Plop! Plop!

First, my latest tweet/graphic:

Personally, I blame McConnell for the ongoing shutdown as much as if not more than Trump. In order to shield Trump, he refuses to bring bills to the Senate that could end the stalemate. It would seem that there are enough votes to override a Trump veto, so McConnell is avoiding this very good possibility. He is not protecting the American people as he is sworn to do; he is not protecting the Republican party; and he is not protecting the Constitution. He is, however, protecting racist, nationalist and very dangerous policies.

There is another possibility also. Some one, somewhere suggested bribery/blackmail is the cause of his intransigence. Apparently, his wife, Elaine Chao, was appointed by Trump to the cabinet position of Secretary of Transportation. Is her job being threatened?

Why do his photos always make me thing there should be canary feathers attached to his mouth?

Meanwhile, I know many here do not listen to MSM outlets, so I would like to share a couple of clips that I thought were pretty good from the corporate media.

The first one covers a few points that may not be familiar to some:

Lawrence and others on Trump's big lie:

The meeting in the oval office when Trump states that he will be proud to shutdown the government should really be flooding FB, Twitter and all social media, lest people forget.

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Anja Geitz's picture

I worked in the community garden with the kids from the neighborhood where one of them asked me why everyone didn't have a community garden so that we could feed everyone. Good question. Wish I had a good answer. I find as time goes by, one of the benefits of not having a TV is that since there is only so much broadband width in my brain these days, I can reserve it for the small things I can do. It keeps me sane.

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There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

WindDancer13's picture

@Anja Geitz

sustain enough variety in community gardens? There are also many people who are just not suited for this kind of endeavor. I kill house plants. Can you imagine what I would do to a garden?

"Sanity is only that which is within the frame of reference of conventional thought." --Erich Fromm

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We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass

Anja Geitz's picture

@WindDancer13

But after I got involved in my neighborhoods coop, I was inspired to begin working with the kids in a community garden. I started out slowly helping others on their plots eventually earning my own. Fellow gardeners are always happy to help and answer questions. I was also able to get to know my neighbors in a very special way and enjoyed sharing some great stories.

As an added benefit, for someone who is afflicted with a bi-polar disorder, I find meditation and gardening very therapeutic. But that's not necessarily a requirement for enjoyment Smile

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There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

polkageist's picture

I don't have a TV so don't get to see this kind of horrific comedy. Lawrence O'Donell performed a beautiful hatchet job on the Republicans. Even rather slow people should be able to understand what was going on. We are probably doomed but it helps if one sees the perpetrators suffer too.

The first clip also made me feel pretty good about Rep. Ocasio-Cortez. She is savvy and tough. The Democrats need more like her and fewer like Shumer and Pelosi even though Pelosi pulled off a coup by cancelling the speech. It's not as if we are going to miss any great oratory anyway.

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-Greed is not a virtue.
-Socialism: the radical idea of sharing.
-Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.
John F. Kennedy, In a speech at the White House, 1962

WindDancer13's picture

@polkageist

it isn't plugged in. I do follow a lot of news on YouTube though and just kind of wander around watching stuff that catches my eye. With O'Donnell, I find he often picks up on points that I have missed. I don't always agree with him, but overall his pieces tend to be more factual than most reporters and his analysis is usually sound.

As I think the entire Congress needs a transfusion, I think a number of the new members need to be cloned. I agree with AOC's stance (which I believe was actually articulated by someone else, and she just agreed) that a good number of members of the Democratic party should be primaried (and of course the vast majority of Republicans..that is my opinion, she didn't say that).

Just read a story about Pelosi's new move. Bills will be introduced earmarking more funds for border security, tech and some stuff for points of entry, and for amnesty judges. Still no wall funds. Yay!

While I do not care for a lot of what she does, I am beginning to think she will be the perfect foil for Trump.

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We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass

Plop plop thanks! That was awful but I enjoyed the part about AOC becoming the second most popular representative in the House, by the House, and for the House, before I had to shut it off. That was my kinda kabuki, I liked it. Too bad the pomp and circumstance in DC jumped the shark years ago, 'round the clock campaigns to soak small dollar donors, it is depressing. goes nowhere

MSM is an acquired taste I think. I have to watch it day in and day out to develop a strong sense of "not listening" to the b.s., and it's mostly bull so what's the point? Takes a long time to consume all that media, I don't get it. I'd also rather be gardening, or at least watching a permaculture video, not MSnbc.

Thanks for curating.

peace

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WindDancer13's picture

@eyo

The main reason is that it takes a lot of effort to sift through each story that I choose to read. I think the point is to be aware of where they are heading. From an article written by the Colombia Journalism Review:

Collectively, the news media wield perhaps the greatest power there is in politics: the power to define reality. [emphasis added]

I prefer my reality non-filtered, so I look at a lot of different sources, including MSM.

I do recommend the CJR site though. They have an interesting article on the Koch brothers funding a new crop of journalists (note that the recipients end up at right-wing outlets, yet the people interviewed claim that the Koch course in non-partisan). The Lesson: Critical thinking cannot be suspended no matter the source.

AOC's coverage is overall more positive than the drivel we are force fed each day regarding Trump. It may even help people to understand a few things...like marginal tax rates.

Yes, it takes a long time to wade through the swamp, but then I go play at other things while the information I have gathered percolates and is sifted in the back of my head.

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We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass

Deja's picture

@WindDancer13
They even get mentioned in the non commercial commercials. Pretty sure they fund PBS too, but don't have a link. Can't remember where I read that, quite a while back.

There are no good guys, when both "sides" have sold themselves to the highest bidder, who happily pays for propaganda oozing from both sides at all times.

I don't buy into the left team good, right team bad lie. It's propaganda, in and of itself. Obviously, it still works on lots of smart folks, though. Sad.

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WindDancer13's picture

@Deja

story and tossed in some stuff about PBS:
Did the Koch Brothers Buy NPR?

From what I can tell it is up-to-date as of 2018. I do not put full faith in fact checkers though.

I made a comment some time back (I think it was in the EB) about how people no longer see in shades of gray, only in black and white, or red and blue, or whatever extreme they want to use. Have to laugh though when Trump calls Pelosi the Radical Left.

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We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass

Deja's picture

@WindDancer13
I heard it with my own ears, but I never said "own". Good Lord!

They fund NPR via sponsorship. Probably PBS too. Koch Industries. It's actually said, aloud, on air.

Someone even started a Change.org petition 2 years ago.
https://www.change.org/p/npr-npr-drop-koch-industries-as-a-sponsor

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WindDancer13's picture

@Deja

as I do in all media. I vaguely remember an uproar claiming the Kochs (Every time! I keep misspelling their name with a k at the end. Must be subliminal.) had bought NPR, so I guess the piece was in response to that.

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We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass

going to quit chalking up people's cooperation with Trump to blackmail?

It is apparently the fall back accusation for anyone who does anything to help Trump or anyone who supports Trump. People are also trying to push the narrative that Graham is being blackmailed.

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dfarrah

Deja's picture

@dfarrah

Maybe the Dem establishment has pushed out a new set of talking points that are purely based on projection of what they do to others? Could that be why no one mentioning it is being ridiculed about CT?

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