COLLECTIVE MADNESS


“Soft despotism is a term coined by Alexis de Tocqueville describing the state into which a country overrun by "a network of small complicated rules" might degrade. Soft despotism is different from despotism (also called 'hard despotism') in the sense that it is not obvious to the people."

Friday, December 16, 2016

The Bowditch Incident


nytimes.com

U.S. Demands Return of Drone Seized by Chinese Warship

Helene Cooper
The episode did not have the life-or-death drama of the April 2001 midair collision between a Chinese fighter jet and a Navy surveillance plane that forced the Americans to make an emergency landing on Chinese territory. Acknowledging the odd nature of Chinese sailors seizing the drone close to its American mother ship, one official here likened it to watching a thief steal a wallet in broad daylight.

American officials said they were still trying to determine whether the seizure was a low-level action taken by Chinese sailors who spotted the drone — which the Pentagon said was conducting scientific research — or a strategic-level action ordered by more senior Chinese leaders to challenge the American presence in those waters.

“We call upon China to return” the underwater vehicle “immediately,” Peter Cook, the Pentagon press secretary, said in a statement Friday, “and to comply with all of its obligations under international law.”

The incident complicates already testy relations between China and the United States, ties that have been further frayed by President-elect Donald J. Trump’s phone call with the president of Taiwan. Mr. Trump angered Chinese officials by holding a phone conversation with President Tsai Ing-wen of Taiwan, an island that Beijing deems a breakaway province of China. It had been nearly four decades since a United States president or president-elect had such direct contact with a Taiwanese leader.
In an interview broadcast on Sunday, Mr. Trump also criticized China over its trade imbalance with the United States, its military activities in the South China Sea and its links to North Korea. Aides to the president-elect have defended Mr. Trump’s words and actions as important to bringing a fresh eye to a number of foreign policy issues.

Pentagon officials said on Friday that they were trying to determine if the seizure of the underwater drone had anything to do with Mr. Trump’s comments.

At the White House on Friday, President Obama was asked about the issue during a news conference, and he made clear that he viewed the question of Taiwan as especially sensitive. While the president refrained from directly criticizing Mr. Trump, he warned his successor to carefully consider his actions and any new policy, lest he ignite what could be a significant response from Beijing.

“I think all of our foreign policy should be subject to fresh eyes,” Mr. Obama said. But he added: “For China, the issue of Taiwan is as important as anything on their docket. The idea of a One China is at the heart of their conception of a nation.”

“And so if you are going to upend this understanding, you have to have thought through what the consequences are, because the Chinese will not treat that the way they’ll treat other issues,” he said, adding that the Chinese would not even treat it the way they treated issues around the South China Sea, “where we’ve had a lot of tensions.”

China experts said on Friday that it was unclear whether the seizure of the American drone was linked to anger in Beijing over Mr. Trump, or a continuation of years of tensions over competing claims in the South China Sea.

The Bowditch episode came after China signaled on Thursday that it had installed weapons on disputed islands in the South China Sea that it would use to repel threats. In describing the new weapons deployment, a Defense Ministry statement suggested that China was further watering down a pledge made by its president, Xi Jinping, to not militarize the islands.

That indicated that such installations were part of China’s plan to deepen its territorial claim over the islands, which has created tensions with its neighbors over their rival claims and with Washington over freedom of navigation in the South China Sea, one of the world’s busiest commercial waterways. The United States Navy routinely sends warships to sail the South China Sea as part of ongoing American policy meant to demonstrate that all countries have the freedom of navigation in disputed waters.

M. Taylor Fravel, an associate professor of political science at M.I.T. who studies China’s territorial disputes and has written on the South China Sea, called the seizure of the drone “a big deal, as it represents the deliberate theft of U.S. government property and a clear violation” of maritime law.
“By stealing a drone versus threatening the safety of the ship, China may be trying to find a way to signal its opposition to U.S. activities without creating a larger incident,” Mr. Fravel said. 

“Nevertheless, it will be viewed by the U.S. as a clear challenge.”

The Bowditch, an oceanographic ship, was operating in international waters and carrying out scientific research, said Capt. Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman. The drone was part of an unclassified program to collect oceanographic data, including salinity in the sea, clarity of water and ocean temperature, factors that can help the military in its collection of sonar data.

