The Evening Blues - 6-14-17
Hey! Good Evening!
This evening's music features one of the great women blues singers Memphis Minnie. Enjoy!
Memphis Minnie - I Am Sailin'
Man is the only animal that deals in that atrocity of atrocities, War. He is the only one that gathers his brethren about him and goes forth in cold blood and with calm pulse to exterminate his kind. He is the only animal that for sordid wages will march out... and help to slaughter strangers of his own species who have done him no harm and with whom he has no quarrel.
Man is the only animal that robs his helpless fellow of his country — takes possession of it and drives him out of it or destroys him. ...
Man is the only Patriot. He sets himself apart in his own country, under his own flag, and sneers at the other nations, and keeps multitudinous uniformed assassins on hand at heavy expense to grab slices of other people's countries, and keep them from grabbing slices of his. And in the intervals between campaigns he washes the blood off his hands and works for "the universal brotherhood of man" — with his mouth.
-- Mark Twain
News and Opinion
'Staggering' loss of civilian life from US-led airstrikes in Raqqa, says UN
UN war crimes investigators have denounced a “staggering loss of civilian life” caused by the US-backed campaign to reclaim Raqqa, the de facto capital of Islamic State. The independent commission of inquiry tasked with investigating violations of international law, war crimes and crimes against humanity in Syria said the intensification of airstrikes by the United States-led coalition had led to large numbers of civilians being killed or fleeing the city.
The Raqqa operation began last week with a ground assault by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an umbrella group comprised of Kurdish and Arab militiamen armed by the US, and supported by coalition airstrikes. They have already pushed into Raqqa from the east and west, reportedly approaching the old city walls. Citizens have reported intense combat in areas of the city.
“We note in particular that the intensification of airstrikes, which have paved the ground for an SDF advance in Raqqa, has resulted not only in staggering loss of civilian life, but has also led to 160,000 civilians fleeing their homes and becoming internally displaced,” Paulo Pinheiro, chairman of the UN commission of inquiry told the human rights council in Geneva.
The civilian cost of the campaign was highlighted last week when footage emerged of coalition planes deploying white phosphorus in the city, which is home to tens of thousands of civilians, prisoners of war and enslaved Yazidi women, and around a few thousand Isis militants.
Staggering Loss of Life: 'Raqqa is not about protecting civilians'
U.S. strikes against pro-Syrian government forces in self-defense: Mattis
U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said on Tuesday that recent strikes against pro-Syrian government forces in the past few weeks had been in self-defense and the United States would take all measures to protect its forces in Syria. ...
Russia said on Saturday it had told the United States it was unacceptable for Washington to strike pro-government forces in Syria.
War in Syria: On the frontline in Raqqa
Iran says Saudi supports militants on its turf after attacks
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Tuesday Saudi Arabia was supporting militants inside Iran, days after hardline Sunni group Islamic State claimed attacks in Tehran. Zarif also called on countries in the region to establish a regional forum to resolve conflicts.
Relations between the two neighbors are at their most tense in years. Last week Riyadh, along with other Arab governments, severed ties with Qatar, citing its support of Iran as one of the main reasons for the move. Two days later, suicide bombings and shootings in Tehran killed 17 people. Iran repeated accusations that Saudi Arabia funds Islamist militants, including Islamic State. Riyadh has denied involvement in the attacks.
"We have intelligence that Saudi Arabia is actively engaged in promoting terrorist groups on the eastern side of Iran, in Baluchistan," Zarif told a news conference held on the sidelines of a conference on peace mediation in Oslo. Baluchistan province is home to a Sunni population who form a minority in majority Shi'ite Iran.
Senate Votes With Record Opposition to Saudi Arms Sale — but Not Enough to Put On Brakes
Following a last-ditch lobbying effort by the Trump administration, the Senate narrowly rejected a measure condemning a $500 million weapons sale to Saudi Arabia, which is engaged in a brutal bombing campaign in Yemen.
During his visit to Saudi Arabia, President Donald Trump praised the war in Yemen and signaled his intention to make a total $110 billion weapons package to the Persian Gulf kingdom. That prompted Sens. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., Rand Paul, R-Ky., and Al Franken, D-Minn., to introduce a resolution of disapproval against the sale of precision-guided weapons, pointing out that Saudi Arabia had used U.S. weapons to target civilians in Yemen. The resolution would have forced the Senate to vote on whether to block the transfer.
The measure, however, failed by a narrow margin of 47 to 53. The vote was much closer than a similar measure in September, which failed 71 to 27. ... On Tuesday, only five Democrats voted against the resolution — Virginia’s Mark Warner, Missouri’s Claire McCaskill, West Virginia’s Joe Manchin, Florida’s Bill Nelson, and Indiana’s Joe Donnelly.
