20 thoughts on “News/Politics 12-23-16

  1. With many Republicans and members of the conservative media intimidated by Trump and/or his cult followers, Evan McMullin is emerging as as leader for principled conservatives.

    I don’t agree with McMullin on foreign policy, but I have always liked the guy.

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  2. Leader? Of what?

    The guy couldn’t even get one electoral vote. Even some Indian lady got more than him. She got one.

    If you’re a mormon cultist living in Utah, you might call him a leader. But I’m not, so I’ll call him what he is, the biggest loser in this election.

    Leader……..

    I don’t think that word means what you think it means…. 🙂

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  3. Now as for the other so-called “principled” Texan, who supposedly stood up to Trump by refusing to do his duty…..

    http://dailycaller.com/2016/12/16/report-faithless-elector-lied-about-being-a-911-first-responder/

    “The Texas elector who cited his experience as a 9/11 first responder for his refusal to vote for President-elect Donald Trump appears to have fabricated the entire thing, according to an investigation by local news outlet WFAA.

    Chris Suprun said he responded with the Manassas Park, Va., fire department after the third plane hit the Pentagon during the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. But WFAA’s investigation reveals that the department wasn’t among those responding to the attacks. What’s more, Suprun didn’t even join the fire department until October 2001 — a month after after the attacks.

    “Fifteen years ago, as a firefighter, I was part of the response to the Sept. 11 attacks against our nation,” Suprun wrote in a New York Times op-ed announcing he would not be casting his vote for Trump when the electors meet on Dec. 19.

    “It’s no different than stolen valor for the military; dressing up and saying ‘Hey, I earned a Purple Heart’ when you weren’t even in combat.’ There’s a big difference between shopping at Old Navy and being a Navy SEAL,” one first responder told WFAA .”

    Suprun’s 9/11 falsehood doesn’t appear to be the only fabrication on his resume, either. EMS Freedom, the company where Suprun claims he is currently a paramedic actually closed down in 2008, according to WFAA’s investigation. Another company where Suprun also claims to be employed, Air Methods ambulance services, says he doesn’t actually work there. Suprun collected unemployment during the time period he claims to have been working, according to WFAA’s review of federal court records.

    Suprun changed part of his story in an interview with TheDC last week, claiming that watching vice president-elect Mike Pence defend Trump’s claim that millions of illegal voters was what lead him to change his mind and not vote for Trump. But in his op-ed for the Times, Suprun mentioned neither Trump’s claim nor Pence’s defense of that claim in his op-ed titled, “Why I Will Not Cast My Electoral Vote For Donald Trump.””
    ———————-

    Another fraud, like McMuffin.

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  4. A. J., All your 9:26 post does is confirm what I have been saying all year. America has become an Idiocracy.

    It is true that both parties nominated horrible candidates and the insane buffoon who enjoys sexual assaults and demagoguery defeated the boring, inept, corrupt ex-First Lady.

    Yet, there are still intelligent conservatives out there who still hold to Reagan’s principles of free enterprise and limited government. McMullin can be their leader as others bow before the orange lunatic.

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  5. And this perspective from someone on Facebook called Wretched T. Cat (no ability to link).

    Wretchard T. Cat
    11 hrs ·
    The Left has made a fetish out of loving the Other. But the command is “love your neighbor as yourself.” There’s a reason for this. You must love the near before you can love the far. The near is flawed, human, familiar and known. It is hard to truly love the near. The far can be idealized without much difficulty and without changing too many letters, idealized becomes idolized.

    The great thing about the Left is it lets you love Humanity without loving any humans. Thus the childless, cantankerous person can still say “I am a humanitarian”. The person who can revile her neighbors as deplorable and wish them ill at every turn can still be regarded as the epitome of “caring”.

    Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot killed millions — for the sake of humanity.

    But the truth is that if a person can’t love his dog or Uncle Ted; if he can’t muster sympathy for kids blown to bits and maimed for life there’s not much love in that person at all. You can’t love your neighbor if you can’t even love your dog. “Love your neighbor as you would love your dog” is a test that a surprising number of humanitarians would fail.

    The more accurate religious comparison is human sacrifice. The Left is big on human sacrifice. Subconsciously, I wonder how many humanitarians see attacks like those on Berlin as “atonement” for the sins of European civilization. About as many as those who regard abortion as a positive experience at the altar of Gaia.

    The old demons are with us still. Every single devil the Babylonians knew inhabits the modern world. The fires of idolatry still burn, most especially amid the towers of glass and steel that hide them so well.