The Chinese Navy ship, which had been shadowing the American ship, approached within 500 yards of the Bowditch before seizing the drone, which American officials say was around 50 nautical miles northwest of Subic Bay, the Philippines.

Whatever the case, the Pentagon said that China had no right to seize the drone. “This is not the sort of conduct we expect from professional navies,” Captain Davis said.

Michael Swaine, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, called the theft “low-level provocation.”

“This doesn’t involve lives,” Mr. Swaine said. “It involves the Chinese grabbing something that belongs to the United States. The normal thing to do in these cases is, you issue a démarche and demand it be returned ASAP.”

Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona, criticized the Obama administration for what he called a failure to provide a “strong and determined U.S. response” to Chinese actions in the South China Sea. “Freedom of the seas and the principles of the rules-based order are not self-enforcing,” he said. “American leadership is required for their defense. But that leadership has been sorely lacking.”
There was no immediate comment from Mr. Trump or his transition team.

173 comments:

  1. China knows who is still the US Commander and Chief.

    There are no coincidences in the Chinese military and no such thing as a rogue action by Chinese warship.

    This is something the NSA and CIA should have known about.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Someone may want to take a closer and more thorough look at Chinese shipping containers coming into US ports. Maybe our drone is in one of them. You never know. A long studied thorough customs evaluation of each and every container, at least until we find the drone, may speed up the recovery process.

      Delete
    2. Trade restrictions - sounds like we're going to do it anyway.

      Delete
    3. Tit for tat responses already eh? And you wonder why I think Trump is going to be a war president.

      Delete
  2. https://youtu.be/vX_Vzl-r8NY

    To check your privilege

    Cracker :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. exceptional ways to consume and teach to for constructing most muscle mass. here are three of the most blatant myths insidehttp://testoupmaxfacts.com/max-test-xtreme/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Exceptional ways to consume muscle mass ?

      Sorry guy, we're not cannibals here, and don't wish to die the laughing death.

      You go ahead though. We'll all get a laugh out of it.

      http://www.esquire.com/lifestyle/health/news/a48393/sick-eating-human-meat/

      Now, go way.

      Delete
    2. You are lying, again, Robert "Draft Dodger" Peterson.
      You are an advocate for cannibalism, don't you remember?

      Bob Sun Feb 23, 10:56:00 PM EST
      "The argument that they are not native is amazing in light of the fact that neither are Europeans native."

      Exactly.

      Shoot the Arizonans as well, give the meat to the poor

      Delete
    3. Robert "Draft Dodger" Peterson, advocate for cannibalism.

      Delete
  4. Bo Dietl for Mayor of New York City !

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bo Diddley !

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeZHB3ozglQ

      circa 1965

      Delete
  5. YOU HAVE TO SEE THIS:

    Remember the faithless elector, the 9/11 responder? He is a bullshit artist! He never responded and wasn't what he claimed:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajADi1rluuE

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Didn’t the New York Times vet him before they gave him an op-ed piece to become the face of “Hamilton Electors”? Fake Hero brought to you by Fake News to undermine the real election.

      Way to go NY Times. How low can they go?

      Delete
    2. MORE:

      DALLAS - The Republican elector who has gotten national attention for refusing to vote for Donald Trump at the Electoral College on Dec. 19 was apparently not a first responder on September 11, 2001 as he has stated for years and has a questionable career history, according to an investigation by WFAA.

      Chris Suprun, 42, portrays himself as a heroic firefighter who was among the first on the scene after the third plane flew into the Pentagon on 9/11.

      In a heavily-publicized editorial this month for the New York Times, Suprun stated that as a member of the Electoral College he will not cast his ballot for Trump because the president-elect “shows daily he is not qualified for the office.”

      Suprun, a Dallas resident for more than a decade, even used his résumé to establish credibility in the Times piece, writing in the second paragraph: "Fifteen years ago, as a firefighter, I was part of the response to the Sept. 11 attacks against our nation."

      He has founded a nonprofit called Never Forget and state records show he is a licensed paramedic -- but much of the rest of résumé, publicly available on LinkedIn, is questionable.

      In addition, on at least two occasions over the last couple years at crowded Major League Baseball games, Suprun has been introduced as a 9/11 veteran before throwing out first pitches.

      "He claimed to be a first responder with the Manassas Park [Virginia] Fire Department on September 11, 2001 and personally told us stories 'I was fighting fire that day at the Pentagon.’ No, I was on a medic unit that day at the Pentagon and you make a phone call to Manassas Park and you find out that he wasn't even employed there until October 2001,” said a first responder who knows Suprun and only agreed to speak about him if his identity was concealed.

