Wondering on Wednesday 3/20/24

Ready... Set... Wonder!

Huh... A billionaire can't pay his bond, and can't find people to help him; I wonder how that happens? And I wonder whether at least some of the companies that won't help aren't helping because they simply don't want to be involved with him, rather than because they really can't help him? I'm also wondering, a bit, why the family doesn't tap their Russian connections, where they used to get 'all the money they need' for the business, or why Jared doesn't message his BFF, the Saudi Crown Prince, for help?

Speaking of help, the GoFundMe to raise money towards the penalty has crossed the $1.5M threshold, with over 26,000 donors contributing to the cause. I really wonder who contributes to something like this - it takes a special kind of person to want to donate money to help a billionaire meet his legal responsibilities, I think.

Dartmouth men's basketball players voted to unionize earlier this month after they were deemed to be employees of the school by a regional National Labor Relations Board office. Needless to say, that prompted a whole lot of discussion on what this means more broadly for the NCAA: how will athletes be paid, how much, and would it be only for their season, or for the entire year, what about NIL, and so on. 

Me? I can't help wondering what the $3.6B in scholarships given to 180,000 DI and DII student-athletes is for, if it's not payment for their services?  

And since we're talking about the NCAA, I also wonder why it insists on opening Pandora's Portal of Program Doom before the seasons are officially over? It happens with football, and now basketball. What on earth is the point of encouraging players to end their season before their season ends?  

Finally, I wonder whether NCAA executives have considered changing careers?  They would make, um, "perfect" additions to pretty much any political office, right? They have all the critical experience: they know how to grab as much money as possible from sponsors and donors, make ridiculous rules that even they don't understand, ignore how those rules impact their constituents, and wait for someone else to fix the mess for them, like they're doing with NIL. If that's not a perfect fit, I don't know what is. 

Back to the billionaire. Donald 'Orange Jesus' Trump, a man alleged to have shared our national secrets with members of his residence/private club, is now eligible to receive national security updates as the presumptive Republican nominee. Given his propensity for blurting out whatever the hell crosses his mind, creating alternative facts at the drop of a hat, and his um, alleged inability to differentiate what's his and what's government property, I'm wondering if we should limit what's shared to only weather forecasts with national implications.

Think about it: the forecasts are specific as to locations, risks, potential damage, and populations impacted. Depending on the situation, forecasts even include global modeling. Surely, they should count as 'national security,' right? I wonder - only a little bit, though - what else a narcissist like the OJ would need. Shouldn't knowing how many of his followers, how many "real Americans," are in the path of a storm, or at least within the Cone of Uncertainty sponsored by Sharpie, be enough? 

Trump is suing George Stephanopoulos (and ABC News) for defamation because Stephanopoulos called him a rapist during his incredibly embarrassing interview with Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC). In the interview, Stephanopoulos repeatedly said that Trump was "found liable for rape" by a jury, which is untrue; the jury in the first E. Jean Carroll case found that he did not commit rape under the definition in NYS law at that time. It was Judge Lewis Kaplan who determined that Trump committed rape 'as commonly understood.' 

I wonder if George has considered that he could lose this case? After all, his interview was dripping with malice, towards Trump and Mace. I also wonder if he has second thoughts about inviting a Congresswoman on his show, specifically because she publicly talked about her own rape, specifically to shame her about her political decisions? And the one I wonder the most about: did his wife welcome him home with open arms after that grotesque interview?  I sure as hell hope not.

One last little bit of wondering on this one, now that NY has changed the definition of rape to match what Judge Kaplan said people understand 'rape' to mean, is someone responsible for updating the myriad references to sexual assault in the NYS criminal code before this change goes into effect in September? Are sentencing guidelines being updated? Are DAs receiving training on how to present cases to grand juries? 

What's on your wondering mind tonight?

Let's Fight This - TOGETHER!

A Special Message from

the Twice-Impeached 

45th President of the 

United States

They've got it all wrong, the Lame Stream Media, the liars on CNN and MSDNC and the failing New York Times and the Bezos Washington Post and all the rest... they've got it All Wrong. 

Let me give you the Truth about what's happening here. 

First of all, I didn't lose the election. 

I didn't lose the election, so there was no reason for me to pack anything, so I didn't pack anything, because I won and wasn't going to be leaving. And I'd still be your President, Right Now, and there wouldn't have been a problem if only Georgia had found those 11,780 votes like I asked them to, and like Lindsey asked them to, and like Rudy asked them to, and like everyone else asked them to. 

Or Arizona, too, if they had done the right thing. Or Michigan, or Nevada, or  Pennsylvania, or Wisconsin. So if they had just done the right thing, none of this would be happening right now, and all my documents would be safe and the Country would be safe, our Borders and our Stock Market and our Taxes - everything would be safe, if they had just done the right thing. 

But they didn't and when that wimp, that un-American, un-Patriotic traitor Mike Pence refused to do the right thing and send it back to the states like he was supposed to, I was stuck. I swear, my Secret Service guys should have just grabbed him and stuffed him in the SUV. Worthless. 

Anyway, Melania was so frazzled that we were leaving - she had more decorating to do, and stuff to document just like she was doing on January 6th and didn't know anything about what was happening, she really didn't - she was upset, she loved it here - she just started throwing stuff in Tupperware bowls and tubs and stuff, even the jewelry I gave her, the ungrateful wench. 

And there I was, alone. Jared was, I don't know, showering all day long or counting his Saudi money with his crook of a father - why did I pardon him again? 

Those worthless sons of mine were probably out golfing or something, or maybe Donny Jr was home waiting for what's her name, the "The Best is Yet To Come!" girl I paid $60,000 to for introducing Don Jr. to the crowd at the Ellipse on January 6th - what a waste of money she is! And how on earth was she married to that incompetent commie nutjob in California, Gavin Newsom? And now she's my son's fiancé? What did I do to deserve this?

And my beloved Ivanka was home with those Beautiful grandchildren of mine, aren't they Beautiful? They are the most beautiful grandchildren a man could have, right? Just Beautiful, through and through.

So the staff people, the ones that I hadn't scared off,  the staff came running up to the residence with boxes every day, packing, packing, boxing up everything they could get their hands on, I don't even know what they put in all the boxes, the stuff was just thrown in, all willy-nilly, and then the boxes were stuffed in the truck and off everything went to my Beautiful, Historic, Important Mar-a-Lago, the most Famous house in all the world.

I barely managed to get my hands on the compromising photo books, and my pictures of Vlad - it was crazy.

And then, when they reached out to me last year, I had no idea there was anything being stored at my beloved Mar-a-Lago that I wasn't supposed to have. I thought I had taken care of most of the stuff anyone would worry about; that was ripped up and disposed of at the White House. 

And what about that Crooked Hillary flunky, Maggie Haberman, the third-rate NY Times reporter - half the kid her parents were, for sure, sharing those pictures... who takes pictures of other peoples' toilets?