    Liked by 1 person

  6. Michelle (9:56), agreed. It was interesting to see the disparate reactions between liberals and conservatives over FB’s announcement it would be monitoring its pages for “fake news” links.

    Liberals were thrilled, most of the rest of us were dubious over which lens would be used in yanking some things and letting other things stand and be shared.

    The politically correct, liberal view of things, of course.

    And on the airline dustup:

    http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2016/12/freakout-on-an-airplane.php

    ____________________________

    I’ve been wondering what leftists mean when they say they don’t want to “normalize” Donald Trump. …

    … It isn’t normal to harangue family members of public officials (or those soon to become public officials) whom one doesn’t like, as they try to go about their lives. And it’s downright creepy to harangue them in front of their children. …

    … Imagine the reaction if someone had harassed Michelle Obama in the coach section of a commercial flight. (Actually, it’s hard to imagine Michelle Obama on a commercial flight; she traveled in luxury).

    We have the right in this country to tell the daughter of someone who soon will take public office what we think of her father. Civility, indeed decency, counsels strongly against it, but there is no law that requires people to be civil or decent.

    However, passengers in an airplane cabin have the right to travel free from undue agitation. …

    … Goldstein got his say. JetBlue’s passengers, including Ivanka and her family, got a tranquil, conflict-free flight.

    And, as at the play “Hamilton,” the American public got another look at how leftists ignore the norms of civility, and at the classy way in which Trump’s close associates respond.

    If the left keeps this up, Trump soon will be fully “normalized” and a clear majority of Americans will be on his side.
    ______________________________

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  7. Fox News, Hannity and others did “normalize” Trump during the primary campaign by treating him as a serious candidate when:

    1. He made fun of McCain for being captured.

    2. Made fun of Fiorina for her looks.

    3. Mocked a disabled reporter.

    4. Mocked Megan Kelly for her menstrual cycle.

    5. Displayed complete ignorance of public policy, the Constitution, the duties of the President and judges.

    If we want to just accept that we live in an Idiocracy and accept Trump as the biggest and rudest idiot, that is an option. Some conservatives will look for other leaders, such as Evan McMullin.

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  8. I was undecided about voting for Trump up until the Sunday before the election. Then my pastor prayed that whoever was elected would have Godly council. In a nutshell I voted for Pence over Kaine.

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  9. I am reading an interesting book by James Dale Davidson called The Breaking Point. I am 22% into the book. (Kindle doesn’t have pages.) Very interesting and disturbing. He talks a lot about the situation of the Federal Reserve creating fiat money. e.g. “But their policy of diluting your future, by spending trillions from an empty pocket to bail out leveraged ‘to big-to-fail’ institutions, speaks loudly. It tells you that the authorities believe the economy is so fragile that unless they induce you to keep going, at almost any price, it would collapse”. This concerning the low interest rates, which he says the government is using to protect itself and rob investors.

    I have always wondered about this. Long ago, I heard, and have observed that “paper money always reverts to its intrinsic value.” I see this happening. Every month I have some numbers added to my bank account. From that, I post some numbers to Visa, TimeWarner, et. al. No money changes hands. Just numbers. And Davidson says that is all it is. Just numbers. Someday, I expect him to say later, it will come crashing down. That seems to be where he’s going.

    So? What to do about it? If you turn on your radio or TV, you see a half dozen companies, like Gold Line and others trying to sell you gold and silver. “If gold reaches it’s recent highs, you will double your profit.” Tempting. I have considered that.
    However, I think of this. If I had all of their gold and silver, and really believed what I’m saying, I would not pay radio and TV stations millions to help me get rid of it.

    What to do? I don’t know. I really don’t. I agree with Davidson that money is a creation of the Federal Reserve. And it can’t go on forever. He recommends gold and silver. But I think he’s just suggesting investing in something with intrinsic value. It’s a challenge.
    I still have 78% of the book to go. Let’s see what happens.

    Insight? Suggestions?

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  10. Pay all your debts. Keep them payed off.
    It will take the state between 2 and 3 years to take your house away from you for not paying your property taxes.

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  11. Gold and silver don’t have anymore intrinsic value than paper. They are shiny things that are only worth what someone will pay for them. If you think we might someday revert to using them as currency, look at what has transpired in other countries when their money became worthless. They didn’t start using gold and silver – they just printed different money.

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  12. AJ, You called McMullin a “fraud”.

