Wednesday, July 31, 2019

How dare you disagree with me

Elizabeth Warren got a big reaction with her comment against John Delaney.
"I don't understand why anybody goes to all the trouble of running for President of the United States just to talk about what we really can't do and shouldn't fight for."
What's behind the line?
How dare you disagree with me.
You can't tell me I'm wrong about my plans.
Delaney brings the businessman's perspective to the Democratic field.
Which means he's unlikely to be popular.
Maybe the Republicans will give him a speaking slot at next year's convention.

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

That's going to sting

While Democratic candidates may battle each other Tuesday and Wednesday, a better battle is brewing.
Snopes vs. Babylon Bee.
There's a great line in the Bee's story on Snopes.
Since their original founding in 1957 by the KGB, Snopes has gained a reputation for objectively reporting what someone’s secret motivations probably were, and what they probably really meant when they said something. More recently, they have perfected the art of determining whether a satirical article is hilarious, left-leaning comedy or divisive, conservative-leaning fake news.
Wonder if Snopes is Russian to review this article.

Ready for some debate fireworks

The second round of Democratic debates will be tonight.
Expect CNN to ask more pointed questions.
Expect Joe Biden to get attacked.
Can he survive?
If other Democrats hit Biden hard, imagine what President Trump will do.

Monday, July 29, 2019

Who's in your wallet

Capital One may not be able to pay celebrity spokesmen and women soon.
They found a data breach for years worth of credit card applications.
It took a few days to find out who was in your wallet.

The truth about power

Ace of Spades gives space for Baldilocks to tell a simple story - teach your children to read and their lives will be better.
Yes, the education systems bear some blame, but the parents are primarily at fault. No white racist can stop a black parent from reading to his child every night or teaching him basic multiplication.

Saturday, July 27, 2019

Represented by Gerry Mander

Today's Trump battle is against Maryland congressman Elijah Cummings.
Now my parents' congressman.
Why?
Compared to the rest of Maryland, the seventh district as it was designed in the 1970s is growing slower.
So each census, the majority-minority district has had to expand into the suburbs just enough to maintain numerical balance with other congressional districts.
Now the areas of Baltimore City with dangerous streets and murder - which caught President Trump's attention - share a district with rural areas of one of the richest counties in the country.
Kind of looks like an angry dog.
Thanks to Maryland Democrats gerrymandering the state to give them the best chance to dominate the House seats.

Saturday song





Since the theme of the past two weeks has been "go back," how about some Paul McCartney?

Get back to where you once belong.

Because liberals don't drive pickup trucks

Andy Schmookler thinks he's found a way to help Democratic campaigns in Virginia this fall.
He thinks Republicans don't serve the interest of their voters, just the rich and powerful.
Then he talks about the Trump tax cut.
The one that's seen unemployment remain low.
The stock market soar.
The economy hum along years after fellow Democrats thought Trump would crash it.
But he saves the best line for last.
It is not on the pick-up trucks of liberals that one sees the bumper stickers that picture an angry snake and the threatening motto, “Don’t Tread on Me.”
That's because liberals don't drive pickups.
They cause climate change, right?

Friday, July 26, 2019

The horse is still dead

Andy Schmookler flogs the dead horse of impeachment again.
I'm still waiting for him to understand why Democrats waited - not enough evidence to convince enough people.
Now he's down to the maybes.
Maybe this time the waiting will pay off, and the Democrats will get yet another moment that can launch them powerfully into conducting the necessary impeachment process:
Maybe Don McGahn will testify, and he’ll prove the witness that moves the proverbial needle of public opinion;
Maybe the Democrats will be able to get some of Mueller’s deputies to testify publicly, and maybe they will prove to be the kind of witnesses that understand both what is important for the public to understand about what they discovered and how they as prosecutors must communicate to convey to the public what the people need to know.
Maybe all these matters the Democrats have taken to Court will get resolved quickly enough that the process of public education that they’d hoped to start months ago will finally get rolling in a powerful way.

Do you see what I see?

After years of pushing bright, fresh looking candidates to the front, Democrats are now disturbed by optics.
Optics—the kryptonite of the modern media age, the glimmering, crystalline material that can subsume substance at every treacherous turn. Or as the former Barack Obama speechwriter Jon Lovett rejoined to Todd on Twitter: “When you say ‘on optics, this was a disaster’ it is you saying so that helps make it true. The disaster of the optics is the elevation of optics and the claim by pundits that it was a disaster.”
Face it, Mueller looked bad.
For wanting Mueller to appear in that setting, Democrats looked bad.
Mueller tried to warn them.
They didn't listen.
The report wasn't enough - Democrats needed the optics of Mueller testifying.
Maybe now they'll see they lost this battle?