And remember when I complained about having to flush and flush and flush? Yeah, well now you understand right? Damn 'green' toilets. You gotta flush and flush and flush them, it's a mess. Horrible.

And in January when I gave them boxes, they were boxes I had never even seen before, maybe someone found them in the back of Melania's closet, that's why I didn't know anything about them. And so, they took the boxes and I thought that was it. They even got back that meteorological map of Dorian - just like I told you, Alabama was in danger the whole time! 

And then they said other stuff was missing.

And so I let the lawyers handle everything, and they all said we gave everything back, and that's what they told them, so I just assumed that there was nothing left. They even signed something, saying they had given everything back, I didn't even know we had anything, I didn't pack anything.

And then we heard from them again - good lord, don't these people have anything do to other than pester me about boxes of stuff I know nothing about? Why aren't they trying to put Crooked Hillary in jail? Why the hell aren't they publishing all the stuff off Hunter's laptop, all the Biden Crime Family stuff, instead of trying to pretend there's a Trump Crime Family? What a lie! Everything I have, I've earned the hard way, ever since I was a kid. Even my bone spurs, hard-fought battle but I got them.

'Put a new lock on the door', they said - 'it's not secure enough,' they said. So we did, and even that wasn't good enough, they wanted the camera footage and they sent a subpoena, and still we were cooperating with them, just like from the beginning when the White House Staff filled the boxes and put them in the truck and then they came and picked stuff up. 

Just like I've said all along, if they wanted the boxes back, I would have given them back, but they never asked. And once they sent the subpoena, why should I give them back the boxes? Just because they sent me a subpoena? 

I've gotten hundreds of subpoenas in my life, and I never just do what they ask me to, that's ridiculous, especially when Trump is under attack, all the time, my entire life. I've been sued more times than anyone in history! My legal files are the biggest you've never seen! They're massive, way bigger than Obama's! I can show you - mine are bigger, no question about it.

And it doesn't matter anyway, because I declassified everything - every single piece of paper, photo, post-it note, article, white paper, briefing book, eyes only piece of paper they shoved under my nose - I declassified it ALL - all at the same time. They must know that, everyone knows that - I can do it, and I did it, and all of this is stupid. Nothing is classified anymore, I declassified all of it, I stood right there over the boxes. 

Oh, wait that's not how I did it, I had no idea what was in the boxes, the staff took care of that. But I declassified everything, everything in the residence was declassified, even if it wasn't classified in the first place. 

And even if I didn't, it doesn't matter, because all of this is old stuff now, since they kicked me out of my White House in January 2021, that bastard Mike Pence, we should have hung him, just like I said. So how can something a year-and-a-half old be a threat to Our Great Country? 

Well, it was Great once, now it's a Third World Country with the libs and Sleepy Joe and Carmella and Drunk Nancy and Cryin' Chuck and the Radical Left Squad and the Woke Mob in charge - what a Mess they have made of our Beautiful Country, right? Antifa and BLM and all the rest...

And now that we've got this NEW Witch Hunt, after the Fake Russia Russia Russia and Impeachment#1 and Impeachment #2 and Mueller's Fake Witch Hunt, now we've got another one to deal with and I tell you, real Americans are just not going to stand for this anymore! We must FIGHT to get Our Great Country back again. And that's exactly what I'm going to do.

Because these documents that I never took and didn't know I had and they could have had back at any time just by asking for them and they're not top secret any longer because it's old stuff on old paper, and besides, I declassified EVERYTHING, and this RAID on my Beautiful Home, the most Beautiful, Famous home in the world, ask anyone, this Raid and this Unlawful Search - they touched Melania's clothes, can you believe that? I think one of them even put on her I Don't Care Do U? jacket, we saw that on the camera, I'm sure we did.

These are just the tip of the iceberg that's going to hit Our Country if we don't stop the woke mob, the lazy liberals who are trying to turn us into a Fourth World Country and if there weren't any of those last week, we're the first and best Country ever to become one. And don't believe any of that Climate Change crap; if it was so warm, why do we still have icebergs? And that iceberg aiming for America right now? 

Civil war, I tell you. Some people are saying we're on the verge of a civil war.

I even called Merrick Garland - and have you ever heard anyone so wimpy? His mother Judy, boy could she sing, right? He sounds like a little kid up there, trying to convince his parents he wasn't out drinking with what's her name, that Renate person... oh wait, that's a different judge, never mind. 

Anyway, Garland, I called him, asked him what I could do to calm things down after HE raided MY house, SEIZED my documents that I never had and even if I did have them, it doesn't matter because there's nothing wrong with it, and besides, I declassified everything back in January before I left Washington so I wouldn't have to be there for the Fake Inauguration of the Fake President. 

Here I am, trying to help, and what do I get? NOTHING! Merrick Garland, he didn't even take my call. We get nothing, Patriots - you and I, we get nothing. But that's all going to change. 

With your help, and your prayers, and your donations, we will Fight this Together! We Love You. You are all Beautiful, Special people. Stand back and stand by, and if you do that near an FBI office, that's even better. 

We Love You. 

And we will fight this together.

Rush your Generous Donation to the

Protect Melania's Wardrobe and Keep The "Justice" Department 

and the Liars at the FBI from Ruining Our Great Country PAC

right away (you can just ignore the highlighted box

making this a daily contribution - that's just a joke). 

We love you. And together We. Will. Save. America.

And if you donate within the next 45 minutes, we'll make sure

the President sees your name at the top of the list of America-loving Patriots.

And if yours is the lucky name he circles with his Presidential Sharpie,

you could win tickets to his next rally. 

And remember to vote against

Liz Cheney. Even if you don't live in Wyoming. 

Thank you for your support. 

You're a helluva Patriot.

Wondering on Wednesday 4/13/22

Ready... Set... Wonder!

Do you think, if people ever got their heads out of Hunter Biden's laptop, they might wonder how on earth Jared Kushner managed to get his hands on $2,000,000,000 of sovereign money from Saudi Arabia for his new private equity fund, called Affinity Partners?

Do you think wonder how Kushner got the investment, against the better judgment of the panel that screens investment opportunities for the Saudi billions, and why that panel was overruled by Jared's WhatsApp messaging friend, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, given these issues:

the "inexperience of the Affinity Fund management"; the possibility that the kingdom would be responsible for “the bulk of the investment and risk”; due diligence on the fledgling firm’s operations that found them “unsatisfactory in all aspects”; a proposed asset management fee that “seems excessive”; and “public relations risks” from Mr. Kushner’s prior role as a senior adviser to his father-in-law, former President Donald J. Trump...

I wonder if any of them ever think about why they're so quick to find fault with inexperienced, unqualified oh-what-a-jerk-he-is Hunter Biden currying favor with other countries while his father was a senator or even when he was vice president, and don't give a MAGA-hat's worth of crap about what Jared is doing now? And may have done before, in his role as an official representative of the United States? 

