrs. Clinton's inevitable coronation, er presidential nomination, by the Democrats. And as a lifetime Senate backbencher, he was not in danger of losing a chairmanship or leadership position. While it's basically impossible for Sanders to overtake Clinton in the delegate battle, the latest PPIC poll shows Sanders trails her by just two percentage points among likely California primary voters.

Needless to say, if Sanders wins this primary it will wound Mrs. Clinton greatly. And Sanders chances to do just that would rise if this debate comes off. The contest would no doubt be the most-watched event in Sanders' political life and Clinton wouldn't even be there to defend herself. For a campaign that's been suffering a number of failures lately, its refusal to debate Sanders and setting off this alternative contest vs. Trump is perhaps the biggest failure yet. She can't even benefit from a sympathy factor if Trump and Sanders get too nasty in attacking her in absentia, because her absence is entirely her own fault.

It's also not wise for Clinton to allow any major campaign event to occur without her participation. With many right wing and progressive voters still hoping she may be disqualified from the race if she is indicted over her State Department email scandal, this kind of "Clinton-less" event gives them a taste of what they've been praying for all year.


Sanders angers Democrats with Trump debate ploy

'It's bullshit,' says Democratic Senator Joe Manchin.

For some Democrats, Bernie Sanders’ latest gambit — challenging Donald Trump to a debate to cap all debates — is the last straw.

“Bullshit,” said Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia. “That confirms what we’ve been saying. Why would you expect Bernie should be considerate or be nice or be working to bring everyone together? Why? He’s not a Democrat.”

The party’s frustrations are boiling over with Sanders as the primary season winds down: Namely that Sanders seems unwilling or unable to admit that Hillary Clinton is on course for the nomination. The ire toward Sanders began earlier this year among the loudest Democratic cheerleaders for Clinton — and now it’s seeping into nearly the entire Senate Democratic caucus. ...

“It’s peculiar,” said Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio). “It’s all about Bernie trying to get the advantage in California. It’s not going to work.”

Senate Democrats have been shadow-boxing with Sanders for months, praising the movement he has built but gently reminding him that Clinton is the favorite and that math is not on Sanders’ side. But Sanders has been defiant, spurning requests for apologies after his supporters erupted at Nevada’s Democratic Convention earlier this month and stoking the debate with Trump. ...

Left out of the conversation altogether, of course, is Clinton, who recently declined to debate Sanders ahead of California's June 7 primary.



the evening greens


Donald Trump would allow Keystone XL pipeline and end Paris climate deal

Donald Trump pledged to cancel the Paris climate agreement, endorsed drilling off the Atlantic coast and said he would allow the Keystone XL pipeline to be built in return for “a big piece of the profits” for the American people.

At an oil and natural gas conference in North Dakota on Thursday, just minutes after he had celebrated hitting the 1,237 delegate mark needed to formally clinch the party’s nomination, Trump gave a speech on energy policy that was largely shaped by advice from Kevin Cramer, a US representative from the state.

Michael Brune, executive director of the Sierra Club environmentalist group said, “There are pools of oil industry waste water that are deeper than Trump’s grasp of energy.”

Trump gave the speech – which Brune also called “a jumbled collection of oil industry talking points that are devoid from reality in the market place” – in a packed arena that generated an atmosphere more like that of a campaign rally than a staid industry conference.

'Nightmare Bacteria' Resistant to All Antibiotics Is Finally Here

A so-called superbug immune to all antibiotics was discovered for the first time in a person in the U.S., reports a study published Thursday in the journal Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy.

The strain of E. coli discovered in a 49-year-old woman in Pennsylvania was found to be resistant to colistin, "the antibiotic of last resort for particularly dangerous types of superbugs, including a family of bacteria known as CRE," reports the Washington Post.

Colistin "was an old antibiotic, but it was the only one left for what I call nightmare bacteria," said Thomas Frieden, chief of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), according to Al Jazeera.