Senate proposes new Russia sanctions as punishment for meddling in election
The US Senate is expected on Wednesday to take a major step toward new sanctions against Russia as punishment for meddling in the US presidential election. The legislation would also restrict the White House from easing sanctions in the future without congressional approval.
The amendment, which will be attached to a bill that would strengthen sanctions on Iran, would codify the existing sanctions against Russia established by Barack Obama’s executive orders and impose new sanctions against Moscow for its interference in the 2016 elections, aggression in Ukraine and support for the Syrian government. The agreement would also establish a process for Congress to review any attempt by Donald Trump to relax, suspend or terminate the sanctions.
Under the amendment, sanctions would be imposed on Russians who have been found guilty of human rights abuses, have supplied weapons to the Assad regime or have conducted cyber-attacks on behalf of the Russian government, among other categories. The measures would target key sectors of the Russian economy, including mining, metals, shipping and railways.
Here's the intro to an interesting article:
How Vladimir Putin Sees the World
There was a time when I thought that it was the responsibility of an American journalist to hear all sides of a dispute and then explain the issue as fairly as possible to the American people, so they would be armed with enough facts to make their own judgments and act as the true sovereigns in a democracy. I realize how naïve that must sound today as American journalism has shifted to a new paradigm in which the major news outlets view it as their duty to reinforce whatever the establishment narrative is and to dismiss or discredit any inconvenient facts or alternative analyses.
Today, The New York Times, The Washington Post and the rest of the mainstream media permit only the narrowest of alternative views to be expressed or they just pile into the latest groupthink whole hog. So, that is why director Oliver Stone’s four-part series of interviews with Russian President Vladimir Putin on “Showtime” will surely draw near-universal outrage and ridicule from the big U.S. media. How dare anyone let Putin explain how he views the challenges facing the world? Can you believe that any right-thinking American would treat the Russian leader with civility and – god forbid – respect?
The new American media paradigm requires either endlessly insulting Putin to his face or aggressively blacking out his explanations, especially if they are based on information that puts the U.S. government in a negative light. The American people must be protected from this “Russian propaganda and disinformation.” In other words, with the mainstream “guardians of truth” forewarning the American people not to watch Stone’s “The Putin Interviews,” the series will probably draw a relatively small viewership and the demonizing of Putin and Russia will continue unabated.
The American public can thus be spared some disturbing historical revelations and the unsettling vertigo that comes from hearing information that disrupts “what everyone knows to be true.” In the “director’s cut” or long-form version of the four-part series that I watched, Stone does allow Putin to offer detailed explanations of his thinking on current crises, but also draws from Putin acknowledgements that might be surprising coming from a Russian leader. He also puts Putin in some uncomfortable binds.
Theresa May Puts Peace in Northern Ireland at Risk to Remain U.K. Prime Minister
Two decades of peace in Northern Ireland could be at risk if the United Kingdom’s new government relies on the support of Ulster’s Democratic Unionist Party, which represents one of the two formerly warring sides, former Prime Minister John Major said on Tuesday.
“I think the peace process is fragile,” Major, a former Conservative Party leader, told the BBC. Major shared his concern as his party’s current leader, Prime Minister Theresa May, was working to strike a deal with the DUP leader, Arlene Foster, that would allow the Conservatives to form a government with the support of the Ulster unionists. ...
“A fundamental part of that peace process is that the U.K. government needs to be impartial between all the competing interests in Northern Ireland,” Major said. “And the danger is that however much any government tries, they will not be seen to be impartial if they are locked into a parliamentary deal at Westminster with one of the Northern Ireland parties.”
“The last thing anybody wishes to see,” Major added, “is one or other of the communities so aggrieved that the hard men, who are still there lurking in the corners of the community, decide that they wish to return to some form of violence.”
Jeff Sessions Said "I Don't Remember" or "I Don't Recall" 26 Times During Senate Intel Testimony
Trump’s FBI Pick Backed Mass Detentions After 9/11
Donald Trump’s pick to be FBI director was at the center of a controversial immigrant detentions in the immediate wake of 9/11, when dozens of people were spirited away to maximum security prisons and kept from communicating with their families and lawyers––sometimes for weeks.
A government watchdog report shows Christopher Wray and an associate at the Justice Department directed the Bureau of Prisons to keep detainees from having access to lawyers for as long as possible––a move civil liberties advocates find worrisome, and which casts light on how the man who may soon helm the FBI views the relationship between Constitutional rights and national security.
On September 11, 2001, Wray was working in the Deputy Attorney General’s office in downtown Washington D.C. After the attacks, government lawyers rushed to find what steps they could take to try to forestall any other potential attacks. One of the most controversial moves was by the Immigration and Naturalization Service (a now-defunct agency whose responsibilities were passed on to the Department of Homeland Security). The INS detained more than 700 people who the FBI suspected could have been linked to the 9/11 attacks. According to the watchdog report, issued by the Justice Department’s inspector general in April 2003, almost all were men, mostly from Pakistan, Egypt, Turkey, Jordan, India, and Yemen. They had all committed some sort of immigration violation, either staying longer than their visas allowed or entering the U.S. illegally.