I wonder why the jerks who get in fights on airplanes because oh-the-horror-they-have-to-wear-a-mask don't just pack their families and their freedom into the SUV and drive to wherever the heck they want to be, instead of getting on a plane in the first place?

I wonder if Mark Meadows regrets saying his official residence was a rusty trailer on Scaly Mountain? He's been removed from the voter rolls in NC, the state where "his" trailer lives, while an investigation is conducted into potential voter fraud. Or, if he at least regrets the 'Scaly Mountain' part?

Lauren Boebert, who represents a couple of people somewhere, I guess, wondered out loud about the recent election in France.

The socialist nation of France held elections today.

In that election there was no mail-in voting, early voting, or use of voting machines.

There was a mandatory proof of ID to vote.

Why can’t we get that basic election security here?

I wonder if she's figured out yet that we can't do here what they do there, because (a) we're not a socialist nation, (b) we don't have one set of election rules that everyone must follow, (c) we don't have automatic voter registration, and (d) she doesn't want us to be or have any of those things?

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott bused illegal immigrants to Fox News in Washington DC so their 'coming to America' moment could be memorialized for eternity. He also set up state inspections of commercial vehicles crossing the Texas/Mexico border through legal checkpoints in another stunt to draw attention to the border, immigration, and how effective he is as governor, or something. 

He's so effective, he's causing his own set of supply chain issues, much to the dismay of truckers, the Customs and Border Protection folks, the Mexican government and, you know, consumers everywhere. 

Oh - did I mention the truckers blocking the Mexican side, in protest of Abbott's initiative? I wonder if Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Cancun) will go visit the truckers and share their 'Freedom from Stupid Texas Mandates' message with right-wing media outlets? Or was that only good for his home country of Canada?

What are you wondering about tonight?

The Trump Years, in Movies

I stumbled upon an old article  - from 2018 - about a bunch of movies that long-time movie critic Roger Ebert really didn't like. Um, let me rephrase that - movies that he hated.  Per the article

When Roger Ebert hated a film, he didn't mince words. Here are 50 movies the Pulitzer Prize-winning writer absolutely loathed (including a couple of surprises that you might very well love), along with with his dry assessments of their value (or lack thereof). 

Glancing through the clips, I was amused by how many of them were applicable to the four years of the Trump administration, with only some minor tweaks.  Below are my reviews, using Ebert's words for the most part, and actual movie titles, adapted to fit the last four years. 

For example, consider  The Usual Suspects. In Trumpworld, that would be Kushner, and Pompeo, and Pence, and Kudlow, and Navarro, and of course Donny Jr, and many others. Here's the review, with my italicized changes:

Once again, my comprehension began to slip, and finally I wrote down: 'To the degree that I do understand, I don't care.' It was, however, somewhat reassuring at the end of his term to discover that I had, after all, understood everything I was intended to understand. It was just that there was less to understand than the administration at first suggests.

Or, for example, consider Fast Times at Pennsylvania Ave. (2019-2020)

The whole presidency is a failure of taste, tone, and nerve - the waste of a mediocre cast on erratic, offensive material that hasn't been thought through, or maybe even thought about.

How fitting is that, considering the many ill-fated Executive Orders, the government shutdown, the immigration debacles, and more? 

In an administration that was constantly threatening that we were on the brink of Armageddon (2017, 2018, 2019, 2020) if we didn't listen to and follow our feckless leader no matter what, and where the communications team was constantly in a state of flux, confusion, and complicity, this review was definitely earned.

The Trump presidency is an assault on the eyes, the ears, the brain, common sense, and the human desire to be understood... Trump reportedly used the services of dozens of writers, yes-men, and press secretaries. Why did he need any? His dialogue is either character-limited tweets or self-serving drivel. 'Winning' is used so many times, I wonder if every single writer used it a few dozen times and then sat back from his smartphone with a contented smile on his face, another day's work done.

And then there's Donny Boy (2017).

No one is funny in Donny Boy. There are no memorable lines. None of the characters is interesting, except for the enigmatic figure played by Omarosa Manigault, who seems to have wandered over from The Celebrity Apprentice. Judging by the evidence on the screen, the presidency got a green light before a useable platform had been prepared, with everybody reassuring themselves that since they were such talented people, inspiration would overcome them.

Watching Trump Got Elected (2016) was painful, for sure. 

This movie doesn't scrape the bottom of the barrel. This moving isn't the bottom of the barrel. This moving isn't below the bottom of the barrel. This movie doesn't deserve to be mentioned in the same sentence with barrels.

The president often told us how he hired only the best people, and one of them would have to be his son-in-law, about whom the movie Jared (2017) was made.

The story might perhaps be adequate for an animated film for children, with Jared, MBS and the others played by piglets. In the arena of movies about nepotism, it is a desolate vastation. Nothing exiting happens, nothing of interest is said, and the special wardrobes evoke not a place or time, but, simply wardrobes.

And it would be hard to talk about the Trump administration without mentioning our great First Lady Melania, who starred in 2017's Exit from Manhattan.

I'm sorry, but I just don't get Melania Trump. I've seen her in three or four movies now, and she generally has the same effect on me as fingernails on a blackboard. She's harsh and abrupt and staccato and doesn't seem to be having any fun. She looks mean...  What were your first thoughts when Melania turned up in the leather dominatrix uniform? Did you maybe have slight misgivings that you were presiding over one of the more misguided film projects of recent years?

One of the more, um, interesting characters of the last four years has to be the senior senator from South Carolina, who is the title character in Lindsey Graham, What a Ham.

Graham makes a living prostituting himself. How much he charges, I'm not sure, but the price is worth it if it keeps him off the streets and out of another movie. Lindsey Graham is aggressively bad, as if it wants to cause suffering to the audience... Speaking in my official capacity as a Pulitzer Prize winner, Mr. Graham, your career sucks.

Another incredibly dull character from the Trump years? Ivanka "If she wasn't my daughter I'd be dating her" Trump, another of the unelected bureaucrats doing their darnedest to destroy our hearts and souls. She was the star of her own full-length feature, She's Out of Control (2019).

What planet did the makers of this film come from? What assumptions do they have about the purpose and quality of life? I ask because She's Out of Control is simultaneously so bizarre and so banal that it's a first: the first movie fabricated entirely from sitcom clichés and plastic lifestyles, without reference to any known plane of reality.

Sadly, there were two particularly unfortunate career sacrifices during the early years of the Trump administration. Potentially irreparable harm was done not when the Old Generals (2018) announced they were leaving the administration, but rather when they each joined it.  

Old Generals is stupefyingly dimwitted. What were Mattis and Kelly thinking of? Apparently their agents weren't perceptive enough to smell the screenplay in it's advanced state of decomposition, but wasn't there a loyal intern in the office to catch them at the elevator and whisper, 'you've paid too many dues to get involved with such crap at this stage in your careers'?