"It's the first time this colistin-resistant strain has been found in a person in the United States," the Post notes. "In November, public health officials worldwide reacted with alarm when Chinese and British researchers reported finding the colistin-resistant strain in pigs, raw pork meat and in a small number of people in China."

Swaziland acting as 'puppet' to South Africa in bid to legalise rhino horn trade

Swaziland has been accused by one of the world’s leading conservationists of being a puppet of South Africa in a bid to open the floodgates to a potentially calamitous legal rhino horn trade.

South Africa appointed a committee to study the idea of trading horn internationally, which has been banned for more than four decades, but the government backed away from such a proposal in April.

Days later, neighbouring Swaziland put forward a proposal for a legal trade, citing the 1,000-plus white rhino poached in South Africa each year.

Dr Richard Leakey, the chair of the Kenya Wildlife Service which burned the biggest ever stockpile of seized horn last month, told the Guardian: “Swaziland will be seen for what is is, a puppet.” Opponents of a legal trade fear it would stimulate the black market, which is driven by demand in south-east Asia.


Also of Interest

Here are some articles of interest, some which defied fair-use abstraction.

America’s Worst Laid Plans

If you thought one Bernie Sanders was good, how about 100 of him?

In Nine Democratic Debates, Not a Single Question About Poverty

Defending Israel’s Attacks on Civilians—A Harbinger for Clinton’s Presidency?

Sanders expects ‘consensus’ on Palestinian rights at party convention

Clinton Chasing Votes With Fracking U-Turn

The Real Story of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

National Park Service Grovels for Corporate Sponsorships, Aims to Sell Branding Rights

To Avoid Regulations, Uber Describes Itself as Either, Neither and Nor

Pair of glasses left on US gallery floor mistaken for art


A Little Night Music

Bonnie Raitt - Love Me Like a Man

Bonnie Raitt, John Lee Hooker - In The Mood

Bonnie Raitt, Keb Mo - No Gettin' Over You

Ray Charles & Bonnie Raitt - Do I Ever Cross Your Mind

Bonnie Raitt & Roy Rogers - Gnawin' On It

Bonnie Raitt & Richard Thompson - Dimming of the Day

Bonnie Raitt - Pride And Joy

Bonnie Raitt - Old Grey Whistle Test 1976



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There is so much here to read, it will take me most of my spare time this weekend. Thank you, I really appreciate it.

On quick question, if you don't mind, when someone (me) creates an essay to post in an hour, where can I go to look it over again? I can't seem to find it. Thank you. It hasn't published yet.

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OLinda's picture

in the dark blue area on the right is "My Account." Click that and there is a menu item for "Drafts." Should be there. I haven't done it, but that sure sounds like it.

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NCTim's picture

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The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself. - Friedrich Nietzsche -

OLinda's picture

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joe shikspack's picture

thanks! and thanks to olinda and tim for the instructions while i was out for dinner and a nice walk.

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The strangest call I ever got (well, one of them) came about an hour ago.

A family member will be away on election day, so requested a mail-in ballot. Still has plenty of time to mail it back, but the caller said, "Hi, I'm calling for Obama/Biden and (X) Democratic County Committee to remind you to mail in your ballot."

Very weird. First, there are two important primaries in my district. Of course Bernie and Hillary, and then there is a corrupt D Representative being aggressively challenged by a Bernie candidate. When I say "Bernie candidate," I mean the candidate has supported Bernie but Bernie, to my knowledge, hasn't supported him, but I'm pretty sure he would.

So I'm really curious as to who was behind this telephone call. I'm a lifelong registered Democrat and never got such a call as I did today. It would have been one thing if it was the corrupt D candidate for Representative who called, but the caller didn't identify themselves as such.

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OLinda's picture

Obama/Biden sounds strange, but they are the top of the Dem hierarchy, so maybe it's normal to say. Someone from the party calling to remind people to mail ballots is normal. They want them in as soon as possible.

I often get calls reminding me, and the only way to get them to stop is to vote. They can access records and see who voted.

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Wink's picture

calls that are "less than legit" including the classic, "remember, Dems vote on Wednesday."