Thursday, July 25, 2019

Waiting for a hero

Poor Andy Schmookler, left disappointed by Democrats again.
He wants Democrats to fight President Trump.
But Robert Mueller failed to inspire them Wednesday.
Now Schmookler wonders if Nancy Pelosi will come through.
Maybe Speaker Pelosi, as she sometimes implies, is marshalling her forces in preparation for an eventual attack that will show that she and the Democrats she leads are fully determined to fight and win.
How about Jerry Nadler?
I have a small fantasy of Jerry Nadler deciding, with his committee, to move toward impeachment without Pelosi, if she never gives the green light (assuming the Committee can do that on its own).
Maybe Elizabeth Warren?
I continue to believe that pressing for impeachment is an important part of how these would-be Democratic standard bearers should demonstrate what kind of leadership they can provide for this battle.
(And for that reason, I welcome the news that Elizabeth Warren is pressing Pelosi on the impeachment issue, saying “Some things are above politics.”)
But you need warriors to go to battle.
That's not the Democratic party's strength.

Wednesday recap

Mueller mumbled.
Impeachment stumbled.
Democrats humbled?
Nah.

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

Hoopla for Hoos

Jerry Ratcliffe.com celebrates a great year by dropping the paywall to the site.
It will be tough to top 2018-19, but Jerry Ratcliffe should have plenty of great stories on the Cavalier action.

Bad day for Biden

Robert Mueller struggled at times during his appearance at Congress Wednesday.
It hurt the impeachment quest.
And probably some 70-plus year old Democrats.
Mueller is 74, and appeared not able to handle Congress like he did as FBI director.
The years can take a toll.
Joe Biden is 76.
While he tries to use his past to provide good memories, any struggles on the 2020 campaign trail will now remind everyone of his age.
That youngster, 73-year-old Trump, looks better every day.

Merry Mueller-mas

The day Democrats have waited for has arrived.
Robert Mueller will speak.
Democrats think people will listen and rise up against President Trump.
I didn't know Mueller was speaking on Fantasy Island.

Monday, July 22, 2019

Monday song





After technical difficulties Saturday left me in the Danger Zone, I found a video to post.

Field of schemes

Kurt Schlichter gives a quick listing of the 2020 Democratic candidates.
The precise candidate who will employ it is not important because they all embrace the notion that punishing the essential moral failure of you and me and every other Normal American is the key goal of the Donkey Party. That goes equally for the Handsey Old Prospector, the Socialist Squaw, Crusty the Commie, Spartacus Sharpton, Starchild, the Furry, Not Ms. Willie Brown, the Unfabulous Gay Guy, and the many Unfabulous Ungay Guys.
All you need to know.

Sunday, July 21, 2019

Sanders staffers learn economics

The Sanders campaign planned to pay its staffers at least $15/hour.
But when some had to work 60 hours a week, their pay went under that amount.
How do you solve the problem?
You could pay time and a half for hours over 60 instead of a set salary.
You'd need more donations from more people to do that.
Or you could limit staffers to 40 hours per week.
Reducing your ability to reach voters with your message.
And leaving staffers with the same trouble if their salary isn't enough to live on.
Either way they decide to go, it's not going to end well for Sanders and his staffers.
Maybe they'll learn something about economics, though.

A high maintenance article

The Atlantic checks in on "When Harry met Sally" and the discussion of high-maintenance women.
And the writer is not low maintenance about the idea.
As insults go, just as Harry intuited, high-maintenance is extremely effective: Once introduced, it can’t really be argued with. (She is annoyed to be dismissed as high-maintenance? This is, obviously, the clearest evidence of all.) Sally, in the scene that popularized the term, resists the label—or tries to. “I don’t see that,” she protests, when Harry informs her that she is the worst kind. Harry replies with a dramatic rendering of one of her extremely specific restaurant orders: the house salad, but not with the standard dressing, and with the substituted version on the side. The salmon, but with the mustard sauce, and that sauce on the side. “On the side is a very big thing for you,” he concludes.
“Well, I just want it the way I want it,” she says.
“I know. High-maintenance.”

Saturday, July 20, 2019

Trump announces pronouns

Elizabeth Warren's campaign account put her preferred pronouns out Friday.
Donald Trump has preferred pronouns as well.
Along with he/him, you can call him "Your Majesty."
"Greatest POTUS ever"
Your choice.
He wants to include the best ever choices.