Republican senators nearly done drafting secretive healthcare proposal
Republican senators are closing in on a draft proposal to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. But that’s about all lawmakers will say about their plan to overhaul the American healthcare system – an effort that will affect millions of Americans and impact one-sixth of the US economy.
For weeks, since the House passed legislation to dismantle major pieces of the Affordable Care Act, a coterie of Republican senators – initially, an all-male group – have met privately to hammer out their version of a healthcare overhaul plan. On Tuesday, Donald Trump invited 15 Republican senators to a luncheon at the White House to discuss their progress on the healthcare bill.
During the meeting, Trump told the senators that he believed House plan was “mean” and urged them to craft one that is “more generous”, according to the Associated Press. ...
But the shape and substance of that plan remain a mystery as senators have refused to share details about the negotiations publicly despite a determination to hold a vote on the bill before the Fourth of July recess – and if not by then, before the August recess a few weeks later.
Treasury Secretary Mnuchin Wants to Put a Bigger Blindfold on Consumers
The next leg of the insatiable Wall Street heist has begun under the new U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. Under the guise of empowering Americans “to make independent financial decisions,” the Treasury released its set of recommendations for financial reform on Monday. Far from empowering Americans, the new recommendations would effectively place a bigger blindfold on consumers, blocking further their ability to differentiate between serially corrupt financial institutions on Wall Street and those that make an effort at playing by the rules. (The latter being an almost extinct species.)
Wall Street’s fingerprints are all over the Treasury recommendations. The report has singled out for particular scalpel treatment the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), which Wall Street loathes because of its independence. The acronym “CFPB” appears 315 times in the 147-page report. One passage reads as follows:
“A significant restructuring in the authority and execution of regulatory responsibilities by the CFPB is necessary. The CFPB was created to pursue an important mission, but its unaccountable structure and unduly broad regulatory powers have led to predictable regulatory abuses and excesses. The CFPB’s approach to rulemaking and enforcement has hindered consumer access to credit, limited innovation, and imposed unduly high compliance burdens, particularly on small institutions. Treasury’s recommendations include: making the Director of the CFPB removable at will by the President or, alternatively, restructuring the CFPB as an independent multi-member commission or board; funding the CFPB through the annual appropriations process; adopting reforms to ensure that regulated entities have adequate notice of CFPB interpretations of law before subjecting them to enforcement actions; and curbing abuses in investigations and enforcement actions.”
Not one negative accusation in the above passage is accurate. The CFPB has done a Herculean job of preventing the little guy in America from being further fleeced by Wall Street, mortgage servicers and lenders, student loan purveyors, debt collectors, credit card companies and so forth. As for making the Director of the CFPB “removable at will by the President,” our readers should consider how this has worked out for the FBI. As for structuring the CFPB as a “multi-member commission or board” one need only look at the unfilled empty seats on existing regulatory bodies to see how that gambit can be gamed.
Why does it seem that Democrats have their best ideas when there is the least chance of them becoming law?
There’s a New Way to Make Walmart Pay for the Food Stamps Employees Rely On
When WalMart and other low-wage employers fail to pay their employees enough to live decent lives, taxpayers often end up picking the tab for public assistance. Freshman California Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna and nine House co-sponsors are introducing legislation to put an end to the free ride.
The Corporate Responsibility and Taxpayer Protection Act would levy a fee equivalent to the public assistance that a company’s employees are eligible to receive, with the intent to incentivize businesses to pay their employees enough so they don’t need public assistance.
In 2013, Walmart alone cost taxpayers $6.2 billion for expenses such as food stamps, Medicaid, and housing assistance. One study released earlier this year estimated that taxpayers spent $152.8 billion in 2015 as a result of low wages.
Democratic Party refusal to deal with the class and economic issues that, most recently, Bernie Sanders championed is leaving a large opening for the other neoliberal party to coopt disaffected Democrats. So, well, the system is working as intended. Two parties, no solutions, wealth keeps hoovering upwards to the 1%.
GOP Lobby Shop Courts Black and Hispanic Democrats in Vacuum Left by Liberal Establishment
CGCN Group, a Republican lobbying firm with ties to the ultra-conservative Freedom Caucus, has formed a new strategic alliance with four Democratic firms that work closely with the Congressional Black and Hispanic Caucuses. The odd quintuple said that despite wildly diverging politics on a slew of issues, they all have one thing in common: high levels of poverty back home. ...
Entrenched, generational poverty has bred universal anger at Washington, Wall Street, and other elite institutions, which establishment Democrats have yet to figure out how to channel, according to the memo. That creates an opening for Republicans looking to exploit class politics, while using Democratic identity politics as leverage. The preponderance of white faces at Democratic lobby shops, meanwhile, puts such firms at a disadvantage in challenging the attack. ...