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the little things you can do are more valuable than the giant things you can't! - @thanatokephaloides. On Twitter @wink1radio. (-2.1) All about building progressive media.

Unabashed Liberal's picture

Donald Trump on Friday said it would be “inappropriate” to hold a debate with Bernie Sanders, throwing cold water on an idea that had captivated the political world in recent days.

"As much as I want to debate Bernie Sanders — and it would be an easy payday — I will wait to debate the first place finisher in the Democratic Party, probably Crooked Hillary Clinton, or whoever it may be," Trump said in a statement.

The presumptive GOP presidential nominee added that it "seems inappropriate" to debate the "second place finisher." . . .

Thanks for today's edition of News & Blues, Joe! That Glen Ford has a way with words, doesn't he?

Wink

May have a couple of Tweets to post, when I get some 'stuff' done. Family will start arriving by tomorrow morning, so gotta walk 'the B,' and finish additional chores in preparation.

This holiday is very bittersweet, since we lost our dear Father on Memorial Day many years ago; and, it's the first Memorial Day without my Brother, who was an incredibly good and kind man.

Hey, Everyone have a wonderful and safe Memorial Day weekend!

Bye

Mollie


"Every time I lose a dog, he takes a piece of my heart. Every new dog gifts me with a piece of his. Someday, my heart will be total dog, and maybe then I will be just as generous, loving, and forgiving."--Author Unknown

SOSD Rescues Available For Adoption Or Sponsorship
Taro & Jacky (SOSD)

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Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.

Citizen Of Earth's picture

to debate Bernie. Loud Mouth Lime. He's a Big Bag Of Hot Air.

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Donnie The #ShitHole Douchebag. Fake Friend to the Working Class. Real Asshole.

detroitmechworks's picture

He knows exactly how this ends.

Or he's working for Clinton.

Those are the only two reasons he'd run from a debate GUARANTEED to make MILLIONS.

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I do not pretend I know what I do not know.

detroitmechworks's picture

Which makes me smile.

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I do not pretend I know what I do not know.

So Hillary doesn't want to debate Trump, should she win, so Bill calls Trump and says, "We'll agree to one debate only if you don't debate Bernie."

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Crider's picture

Trump is as dumb as a box of rocks, but he's not stupid.

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OLinda's picture

he's backing out.

...seems inappropriate" to debate the "second place finisher.

Yes, it would be so unlike him to do anything "inappropriate."

He must have heard Bernie on Kimmel last night and got scared. Bernie said re running against Trump that we "would beat him and beat him bad." Hahaha.

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OLinda's picture

Gotta love Glenn. Enjoying watching heads explode. Smile

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joe shikspack's picture

i loved that article, the comments of the democrats were so delightful. my favorite was feinstein saying that bernie is "just trying to draw attention to himself." you could practically hear the haughty sniff at the end of that line. what an awful thing as a politician to be accused of practicing politics. Smile

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You've got to be kidding! This was not Sanders' ploy. The ploy was of the Trump boy.

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snoopydawg's picture

I think a death of a sibling is harder than a death of a parent. Or maybe that is just my experience.
My brother died from AIDS in 92 and his death sent me into a deep, deep spiral. I pretty sure that I had a mental breakdown of some type. It took a lot of therapy and support from my friends to help me get through that. I came so close to suicide during that time. If it wasn't for having a sick dog that needed me and on a literal leash one night, I wouldn't be here.
My mom died at the end of January and while I miss her, I'm accepting her death much easier than I did my brother's.

I hope your day is full of happy memories of both your dad and your brother, Mollie.
Give the B a scratch for me.

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Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

Unabashed Liberal's picture

'69' three days ago (24th); so, that was also a very sad day. (His passing was shocking, partly because he was thought to be in excellent health--walked several miles a day, until he suffered a massive heart attack.) Regarding my Father, I adored him, too--just ask me if he wasn't 'perfect.'

