Vlad gets his man.

""The CIA has concluded in a secret assessment that Russia intervened in the 2016 election to help Donald Trump win the presidency, rather than just to undermine confidence in the U.S. electoral system, according to officials briefed on the matter.

Intelligence agencies have identified individuals with connections to the Russian government who provided WikiLeaks with thousands of hacked emails from the Democratic National Committee and others, including Hillary Clinton's campaign chairman, according to U.S. officials. Those officials described the individuals as actors known to the intelligence community and part of a wider Russian operation to boost Trump and hurt Clinton's chances." [Source]

And the Russians no doubt got their man. Not that wingnuts care. They have a new found fondness for all things Russian. (Reagan must be turning in his grave.)

It all started when they were looking for a hero to stand up tho that evil Obama fellow, and they found him in Putin. I bet they all have that picture of him riding on a horse without his shirt on somewhere in their homes.(Somebody get that man a bra.)

They couldn't get Vlad, so they elected the next best thing: trump. Now, like Putin did with Mother Russia, he will try to make America in his own image, (Watch how he uses his power to go after private citizens in very Putin like fashion.) I am sure that we all are hoping that he doesn't destroy the country first.

Finally, some of you Negroes need a reality check.

This story in Alabama where the two young ladies were profiled in Victoria (has a ) Secret is both sad and funny at the same time.

It's obviously sad because of what happened to them.

"Victoria’s Secret has apologized to a woman who was asked to leave the store. 

A woman shopping at a Victoria’s Secret in the Quintard Mall in Oxford, Ala., says she was shocked and dismayed to be asked to leave the store. Traveling nurse Kimberly Houzah says she and a second black shopper were made to leave after a store manager caught another black woman shoplifting.

In a live video of more than 11 minutes, posted on Facebook, Houzah tells the story of her interaction with store manager Faith, who can be seen in the video talking to the other black woman that Houzah claimed had also been asked to leave. “Completely furious, I could cry,” Houzah said before explaining the situation. “There was another black female in here who got caught stealing … so [Faith] asks me and another black female to leave because, she can’t tell us why, but we’re kicked out [of] the store.”

Houzah says that no one asked to check her bag, said that once the other woman was caught stealing, she and the second black woman were promptly asked to leave. “She caught the other black girl stealing, and she was like ‘You need to get out of here.’” Houzah said the woman who identified herself as “Faith” asked if she and the other innocent shopper were with the thief, and they said they weren’t. “I would have felt more comfortable if [she had] said, ‘Ma’am, can I check your bag?’” [Source]

OK, I think we can all agree that this was a messed up situation. Some folks just believe that now that we are about to start the age of trump they can just do whatever they want when it comes to black folks like they did 45 years ago. 

Anyway, as is to be expected, VS issued an apology and fired the "racist" employee.

But here is the line that had me scratching my head after reading this story:

“I never, never thought in a million years that that would happen to me,” Houzah said in the now viral video. 

?????

I swear some of you Negroes need to wake up.  Ms Houzah, why did you think that this could not happen to you?

None of you are immune from racism. Remember that.

Hopefully the next time it happens you will not be disappointed.  

*Pic from wonkette.com

• 
  

A "bunch of hooey" ?

Yes President Obama, we did indeed "torture some folks".




Former president Bush said that we did not, but now, of course, we know that is a lie. Or maybe not. Maybe former president Bush was misled as well. I bet Dick Cheney knew that we "tortured some folks". Methinks he protests a bit too much about the release of this report by The Senate Intelligence Committee.


It's not a "bunch of hooey" Mr. Cheney, you should be in jail.




We are now being told that the CIA used tactics that are "brutal and flawed", and according to one of the senators who was responsible for the release of the report; it is a "stain on our values and history."




Those on the right side of the political divide will tell you that this is no big deal, and that this program was needed to stop the next September 11 type attack from taking place in our homeland.




This is the position of Dick Cheney and some of the other apologists for the ignoble and inhuman act that is torture. We know now that this is not true. These torture programs did not stop one terrorist act from taking place on our shores, and it did not help us to kill Osama bin Laden.




So now that we know that America is no different than any other Third World country, and that we do not respect the rule of law; we have to ask ourselves if it was all worth it. I, for one, do not think that it was. But I am just a small time left wing progressive blogger from Philadelphia. Senator John McCain, who was himself tortured, apparently has no love for torturing folks, either. I will defer to him on this subject.