At the height of the Democratic primary between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, Clinton built her critique of Sanders on the argument that issues of class and the economy should not dominate the agenda and divert the focus from racism and sexism. ... The new lobbying partnership takes this Clinton argument in a direction she was unlikely to have intended: Since breaking up the banks won’t end racism overnight, let’s not focus on breaking up the banks. Instead, let’s find areas where we agree.
The partnership may be a new one — and, unusually, public — but the strategy is not. In recent years, bank lobbyists have sought out members of the CBC to co-sponsor deregulatory measures, hoping that the caucus’s imprimatur can mark bills as OK for progressives to support.
Establishment Democrat beats liberal challenger in governor's race
Virginia’s lieutenant governor, Ralph Northam, won the Democratic nomination in the closely watched race for governor Tuesday, defeating a more liberal insurgent challenger in a contest to be one of the party’s standard-bearers against Donald Trump. ...
Northam wound up handily defeating the former US congressman Tom Perriello, a more liberal insurgent challenger supported by prominent national Democrats such as senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren as the best candidate to take on Trump. ...
Perriello made a surprise entrance into the race in January and faced an uphill climb from the beginning. He energized many new-to-politics voters who oppose Trump and promised to support a grab-bag of progressive policies, such as raising taxes on the wealthy, using public funds for political campaigns or mandating union membership.
Although he received a large amount of attention and praise from prominent national Democrats, Perriello was ultimately unable to expand the universe of Democratic primary voters enough to counter Northam’s advantages.
Trump sued by 200 Democratic lawmakers over foreign payments
Almost 200 Democratic lawmakers are suing Donald Trump over foreign money flowing into his global business empire. The senators and representatives are plaintiffs in a lawsuit alleging Trump is violating the emoluments clause of the constitution. It is being filed early on Wednesday in the US district court for the District of Columbia, the lawmakers said.
The plaintiffs argue they have standing to sue because the clause says only Congress may approve foreign gifts and payments. “The framers gave Congress a unique role, a unique right and responsibility,” said Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat who helped organize the lawsuit.
Although Trump turned over control of his real estate development, management and marketing company to his adult sons and a senior executive, he did not divest from it. That means he stands to benefit financially from the Trump Organization’s profits, including from foreign governments. Since he has become president, the Trump Organization has secured dozens of potentially valuable patents, including in China, and collected fees from lobbyists working for Saudi Arabia and other countries using his properties.
The new suit – the third of its kind – says the full scope of foreign payments to the Trump Organization cannot be known because the president has not made public his tax returns.
Climate change study in Canada's Hudson Bay thwarted by climate change
Scientists in Canada have been forced to abandon an expedition to the Hudson Bay to research the impact of climate change, after warming temperatures created perilous ice conditions off the coast of Newfoundland.
In late May, 40 scientists from five Canadian universities set off from Quebec City on the icebreaker and Arctic research vessel CCGS Amundsen. The expedition was the first leg of a four-year, C$17m research project designed to delve into the effects of climate change on Hudson Bay.
The icebreaker was soon diverted. Dense ice – up to 8 metres (25ft) thick – had filled the waters off the northern coast of Newfoundland, trapping fishing boats and ferries. “It was a really dramatic situation,” said David Barber, the expedition’s chief scientist. “We were getting search and rescue calls from fishing boats that were stranded in the ice and tankers that were stranded trying to get fuel into the communities. Nobody could manage this ice because it was far too heavy to get through.”
Barber, a climate change scientist at the University of Manitoba, and the other scientists did what they could to help the Coast Guard rescue the vessels and carved a path for the tankers. They also took the time to study the ice that surrounded them, discovering that much of it was the multiyear ice typically seen in the high Arctic. It was an unexpected find, said Barber, given the time of year and how far south they were. “It’s not something you would expect to see there and not something we’ve seen there before,” he said. “In the high Arctic, climate change is causing the ice to get thinner and there to be less of it. What that does is that it increases the mobility of ice.”
Involuntary Manslaughter Charges for Top State Health Official for Role in Flint Water Crisis
Michigan's attorney general announced Wednesday that the head of the state's health department and four others have been charged with involuntary manslaughter for their role in the years-long Flint water crisis. Nick Lyon, director of Michigan Health and Human Services, "failed in his responsibilities to protect the health and safety of the citizens of Flint," state AG Bill Schuette said at a press conference Wednesday.
A press statement from Schuette's office alleges that Lyon waited a year before alerting the public about the outbreak of Legionnaires' Disease as a result of the crisis, an act that led to the death of 85-year-old Robert Skidmore. He also thwarted an independent researcher from investigating the cause of the outbreak, the statement says. Lyon was also charged with misconduct in office.