Wink

Gave 'the B' some pats, and we're getting ready to take our last extended stroll for the day. Recently, found out that he has Spondylosis Deformans--thankfully, a small portion of his spine, since it's similar to a bone spur--so, while it's still good for him to exercise, I take him out for shorter walks, just more often. He's on two supplements, the same as humans take for arthritic conditions.

Hey, you and your furbabies have a nice, and safe long weekend, as well. I hope you're fortunate to have weather as nice as we're expecting!

Mollie


"Every time I lose a dog, he takes a piece of my heart. Every new dog gifts me with a piece of his. Someday, my heart will be total dog, and maybe then I will be just as generous, loving, and forgiving."--Author Unknown

SOSD Rescues Available For Adoption Or Sponsorship
Taro & Jacky (SOSD)

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Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.

snoopydawg's picture

And this year was doubley difficult

What is the B taking? Abby has arthritis but the drug that used to help her didn't work this time. I have her on glucosamine and chrondoitin and it's helped the arthritis, but she has something wrong with I think her knee. She doesn't have any problems during our walks, but doesn't like to put weight on her leg after. It doesn't matter how short or long our walks are, she still limps at night.
During the summer we took another walk at night, but I'd have to leave Abby home and that would break my heart. Hers to I think. Plus I don't think Charlie will go without her. I dropped Abby at the groomers last week and Charlie howled the whole time driving home. But I might try leaving her home because Charlie is finally getting the beagle body. In other words, fat. And she's so tiny anyway

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Unabashed Liberal's picture

health supplement called Cosequin.

(The Standard formula which contains Glucosamine and MSM). Eventually, he may have to take the formula that also contains Chondoritin Sulfate, and/or take pain medication.

Mollie


"If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went."--Will Rogers
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Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.

and younger than me (and I'm the oldest). I think I still haven't gotten over the loss of the second one, it's been almost 3 years, I've been "not myself" since then (and thank FSM for hubby). The loss of siblings strikes so deep-they shared your childhood with you in a way that no-one else can. My condolences, and a heartfelt hug.

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Unabashed Liberal's picture

empathetic sentiments.

My belated condolences to you. I understand how you feel--it also takes me a bit longer than some to recover from the loss of a loved one. And, while it's hard to lose someone who's older, and always been there, it's certainly extremely difficult to lose someone who's younger--whom you've not only loved, but nurtured.

Hey, hope you have a nice and safe Memorial Day weekend!

Mollie


"Every time I lose a dog, he takes a piece of my heart. Every new dog gifts me with a piece of his. Someday, my heart will be total dog, and maybe then I will be just as generous, loving, and forgiving."--Author Unknown

SOSD Rescues Available For Adoption Or Sponsorship
Taro & Jacky (SOSD)

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Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.

Wink's picture

years for my cousin to get over the violent death of his brother. He's still not "back to normal," but he's getting there.

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the little things you can do are more valuable than the giant things you can't! - @thanatokephaloides. On Twitter @wink1radio. (-2.1) All about building progressive media.

Bob Arum’s Top Rank Promotions has offered to promote a proposed Donald Trump vs. Bernie Sanders debate, pledging to donate the proceeds, a minimum of $20 million, to charity.

“It’s the debate of the century between two of the top pound-for-pound politicians in the country — Mr. Trump, the Republican Party’s presumptive nominee and Senator Sanders, the Democratic candidate,” Mr. Arum said in a press release. “We have two contenders ready, willing and able to go mano a mano over the most important issues facing the United States. And I am ready to promote it.”

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/may/27/bob-arum-offers-20-milli...

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OLinda's picture

He must have made that offer before Trump chickened out.

"We have two contenders ready, willing and able..."

One of the contenders is no longer ready or willing, and obviously is not able either. Damn.

Maybe for 20 mil to charity, Trump can be talked back into it. He has nothing to gain from it however, so I am sure his advisors are telling him no way.

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joe shikspack's picture

is trump not a charitable man? surely that sort of charitable gift is worth a few hours of his time?

heh.

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NCTim's picture

Trump was trying to appear magnanimous, but never intended to debate. His calculus was thought nobody would donate $10M, which is a sign of just what a simpleton Trump is.

