Methinks doth protest too much.

• 
  

Many of you watched some or all of the Brett Kavanaugh hearings today, and I must say, that just as I expected, it was a train wreck for preppy Brett.

He was belligerent, combative,  and acted in a bellicose manner that probably made the trump crowd proud, but just confirmed to the sane folks in America that there is another side to the carefully crafted choir boy image.

He would not let the democratic senators finish their questions, and he acted as if he was putting them on trial and not the other way around.

The victim, on the other hand, came across as credible and sincere. And her testimony just drove home the point that she was an average citizen who was traumatized by a powerful man, and ultimately she courageously stepped forward to tell her story.

A few other things stuck out to me as well.

Lindsey Graham auditioning for the AG job when Sessions gets fired made an absolute fool of himself. Whatever shred of dignity he had left was wiped away today by his sickening grandstanding display of faux outrage to impress Mr. trump.

John Kennedy of Louisiana invoking the religious test ("Do you believe in God?") was the icing in the cake for me. Kavanaugh of course, looked him in the eye and said that he did, and that he swore before God that he did not do what he was being accused of. 

And then there was preppy Brett crying and breaking down as he whined that the democrats and the vast left wing Clinton conspiracy was out to destroy his life.

Anyway, give me your thoughts on what went down today.

My guess is that republicans will have the votes to confirm preppy Brett, and that it will be close.

 I suspect, though, that if it goes down like I suspect that it will, Alaska and Maine will be sending new senators to Washington very soon.     


*Pic from nbcbayarea.com

Dr. Ben's remedy.

"I want to plant in people's minds what to do in a situation like this. Because unfortunately this is probably not going to be the last time this happens," he told CBS. Earlier, Carson had said that if he had been present at the Oregon attack, he would "not just stand there and let him shoot me. I would say, 'Hey guys, everybody attack him. He may shoot me, but he can't get us all.'"

????????

No words.

Anyway, keep in mind that this man is polling number two in the republican primary race for president.

Still, apparently Dr.Ben feels that he can speak this way about this issue because he has had his own personal experience to call on.

"Carson also told to SiriusXM radio host Karen Hunter on Wednesday that he was once held at gunpoint at a Popeye's fried chicken fast food restaurant in Baltimore. But his approach was nothing like the one he advocated.

"Guy comes in, puts the gun in my ribs. And I just said, "I believe that you want the guy behind the counter,'" Carson recounted in his usual, laid-back tone. "He said, 'Oh, okay,' and moved on."

First of all Dr. Ben, what the hell are you doing at Popeye's? As a physician,you,of all people,  should know that fried foods are not good for you.

Honestly, the guy holding the gun on Dr. Ben probably fell asleep when the good doctor started talking. When he (the robber) said, "Oh okay",  he was just waking up.

Serious question: Why can't the republican party recruit a serious African American candidate to represent them on the national stage? (Colin Powell where are you?) First Herman Cain and now this guy. It's embarrassing.

Finally, speaking of republican presidential candidates. Now that you can get around South Carolina easier in a boat than you can a car, their senior senator is asking for federal aid.

It's funny how that works. You should never turn your back on others because one day you might be in the same boat. (No pun intended.)

Lindsey Graham thought that it was cool to play politics and vote against Sandy storm relief  for the people in New Jersey. Now his decision is coming back to haunt him, and he swears that he doesn't remember ever voting against getting the people of New Jersey federal funds.

Lindsey, maybe this will help refresh your memory:

"South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham is seeking federal aid after his home state was ravaged by deadly floods amid historic rainfall triggered by Hurricane Joaquin.

“Let’s just get through this thing,” Graham said in an interview with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer on “The Situation Room” Monday. “And whatever it costs, it costs.”

But in 2013, Graham was among 36 Senate Republicans who voted against giving similar aid to New Jersey in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. (The bill passed in a 62 to 36 vote.)

Graham told Blitzer he didn’t remember opposing the $50.5 billion Sandy relief bill.

“I’m all for helping the people in New Jersey. I don’t really remember me voting that way,” Graham said. “I don’t really recall that, but I’d be glad to look and tell you why I did vote no, if I did.”

Graham wasn’t the only 2016 presidential candidate to oppose Sandy relief. Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz also voted against the package.