"Republican Sen. John McCain broke with members of his party Tuesday, lauding the release of the Senate Intelligence Committee's report on torture and decrying the use of torture as having "stained our national honor" and doing "much harm and little practical good."


On this we both agree.




For the record, I am no fan of this president's drone program, either. Targeting and killing alleged terrorist (with collateral damage sometimes thrown in) is not a good look for this administration or the country.




But it seems to be something that we have all accepted. And we shouldn't. We should see it for what it is. Like torture, it creates a strain on our democracy and diminishes our standing in the world.




Sadly, though, Americans don't seem to care.




Maybe this report will change some things.

A stunning statement and a couple of not so stunning wins.

A few months ago I said the exact thing that Leon Penetta said recently. I bet some of you thought back then that it was just pure hyperbole. But now, since the head of the CIA is saying the same damn thing, maybe you will give the field a little credit for picking up what old Dick was putting down.

The only thing that bothers me a little is that Penetta actually says that Darth Dick "smells some blood in the water." Ahh hello, Leon, is there something you should be telling us ? Should I cancel all future trips to New York City? Should I stay off the mass transit system when commuting? Inquiring field Negroes want to know.

Come on folks, is it only me who thinks that the head of the CIA calling out a former VP in such a manner is stunning?

"It's almost, a little bit, gallows politics. When you read behind it, it's almost as if he's wishing that this country would be attacked again, in order to make his point. I think that's dangerous politics." No shit Sherlock! I have been saying the exact same thing all along. But I have some news for you Leon; it's not only him, it's the entire right wing machine in this country. Starting with their blogs and ending in their halls of power. They want his O ness to fail so bad that if it will cost a few A-merry-cans their lives..... well, so be it.

Give me liberty or give me someone else's death. I am just saying.

Finally, a couple of congratulations are in order: Congrats to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for winning his election in Iran. Mahmoud, I see you learned something from the man who declared your country a part of the "axis of evil. " Question; do they have a Florida in Iran? Just curious.

And congrats to Kobe and his La-girls for being the new NBA champions. At least you didn't steal the title, Kobe. (Although the NBA sure tried o steal it for you) To many people here in A-merry-ca Kobe and Mahmoud is the same guy. But don't believe it. Mahmoud is much shorter.

The newest weapon of "mass de-straction".

I am no fan of Nancy Pelosi. I think she is a typical weaselly politician who puts politics before principal. And, to be honest, she has probably done the dumbocrats more harm than good. (I bet right now his O ness is wishing that she would just go away)

This latest brouhaha over whether the frat boy's administration authorized torture is a prime example of Lady Nancy being a problem for the dems. Did she or didn't she know that Dick the devil et al were torturing alleged terrorists for fun? She says that she never knew; the CIA said that they briefed her; she says that they are liars. Who do we believe? In any case, she has taken this debate to an entirely different level, and she has caused us to lose focus of the real issue: Just why the hell was the frat boy and his minions breaking the law in the name of national security? That, my friends, is what we should be focusing on. That is what this debate should be about. Not whether Nancy Pelosi was briefed and sat on her rich ass or not. If she was and did nothing, I wouldn't be surprised. That is what I would expect from a career politician. Test the political wind and act accordingly. And if you will recall, at the time this was all going down the political wind was blowing in an entirely different direction.

But this is a typical republican trick: change the focus and distract. And Lady Nancy has fallen right into their trap. The folks at FOX are having multiple orgasms (what's that white stuff all over the studio floor?) because they have possibly caught a powerful dumbocrat in a lie. Their leaders are foaming at the mouth with phony outrage, and they haven't sought out the microphone this much since the days of Bubba's blowjobs. (speaking of white stuff on the floor. ) Of course this could not have come at a better time for a party that was disintegrating before our very eyes. Now, possibly, they have found something to rally around, and they will ride this donkey (no pun intended) until it's dead.

"I think this is the most despicable, dishonest and vicious political effort I've seen in my lifetime." "She is a trivial politician, viciously using partisanship for the narrowist of purposes, and she dishonors the Congress by her behavior." "Speaker Pelosi's the big loser, because she either comes across as incompetent, or dishonest. Those are the only two defenses,”

Oh Newt, put a lid on it. Save all of your phony pontification for the FOX studios. They might believe your bullshit, but fortunately, no one else does.

