Well it is Friday and the weekend is nigh! For we retirees, every day is a weekend so I am oft reminded by my working friends. Sometimes I am busier now than I was when I was working. TomCat moved yesterday and is busy getting his new digs organised, and organised he’ll have to be since the new place is smaller. He’ll likely be a few days yet before he is back online. TGIF!!!
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today’s took me 4:09 (average 5:07). To do it, click here. How did you do?
Yesterday’s took me 3:57 (average 4:48). To do it, click here. How did you do?
Short Takes
AlterNet — While Fox News hosts often beat the drum for Donald Trump’s administration, during a segment on “Outnumbered” Monday, the hosts Lisa Kennedy Montgomery and Harris Faulkner (who were joined by Melissa Francis and Marie Harf) appeared to briefly acknowledge that special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation isn’t without merit. …
“There might be something there,” Montgomery asserted. “There absolutely might be something there. We don’t know what Mueller has; he might have something. Things are starting to seem a little weird.”
Stop the presses! Stop the presses! A Faux Noise commentator does not want to be Trump’s carnival barker and actually thinks it is prudent to wait to see what Mueller has. I think I’ve got the vapours . . . I’m in shock. David Cay Johnston’s 2016 book “The Making of Donald Trump” is excellent in its description of Trump’s association with unsavoury characters throughout his career. He recently updated the afterword to include the first year of Trump’s régime. Below is a video of Johnston in discussion with Joy Reid talking about Trump. Please note that this episode of AM Joy is from January 2018.
May more of the Faux Noise commentators come to their senses as Mueller’s investigation continues to unfold.
Daily Beast — Mueller? Mueller? Act 1 Full Frontal 05 December 2018
Later, she added, “One Trump associate after the other is turning out to be in deep, deep trouble. So this holiday season, as the Trumps gather around the blood tree, Trump will probably be at least a little afraid that it will be his last Christmas in the White House.”
Barf Bag Alert!!!
Don Trump Jr’s Christmas tree topper as they all sit around the blood tree.
Picture from AlterNet
I cannot bring you the rest of the show as I can’t find it on-line. However, Sam is on the mark isn’t she!
Daily Beast — Sources close to the president say he has repeatedly shrugged it off, implying that he doesn’t have to worry about the money owed to America’s creditors—currently about $21 trillion—because he won’t be around to shoulder the blame when it becomes even more untenable.
The friction came to a head in early 2017 when senior officials offered Trump charts and graphics laying out the numbers and showing a “hockey stick” spike in the national debt in the not-too-distant future. In response, Trump noted that the data suggested the debt would reach a critical mass only after his possible second term in office.
“Yeah, but I won’t be here,” the president bluntly said, according to a source who was in the room when Trump made this comment during discussions on the debt. …
“That was why, when he was confronted with these nightmare scenarios on the debt, I think he rejected them, because if you grow the economy… you don’t have a debt problem,” Moore continued. “I know a few times when people would bring up the enormous debt, he would say, ‘We’re gonna grow our way out of it.’”
Moore has since championed this approach to tackling the debt as a key part of “Trumponomics,” …
Trumponomics??? In Trump’s business life, he has had 6 bankruptcies as outlined in PolitiFact but while various different scenarios were at play, the one common thread was Trump. He seems to me to have a rather cavalier attitude towards debt. Now that attitude is showing up in his role as POTUS and his lack of concern about the national debt. “Yeah, but I won’t be here,” being his reply. The minority shareholders, the American people, are the ones left to shoulder the debt. From MarketWatch:
As you can see, Americans own the majority of the debt. This complicated topic is not easy to discuss and understand, but clearly Trump does not have a clue, and what’s worse, he appears not to care. Republicans, who were so quick to attack Obama on the national debt levels, need to put Trump on an economic leash and walk back the corporate tax breaks which corporations are squandering rather than re-investing, just for starters. I am sure more extreme proposals are in the offing from Republicans. So buckle-up!!!
Cartoon — Let’s ensure this does not happen again! Enough war! Enough death and destruction!
My Universe (…or is this TC’s Universe?)
TomCat moving!
Posted to Care2 HERE
14 Responses to “Squatch’s Open Thread 07 December 2018”
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.
Cloister 4:29
More Seth, well worth the ten minutes.
AlterNet – Nailed it. I can only remark that Marie Harf is a brave woman to appear on Fox with that name.
Sam – I’m with those who believes Mueller set Trump/Manafort up. That is not a Hollywood conspiracy theory, it’s a tried and trusted investigation technique. (See Seth on the subject of that outfit.)
BBA – I’m going to stick up for Don Jr here. The devil is an angel – a fallen angel but still an angel – so that one is not off. A star is more questionable … but Orange Judas certainly THINKS he is a star.
DB – My eye went to the bolded “Yeah, but I won’t be here,” before I actually started reading, giving me the impression the article would be about climate change. Not that it makes much difference – he approaches both climate change and the debt the same way.