Holidays are always important at the White House, and the Trump years were no different. Well, actually, they were kind of different. The First Lady was not fond of the decorating, we learned.  And so it seemed that Christmas with the Trumps was destined to take harsh criticism. 

It's a holiday movie of stunning awfulness that gets even worse when it turns gooey at the end. And what is it finally so happy about? Why, that the Trumps succeed in enforcing their lockstep conformity upon their colleagues? They form a herd mentality, without the mentality. The movie is not funny, ever, in any way, beginning to end.

Some of the decorations were downright scary, too. 

And then, there's the bio-pic, The Apprentice President, in which Trump is the writer, director, producer, key grip, set designer, costume designer, props manager, makeup artist, editor, sound engineer, location manager, gaffer, best boy, caterer, florist, art director, stunt coordinator, stable genius, and more.

Trump's whole presence in this movie is offensively narcissistic. His speeches are melodramatic, interchangeable, self-aggrandizing groans and anguished shouts, backed protectively by patriotic symbols and cloying sycophants. His dramatic presence also looks over-protected, as if nobody was willing to risk offending him by asking him to seem involved, caring and engaged. Trump plays the whole movie looking at people's third shirt buttons, as if he can't be bothered to meet their eyes and relate with them. It's strange about the Trump performance. It's not just that he can't govern.  It's that he sends out creepy vibes. He seems self-absorbed, closed off, grandiose, out of touch with his immediate surroundings.

And finally, as our long national nightmare draws to a close, we close out the critical acclaim with one last look at the Trump years, via the movie 45.  

I hated this movie. Hated hated hated hated hated hated this movie. Hated it. Hated every simpering stupid vacant audience-insulting moment of it. Hated the sensibility that thought anyone would like it. Hated the implied insult to the audience by its believe that anyone would be entertained by it.

That's funny. So did I.  So did I. 

Sunday School 8/16/20

What to do, what to do?  Full classrooms today, and I have to pick what to share with you...

Here's what I'll do:  Bernie Sanders - That Guy from Vermont (TGFV), remember him?  - made appearances with Chuck Todd, Jake Tapper and George Stephanopoulos - so we'll see how the three interviews stack up in tomorrow's Extra Credit.

Today, we'll hear from the president's 4th Chief of Staff Mark Meadows (a decision I might regret, we'll see), his 4th National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien, and I'll see if I can fit in his 1st son-in-law, the ever-whiny Jared Kushner, and the ever-hopeful Sen. Cory Booker.

Let's start with O'Brien, who talked with Chuck Todd on MTP. The conversation started with the agreement to normalize relations between the UAE and Israel; they've been working together for years, but this made all of that official. 

• On when Saudi Arabia might make a similar arrangement: It's possible they could be next. With this deal, you're now going to have direct flights from those fantastic airports... we're going to have Arab and Muslim pilgrims coming to Jerusalem and going up to the Mount and worshiping at the Al-Aqsa Mosque. And we think that's something that will be a great confidence builder. 

• On the annexation question: ...we're pretty confident, the UAE is confident, that Israel will not unilaterally extend sovereignty or Israeli law to parts of the West Bank. And that's what part of this deal is about. 

• On whether the US would be in a better spot vis-a-vis the Iranian arms embargo if we were still part of the nuclear deal (the JCPOA): I think getting out of the JCPOA was the predicate for this fantastic deal between UAE and Israel. 

• On whether it's a policy failure that Russia is still interfering in our election: the DNI report...detailed the influence and the efforts of China and of Iran to denigrate President Trump and to make sure that he's not re-elected. It also talked about the Russian interference...we've spent millions and millions of dollars hardening election infrastructure, working with 50 secretaries of states on cyber security. And we've also sent very strong messages to all these countries. With respect to Russia, I mean, we've put so many sanctions on Russia, there's almost nothing left to sanction. 

And now, Meadows, who spoke with Jake Tapper on CNN's State of the Union.

• On why the president is trying to prevent Americans from voting by mail: The president doesn't have a problem with anybody voting by mail, if you would look at it in terms of maybe a no-excuse absentee ballot.. this debate is really over a process. A number of states are now trying to figure out how they're going to go to universal mail-in ballots. That's a disaster, where we won't know the election results on November 3, and we might not know it for months.  And, for me, that's problematic, because the Constitution says that then... a Nancy Pelosi and the House would actually pick the president on January 20. So, we need to make sure that we do it right.

• On whether the president would support a standalone bill to fund the Post Office: Let's -- let's put it with enhanced unemployment extension. Let's put it with small business reform in terms of the PPP and extending that. Let's get that. Will the president sign that? Yes, he will sign that. And I'm certain...

• On whether Meadows would tell Louis DeJoy to respond to the bipartisan group of Secretaries of State who have requested a meeting with the him: Well, what I will tell him, and as he's already mentioned to Senator Schumer and Speaker Pelosi the other day, is -- is that he's willing to put the resources necessary to make sure the mail process -- is processed. 

• On the difference between voting by mail in Florida and say, voting by mail in Pennsylvania: So, here's the difference. I can't tell you about Pennsylvania, because I don't know the difference there. All I do know is, the governor of Pennsylvania is talking like he doesn't have any money to pay for enhanced unemployment and some of these other things, when he's got $3.6 billion sitting in the bank. So that was -- was a misnomer. But, as we look at that, here's what I can tell you, is absentee no- excuse, what I call no-excuse absentee, say, listen, I'm concerned because of the pandemic, will you send me an absentee ballot that comes directly to me, I certify that, I have a signature requirement that makes sure that it's me that's actually voting, and I send it back...

• On the fact that there's no evidence of widespread voter fraud: There's no -- there's no -- there's no evidence that there's not either. That's the definition of fraud. Jake. When we look at that, what we have seen are a number of mail ballots that get lost.

I can't take it anymore. I've cut out a lot of the stuff in between the bullets here, because it was all just more of the same. And there was more of the more of the more of the same. Let's have this one last exchange on voting.

• On whether the president will guarantee that he will do everything he can to help people vote: No, no, I'll give you that guarantee. I'll give you that guarantee right now. The president of the United States is not going to interfere with anybody casting their vote in a legitimate way, whether it's the post office or anything else.

And I'll close this part with the actual definition of fraud, from the good folks at Merriam-Webster:

And now, Sen. Cory Booker, also with Tapper:

• On whether he stands by his previous criticism of Joe Biden: As far as Joe Biden is concerned, I'm proud of the hard-fought primary that we had. He emerged from a wide field of people as our choice, as our champion. And I'm proud of that. And I'm proud of the dialogue that we had, rich, vibrant dialogue.