      The City of Manassas Park confirmed to WFAA that it hired Suprun on October 10, 2001, one month after the 9/11 attacks.

      The fire chief there added that his department never even responded to the Pentagon or any of the 9/11 sites.


      "It's no different than stolen valor for the military; dressing up and saying 'Hey, I earned a Purple Heart' when you weren't even in combat.' There's a big difference between shopping at Old Navy and being a Navy SEAL," said the first responder who knows him.

      But Suprun's résumé raises even more questions.

      Delete
    3. MORE QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS ASSHOLE

      It shows he was, at the time this story aired on WFAA, a paramedic with Air Methods air ambulance service. But Christina Brodsly, a spokeswoman for that company, said he is not an employee there.

      Suprun also claims to currently be a paramedic with Freedom EMS in Dallas. But records from the Texas Department of State Health Services indicate there's no such company. A firm with that name used to exist in Houston, but it went out of business in 2008, according to DSHS.

      Turns out, federal court records show Suprun has spent the last five years in bankruptcy while his résumé says he was working. He even collected unemployment during part of it, court records show. Suprun was just released from bankruptcy supervision this month.

      He never responded to multiple emails from WFAA and calls to his telephone go to a recording which says his voicemail is full.

      Two public relations firms he has hired – Megaphone Strategies and Fenton Communications – responded to our requests for an interview saying: “Suprun's schedule is jammed packed.”
      His story raises a bigger question, though. How are presidential electors chosen? And more importantly, aren't they vetted? Unfortunately, not. They are selected in an almost informal process that each party undertakes at their state convention.

      "Parties might want to ask for a little more background information, do a little bit of checking into people who would like to be members of the electoral college,” said Matthew Wilson, a political science professor at SMU.

      He suggested that Suprun’s case might change things four years from now.

      Delete
    4. http://commonsensewonder.blogspot.com/2016/12/the-faithless-republican-elector-is.html

      Delete
  6. The Scumbag is a complete fraud. How about that Martin Sheen? Sheen is another fraud: his real name is Ramón Antonio Gerardo Estévez.

    Need a laugh at these pompous piles of poop?

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbjfRypEEYw

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hey Ramón, lecture us about the founding fathers.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. All in all, it's probably a good day to put them up against the wall.

      Delete
  8. Supran sounds like he needs a good ad agency.

    I'd suggest Quirk's Personal Ads working out of Detroit, Michigan.

    'We special in Reputation Rehabilitation Ads - no matter your past, your future is in good hands with us'

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. 'We can put lipstick on a pig'

      Delete
    2. Chris Suprun, the faithless Electoral College elector from Texas who wrote an op-ed for The New York Times saying he would not vote for President-elect Donald J. Trump despite the clear pro-Trump vote by the people of Texas, is a client of a public relations firm run by left-wing CNN commentator Van Jones, that describes itself as a “social justice media strategy” firm.

      Chris Suprun now lists the firm, Megaphone Strategies, as his media contact on his Twitter profile:

      http://gotnews.com/breaking-anti-trump-faithless-elector-thechrissuprun-using-left-wing-social-justice-pr-firm-run-vanjones68/

      Delete
  9. .

    Dicks

    From the WaPo...

    Despite protests, Republican lawmakers in N.C. pass changes to curb power of incoming Democratic governor

    Outgoing Republican Gov. Pat McCrory, who lost his re-election bid in the nation’s closest governor’s race, signed the bill into law without commenting on the drama that has been wracking North Carolina politics...

    Dems. GOP. It makes no difference they are all dicks.


    .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. What's wrong with that ?

      Sounds like it might be a good idea to me.

      'The governor that governs least governs best'

      Delete
    2. .


      Another nonsense stream bubbling up from the boondocks of Idaho.


      .

      Delete
    3. You're just a power hungry leftist monster.

      Delete
    4. .

      Admit it, Bob, you don't even know what powers the Legislature voted to take away from the new governor. You are voting on instinct as a GOP slappy.

      May these guys get the same comeuppance the Dems in the US Senate will get when they used the nuclear option on the filibuster of executive nominations.

      .

      Delete
    5. I am simply operating from a higher philosophical point of view than you, Quirk, looking down at your non sense.