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The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself. - Friedrich Nietzsche -

If he got to keep the $10 million. He probably needs it for his GE campaign. Probably kicking himself for saying the money would go to charity.

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joe shikspack's picture

i guess trump just made a lot of establishment democrats very relieved. heh, perhaps bernie ought to hire hillary and trump impersonators to debate. Smile

i hope that you have a great memorial day weekend and find comfort for your losses.

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mimi's picture

that the EB is one of the rare places, where the comments lift me up and make me smile, the music calms me down and the news and videos are always of a kind I can get interested and exited about. There aren't much places like that, actually probably none. Isn't that outrageously fantastic?

I feel already much better.

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joe shikspack's picture

glad to hear it.

have a great weekend!

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Unabashed Liberal's picture

Trump and Hillary impersonators, that is!

Mollie

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Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.

joe shikspack's picture

kate mckinnon? does a dead-on impression of clinton. i'm not nearly as impressed with the guy who plays trump in snl's sketches.

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GreyWolf's picture

Viewing the article about the King of Drones, our assassination president, it occurs to me that dropping all those bombs is Pres. Obama's version of economic stimulus.

You know, investing in this country's infrastructure, so to say. (Meaning: he is granting gifts to the 1% who invested in Raytheon and Lockheed-Martin. Profits for corporations, whose shareholders may be good patriots living in Hong Kong, Geneva and Abu Dhabi, are the citizens Obama and Janet Yellen are worried about.)

Those trouble makers at the IMF who are talking trash should be worried about a possible drone strike ... ;->

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joe shikspack's picture

i suppose if you look at it just right, obama's drone mania is a jobs program of sorts.

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GreyWolf's picture

I assumed you knew that was snark ;->
(... if you look at it just right ... from a neoliberal perspective ...)

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GreyWolf's picture

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Arrow's picture

Hi and thanks Joe for all the news and Bonnie Raitt.

Now about all this Dem purity test stuff.

Always post them this vid:

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I want a Pony!

joe shikspack's picture

heh, that sort of actual democrat is just as popular with our corpodems as this one:

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MarilynW's picture

who destroyed our environmental regulations, and etc. Read all about it. His flunkies created a Twitter hashtag for us Canadians to thank him for a "wonderful" 8 years of his term in office as conservative Premier. But it backfired very nicely. The flunkies didn't know much about Twitter. If you want to know why most Canadians hate him check it out. #ThankYouStephenHarper

https://twitter.com/hashtag/thankyoustephenharper

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To thine own self be true.

joe shikspack's picture

glad to see that the twittersphere let harper know just where he stands.

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Gerrit's picture

good stuff.

My word, the effing IMF is having a Damascene conversion. I just about fell off my horse...
I was a young strategic planning consultant working in rural South Africa when the effing IMF's horseshit neoliberal policies further wrecked what apartheid had already crashed. They've enriched the post-war generations of global elites and widened income inequality all over the globe. While wrecking what little was working and screwing the local social fabric, local infrastructure, and the local environment. Had Dante known the IMF and WB, he'd have created a special circle in hell just for them: like a level 81/2 in between the fraudsters and the traitors in level 9.

Those ahem, stupidheads, and their local consultants would drone on over their stupidhead slide projections and none of us who actually worked with rural organizations thought they made a lick of sense, but oh my, the local elites saw the scam & skim heavens open up and the next thing you knew someone had approved the dogdammed stupidhead scheme and proceed to royally fuck up local people's lives. Not to mention how they always had a stream of locusts follow them: consultants, political visitors, spooks, PROs, corporate wankers, the whole effing Ringling circus.

If I was king of da woild, there's a quick list of bugs to exterminate on day one: IMF, World Bank, CIA, arms traders, and every single effing "developmental" organization in the world. Anyway, I'll shut up for now. Effing IMF. Sixty effing years of fucking poor people everywhere. Shutting up now, 3,2,1, shut.