And now I am confident, looking at their criminal justice plans and partnering, especially now, as he's done, with Kamala Harris, one of the champions on criminal justice. I have no worry about the degrees at which Joe Biden will be tearing down the awful institutions of mass incarceration in America, that he will be a champion to help get the bill that Kamala and I wrote on the Senate side done that creates just -- excuse me -- police accountability.

So, as a United States senator, as an African-American, I am excited about what Biden and Harris will do for advancing criminal justice, rolling back mass incarceration, an really, frankly, having a broader view of what public safety is by investing in things like health care, environmental justice, education, and more.

• On whether he was surprised by the 'birther' attacks against Sen. Kamala Harris: ...when you have African-American women who are rising up in positions that there have never been African-American women in before, that people are going to viciously attack them on gender and race.  

...the gendered words that this president has been using about Kamala, attacking her in extraordinarily awful ways, just reflects the demeaning and degrading language he's used about blacks, about black and brown places, about congresspeople, telling them to go back where they have come from, when they were born in this country. This is nothing new, nothing surprising.

What I don't think Trump understands is that Kamala Harris has been fighting this fight her entire career, rising to positions where she was the first African-American woman in -- time and time again. So, if there's anybody that's ready for this kind of mess, it's Kamala Harris. 

And just like that, Jared ends up on the cutting room floor.  Sorry/not sorry. Don't forget the all-TGFV Extra Credit coming up tomorrow.

I'll see you around the virtual campus. You'll know it's me because I'm wearing a mask and keeping my distance - and I'll know you, because you're doing the same thing. 

Wondering on Wednesday (v220)

Ready... Set... Wonder!

Well, no more wondering on who will be Papa Joe Biden's running mate: it's California Senator Kamala Harris. I think she was the most logical choice, and I'm glad we're no longer "hanging here, glued to the floor," like a defensive player in a college basketball game, waiting for the announcement. And if you're wondering, I'm not the originator of the hanging/glued image; rather, that's one of the classic lines from the late Joel Mareiniss, a sportscaster in my neck of the woods back in the day. 

Anyway - on the Harris decision, one of the big wonderings, which I've seen repeatedly over the past few hours, is the question of how the Trump team will attack: do they go the misogynist route, or the racist route? Now, I know for most people that wouldn't be a hard choice at all - it would be neither - but we're not dealing with "most people" here, are we? 

Here's a cautionary note that folks working for the president might want to consider, from an article from Reuters, which suggested Harris may be an "elusive target" for the Trumpeters.  

More concerning for Trump: Attacks that could appear sexist or racist against the first Black woman on a major party ticket in U.S. history could complicate his campaign’s effort to shore up his standing among suburban women, a critical voting bloc he must win back in order to get re-elected, strategists on both sides say.

According to this article from Vanity Fair Hive, others thing that Mrs. Suburban Housewife might succumb to Trump tactics, particularly if he attacks Harris well.

Other Trumpworld insiders are thrilled at the opportunity to define Harris as a radical leftist, a portrayal echoed Tuesday night on Fox News. “She’s going to help with the base, and that’s where it ends,” a Trump adviser predicted. “She’ll scare the shit out of suburban women. How great is this?” Trump has taken to stoking fears that a Biden victory will fuel unrest in “Democrat-run cities,” a barely disguised racist appeal that he picked up again on Wednesday morning following the Harris announcement. “The ‘suburban housewife’ will be voting for me,” he tweeted. The adviser added that Biden would soon regret choosing a high-wattage running mate. “This is not Mike Pence to Donald Trump or Joe Biden to Obama. Kamala is going to be the candidate. She’ll be constantly overshadowing him. In three to four weeks, Biden is going to realize he made a dumb move.” 

One thing upon which no wondering will be spent? How "nasty" this is going to get. It's already getting that way. I'll just say that the fact-checkers at Facebook and Twitter and Instagram better load up on covfefe and hydroxy and hamberders and whatever else suits their fancy, because I sense there'll be a whole bigly lot of blocking going on, going on.

What else do we have to wonder about? Football. Will there be college football this fall, or not until the spring, or not at all? Will the NFL get their season underway, as planned? And what about the kneeling - if someone kneels during the national anthem, will there be presidential hell to pay? Will we be called upon to boycott pro teams and their sponsors? And what on earth will happen the remaining Power 5 Conferences decide to follow the Big 10 and the Pac 12 and punt, as it were? As of now, it's still a go for the others, but who knows where things'll stand later.

Moving on to QAnon - something I honestly NEVER anticipated typing - it seems we'll have an honest to goodness supporter of the conspiracy theorists in the House come January. As noted in this NPR story,

Marjorie Taylor Greene, a construction executive, won 57% of the vote in Georgia's heavily-Republican 14th Congressional District, handily defeating neurosurgeon John Cowan, who had pitched himself as, "All of the conservative, none of the embarrassment."

Nice pitch there, by Cowan - too bad it apparently was way too far out of the strike zone for voters in the district. I wonder, do the rest of the Republicans agree with him on that? Well, it seems even House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy does; according to his spox, he found Greene's views "appalling."  But, on the other hand,

President Trump congratulated Greene on Wednesday morning, calling her a "future Republican Star" who is "strong on everything."

Like, you know, conspiracy theories and hate and stuff. And speaking of conspiracy theorists and hate and stuff, here's Alex Jones harassing people working at a park in Austin. You can wonder on your own about him. And wonder what that coveted suburban woman demographic thinks of him attacking their children...

One more crazy thing? It appears that Kanye West, the Birthday Party candidate for president, met recently with Jared Kushner, the president's daughter's husband. I wonder, do you think they were talking about cake? I mean, Ivanka's got a birthday coming up in a few months...

And finally, I'll leave you with a prediction - because everyone's predicting Trump/Pence will win (or Biden/Harris will), or that the polls are right (or wrong), or that it will rain (or not) or that something else will happen (or it won't). A friend, who's not a fan of either Trump or Biden, asked me last night whether Harris would still get to be the VP when Biden gets the hook at the Democratic National Convention. When I asked for clarification, here's what he said, in part.

It's 2020 - something crazy's going to happen last minute to completely change everything... 

And you know what I'm wondering?  What. If. He's. Right?

The pandemic... bubonic plague... murder hornets... Megxit and Brexit... A nearly 3,000 point drop in the Dow...  Cancelled Olympics... 20,000,000 million Americans unemployed... UFO videos... SpaceX Dragon... lots more weird stuff this year, already, as well.

So, what if he's right?  We'll find out next week.

What are you wondering about?