Friday, July 19, 2019

Battering ram batters

Clay Travis disproves of President Trump's methods in dealing with the four Congresswomen.
Even though he thinks he says what needs to be said.
My biggest issue with Trump so far — and why I haven’t been able to fully embrace him — is I think he’s an inarticulate expression of an important conversation about identity politics that our nation needs to be having. And I appreciate the fact that he’s willing to stand up to the far left wing of the Democratic party when many in our country run and hide because they’re afraid of being attacked as racist or sexist or misogynistic if they disagree with someone other than a white man’s opinion. But I question whether there’s a coherent strategy behind his inclination for political combat — his behavior often appears slapdash, incoherent, and utterly unpredictable, which are three characteristics I don’t want associated with my president.
There's two jobs there.
Trump is the battering ram.
Battering rams batter.
A fine verbal dissection of the Democratic battle could hurt them - but Trump shining his spotlight does as well.
A week from now, the furor over Trump will wane a little.
Democrats will still have an ideological battle they can't solve.

Fighting Obama nostaglia

The Federalist looks at how Netroots Nation feels about President Obama's legacy - and Joe Biden using that in his 2020 presidential bid.
For a crowd that thrives on accusing America of perpetuating white supremacy, progressives seem to have little fondness for America’s first black president. In a campaign where progressives preach the need to energize voters of color, they seem indifferent to the preferences of black voters. The left prefers a well-known candidate such as Warren (with an almost equally well-known likability problem), who polls in single digits with this crucial constituency, all the while telling themselves they can make people of color like her. If you wrote this as fiction, editors would reject it as unrealistic.

Thursday, July 18, 2019

All your Omar news

Powerline has been leading the way investigating Ilhan Omar's past - and marriages.
They combine with reporting with David Steinberg to give all that needs to be know.

Wednesday, July 17, 2019

Squad and squaw

I can't wait for Senator Elizabeth Warren to join AOC and friends at an event.
Squad and squaw.
The memes write themselves.

Didn't listen to Andy

Only 95 Democrats voted Wednesday to go ahead with impeachment.
The motion has been tabled for now.
Andy Schmookler can write many more posts on Blue Virginia about the Democrats' failure to do their duty.
Only 123 votes to go.
It might take 123 more columns.
But two a day columns gets us to the middle of fall 2020.
Better write more to convince the wayward Democrats.
If they're listening.

Tuesday, July 16, 2019

Democrats and deficits

There's lots of Democratic candidates.
They are spending a lot of money.
But several campaigns may not make it to 2020.
Eleven Democratic presidential candidates — nearly half of the sprawling field — spent more campaign cash than they raised in the second quarter of the year, according to new financial disclosures filed Monday. Eight contenders active in the spring limped forward with less than $1 million in cash on hand, and several top-tier contenders were already spending multiples of what their lower-profile competitors raised.
Democrats spend more than they have - in government and trying to run the government.

Monday, July 15, 2019

Twitter triumph

Althouse sees what President Trump is doing with his latest tweets.
So, again, Trump lines himself up with Pelosi. How do you defend Pelosi without defending Trump? In this view, it's a clever (and cruel) rhetorical move by Trump.
He gets them again.

Sunday, July 14, 2019

Trump - Xe's right

The New Yorker goes on another binge about Trump's temperament - he loves praise and those who give it to him.
Then I think about the transgender world.
Those who want us to accept their version of the world and how they view themselves.
Are Trump and the transgenders that far apart?
If you tell transgenders that their behavior is like Trump's, what happens?
Would they read this post and think -  Xe's right?

Saturday, July 13, 2019

Remembering Perot

Former Texas governor Rick Perry tells of the generosity of H. Ross Perot, who passed away this week.
The story of Perot's interaction with one soldier and his family tells of his commitment.
On the one-year anniversary of his wounding, I joined Alan and his family for a small gathering. He was still in very bad shape, neurologically and physically incapacitated. When I asked his mother, Rosie, what I could do to help, she said she was eager to get him out of the hospital and back home, but struggling with the prospect of transporting Alan to his many medical visits. 
I knew there was one person to call: Ross Perot. What happened next still amazes me to this day. The next morning, Ross personally called Rosie and made arrangements for his plane to pick up the Babins in Austin and fly them to Dallas where Alan could be seen by leading neurologists at Zale Lipshy University Hospital. 
When the hospital elevators opened, Ross was standing there to meet Alan personally and ensure that he got the best of care. Later that day, Rosie was handed a key to a hotel room across the street so she could be close to Alan throughout his extended stay.