The others now slapped with involuntary manslaughter charges are former Flint Emergency Manager Darnell Earley; former City of Flint Water Department Manager Howard Croft; Michigan Department of Environmental Quality's Drinking Water Chief Liane Shekter-Smith; and Water Supervisor Stephen Busch. ...
According to Lonnie Scott, executive director of advocacy group Progress Michigan, the new charges stemming from Schuette's investigation "show that the failure in Flint lies squarely at the feet of Governor Rick Snyder."
"Now that these charges have been levied against a top cabinet official, we renew our call for Governor Rick Snyder to immediately resign," Scott added. Yet Snyder, who on Wednesday offered a statement in support of Lyon and Wells, continues to evade accountability.
The Interior Department’s First Memo For Donald Trump Is A Real Howler
In April, with an eye toward selling off public land, President Trump issued an executive order calling for a review of federal land set aside using the Antiquities Act of 1906.
An interim report by the Interior Department was due June 10, focused mainly on the designation of the Bears Ears National Monument, a 1.35 million acre site in Utah encompassing Native American land. The report was to produce recommendations on whether to alter the status of Bears Ears, “and other such designations as the Secretary determines to be appropriate for inclusion in the interim report.” ...
On deadline day, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke delivered to the president a five-page memo, one and a half pages of which consist of long quotes from the executive order. The summary of the report is longer than the “results of the interim review” section on page 5, and the recommendations (to reduce the existing boundary of Bears Ears, convert part of the site to a recreation or conservation area, and more clearly define management responsibilities) are duplicated twice. ...
It’s not clear which exactly is the greater insult to the public — that the administration is clearly determined to sell off even culturally and archaeologically sensitive sites for commercial use whenever possible, or that the administration can’t be bothered to do more than pretend to take concerns with doing so seriously.
Also of Interest
Here are some articles of interest, some which defied fair-use abstraction.
Britain and the US once ran the world. Now they’re all at sea
Intercepted Podcast: The Trump Mixtape — Dante’s Inferno Meets Disco Inferno
Jeff Sessions Can’t Remember Anything
The Real Threat To Wall Street Reform Is The Treasury Department, Not Congress
Party On! Congressional Democrats Pile On to Another Bogus Emoluments Clause Lawsuit
New research may resolve a climate ‘conundrum’ across the history of human civilization
Pay to sway: report reveals how easy it is to manipulate elections with fake news
A Little Night Music
Memphis Minnie - What A Night
Memphis Minnie - Three Times Seven Blues
Memphis Minnie - Shout The Boogie
Memphis Minnie - If You See My Rooster (Please Run Him Home)
Memphis Minnie - Lean Meat Won't Fry
Memphis Minnie & Little Walter - Conjur Man
Memphis Minnie - Keep on Eating
Memphis Minnie + Kansas Joe McCoy - When The Levee Breaks
Memphis Minnie - Chickasaw Train Blues
Memphis Minnie - This Is Your Last Chance
Memphis Minnie - Hot Stuff
Comments
Always good Joe
Should call it: 'All the Blues that's fit to print'
I want a Pony!
evening arrow...
thanks! it was kind of a slow news day aside from the assorted shootings and tower-burnings, not that i object to a chance to catch my breath.
Like the Democrats have room
calling out Trump's corruption. I'm sorry, but I wonder if they end up opening a can of worms that could take them down too? Trump's nothing if not vindictive.
Only a fool lets someone else tell him who his enemy is. Assata Shakur
evening lizzy...
... we should be so fortunate that both parties would be ground down into the mire of their own corruption such that they became obsolete. from your keyboard to the flying spaghetti monster's noodly auditory appendage!
Hey joe, I have a new favorite video.
[video:https://youtu.be/Hom0fYd5uX4]
oNE FOR YOU aL _ CCR
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAFrfw8kSj8]
"You can't just leave those who created the problem in charge of the solution."---Tyree Scott
evening al...
heh, looks like friday night in my high school gym. the only thing missing are the older teachers standing on the perimeter scowling at the girls and muttering things to each other.
[Correction/Edit] Hey, Joe & Comrades! Gonna
drop back by to read and enjoy tonight's EB after I make a quick run into town. At a glance, lots of interesting articles to check out. (Wearing contacts today, due to the heat. So, may make more typos than usual. I'm wearing a monovision lens prescription--not the best for computer work. I've gotten lucky in old age--starting a couple years ago, I only need to wear one contact, for that correction.)
BTW, I mentioned hearing Rich's Dad in another thread. I'll know for sure by tomorrow, if not tonight. After a search, I couldn't turn up a press conference with Rich Senior in it. So, I'm wondering if what I heard--it was on Radio, not TV, so I couldn't see the people, and, I was multi-tasking--was a one of the politicians mentioning Seth Rich--then, going on to mention his own son. (Some of the lawmakers had children at the practice games, from what I understand.) If that is the case, I stand corrected, and will make a point of 'undoing' or correcting my comment.