Hah-hah, joe, you must be used to us getting cranked up over the EB :=) Enjoy your evening, folks!

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Resilience: practical action to improve things we can control.
3D+: developing language for postmodern spirituality.

joe shikspack's picture

Hah-hah, joe, you must be used to us getting cranked up over the EB :=)

i'd be worried if you didn't. i feel better when people share my sense of outrage. i'll feel even better than that when there are enough of us that feel that way that we can force some changes.

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mimi's picture

i shut down. I am too down anyhow. If we could just forget all of it and get it out of our minds.

Enjoy something, gerrit. We just having to look out for it.

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Gerrit's picture

we're all in this together and for the encouragement. I hope you have a good and peaceful weekend and do some happy things. It's hot as hades here and thankfully we had an early evening rain; it cleared out some of the humidity. It drowned my seedling, but I spent a happy hour outside making sure they're not waterlogged. I was real worried about my little roses, never mind the veggies! I've got ten rose seedlings in peat moss and more coming hopefully. They're at the slender-slender stage just with the first leaf florets and so delicate. But they look all right, so that cheered me up a lot :=) Enjoy your evening, mimi,

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Resilience: practical action to improve things we can control.
3D+: developing language for postmodern spirituality.

mimi's picture

an air conditioner. Oh well, I wished I could look over your shoulder how you are gardening. I have to fight the crab grass. And cover the ground with something that can even beat the crab grass. That's the crap part of my garden experiences. Smile

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Gerrit's picture

management depends on your lawn philosophy. I think manicured lawns are not worth it. I'm tolerant of the other grasses and many "weeds." So I don't fight crab grass; I just make it a bit difficult for them. Mow a bit higher, wash away the winter street salt from the front lawn, don't water the lawn more than once a week to prevent seeds germinating, mow high but more often in the late summer to halt seed formation, always reseed bare spots with lawn grass seed, feed the lawn grass good, stuff like that. And most of all, don't let them worry me :=) Enjoy your day, my friend,

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Resilience: practical action to improve things we can control.
3D+: developing language for postmodern spirituality.

mimi's picture

not in the lawn. And I don't water my lawn.
As I am in the middle of selling this place, I closed all veggie beds and still would like to get rid of some flower beds, just to make it easy.
I realize that all my neighbors, who are more from the South, don't grow much at all in their backyards I think they know that with this climate and with this soil it's either all lawn or all beds have "decorative ground cover plants" that keep the crappy crab grass out of sight.

It's too hot and humid here, or it's dry and everything turns into soil that reminds me of concrete. you need a sledgehammer and I risk to crush my own feet with them.
Smile
Take care.

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mythology since well before greece. Tells you who the real power players are, no?

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NCTim's picture

Manchin gives Joe a bad name. The strong and brave Donald Trump is backing away from debating Bernie. Cuz he is strong and brave,

I knew Jon Cleary had to be nearby.

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The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself. - Friedrich Nietzsche -

joe shikspack's picture

manchin may be my least favorite senator joe since tailgunner joe mccarthy.

that jon cleary is a fine piano player.

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NCTim's picture

JC is the songwriter too

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The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself. - Friedrich Nietzsche -

NCTim's picture

Check out the Tom Anderson David Crosby is holding.

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The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself. - Friedrich Nietzsche -

joe shikspack's picture

lovely flamed maple top! it's enough to give a fella gas. (guitar acquisition syndrome)

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NCTim's picture

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The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself. - Friedrich Nietzsche -

Raggedy Ann's picture

Thanks for Bonnie Raitt. I've seen her many times in concert and have her CD's. One of my favorites!

Such heavy news for a Friday. The weight of America is on our shoulders and it's starting to show. Is it the end of the empire? Me thinks only Bernie can save it, but then again I might be putting too much into that.

Big man Herr Drumpf is the coward I thought he was all along. Bernie is scary. He's got hrc in a panic - Herr Drumpf must realize he won't stand a chance next to Bernie.