Ranting and Raving (v5): Pandemic Pandemonium

Boy, don't you love a good pandemic and the pandemonium it causes? I sure do. We've got the quote-unquote #fakenewews reporting actual data and actual news and we've got people who don't know the difference between news reporting and opinion columns conflating the two and losing their minds over the WRONG thing when the right thing is sitting right in front of them, and we've got the president reporting #fakenews and his feelings and his #stablegeniousity and the rumblings in his gut and that's what his supporters are hanging on to and EVERYTHING IS GREAT because there are FACTS when the are none and the are LIES when there is truth and those people (yes, I said 'those people') are now promoting #FireFauci on Twitter because the virus-fighting doc who has served not one, not two, not three, not four, not five but SIX six presidents (and no, the best was not saved for last), is doing doctor-talk and science-speak and truth-telling and mostly because he had the audacity to correct the #fakenewspresident, the #Trumpeters are trumpeting that THE DOC HAS TO GO and there's a chance that he will be fired because as we know, the #celebritypresident likes nothing better than bigly good numbers on social media - he's #1 on Facebook and ratings for his daily failed #socialdistancingexercises are through the ROOF! - he has to do what his Keyboard Kops tell him to do especially if #FauxNews aka #TNN (Trump News Network) picks it up and oh by the way, someone apparently told Trump if he #wenttoJared and dragged him out on the rally stage the heat would be off, which it was, and that allowed Trump cover to fire the ICIG who said that the #whistleblower was telling the truth and provided proof that it was (but I digress) so NOW, we have Pence and Jared and Navarro and Gaynor and Adams and SnittySnittyBillBarr (what the hell was HE doing up there?) and people think the GOVERNORS are being childish because they're complaining about not being able to get straight answers???? Dear Lord, this really low bar administration sure can raise the bar on chaos, can't it? (Takes breath and stiff drink) And SPEAKING of the governors, most of whom (all of the Blue State ones for sure) are doing a better job than the point people and the president, some of them (Red State ones for sure) are getting MORE supplies than they request, and they're getting more, MORE THAN ONCE and meanwhile, the governors and the county execs and town supervisors and mayors ('mares' as the president calls them - time for him to take a 'Bare' aspirin or something) are doing one helluva job trying to keep their people safe and not feeding us a boatload of BS from a rotating cast of characters on a stage where social distancing apparently doesn't apply. They tell us what we need to know, and they explain why they're making decisions and yet - AND YET - there's crap like what a semi-local radio host posted, that our Sonofa Gov Andrew Cuomo (I'm very more often not a fan of his, so don't start with me) is apparently doing everything he can to make sure that the folks who are dying from or with the #coronavirus are people who VOTED FOR HIS OPPONENT - I kid you not - because Cuomo said he was going to sign an executive order and have the National Guard take PPE, supplies and yes, probably 500 or so ventilators, maybe less, that are less likely to be needed upstate, or not needed right now, and deliver them downstate where the people are dying in numbers that are horrifying, that are are mind-numbing, that are stomach-turning and somehow we're supposed to get on board with the radiojerk's theory that he's signing our death certificates and committing EXECUTIVE HOMICIDE by working to figure out where people have things that they don't currently need (and may not need for the pandemic) and moving those to the place of greatest need IN THE ENTIRE COUNTRY -- but that's wrong? #WTF is he supposed to do, just let people downstate die? Would that make all of the haters happy? I mean, it's mostly just those immigrants (legal or otherwise) that are getting sick and dying, right? It's not like they're humans who had jobs and families and aspirations and dreams and birthdays and upcoming weddings and family reunions and what not, right? "Those people" that's who they are, right? Because here's the deal (as the radiojerk says all the time), the deal is, the morgues are full, people - FULL - and there are dozens and dozens of refrigerated trucks parked on the streets in NYC stacked high with bodies of the dead and we are anticipating that another 85 TRUCKS are going to be coming to NYC to hold more bodies of the dead and if you think that's happening here where we sit, let's put on our cloth facial coverings and go for a ride and SHOW ME THE BODIES piling up in Buffalo and Syracuse and Rochester and Watertown and Albany and Auburn and Oneonta and Penn Yan and Herkimer and Saratoga and Cortland and Webster and Henderson and Oswego and Cooperstown, show me the trucks full of bodies and convince me that the supplies are better sitting here, just in case, than they are down there where, literally (not just Joe Biden Literally) the bodies are piled high and THEN tell me that if the situation were reversed and it was up here where all those trucks were parked in neighborhoods near our hospitals and the morgues were full and every bed was full and every hallway was full of patients and the parking lots were all full of medical tents, you tell me that you wouldn't want said Homicidal Maniac Executive er, Executioner, sorry to do WHATEVER IT TAKES including sending in the National Guard to get whatever supplies we could get our hands on, for Pete's sake are you even listening to yourselves? And why is it I keep noticing that the same people spitting this stuff, include many Republican politicians,  are the ones echoing the 1,000,000,000% partisan political hack that we have as president telling us we all have to set politics aside and come together and blahdittyblahblahblah because we know he is mentally and morally incapable of doing that - and won't even try, doesn't even care enough for one Pearl Harbor Moment - but because HE says it THEY all say it and wave their flags in our faces? (Takes breath and stiff drink) Could the Sonofa Gov had done this differently? Sure, there's always a better way to do something, and he SHOULD have done it differently, but is he taking every last mask, face shield, pair of gloves and ventilator and wandering through hospitals checking voter registration data on downstate patient bracelets looking to buy one last vote and screw the Republicans who can't find a halfway decent candidate to run for anything in this state - ANYTHING - when he's not up for re-election until 2022? Stop it. Just. Stop. It. Is Cuomo the greatest thing since sliced bread? Of course not: everyone knows that Reese's Peanut Butter Cups are the greatest thing since sliced bread but oh -- by the way-- for the most part, ALL of the governors are doing the same thing, getting supplies from place A in their state and moving them to place B in their state, because what good are the supplies if they're not being used or are likely to not be needed to the same degree as they are needed NOW in other areas? And you know what else? Those other governors are SENDING SUPPLIES TO US and they're sending medical professionals to us, because THEY understand that the place of greatest need is where we need the greatest good, and because they know that New York would do the same for them, under the same circumstances, whether upstate folks like it or not, whether Republicans like it or not and honestly a Republican NY gov (yes we've had them before) would do the same thing, or he'd be called out for not doing the same thing by EXACTLY the same people who are bitching about the Sonofa Gov and you KNOW I'm right. So yes, regular readers, at this moment I'm actually siding with the politicians and yes, there's a chance that a little bit of hell might actually have just frozen over, but have no fear - there's more than enough hatred and fear and ill will to thaw it out pretty darn quickly and now I'm going out in my garden and getting the heck away from all this BS and pulling the weeds I can pull, vs. staying inside trying to pull the ones I can't control. (Takes breath and stiff drink).  Have a nice day. And don't forget to wash your hands.

TGIF 3/22/19

Ah! The first Friday of spring! 

Let's take a look at the week, starting with the late-breaking news we got today: the Mueller Investigation is over.

Yep - it's true. The confidential (as required by law) report has been turned in to William Barr, the AG, and he's already sent a letter to Congressional leaders letting them know he's get to them quickly with his initial summary of the report, maybe even this weekend.