[EDIT: I finally obtained the CNN transcript, and I was mistaken that the Father of Seth Rich participated in the press conference. As I later suspected when I couldn't search and find the presser, I heard one of the Congressmen make reference to their son. Just before he did so, I 'thought' he or the host mentioned Seth Rich--but the transcript did not show any mention of him. Lesson learned - I should have waited until the transcript was published, which I was going to link to, anyway. My apologies!]
Hey, didn't meant to disparage Martin Lederman the other day. After I thought about it, I guess one could say that he's no more 'biased' for Dems, than the Fox News attorney (Gregg Jarrett) would be for Repubs.
I could be wrong, but I think we'll see an abrupt change in the Dem Leadership attitude after today's shooting. See below.
Later.
Mollie
"Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage."--Lao Tzu
"I think dogs are the most amazing creatures--they give unconditional love. For me, they are the role model for being alive."--Gilda Radner
Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.
evening mollie...
no problem about marty lederman. i appreciate your pointing out where his biases may lay. i used to see his posts occasionally over at jack balkin's blog (balkinization) which had some really interesting legal discussions during the bush years - some really sharp people posted there.
i don't know if the democrats can really do much to tone down their rhetoric, they've been going full-on joe mccarthy on the trump admin for a while and, frankly, it seems like it's all they've got.
it's not like they are going to fight against the republicans by putting forward popular progressive policy.
Of slight interest here I am sure.
I just posted a pic of my face 1 week later. Pretty?
Hey! my dear friends or soon-to-be's, JtC could use the donations to keep this site functioning for those of us who can still see the life preserver or flotsam in the water.
evening riverlover...
i think i missed it. where did you post it?
i hope that you're feeling ok and recovering well.
That is today.
Swelling and bruising relocating. I did not look at my face until tree days after the fall. A shock to me.
Hey! my dear friends or soon-to-be's, JtC could use the donations to keep this site functioning for those of us who can still see the life preserver or flotsam in the water.
Yay Memphis Minnie!
One of my favorites.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
evening cstms...
glad you dig minnie. she was a quite talented and durable blues singer and an excellent guitarist.
Kind of interesting, isn't it?
It's almost like it's on purpose or something. But hey, I'll sleep easier knowing they're hard at work trying to tweak Trump's nose over his business deals or this covfefe nonsense. Sigh.
Idolizing a politician is like believing the stripper really likes you.
evening dr. jc...
well, since they are currently experiencing an infelicitous numerical shortfall, such that they can't bring to fruition any of their stupendously just-barely-significant incremental policy improvements to feed their delusions of adequacy, they have to go with jumping up and down, shouting at things and acting like they are the sort of party someone might vote for if they didn't know that just as soon as they achieve success they will revert to type.
It's a nice racket, isn't it?
I got so used to the excuse (either implied or flat out stated) of "oh, we'd do all these great things, but there's just too many mean old Republicans" that I just accepted it as fact. At least I did until Obama got elected on a platform of hope and change and, for a while anyway, they had the votes, and a clear public mandate, to do a whole bunch of good stuff. Somehow, they managed to ride it out not doing much until they'd put themselves back in a minority position and the excuses started again. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that they seem to want to focus on some petty McResistance nonsense that does nothing to change the average person's life one way or another, but I guess part of me hasn't yet given up hope that this administration could serve as a true wake up call for these clowns. I don't know why I'm hanging on to that notion, as Trump is a lot more like those lawmakers than they are like us.
Idolizing a politician is like believing the stripper really likes you.
covfefe
Covfefe.... isn't that what you get from Starbucks?
"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar
"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides
You can literally say this....
about ANY issue.
For instance:
- Since addressing climate change issues won’t end racism overnight, let’s not focus on addressing climate change issues. Instead, let’s find areas where we agree.
- Since passing single payer health care won’t end racism overnight, let’s not focus on passing single payer health care. Instead, let’s find areas where we agree.
- Since strengthening civil liberties won’t end racism overnight, let’s not focus on strengthening civil liberties. Instead, let’s find areas where we agree.
- Since (insert any policy here) won’t end racism overnight, let’s not focus on (and here). Instead, let’s find areas where we agree.
No policy will end racism overnight, which means there is no policy to focus on.
Which is just how the lobbyists like it.
The current working assumption appears to be that our Shroedinger's Cat system is still alive. But what if we all suspect it's not, and the real problem is we just can't bring ourselves to open the box?
evening nhk...
yep, and that's what has made it such a popular, long-running issue for the democrats. there is no policy that they will ever propose that will end racism - but they are sure fighting it. (pffffttt!!!)
American hubris on full display
I don't know whether to laugh or cry after reading this.