Have a lovely weekend, joe and everyone. Be safe. Pleasantry

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"The “jumpers” reminded us that one day we will all face only one choice and that is how we will die, not how we will live." Chris Hedges on 9/11

joe shikspack's picture

bonnie raitt has been a favorite of mine since the 70's, i'm glad that she turned out to be one of the durable musicians of our time.

it's hard to imagine what put trump off. if he shows up and acts halfway decently towards bernie, he will be able to rip up clinton before a huge, er, yuge teevee audience for a couple of hours. both trump and sanders could be big winners and clinton would be a big loser.

have a good weekend!

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Gerrit's picture

deal. Soon as the bluffer figures out he's gonna be in the ring alone with the real deal, he backs the hell away fast as a little boy faced with a big spider in the school outhouse.

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Resilience: practical action to improve things we can control.
3D+: developing language for postmodern spirituality.

Her singing on Black and White as a backup was a gift:

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Gerrit's picture

your weekend, eh! Cheers,

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Resilience: practical action to improve things we can control.
3D+: developing language for postmodern spirituality.

Raggedy Ann's picture

You nailed it on Herr Drumpf! Such a coward. Have a good one!

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"The “jumpers” reminded us that one day we will all face only one choice and that is how we will die, not how we will live." Chris Hedges on 9/11

interview is pretty interesting. I didn't know the Madoff scam was as simple as taking money for stocks but then just keeping the money instead of actually buying any stocks. It doesn't get any easier than that.

Love the Bonnie Raitt .....thanks.

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joe shikspack's picture

i think that just about everybody was surprised at both the simplicity of madoff's scam and how long he managed to get away with it. of course, it wouldn't have lasted nearly as long as it did without the help of the behemoth banks that enjoyed holding on to his enormous cash deposits.

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It is always nice when the big guys watch out for you, there is certainly that. Plus I agree with you that it was probably very enjoyable for them to hold on to such large sums of cash. I guess that would be a win-win.

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mimi's picture

the most must read news collection there is to read every evening. Reading through the list I always think, didn't I know that already, how often have I read about that shit, does it ever end?

I needed your music a lot tonight, am damn down and it's not going away. Thank you for all you do.

I am trying to have a quality time weekend ... hope you all have one too. Good Night, all c99p friends.

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joe shikspack's picture

the news does tend to repeat itself, largely because we rarely ever get further in reform efforts than treating the symptoms of our social/governance problems.

have a great weekend, mimi. i hope that you get some real quality time and whatever's getting you down eases off and leaves you alone.

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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 --

Shahryar's picture

apparently Gary Johnson, the leading candidate for the Prez nom, wants William Weld, former Repub governor of Massachusetts, to be his running mate and the hoi polloi aren't having it, especially since Weld joined the party two weeks ago and doesn't have a clue what those kooks people want.

This is my fear about us starting a new party, that some Demo schmuck would declare himself to be a whatever-it-is we'll call ourselves, and want to jump into a position of power. So good for those Libertarians who booed Weld and who now are reconsidering whether or not they want Johnson!

Speaking of Johnson, I saw a depressing article by one of the nation's more depressing political writers, Chris Cilizza, a doofus of the first order. He wrote that Hillary's new response about the emails and the server is really good! Apparently it doesn't register that she has to keep giving new responses and that is a big part of the problem.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/05/27/hillary-clinto...

It's truly annoying. One thing that shows how clueless he is, he doesn't seem to know that Jill Stein is running. Johnson, being some kind of Republican (now Libertarian) registers on Cilizza's tiny brain but not Stein.

He writes "This is a binary choice election. (Sorry Gary Johnson!) " What a chump! How'd he even get a job? Oh yeah, that's right, he's perfect. A know-nothing who'll say what he's told to say.

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This abject self-righteousness can exist only in a realm where objective self consciousness has lost all meaning and value:
EGO.

And how many stand shouting "USA, USA," whenever we kill an Osama or whomever we think it is who makes us "the greatest."

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NCTim's picture

So happy to see you here.

Just funkin' sayin'

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The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself. - Friedrich Nietzsche -