We won't know for a while, at least until Barr gets back to Congress, how much of the report will be made public. Unless, of course, the Dems stop all of their other investigations and devote 100% of their time to trying to get the report released. Or, they could surprise me, and actually start trying to legislate and stuff.

The end of the investigation should be a good week for someone - just not sure who.  Maybe Mueller, who can go back to being his kind old self.

Moving on to North Korea, Chairman Kim had a good week, as the president tweeted today that he was cancelling sanctions that the US Treasury Department had decided to implement against some Chinese shipping companies. Why would Trump do that? Sarah Sanders gave us the scoop:

President Trump likes Chairman Kim and he doesn't think these sanctions will be necessary.

Sadly the good week for North Korea was a bad week for the Treasury Department; being undercut, apparently without warning, doesn't leave a good taste in anyone's mouth, I'm sure.

Speaking of without warning, Bibi Netanyahu is having a good week, it seems. First, he gets invited to spend a couple of days at hanging at the White House while he's in town to speak to AIPAC, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, and then the president decides (again) to tweet about policy, saying that it's time the US recognized Israel's sovereignty over the Golan Heights. 

Honestly -- just, here's a tweet, just here's a tweet, and then he moved on to free speech on campuses and then on from there to celebrating World Down Syndrome Day.  Just a typical day in the life of the 45th president. Never mind that Netanyahu is, again, in the think of a rough election campaign, and of course there are those indictments, but all in all, I think he had a good week.  

With the Mueller report, the sanction reversal, and the policy reversal on the Golan Heights, I'm not sure whether the United States had a good week or a bad one -- I guess we'll have to wait and see. 

What else was out there? Oh, yes -- seems Jared and Ivanka are using personal devices to handle official business, with Jared using an app to copy text messages and forward them to his official government account. 

So I guess that means that Hillary Clinton's having a good week, since there's now nothing wrong with that she did. 

TGIF, everyone. How was your week?

Wondering on Wednesday (v133)

Whoa Nellie, as the late sportscaster Keith Jackson used to say -- there's a lot of wondering going on here tonight!

I wonder what, exactly, Jared Kushner did to get his full and permanent security clearance?  Did he:

• stop filing amendments to his financial statements? 
• Stop remembering meetings and discussions and how much money he made and squirreled away under which mattresses? 
• Stop seeking financial help from foreign governments to bail out his troubled real estate company? 
• Promise to take the fall for his father-in-law should the need arise? 

I'm sure there's no correlation between his lengthy interview with the Special Counsel's office and his getting the security clearance. I mean, that would be some kind of crazy conspiratorial dark red state infowar-ish false flag kind of thing, and we all know that's just crazy talk. Right? That's just crazy talk?

And I wonder what exactly is the cause of the falling attendance and falling ratings for NASCAR and why isn't anyone on talking about it? Well, let me rephrase that -- no one other than the fake news is talking about it. But the truth seems to be that attendance is down, ratings are down, and the family business that is NASCAR might be put up for sale.  Now, I'm literally 0% interested in car racing, but when racetracks go so far as to remove tens of thousands of seats to improve their attendance numbers, or to make it look better on TV, we're in the bigly manipulation game, don't you think?

Now, you may be wondering why NASCAR attendance matters to a person like me; let me explain.  You all remember the NFL 'anthem protests' and how the Interferer in Chief thought that anyone who protested should be fired, and how he encouraged everyone to boycott, and how ratings and attendance were down? And how everyone said, boy, those NASCAR fans sure as shootin' would NEVER stand for anyone not standing for the flag...

Well, the truth is, NASCAR attendance is dropping, NFL attendance is dropping, MLB attendance is down, all at the same time. So, it kind of begs the question, were the anthem protests and the resulting bluster from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue the cause of the drop off, as the president likes to claim, or is there a general trend here that maybe he's not wanting to tweet about?

Speaking of the NFL, the owners and the commissioner did their darnedest to come up with a plan that would please? appease? the president and get him to stop yelling at them.  The plan? Any player who is on the field at the time the national anthem is played must stand and be respectful. Players are not required to be on the field during the anthem, but if they are, they must toe the line (while assuming a respectful position of course). Now, don't go yelling at me: I love my country, I know the words to the national anthem, and I stand -- I've pointed all of that out before, and it is still true today.

I wonder, though, what they'll blame for this year's attendance? Or, will the rules changes made in the offseason  (a hit is just a hit, a catch is but a catch...) be enough to get fans back? And what, I wonder, will all the fans who became experts on the NFL's rule book and operations manual do with all their free time going forward?

A couple quick notes: the NFL has been in existence since the 1920's. I think it's safe to say that the world did not come to an end in years between the start of the league and the start of players on the field for the anthem, which began in 2009. And similarly, if unrelated, the world didn't come to an end in all the years between the adoption of the Second Amendment and the Heller decision in 2008 - but I digress.

And now to the last wonderings of the night. Wondering so painful, I must say, that my head Joe Biden Literally exploded (which means, of course, that my head is still intact, and attached). Wondering so exhausting, I'm -- well, I'm exhausted. And sick. And sick tired of this stuff.

How, I wonder - how can it be possible that a person who is parked across two handicapped spaces in an empty drug store parking lot at 2AM ends up Tased, screamed at, put on the ground, arrested for being physically aggressive, scratched and bruised by four police officers and two police sergeants? In 2018? In an American city?

Well, it happens, you and I both know, because the guy who chose to park badly is black. He's black, he's young, he's wearing a chain, and did I mention he's black? It's ridiculous. It's embarrassing. It's shameful.

And so I have to ask, does anyone really wonder why athletes protest during the national anthem?

About the New US Embassy

Random thoughts on the opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem:

The president's daughter and son-in-law officially represented the United States, with Jared Kushner giving a long speech (one that, like many delivered around this time of year, had at least three or four endings) and Ivanka Trump 'helping' Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin pull the tarp off the dedication plaque. Here's a photo, in case you hadn't seen one (from JTA).

Yonatan Sindel/Flash 90

Noteworthy in the picture? The size of Trump's hands name, equal in significance to the name of the country to whom the embassy belongs. Noteworthy in Kushner's speech? The fact that he either ad-libbed or the White House edited the press copy of the speech to leave out the part about Palestinian protesters being part of the problem. I lean more towards the WH editing it (more on that in another post).

The embassy that was dedicated yesterday is in part of the US Consulate General; a permanent site will be chosen and then the real embassy will be built, so while the US Ambassador will be there part time (the rest of his time at the old embassy in Tel Aviv) and a few dozen staffers will also be assigned there, it's not really going to be a typical US embassy.

While the dedication was going on, nearly 60 protesters were killed and over 1300 were injured in Gaza. Pictures of protesters burning tires and hurling rocks towards the Israeli border fence were contrasted with video of people being tear gassed, and shot, by the Israeli soldiers. I can literally only imagine the sentiments on both sides, but the disproportion in weaponry seemed clear in what I saw on television.  (Reports today are that pipe bombs were thrown towards the fence, and that some of those injured or killed were Hamas terrorists, not 'just' protesters).  But still...