      Grow some wings of contemplation.

      Delete
  10. "Butch" Otter is a truly great governor and he's never done anything.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If "Butch" is named Secretary of Agriculture he'll be a big failure.

      He doesn't know anything about farming.

      He does know horses, though.

      If there were an Equestrian Secretary he'd be great.

      Delete
  11. 'Darth Vader' Cheney's nose sniffs under Tent Trump -

    Cheney emerges as surprise Trump surrogate
    The president-elect trashed his foreign policy during the campaign, but they've found common cause in Rex Tillerson.


    By ELIANA JOHNSON 12/16/16 01:44 PM EST

    During the campaign, Donald Trump trashed the hawkish foreign policy of the second Bush White House. But now, he and his team are relying on the man most closely identified with that regime — Dick Cheney — to help ensure that Rex Tillerson is confirmed next year as Trump's secretary of state.

    As Republicans have voiced reservations about Tillerson’s relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Cheney — himself a former oil executive, a longtime Tillerson friend, and perhaps the country’s most famous foreign policy hawk — is serving as a bridge between the Trump team and skeptical Republican senators.


    It’s a scenario no one could have possibly foreseen: that one of the key architects of the Iraq War, which Trump slammed on the campaign trail, is now being enlisted as an emissary for a man Trump wants to help steer his ship of state....

    http://www.politico.com/story/2016/12/dick-cheney-trump-surrogate-232746

    ReplyDelete
    Replies

    1. Cheney knows that with Trump/Tillerson, gasoline will soon return to the $4.00 a gallon price point that the US enjoyed during the Bush/Cheney era.

      What is good for Halliburton, is not going to make America Great Again.

      Delete
    2. gasoline will soon return to the $4.00 a gallon

      Care to put a date certain on that, like you did with the eradication of ISIS ?

      Delete
    3. Or have you learned from your past errors ?

      Delete
    4. Eradication?

      Surely you jest, Robert "Draft Dodger" Peterson.

      We were discussing when the Iraqi Army would take the city of Mosul.
      Which is occurring now, a question of timing, not result.

      Delete
    5. Trump/Tillerson, corporate raiders and bankruptcy experts are thick in the Trump Administration.

      He is even bringing in the World Wrestling Diva to keep things straight.

      Putin is now the touchstone of Republican foreign policy.

      It is a brave new world.
      Trump upped the ante with Charlie Chicom and we will be reaping the whirlwind.

      Soon enough

      Delete
    6. As for eradicating ISIS ...

      You have consistently opposed supporting those thickest in the fight.
      No matter, your lack of support for those fighting the Islamic State has not deterred those dedicated to democracy and religious freedom in Syria.


      Assad's Lesson From Aleppo: Force Works, With Few Consequences

      New York Times - ‎

      And now it is almost over, not because diplomats reached a deal in Geneva, but because President Bashar al-Assad of Syria and his foreign allies have won the city.


      Go cry the blues, Robert "Draft Dodger" Peterson, but those Islamic extremists you have been cheering for, they're losing, in Syria and Iraq,

      Delete
    7. That Israeli proxy, al-Queda and it's variants in Syria, are being rolled-up.
      Bibi's pissed, but no matter.

      Israel’s Ambassador to the United States Michael Oren told the Jerusalem Post that Israel so wanted Assad out and his Iranian backers weakened, that Israel would accept al-Qaeda operatives taking power in Syria.

      “We always wanted Bashar Assad to go, we always preferred the bad guys who weren’t backed by Iran to the bad guys who were backed by Iran.”
      Even if the other “bad guys” were affiliated with al-Qaeda.


      http://www.jpost.com/Syria-Crisis/Oren-Jerusalem-has-wanted-Assad-ousted-since-the-outbreak-of-the-Syrian-civil-war-326328.


      The enemies of the United States are feeling some pain, even if it is not the US administrating it.

      Delete
    8. No, no, Jackrat, we were not discussing the taking of Mosul, which had not even begun then.

      And, you know it.

      First you said ISIS would be gone from Iraq by Memorial Day, then you made it Labor Day, and that was what, a year and a half ago ?

      You were rapping along about 'the rat doctrine' - a real hoot.

      Rufus was making predictions too.....'about the best military operation in my lifetime' - he finally extended his prediction way out to 'by the time Obama leaves office'....