“Hurricane Sandy inflicted devastating damage on the East Coast, and Congress appropriately responded with hurricane relief. Unfortunately, cynical politicians in Washington could not resist loading up this relief bill with billions in new spending utterly unrelated to Sandy,” Cruz told the Houston Chronicle at the time. “This bill is symptomatic of a larger problem in Washington — an addiction to spending money we do not have. The United States Senate should not be in the business of exploiting victims of natural disasters.” [Source]

And check out the words of Ted Cruz quoted above.

Well, as it turns out, he has a problem as well.

"But as floodwaters raged in Texas earlier this year, Cruz praised the federal support his state was receiving.

“We’re seeing cooperation from state government, the local government and the federal government all standing together at a time of great challenge,” Cruz said".

On second thought, I think that Dr. Ben will do just fine in the republican primary. 

*Pic from blackenterprise.com

   

Lindsey has a secret and Donald has a plan.

Hmmm, it seems that one of the republican presidential candidates has an interesting family history.

"Republican presidential candidate Lindsey Graham’s parents ran a segregated South Carolina bar, even after discrimination in public accommodations was banned under the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
The revelations come in Graham’s newest memoir “My Story,” which was released to Politico ahead of its Wednesday release. In the upcoming e-book, he recalls fondly his childhood working in his family’s bar in the rural community of Central, South Carolina.

“Times being what they were, most of our customers were white,” Politico quotes Graham as writing. “My folks sold beer to anyone of legal age, but I’m sorry to say, for many of the years my parents operated the bar, black people were expected to drink the beer they purchased from us off the premises.”

According to Graham, the practice ended in the 1970’s, “much later than it should have.” Later, when a white patron began hassling a black patron, his father cracked the racist over the head with young Lindsey’s biking helmet.

He also jokes that if child services ever stopped by, his parents likely would have lost custody, given his fondness for sampling patron’s cigarettes and beer when they went to the bathroom." [Source]

Please note the part where Lindsey says that his father cracked the racist over the head."

Yes, because he was messing with a black patron after the Graham's said it was cool for the Negro to drink with other white folks.

I need a break! 

Speaking of republican candidates. I see where the Trumpster jumped into the republican race for president today as well. I sure hope they let him debate with the rest of the folks. He would certainly add something (what it is exactly I don't know) to what would otherwise be a boring predictable talk fest.

Donald had a lot of things to say, and, not surprisingly, he went off script for most of his ramblings.

"The real estate mogul and TV reality star launched his presidential campaign Tuesday, ending
more than two decades of persistent flirtation with the idea of running for the Oval Office.

"So, ladies and gentlemen, I am officially running for president of the United States, and we are going to make our country great again," Trump told the crowd in a lengthy and meandering 45-minute speech that hit on his signature issues like currency manipulation from China and job creation, while also taking shots at the president and his competitors on the Republican side.

"Sadly the American dream is dead," Trump said at the end of his speech. "But if I get elected president I will bring it back bigger and better and stronger than ever before." [Source]

 

 

Yes, kind of like that casino in Atlantic City with his name on it.   

 

 

The politics of fear.

Lindsey Graham believes that the next 911 type attack on our home soil will come from Iraq or Syria. I disagree.


With all due respect to the very disrespectful senator, the next 911 style attack on our home front will not come from the Middle East; it will come from home grown terrorists. (Think anti-government white supremacist groups.)


But I see why he is saying this. Better to scare the base about the Muslim bogeyman and score cheap political points than to call out groups that actually include members of your base.


Some of these folks on the right get very defensive when you focus on trying to stop these groups, but you can't blame law enforcement for being concerned.


"Remember in 2009, right at the start of the Obama era, when then-Secretary of Department of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano issued a report (PDF) entitled: “Right-wing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment”? The report was truly prescient. It alerted us to the rise of right-wing extremism, such as from white supremacist groups, and warned that unchecked, it could lead to violence.


How did Republicans respond? They went ballistic attacking the report. John Boehner was especially upset that Napolitano would use the term “terrorist” to “describe American citizens who disagree with the direction Washington Democrats are taking our nation,” adding, “using such broad-based generalizations about the American people is simply outrageous.”


Well it's not looking so "outrageous" now. It's a fact that since 911 home grown extremists have killed more people in the United States than "extremists motivated by al Qaeda's ideology".


So why did Lindsey Graham make these bold and frightening statements, now?


Well it's politics season here in America. Time to put fear in the mind of Joe Voter so that he will vote for the party who he believes can best protect him  from all the evil out there.