This is easily fixed. Go home. See? Problem solved.
If they really wanted to go after the people responsible for the 9/11 attacks, all they needed to do was go to the Saudi embassy and arrest Bandar 'Bush'. The members of the 9/11 report knew that terrorists who were blamed for the attacks were helped by members of the house of Saud. This was why they covered up any evidence that showed that proved that.
Obama did the same things as the democrats are doing. After the democrats lost their seats in congress and there wasn't a chance in hell that republicans would pass his legislation, he kept bringing up legislation that would help people on Main Street.
And in the 3 months before he left office, he passed a lot of legislation knowing damn well that Trump had 90 or more days to roll it back.
This made it seem like the republicans and Trump were dismantling his legacy, but in reality, nothing had become law yet. This doesn't mean that Trump and the republicans aren't lower than slime crap, it means that Obama is down there with them. And what the democrats are doing is that exact same thing.
evening snoopy...
try both. i recommend laughing until the tears come.
obama is a war criminal. that is his legacy.
if he has another legacy, it is properly expressed something like this:
"yeah, but he made the trains run on time."
Good evening, Joe. Thanks for Minnie, always a good listen.
I love it that we're going to punish Russia for supporting a legitimate government that we are trying to bring down. Isn't that an act of war and hence a war crime?
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 --
evening el...
um, yeah, but we're exceptional. oh, and indispensable. that too.
More American hubris
The US wants to put more sanctions on Russia for interfering with the election, their aggression in Ukraine and their support of its ally the Syrian government. And others have been sanctioned for human rights abuses after they sold weapons.
The United States have meddled in countless country's elections, even going so far as overthrowing at least 50 governments, has invaded countless countries going back two centuries, and is either one of the biggest arms suppliers or is the biggest.
Right now it's using drones in 7-9 countries, has put troops into at least 140+ countries (according to Nick Turse) is supplying weapons to Saudi Arabia for use in Yemen and is refilling their jets and supplying them coordinates for where to use their bombs.
And it's using forbidden chemical weapons in Syria, and not one country has put sanctions on it.
Yep. That is hubris, arrogance and a host of other words.
Meanwhile, its citizens are upset when the people who are getting bombed and see their families die do the same things in their country and the other countries that are helping it.
Good lord, is Jesus coming back soon?
heh...
if jesus came back, america would send a drone after him for being some sort of a commie.
droning Jesus
A drone flown by a very pontious pilot. [ducking!]
"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar
"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides
evening tk...
or perhaps one with a herod-tic?
we keep this up....
.... some of our fellow c99ers might start to cry and fuss!
"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar
"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides
heh...
i'm not sure as i'd blame them. i have a fondness for puns that not everyone shares.
You're right. The C street republicans have decided that Jesus
was wrong when He said that "it's easier for a camel to get through an eye of a needle than it is for rich men to get into Heaven"
They along with the Mormon church have decided that one has to make a shit load of money to get into Heaven. This Mormons know that to get in the highest of 3 levels, they need a lot of money. After that, they get to become gods and rule their own planet. I'm not sure where those other planets are, but I don't have to worry about that cuz I'm not a man. See, only men get to be gods in their next life. I'm probably coming back as a newt or something. Sigh.
buy your way to heaven
Them and $cientology as well. At least $cientology is an equal-opportunity predator; they'll let anybody buy in who's got the cash.
I like the Who's approach in Tommy better: just "one pound seven, thank ye love!"....
/snark
"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar
"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides
Rooster
Here's the Grateful Dead singing about Minnie's Rooster:
[video:https://youtu.be/N2c-MsnXWM8 width:500 height:350]
Wikipedia acknowledges the Memphis Minnie song as an ancestor of this one; per the article, the writing of this fork was done by Willie Dixon.
"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar
"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides
heh...
here's a version of the song that has kinda grown on me over the years:
roy thompson's little red rooster
"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar
"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides
There's a few more covers here
https://caucus99percent.com/content/saturday-song-little-red-rooster
I'm partial to super super blues band, but just because they're having so much fun. (
)
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 --
However did I miss that essay?
punctuation adjusted due to format change
However did I miss that essay?
It must have been the holidays or something....
Anyway, thank you for the linkie and the embed!
"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar
"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides
Good evening joe, JtC, and all! It is evening here in
South Africa but just the next day from when you published. Coming to the EB is a bit like deciding to take the damn malaria prophylaxis tablets on a daily basis: don't like the way it makes us feel but sure as hell don't want to become infected with malaria either.
Kidding of course, we enjoy coming to EB for the music, commeraderie and puns .
We went out of Kruger to a town and bought sim and data time for another provider (Vodacom) and now having much better connections and speeds though still slow.