In the aftermath of the dedication, and the protests, these headlines were reported, again in JTA:

• NY Governor Andrew Cuomo postpones solidarity trip to Israel
• Turkey expels Israeli ambassador over Gaza violence
• Palestinian protests as Gaza border delayed as funerals take place for at least 58 dead
• Reform leader 'alarmed, concerned and profoundly saddened' by Gaza deaths
• Turkey recalls ambassadors to US and Israel amid Gaza Violence 

Meanwhile, the US blamed Hamas for the violence and resulting injuries and deaths; the United Nations held a moment of silence, 

Ireland and Belgium summoned Israeli envoys, while Germany, while Germany joined those two countries in calling for an investigation; even China called for restraint.

And finally, back to who was representing the US - and us - at the ceremony, we have this:

A Dallas evangelical pastor who once said that Jewish people are going to hell and a mega church televangelist who claimed Hitler was part of God's plan to return Jews to Israel both played prominent roles on Monday in the opening ceremony of the new American Embassy in Jerusalem.

Robert Jeffress, who spoke at President Trump's private inaugural prayer service and is the pastor of First Baptist Church in Dallas, delivered a prayer at the opening ceremony on Monday, while the Rev. John C. Hagee, a televangelist who founded Christians United for Israel and leads a San Antonio mega church, gave the closing benediction. 

Comically, the White House expressed a lack of knowledge of how Jeffress and Hagee were chosen. Here's an exchange between Principal Deputy Press Secretary Raj Shah and an unidentified reporter:

Q: Thank you, Raj. I wanted to ask you about the embassy opening today. The person who delivered the invocation, Robert Jeffress, he's made some statements in the past that he believes Muslims are going to hell, Jews are going to hell, Hindus are going to hell. Do you think that, considering especially his remarks about Jews, that he's one of the right people to speak at the opening of our embassy in Israel? And can you give us a little more information on how that came to be?

A.  Well, I honestly don't know how that came to be. And I know that Pastor Jeffress has had a strong relationship with many people in the faith community, as well as folks in the administration, and Republicans on the Hill, and others, and I believe Democrats as well. So I think that he has a longstanding involvement with public officials. You know, beyond that, I don't really have a whole lot to add.

To make things worse, another reporter noted that Jared & Ivanka met with a controversial rabbi.

Q. Separate from that, on Sunday Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump met with Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, the Chief Sephardic rabbi in Israel. And he once compared black people to monkeys. So I'm wondering, in all three of these instances can you tell us anything about how these people were brought into the ceremonies? And do you think it's regrettable that people with these views were involved with the American government?

A.  I don't have any readout on how they became involved with these events. All I'll say is that those specific views that you outlined, if they're accurate reflections of what was said, wouldn't be embraced by this White House. Beyond that, I don't have anything else. 

Nor do I.

Sunday School 5/13/18

Trying to get back into the swing of things after a couple of weeks of spring break here.

Today, I checked in on a couple of classrooms, starting with Fox News Sunday, where host Chris Wallace talked with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

Pompeo, as you know, just returned from his second trip (but first as SecState) to North Korea, and brought with him three former prisoners - NOT hostages, as Wallace called them, repeating the error made by the president and others. 

For clarification, let's see what our friends at Merriam-Webster have to say about these two words, starting with the wrong one.

And, here is the correct term to describe the three folks who were released by North Korea.

Anyway. 

Pompeo also spent time doing groundwork on the upcoming one-day summit between Trump and Kim Jong Un on June 12th. There was quite a bit of talk about the summit, relations between Trump and Kim, and related topics - no surprise there.  Wallace noted, that, other than Dennis Rodman, Pompeo had probably spent more time with Kim than any other American; Pompeo noted Rodman has way more rebounds.

They also talked about the Iran nuclear deal, discussions with our European allies, and trying to get something fixed there. Pompeo noted that Trump's withdrawal from the deal was not aimed at the Europeans, and that he had "worked hard over the short time" he's been SecState to fix things, and he will continue doing that.

My mission that I've been given by president Trump is to work to strike a deal that achieves the outcomes that protect America. That's what we are going to do and I'll be hard at it with the Europeans in the next several days.

Similarly, regarding peace in the Middle East, now that we're moving the shell of our embassy to Jerusalem on Monday,

So, the peace process is most decidedly not dead. We're hard at work on it. We hope we can achieve a successful outcome there as well.

Perhaps the most noteworthy comments came in response to Wallace asking what the vision for the State Department is under Pompeo. After noting hopes that he hadn't peaked in the first two weeks, he continued (with emphasis added)

But it's pretty clear, we've got to go put the diplomatic team on the playing field. It should be the United States State Department that is at the front of American foreign policy, delivering solutions to solve America's problems without resorting to military force. And so, I'm going to build the team, we're going to get our swagger back, and the State Department will be out front in every corner of the world leading America's diplomatic policy, achieving great outcomes on behalf of president Trump and America.

Is it just me, or did that statement take a whole bunch of air out of the Jared Kushner sails? 

Why no, it's not just me. Here's a headline from Haaretz.com.

Perhaps the president will be going to Jared less often now? 

Where to next? CNN's State of the Union with Jake Tapper, who spoke with Trump's National Security Advisor John Bolton, who also talked about our leaving the Iran nuclear deal. Tapper asked him whether we were going to sanction European companies doing business with Iran. 

Bolton suggested that Europe would come along, while Tapper pointed out that was not consistent with what he was hearing from diplomats; they are planning on staying in the deal, rather than joining us. Here's Bolton's take on that.

And - they may try to do so, in - in part because, I think, despite the complete consistency of president Trump in his opposition to the deal, opposed to is as candidate Trump, opposed to it as president-elect Trump, opposed to it as president Trump, many people, including apparently former Secretary of State John Kerry thought that we would never get out of it.  Now, I don't know how to explain why people could miss what the president was saying. So I think, at the moment, there's some feeling in Europe that they're really surprised we got out of it, really surprised at the reimposition of strict sanctions. 

I think that will sink in. 

On North Korea, Bolton seemed willing to give more details than Pompeo did in the Fox classroom; here are some of his comments.

So, on the denuclearizing side itself, that means all aspects of their nuclear program. Clearly, the ballistic missile program, as with Iran, with the intention of being a delivery system for nuclear weapons, that has got to go. I think we need to look at their chemical and biological weapons programs as well. The president is going to raise other issues, the Japanese abductees, the South Korean citizens who were kidnapped. There are a lot of issues to discuss...

Tapper's next guest was Vermont's Bernie Sanders, to talk about what the Democrats are facing in the midterm elections and 2020. And, since Bernie Sanders is not a Democrat, I decided to weed my garden instead of listening to him.

See you around campus.