Hurricane Sam was worse

"January 4: The Us secretary of State, Henry Kissinger , left Jamaica , unsuccessful in his mission to dissuade Manley from supporting the presence of Cuban troops in Angola. Despite this failure, he assured Manley that there was no CIA interference in Jamaica, but did not add that the CIA station in Kingston had just been strengthened by the arrival of a new chief, Norman Descoteaux, a man with recent field experience in Argentina and Ecuador where it was thought other destabilisation campaigns had previously taken place. "

I wasn't going to post today. But as I sit here in the comfort of my Northeast Philly home, one eye on my phone, and the other on CNN, I am scared for my country, my family, and my friends that are down in Jamaica. Hurricane Dean is making a bee line for the country I love like no other. It is intent on a path of destruction and mayhem. I am not a praying person, but for those of you who are;please do what you do and send up a request to whatever god you happen to believe in.

I was also thinking about something my man Chris-that increasingly angry black man, and Princeton grad-said in the comments section of my last post. Chris waxed poetic about the poverty and lawlessness which is at times prevalent in the island, and the politicians there who far too often line their own pockets at the expense of the masses. I am here to tell you that some of what Chris said is actually true. I am sitting here lamenting over 260 murders in Philly, a city of 1.5 million people, when I know damn good and well, that just recently, the murder count in Jamaica topped 1,000. And Jamaica is a country of about 3 million people. And I am, also aware of the gap between the have and have nots in Jamaica, which clearly makes it a Third World country.

But I have to respectfully disagree with Chris about all the real causes for Jamaica's problems, because I think that I am in a unique position to address it. In the mid seventies, I was a youngster growing up in Jamaica. I lived through the brain drain and the flight of the islands wealthy, and powerful financial class. Honestly, my family could have left too, but we didn't. Primarily because of my father's commitment to his work, and his love for his island home. But I saw it first hand. The destabilization, the CIA supplying guns and ammo to the gangs of the opposition Jamaica Labor Party, and the IMF's cruel, impractical, and unrealistic demands on the Jamaican banks and its government.

"But field why would the U.S. care about destabilizing the Jamaican government and bringing it to its knees? Isn't Jamaica just a happy go lucky tourist destination where we go to hear some reggae music, and if you are so inclined smoke a little ganja every now and then?" Good question, but the answer is a rather simple one. Ideology. You see, the leader of Jamaica at the time, was a man by the name of Michael Manley. A man, who contrary to what Chris alleged about the typical Jamaican politician, actually cared about his people, and their plight. Michael Manley was; gasp, a Socialist! He believed that the islands wealthy class should pay more taxes, and things like literacy training, and proper health care should be made more affordable to all Jamaicans. He believed that Jamaica should work closely with our neighbors to the North, the Cubans. He believed that Fidel Castro and the Cubans, actually had some good ideas that the Jamaican government should adopt. He cross trained Jamaican dentist and doctors in Cuba. (free of charge thanks to the Cuban government) With the help of the Cuban government micro dams were built, agricultural schools were started, and many of Jamaica's poor actually started to see their lives improve. But alas, America could not have that; nope, not another Socialist country so close to our shores. Michael Manley had to be stopped. So what did Washington do? Well, not only did they, along with the other G7 countries and the IMF, put some draconian policies in place to control the Jamaican governments spending, but they unleashed the CIA and its agents like Phillip Agee on the Jamaican political scene, and they wreaked their havoc from a street level. What followed were political gang wars and fighting of unprecedented proportions. Chris, I know of what I speak, I lived through it. Honestly, it's what shapes my views of politics to this day. The term politics is a "blood sport" takes on a literal meaning for me.

"In Washington they just looked at us and said, 'No, no, no. Your inflation last year was 18% and we are not allowing you to lend to your farmers at 12%. You must charge 23%.'" That's what Michael Manley said at the height of his frustrations with Washington. His hands were tied, and Washington wanted it that way.

So as another hurricane goes barrelling towards Jamaica to do unprecedented damage, let's not forget another metaphorical Hurricane that hit my Island home about thirty years ago. With all due respect to the National Hurricane Service, I will call it Hurricane Sam, as in Uncle Sam. We still haven't recovered from that one, and it's effects will be felt long after the clean up from Dean is over.

Thank you Mr. Kissinger.