      You both made gigantic fools of yourselves....and now you've crawled back into the Bar again, lying about your past predictions.

      I'm going Christmas shopping....

      Delete
    9. You are lying, again, Robert "Draft Dodger" Peterson.

      We were merely speaking of Mosul.

      Feel free to cut and paste any quote of mine that you can find to dispute it.
      We both know you cannot do that, because your claims are merely another of your fanciful lies.

      Delete
    10. As for the "Rat Doctrine", it is moving forward.

      The Islamic State is losing, and NO US combat troops are in the fight.

      Local forces, Iraqi and Syrian are carrying the load.
      You have no way of disputing that reality, so you are off to spend some of your Federal Welfare money.
      Good deal that, aye?

      Delete
    11. If you had any compassion, you'd offer to teach him OneNote.

      Delete
    12. .

      No matter, your lack of support for those fighting the Islamic State has not deterred those dedicated to democracy and religious freedom in Syria.

      :o)

      :o):o)

      :o):o):o)


      Stop it, you're killing me.

      .

      Delete
    13. .

      We were merely speaking of Mosul.

      More nonsense.

      .

      Delete
    14. .


      Still, good to see you stopped in, rat.


      .

      Delete
    15. Religious freedom is your right as a citizen of Allepo to be shot or barrel bombed.

      https://www.google.com/search?q=Aleppo&rlz=1CAACAO_enUS720US720&biw=1091&bih=482&tbm=isch&source=lnms&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjru5fbvPzQAhXns1QKHQtrDooQ_AUICCgD

      Delete
    16. http://www.newsweek.com/2015/08/28/syria-war-bombing-aleppo-364035.html

      Delete
  12. Are the United States and China Destined for War?

    http://nationalinterest.org/feature/are-the-united-states-china-destined-war-18759

    Everyone should certainly hope not.

    Long article examining the possibilities with reflections on historical precedents.

    ReplyDelete

  13. China’s Defense Ministry says it will return the U.S. Navy underwater drone it captured operating in international waters in the South China Sea, after it seized the device to ensure the “safe navigation of passing ships.”

    Yang Yujun, a ministry spokesman, issued a statement late Saturday saying a Chinese navy lifeboat discovered the unknown device in the South China Sea on Thursday, according to the Associated Press.

    China’s Defense Ministry said that, after verifying that the device was an American unmanned device, “China decided to transfer it to the U.S. through appropriate means.”

    “In order to prevent this device from posing a danger to the safe navigation of passing ships and personnel, the Chinese lifeboat adopted a professional and responsible attitude in investigating and verifying the device,” the statement said, according to AP.

    ReplyDelete
  14. China has the leverage calculation wrong when it comes to the US:

    1. It cannot hurt the US in any military fashion without shooting itself in the head.

    2. It cannot hurt the US in any economic fashion. The US is the customer by $500 billion P.A.

    3. It cannot threaten by selling US debt. The Federal Reserve has proven it can buy any part or sum in assets. It can send out a check in any amount. The Fed can sustain a $2T, $3T, $5T or $10T balance sheet.

    4. The US President, with a pen and executive action notify the Chines government that they can purchase any US product or asset in the same manner as the Chinese government extends to any US corporation.

    5. The US Government and Congress can enact legislation placing an annual cap on Chines economic activity in the US.

    6. China hardly has a picture card in its hand or two or more of anything.

    ReplyDelete
  15. What a gorgeous city Krakow is! It is a truly European city, a treasure with a handsome friendly population. Without 35 years of communism, Poland would be the envy of Europe.

    I'll post some photos after I get back. Have to be up at 3:00 Am to catch a plane to Frankfurt, a far less European city and back to USA.

    ReplyDelete

  16. By Victor Davis Hanson - - Wednesday, December 14, 2016

    ANALYSIS/OPINION:

    President-elect Donald Trump is being faulted for supposedly appointing too many retired generals to Cabinet-level jobs and “militarizing” the government.

    Former Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn is slated to be national security adviser. Retired Marine Gen. James Mattis has been nominated as defense secretary. Retired Marine Gen. John Kelly is Mr. Trump’s nominee for secretary of homeland security. High-ranking officers such as Gen. David Petraeus and Adm. Michael Rogers have been rumored for other positions in the Trump administration.

    All are retired as well as seasoned veterans. They have been previously entrusted with the lives of thousands of soldiers, and they have traveled around the world and met many of the key leaders in Asia, Europe and the Middle East.