Thinking about the Repug honchos in the Senate messing with Medicaid really makes me sick. My mother depends on Medicaid for her technical nursing center care for Altzheimers. Wonder if any of my siblings know what is possibly about to go down? Probably not since they get their news the way most do. Sent them all an email back when the house was proposing it but am sure they don't have a clue what to do about the info. Who does?
Twain's quote above is thought provoking but we have learned over the years that lions are also creatures that go to war on their own, even eating the old. Just last week in the Lower Sabie Area tourists reported seeing several males come in and attack females with 10 cubs and pursue one female out of the area. In Zambia one mail reportedly killed a female and ate her.
No real comparison to the killing of civilians on a massive scale like the US has been doing. Still, thought would share about the lions.
Jakkalbessie was driving us across a high river bridge at sunrise when she spotted a male lion down in the river on a white sand bar. Before we knew it we were involved in witnessing some drama between two male lions and another male. This is one of them. Was quite stunning to have him walk right by the little rental car window into my lens. Thankfully he didn't beach slap me through the window as he passed by. Great stuff.
A truth of the nuclear age/climate change: we can no longer have endless war and survive on this planet. Oh sh*t.
afternoon do...
i think that the (by and large useless) dems are correct that when people find out that the gummint is messing with their medicaid, they are going to be pissed. of course by then the horse will be out of the barn. i'm hoping that there are enough republicans vaguely acquainted with sanity left in the senate to prevent the others from doing too much damage, though i'm far from sure that sense will prevail.
glad to hear that things are going well in kruger, the animals are cooperating and preoccupied enough with their own business to leave you guys in peace. that's a pretty impressive fellow that walked by your car. thanks for sharing!
About that Congressional 'lawsuit', first of all
I doubt there are many of them without a law degree so they know it is just a game for the Public to watch and make it look like they are really doing something of merit right now. The following is from Jerri-Lynn Scofield, who has worked as a securities lawyer and a derivatives trader
Party On! Congressional Democrats Pile On to Another Bogus Emoluments Clause Lawsuit
Posted on June 14, 2017 by Jerri-Lynn Scofield
"The New York Times reports that nearly 200 congressional Democrats sued Trump in federal court today, arguing that he accepted funds from foreign governments and thereby contravened the (foreign) emoluments clause of the U.S Constitution, as reported in Democrats in Congress Sue Trump Over Foreign Business Dealings.
Democrats continue to pursue a line of similarly misguided suits, as I’ve discussed before in three previous posts, see Senate Democrats Discuss Doubling Down on Losing Strategy of Suing Trump on Emoluments, Law Profs Sue Trump, Alleging Violation of the Emoluments Clause, and US Constitution’s Emoluments Clause: a Nothingburger for Trump."
To elaborate further:
This often comes as a surprise to non-lawyers, but the reality is that the US legal system strictly limits who can sue. Persons must have standing in order to bring a suit (as compared to some countries, such as India, and US states, such as California (but only for state law violations), where it is possible to bring a public interest litigation to right an obvious wrong). In US federal court, the authority for bringing a suit comes from Article III of the Constitution. To summarize very broadly an extremely complicated area of the law, to have standing to sue, plaintiffs must be involved in an actual case or controversy– meaning that one cannot bring a case just to determine what a court MIGHT decide. Further, a long series of cases has also established that plaintiffs must have suffered a particularized injury in order to prevail in a lawsuit. This provision prevents someone from bringing a suit arguing, hypothetically, that as a taxpayer, s/he has been harmed by a general policy of the US government."
About the call for the tax forms go here is a response from the head of Naked Capitalism responding to a comment below the article...
Yves Smith
June 14, 2017 at 5:50 pm
First, if they don’t have standing, they don’t get to do discovery. The case gets thrown out at the summary judgment stage.
Second, as I have said, the idea that Trump’s personal tax returns will reveal anything about how he does business is ludicrous. I’ve debunked this repeatedly. It’s simply embarrassing to read the petitions I get demanding his tax returns. What they would show is the types of income he is getting, what types of deductions he is taking, and his effective tax rate. They would show if like Romney he’d had Swiss bank accounts and if he’d had them illegally and then come clean in the tax amnesty (experts think that is the reason Romney showed only one year of returns. The prior years would have been refiled to show the income previously not reported, and would be be “stapled,” as in the amendment would be stapled to the front of the original return, so the failure to report the Swiss bank account in earlier years would have been bloomin’ obvious).
You don’t have to show what your sources of income were. Law firm partners don’t list their clients, for instance. You would see the names of any partnerships from which he took income. You do not disclose who you borrowed money from (another nutty claim of the “get the tax returns crowd”). And there is no line for income from bribes."
http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2017/06/party-on-congressional-democrats-...
afternoon alias...
yeah, i saw that article and some previous articles about what trump's tax forms will and won't reveal. they are great articles, but i don't think that they will get enough circulation amongst the people who are being taken in by the democrat's new kabuki performance series.