Cartoon – Thank you for memorializing Pearl Harbor. It has been on my mind all week. Here is, believe it or not, a heartwarming story about it (and only one minute long.)
Universe – Oh Lord, I HOPE he doesn’t have to do that!
OK, I agree that the devil is a fallen angel, but he is a real bad ass, not that Don Jr would understand that! Thanks for the Seth Myers vid — I like all of his “A Closer Look” pieces so far.
You’re correct, Landon’s story is heart warming.
AN: Ya think? It’s worse than they realize. for dt, that is. Where have they been? Oh, right,….the Faux fog.
DB: She’s awesome, loved the ‘girl gab phone session..’ Stone is creepy. imho.
BBA: Seriously? Nope. Never!!!
DB: What a horrible thing to say! ! His lackadaisical response is stupifying. While we bear the brunt of this!!
Cartoon: “A Date that will live in Infamy.” I remember my father talking about this. Sad day.
MU: Such a gorgeous (and focused) kitty. Adorbs!!
Hope Tom is doing well in his new digs. Shame that it’s smaller though. Has rained all day here, and the temps are dropping. Thanks, Lynn.
*This just in: “If you think the economy is more important than the environment, try holding your breath while counting your money.” ~ Roger R. ~
Faux fog indeed, but at least one wanted to hear out Mueller. As usual, love “This just in” . . . so true!
My reaction to Junior’s Xmas tree decorating …
To paraphrase from “Jaws” – You need a bigger “Barf Bag Alert”
Not to be sacrilegious, but who among us doesn’t think of that Belushi line from “Animal House” whenever Pearl Harbor is mentioned?
My reaction to Junior’s tree topper . . . the same as yours!
Alternet: “…con artist, a fraud…,” and so on. This was ever new news! I missed the part about some Faux News clown not having his back, no, it did register on my consciousness recently, but was replaced by news of the world Congress of Tidly-Wink Masters.? They are all utterly full of sh*t, over there, and anything they say, especially opinion pieces, is flushable.
SAM: Hannity is so full of bull, it must be what provides the grease for his hairdo! Stone is a viper in human clothing, has been behind some of the vilest GOP machinations ever, I have read. Maybe Hannity is hoping to be Donny’s VP candidate, in 2020?
DB: Dumpy’s lackadaisical response need not be stupefying, one needs only to realize that he does not give a damn, never gave a damn, knows nothing about anything except how to grab a spotlight, has no vaunted “business acumen,” is a simpering, infantile, deluded, waste of protoplasm. If one expects anything sensible to come from his mouth, one is setting oneself up for disappointment, after disappointment. This is what it is, save yourselves the grief, and the energy with which you express the grief. This fellow is nought but the big Orange Bozo the Clown! “I won’t be here,” says it all. It is code for “Screw you all, and goodnight!”
My universe: That is one soooo cool cat!
As TC says, “Cat is where it’s at!”
Today’s: 3:40
Alternet1: “There might be something there.” I wanted to check the video to see if Faux News has allowed this to be uttered, but Alternet’s videos don’t work for me. So I’m still not sure; if Faux News are allowing doubt to creep in, this could be a turning point in history.
Sam ?: Looks like many Drumf associates are spending Christmas in jail; sadly there isn’t time for Mueller (what’s with the T-shirts, Sam?) to add a few plates to the table there. Sam’s spot on that Mueller and his team has set up Manafort and Drumpf. Manafort had already broken the conditions of his house arrest, so they knew he was dumb enough to brief Drumpf on his answers.
Alternet2: If you thought Melania’s blood trees were bad, this picture must have had you hold on real tight to your barf bag.
DB: The debt will reach critical mass when Drumpf is gone, he and any Republicans left will then blame it on the administration following him and left to pick up the tab, just like they claimed the economic boom then their predecessors had created.
Cartoon: Best not to re-elect Republicans to avoid this.
MU: It was a terrible haul and a little too small but
it’ll do for now.
That critter of yours looks eerily like MY critter “asking” for scritches …
As to Don Jr’s work, see my reply to Nameless!
So when did I send you a picture of my Primo? That’s how he often sleeps.
Good post Lynn.
What a week…Amazes me how tRump decides to do all sorts of hiring/firing on Friday. Must be something about ruining weekends with him.
BBA: Agree with Joanne
Cartoon: Pray we never have another one like that.
MU Poor Cat working so hard. I can relate to him finally laying back ans relaxing.
Glad to hear that TomCat made it to his new place. Sorry that it’s small. Hope it still works out for him.Haven’t been having fun here, we finally got a good amount of rain the past two days. It was a cold storm. To top it off, my furnace motor died. So been having fun back and forth the the company to get the part. Maybe by next Wednesday if I’m lucky. I swear…when it rains, it pours.
Thanks!
Where abouts are you that it is raining so much? . . . and a cold rain to boot! It sounds like Metro Vancouver. Never fun when the furnace dies. Mine did that about 4 years ago and I had to replace the whole thing because it was about 35 years old. Hope you’re warm now.
Thanks all!