    Most of the criticism of the Flynn, Mattis and Kelly nominations is politically created hysteria, like past contrived bouts of partisan frenzy over subjects such as the “war on women” or the “climate of hate.”

    Why, after reaching a high military rank before retirement, should a nominee earn more scrutiny than an ex-banker, ex-politician or ex-lawyer?

    Did anyone complain when Barack Obama appointed five retired generals and one retired admiral to either Cabinet posts or high-ranking positions in his administration? In fact, Gen. Flynn and Gen. Petraeus were first appointed to high office by President Obama.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/dec/14/has-donald-trump-nominated-too-many-military-leade/

      Delete
  17. Finally, I broke down and replaced my 17" MacPro that would not allow a direct link. Fixed!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You replaced your 'trusty laptop' ?

      After all these years ?

      I almost weep.

      It served you well.

      Delete
  18. I know, it was updated in every possible way but I will use it to back up and where I need split screens and ports. I have everything for my real job on Google Drive and iCloud, all videos on Vimeo and my penultimate 15" MacPro with ports, laptop.

    I learned long ago to never buy the first generation or release of anything from Apple.

    ReplyDelete
  19. I posted a refresher top right on posting links if your laptop keyboard does not throw up spurious key strokes.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Waiting for Obama to take credit for the quick return of his drone. He must of told China to "cut it out!"

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They'll give it back after they've thoroughly inspected it and gotten all the technological secrets out of it, if any.

      Delete
    2. Wasn't he a Kenyan who played Prez long ago ?

      Some has been or other....

      Can't recall now.

      Delete
    3. Had a phony birth certificate, I recall that.

      He didn't amount to anything.

      Delete
  21. Excellent college basketball-

    Kentucky 103
    North Carolina 100

    ReplyDelete
  22. Ultimately, efforts by President Barack Obama and his two secretaries of state, John Kerry and Hillary Clinton, to promote democratic values in Russia were unsuccessful. Putin’s clampdown on civil liberties shows no sign of slowing down. “The human rights situation in Russia is the worst we've seen in the country's post-Soviet history,” said Yulia Gorbunova, a Russia researcher at Human Rights Watch.

    http://www.newsweek.com/rex-tillerson-warm-relationship-putin-chills-kremlin-critics-hopes-533329

    Trump and Tillerson's Fault.

    ReplyDelete

  23. Suprun still a legitimate source in this Dec 17th WaPo article:

    Earlier this month, Chris Suprun of Texas became the first Republican elector in a red state that voted for Trump to declare, in a Dec. 5 New York Times column, that he would not cast his electoral vote for Trump. Suprun voted for Cruz in the primary and said he left behind his wallet on Election Day and thus did not vote in the general.

    Nonetheless, Suprun said, he was willing to vote for Trump in the electoral college until the candidate claimed with no evidence that millions of Clinton supporters voted illegally. Suprun’s public stance has elicited death threats and hate mail, he said.


    “As of yesterday, people are calling to say, ‘Get your ass together, or we’re coming for you,’ ” said Suprun, who was the sole Republican elector to ask for an intelligence briefing on Russia. “They are doing it with their own phone number, not even blocking the number. That’s not been surprising — look at what Trump says himself.”

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/in-last-shot-bid-thousands-urge-electoral-college-to-block-trump-at-monday-vote/2016/12/17/125fa84a-c327-11e6-8422-eac61c0ef74d_story.html?utm_term=.f0b234a764e3

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Chris was First Responding to a massive terrorist attack on Dallas the day of the election and couldn't make it to the polls.

      Delete
  24. Christmas shopping I found lighting for lava tubes for Doug.

    Long hose like device that glows in the dark. You might die of radiation exposure after long use but it illuminates a lava tube for 100 yards or more. Just use it intermittently, Doug, only when you really need it to make a post or respond to an email or something.

    (Doug is the only Republican in Hawaii and is not allowed in 'polite, politically correct society' there....)

    For Quirk I found a new Lego offering....'Lego's Create An Ad' set....says you can create up to 100,000 different ads with this marvelous toy set....

    Still looking for the rest of you....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. (Doug is not even allowed in impolite politically correct society in Hawaii. Nor polite politically incorrect society....only impolite politically incorrect society....)