    Did he run a fraudulent “university” that required a multi-million dollar settlement with defrauded “students”?

    Did he dodge the draft during Vietnam with a phantom heel injury that magically healed when the war was over?

    Did he defraud hundreds of contractors by refusing to pay them?

    Did he enter into mutilple fraudulent “marriages” complete with a series of mistresses?

    Did he deceive gullible supporters with ridiculous promises to imprison Hillary or deport all illegal immigrants that he never intended to keep?

    “Fraud” is a synonym for “con man”. It was very clear who was the con man this year.

    McMullin is this year’s David. Better known potential third party candidates declined to take on the orange giant. If the people are ready again for a conservative champion, they will know one who is fearless whether he is fighting the Taliban with the CIA or the demagogue Trump.

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  13. Linda, gold and silver are actual products with actual uses, and they have been considered to have value for millennia. It is not possible to have something to trade that has value for everyone, but paper money has no actual value, just a symbolic value.

    AJ, I too am wondering why the virulent opposition to McMullin. Yes, he was trying to provide a conservative alternative to Trump, whom you considered a valid candidate. He entered the race too late, and with too little attention to his candidacy, to make a dent in anything, but nothing about doing that says “fraud.” From everything I saw of him, he seems an honorable man. Indiana didn’t allow me to vote for him, or I would have. Had he gotten more traction, he could possibly have kept Trump from winning. Or, had he gotten enough name recognition, it is theoretically possible (though unlikely) he could have won himself.

    Trump is far and away the worst candidate Republicans have ever fronted, certainly in my lifetime and probably ever. I don’t understand the virulent opposition to someone who would come forward and say “There has to be another choice in this race beyond Trump or another Clinton!”

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  14. Michelle – There is indeed a problem with fake news, whether it’s completely false, or highly exaggerated, or misinterpreting the facts. But having Facebook as a sentinel against it certainly would lead to censorship, especially of conservative content.

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  15. Let’s see, just off the top of my head……

    Worked for Goldman Sacks.

    Claims to have been a CIA operative in the mid east, yet doesn’t speak Arabic. Also the dates he allegedly served in this capacity varied from his Facebook profile as compared to his Linkedin account. He never did get the story straight.

    Praised John Boehner as a great statesman. He thought this because he was a foreign policy guy for the GOP, put there and paid by the establishment. His whole candidacy was to do the dirty work for them and their NeverTrump friends.

    All his money came from GOP establishment types and their money men. (Romney’s money guy, and Romney’s mailing list)

    If he was serious, where was he at primary time? Nowhere to be found, because he’d never win a state, and couldn’t even win his own in a Mormon state. If he was serious he’d have joined the 19 others and taken a legitimate shot at it. He didn’t, instead jumping in late for no other purpose but to prevent Trump from winning. He took the cowardly route in my mind.

    He was never a serious candidate and from the beginning was a Trojan horse for Hillary. The whole idea was to take Utah from Trump, thereby swinging the election to Hillary. Not the actions of a loyal Republican. Not the actions of an honorable, trustworthy and straightforward man. Quite the opposite.

    And he’s a Mormon/LDS, not a Christian.

    I could probably give you more, with more details and links, but seriously, he’s not worth the effort, so I’ll not waste my time. But you two are welcome to on your own if you like. 🙂

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  16. AJ, Working for Goldman Sachs does not make a person a fraud. Lying to investors, contractors, wives, voters, mistresses, the press and the public at large is what makes a person a fraud.

    We are seeing today that Trumpkins behave like Clinton backers. Any person who challenges their leader is subject to vile personal attacks. During the campaign, Trumpkins wrongfully accused McMullin of being a homosexual. Now, a backer of the draft dodging (Oh, my heel!) Trump is challenging McMullin’s service?

    Does a Trump supporter really want to condemn McMullin’s theology? Has McMullin said he never felt the need to ask God for forgiveness? Has McMullin made a farce of the holy institution of marriage, attempted to seduce married women and bragged about molesting women?

    McMullin lost the election. There is no shame in that. He ran an honorable campaign. He gave conservative Christians a candidate they could vote for without feeling ashamed. At one point it looked like he had a real chance to win Utah. It was possible that win might have denied both Hillary and Trump a majority in the Electoral College. There are many House Republicans who would prefer McMullin to Trump. Why? Because he is conservative, he is a gentleman, he is honorable, he is sane, he is well-informed and he is not a fraud.

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