Thursday, July 11, 2019

Impeach or else

Andy Schmookler continues his tirade for Democrats to impeach President Trump.
Now it's do it or else.
If it was the passions burning in the hearts of the Democratic base that gave Pelosi the speakership after the 2018 election, it would seem that Pelosi’s putting out those fires by disheartening that Democratic 2/3 makes it less likely that Pelosi will gain the 2020 victory that seems to be her focal goal. 
So, setting aside the obligations of the “oath of office,” and setting aside the multiple threats to the nation represented by Donald Trump’s presidency (of which the undermining of the Constitution and the rule of law is but one), and considering only the Democrats’ political calculus: The need to rekindle those fires is one important political reason to look for a new Democratic leadership to rehearten the disheartened.
What do Democrats want?
Impeachment.
What if they don't get it?
They'll sulk.

Wednesday, July 10, 2019

Bill and friend

Jeffrey Epstein returned to the news this weekend.
The mainstream news tried to tie him to President Trump.
Not former President Clinton.
Good thing the meme makers are working hard.


Fall preview

How will the fall campaign go in Virginia?
Here's a preview from Richmond Tuesday.
Democrats may try to forget their scandals of the winter, but reminders will be there.


Tuesday, July 9, 2019

Gunned down

The Virginia legislature met today, supposedly to talk about gun control.
They adjourned without voting on anything.
Blue Virginia calls it a loss for Republicans.
We'll see in November - after the election.

Monday, July 8, 2019

I believe that he can win

Liz Peek gives Democrats the bad news they fear - Donald Trump can win reelection.
Not only was Trump’s overall fundraising impressive, he received 725,000 individual contributions which averaged $48. That kind of online small-donor haul is unprecedented for a Republican politician. The RNC attracted “a larger share of donations under $200 than the Democratic National Committee,” reported the New York Times. As the Times noted, Trump will have far more money to boost his run than he did in 2016. 
 Gallup tells us that only 32 percent of the country is satisfied with “the way things are going in the United States at this time.” That is hardly cause for celebration, but at the same point during President Obama’s tenure, only 16 percent of the nation thought we were on the right track.

Sunday, July 7, 2019

It's okay to disapprove of U.S. women's soccer

The United States women will claim their fourth World Cup title in eight attempts shortly.
Boring.
They destroyed the competition because we're the most prosperous nation.
And prosperous nations can invest funds into women's soccer.
Starting with the 13-0 win over Thailand, I've been rooting for the team to fail.
Not because of anti-American sentiment or due to how the players talk about President Trump.
Soccer is not really our sport.
The United States dominates in so many sports.
Winning in soccer takes away one of the few areas where the rest of the world rules.
It reminded me of the story of David and Bathsheba.
After David got her pregnant and her husband killed, Nathan the prophet rebuked him.
David was the rich man who stole the poor man's only ewe.
He had plenty and wanted more.
It's nice for these players to win a championship.
But if the United States wins in 2023 and 2027, then women's soccer will wither.
The poorer nations will tire of the struggle of always fighting for second.

Saturday, July 6, 2019

Don't you forget about me

Vogue's recent story on Democratic women running for president included a picture.
Without including Marianne Williamson.
So her campaign made it work.


Saturday song







They had hot times in the city 50 years ago.

Was it global warming?

Friday, July 5, 2019

Patriotic and political















A great photo of the flyover of the Lincoln Memorial during Thursday's salute to the country with President Trump.
Opponents said it was too political.
Thus making it too political.
Great visuals bring pride in being American.
The more voters with that pride, the worse things are for Democrats.

Thursday, July 4, 2019

Happy flag anniversary

For the past 107 years, we have had a 48-star or 50-star flag for 106.
One year there was a 49-star flag, for Alaska joining the union before July 4.

It didn't wave long, but it celebrates the 60th anniversary of first raising today.

Ready for this parade

Babylon Bee one-ups those fussing about President Trump's military parade.
They think he's from the dark side.
He'll show you the dark side.

Monday, July 1, 2019

Come on, Marianne

Your Daily Treacher takes a ride on the Marianne Williamson magic carpet, or whatever spiritual advisors use.
How does she ride to the White House?
4. I don't think she can win, and I'm wrong about everything. You guys know how terrible I am at predicting things. I completely botched the 2016 election, and if anything, since then I've only gotten dumber. So if my gut feeling is that Marianne Williamson doesn't have a chance in hell... she's a shoo-in!