      Delete
    2. (Which is, finally, the only tolerant and tolerable society there is)

      Delete
  25. Watters to a young Canadian girl:

    "As a Canadian do you resent the United States ?"

    Young Canadian girl:

    "Well, we don't like your imperialism"

    Watters:

    "We haven't taken over your country."

    Young Canadian girl:

    "But you tried in 1812 and we burned your White House down"

    heh

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Quirk, do you know when was the War of 1812 ?

      Delete
    2. .

      At the beginning of the 19th Century.

      .

      Delete
  26. It’s travel time for both President Obama and President-elect Donald Trump this weekend, but for widely different reasons. Mr. Obama departed Friday for his Christmas vacation in Hawaii, the last while he is in office. Judicial Watch recently revealed that, to date, the first family’s personal travel expenses have totaled more than $85 million. Last year’s jaunt to Hawaii cost $4.8 million, according to the watchdog, which bases the estimates on information from Freedom of Information Act requests and factors such as the cost of aircraft fuel, among other things. Well. Let’s just say aloha here, ‘tis the season. Enjoy Hawaii. Mr. Obama returns to the nation’s capital Jan. 3.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. $85 million ?

      That's a lot of Christmas soup for the needy.

      Why are the taxpayers paying for any President's 'personal travel expenses' ?

      Trump should put an end to this practice.

      Delete
  27. I have a three hour layover in Frankfurt.

    I have not bought the NY Times in ages and can hardly stand what it posts on line, but if the Lufthansa lounge is giving them away, along with the Financial Times, why not?

    Today there are two main articles, one from an Australian and how the US has let Australia down by having bad infrastructure and by electing Trump. Bottom line is that Australian millenials now prefer China and best of luck to them with that.

    The second is Paul Krugman and here the problem is that Trump and the alt right white are all duped by Putin, Democrats are just people and we are all going to perish because of Trump's tweets. There is also an article about Trump and China but I need another cup of coffee before that.

    It is obvious to me that the left is not going silently into the night and politely giving Trump his due. They are going to persist that the Trump victory is illegitimate. Clinton was the rightful heir to Obama's throne and nothing will dissuade them from doing their best to destroy anything he tries.

    Trump and the Republicans have to immediately attack on all fronts. They need to go right to the "Nuclear Option" and do what the Democrats will do in four years anyway. That includes the courts and all appointments.

    There will be no good will. Trump should also choose and appoint an independent prosecutor to investigate Clinton Inc. Let the Democrats defend the indefensible. War is on.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. .

      Sounds like you are building yourself up to a three drink crossing of the Atlantic, Deuce. Get up, walk around, work off the tension. Have a frankfurter. I hear they are good there.

      .

      Delete
    2. .

      That's what I do after reading Paul Krugman.

      .

      Delete
  28. I forgot to mention that there was another Trump disaster. Trump misspelled 'unprecedented' in a tweet.
    I forgot to mention that there was another Trump disaster. Trump misspelled 'unprecedented' in a tweet.

    What a fuckin nightmare!

    Take away Trump's iPhone.

    Let's go back to having the impartial news media do the reporting with their learned spellcheckers. At least then we will have our impartial information legible and grammatically precise.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kristof's Crapola:

      http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/17/opinion/sunday/donald-trump-the-russian-poodle.html?ribbon-ad-idx=2&rref=opinion

      Delete
    2. .

      In 1972, President Richard Nixon’s White House dispatched burglars to bug Democratic Party offices. That Watergate burglary and related “dirty tricks,” such as releasing mice at a Democratic press conference and paying a woman to strip naked and shout her love for a Democratic candidate, nauseated Americans — and impelled some of us kids at the time to pursue journalism.


      The bloviating bullshit of the elitist left.

      There were other factors, but it’s possible that Russia’s theft and release of the emails provided the margin for Donald Trump’s victory.

      But, perhaps, maybe, it's possible, it's conceivable, there is a chance, the 'objective' MO of the NYT/WaPO school of journalism. Proof, facts, the whole 'Who? How? Why? and When?' basis of reporting is abandoned in favor of conjecture and hypotheticals.

      .

      Delete
    3. .

      In case, I wasn't clear above, this was the part that offended me...

      ...nauseated Americans — and impelled some of us kids at the time to pursue journalism.

      Bull. The real problem is that at this point in his career Kristof may actually believe it himself.

      It's amazing the fantasies the progressives can weave.

      .