Sadly, by the time Joe Voter realizes that the "evil-doer" was his neighbor or his neighbor's child, it will be too late.


"Today in the United States, al Qaeda-type terrorism is the province of individuals with no real connection to foreign terrorists, aside from reading their propaganda online. Given this, it becomes harder to explain, in terms of American national security, why violence by homegrown right wing extremists receives substantially less attention than does violence by homegrown jihadist militants."


Because "right wing extremists" vote too. 


    

Hawkish on Russia.

Lots of hills and trees where I live, so this snow has me chilling at home today. I honestly don't feel like digging my way out of it. Old Man Winter I give up; you win this year.




Anyway, I caught just a little of the Oscars last night, and it was nice to see the beautiful and classy Lupita Nyongo  win the statue for best supporting actress for her acting in Twelve Years A Slave. (Shout out to my man John Ridley for winning a statue for that movie as well.) Maybe "the times they are a changing."




I am still trying to figure why these very wealthy people get free clothes from very expensive designers, and gift bags with over $80,000.00 worth of goodies.


Anyway, enough about fun and games in Tinseltown , there are serious things happening in other parts of the world. Vladimir Putin is still flexing his muscle in the Ukraine region and, so far, America and her allies in Europe are still trying to figure out what to do with Russia's version of Ronnie Reagan.


I know that John Kerry says that "all options are on the table", but the White House knows that realistically economic sanctions and kicking Mother Russia out of the G8-- which would really piss off Vladi-- is the only way to go. I like that idea. Go after Russian money and try to get European and American banks to cut off the pipeline to all that money from the uber rich Russian oligarchs.
Also, get more Europeans involved and engaged. It's their corner of the world, and they better get their butts in gear to try and protect it. Vladi might be trying to get at Poland next.


Of course the right-wingnuts in Washington, as is to be expected, have all come out to condemn the president and call him weak. They claim that Putin has been playing chess while Obama has been "playing marbles." 


The thing is, though, he is also their president, and America is involved in a very complicated and nuanced foreign crisis in a very volatile part of the world. So hearing senators attack a sitting president during this time was quite stunning to me. The only people whose "eyes are rolling" are those of us who see the right-wingnuts in this country for the lunatics that they really are.


Still, given the type of people we are dealing with, we shouldn't be surprised. They should understand, though, that their language only emboldens people like Vladimir Putin and weakens the perception of America in the world.


People like Lindsey Graham and Marco Rubio also seem to conveniently forget that W was in the same position as it relates to Putin in 2008 when he invaded Georgia.


But hey, let's not let facts get in the way of the latest right- wing talking points.


“I am deeply concerned that Russia’s ongoing military intervention in Crimea may soon expand to eastern Ukraine. Yesterday, President Obama said that Russia would face ‘costs’ if it intervened militarily in Ukraine. It is now essential for the President to articulate exactly what those costs will be and to take steps urgently to impose them."


McCain and those of his ilk are hoping that he tries to "impose" war, and the rest of us understand that when you deal with a madman, you have to tread very carefully.






     














  

Some rights are more important than others.

I find it interesting how right wingers in this country are concerned with the rest of us normal people sending the 2nd Amendment down a "slippery slope" but they could care less about the 5th and 14th Amendments.

"No background checks for assault weapons purchases!" they scream, because, in their minds, that slope is too slippery and too steep.

But don't you dare give that American citizen his Miranda warnings or afford him the due process that the Constitution affords him when he comes into contact with the criminal justice system. (I see you Lindsey Graham)

Unless Lindsey can show me that this Tsarnaev fellow was "palling around" with Al-Qaeda or that he supported them, the very act that Senator Graham supported prohibits us from prosecuting him militarily. I know that Lindsey is an old JAG lawyer, but he is wrong on this one. Just because young Mr. Tsarnaev shares the same ethnicity and religion with those evil Mooslims, that doesn't make him anymore of an "enemy combatant" than Dylan Klebold.

"You can't hold every person who commits a terrorist attack as an enemy combatant, I agree with that. But you have a right, with his radical Islamist ties and the fact that Chechens are all over the world fighting with Al Qaeda—I think you have a reasonable belief to go down that road, and it would be a big mistake not to go down that road. If we didn't hold him for intelligence-gathering purposes, that would be unconscionable."'

No Senator, the speed with which we are heading down the slope is what's "unconscionable."