      Delete
    4. .

      The Russians are coming. The Russians are coming.

      Left out of Kristof's story of how the Russians may have 'affected' the US election is the fact that if there had been no objectionable e-mails, there would have been no e-mails leaked. I understand the difference if in fact Russia actually did release the e-mails instead of the National Enquirer or some other publication or blog; however, if the election was affected it was about the things the DNC, Podesta, and Clinton said and did. Not because of the source of the information. It's significant that no one to date has denied the content of any of the e-Mails. That's the bottom line.

      For the usual suspects, Dems, the progressive media, Russiaphobes, neocons and liberal hawks, and the Clinton team to condemn Russia for their interference is reasonable if in fact there is actual proof the Russians did it. The fact that some actually blame the Russians for Clinton's loss ignores the truth of the e-mails and seems like the petty complaints of sore losers and opportunists.

      .

      Delete
    5. The Russians Are Coming ! The Russians Are Coming !

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEWWRbn4zG0

      The best scene was with the mechanic at the airport.

      Good movie, remember it well.

      heh

      Delete
    6. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91YeWT-48-Y

      Delete
    7. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bReGtDxF1Oo

      Delete
    8. Michael J. Pollard as Stanley, the airplane mechanic

      Delete
    9. If corporations have no restraints on their abilities to engage in the American Political system why beef about other Countries doing the same?

      Delete
    10. O'bozo sent tons and tons and tons of money and organizers to Israel in a failed attempt to defeat Bibi in the recent Israeli election.

      Why haven't we heard you bitch about that ?

      Delete
  29. Our resident English Major will explain in plain verse:

    Behold, Steve Bannon’s Hip-Hop Shakespeare Rewrite: ‘Coriolanus’

    http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/17/opinion/sunday/steve-bannon-hip-hop-shakespeare-rewrite-coriolanus.html?_r=0

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The review is written by a Pollack from Pelzner.

      What can one say ?

      Other than:

      FIRST WITCH
      When shall we three meet again?
      In thunder, lightning, or in rain?


      SECOND WITCH
      When the hurly-burly's done,
      When the battle's lost and won.


      THIRD WITCH
      That will be ere the set of sun.

      Delete
  30. I think people like Krugman have a mental defect. A retardation. How can they spew the things they spew and peacefully lay theirs heads on pillows at night?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. What - you guys who profess taking foreign countries treasure as spoils of war or lining up political opponents to be shot sleep easy?

      Delete
    2. I've never advocated you be shot .

      All I've said is you need and richly deserve a good mugging.

      Which I reaffirm now due to your stupid comment directly above, SMIRK.

      Delete
    3. I think you lack the 'necessary ability and stability' to comment, SMIRK.

      Delete
    4. if the money we gave back to Iran was their "treasure," why was it in US possession? Ash advocates "death to America" chants.

      Delete
    5. "Lining up political opponents to be shot'

      My ass.

      I'm the guy that has always argued vehemently against any use of political violence in the USA.

      Poke it in your ear, SMIRK-O.

      Delete
    6. It was in US possession because the US seized the assets.

      Delete
    7. .

      if the money we gave back to Iran was their "treasure," why was it in US possession?

      The NY Post (hardly a liberal mouthpiece) explains...

      http://nypost.com/2016/08/16/us-paid-iran-1-3-billion-in-cash-to-settle-old-dispute/

      WASHINGTON — The Obama administration’s $400 million payoff to Iran was followed by a second transfer of $1.3 billion, it was reported Tuesday.

      President Obama took considerable flak for the first payment, which coincided with the release in January of four Americans being held by Tehran.

      Critics charged that the move smacked of ransom, which the US has pledged never to pay.

      The $400 million was the first installment of a $1.7 billion settlement with Iran to resolve a dispute over a failed arms deal signed before the 1979 fall of the shah.

      [Editorial note: By failed arms deal, the Post means that the US took Iran's money but failed to deliver the goods.]

      But there was no word about what happened to the rest of the debt — $1.3 billion.

      On Tuesday, The Weekly Standard reported that the second payment was also quietly delivered.

      Assistant Secretary of State for Legislative Affairs Julia Frifield sent a letter to Congress on March 17, 2016, stating, “Iran received the balance of $400 million in the Trust Fund as well as roughly $1.3 billion representing a compromise on the interest,” according to the magazine.

      This payment was likely made in cash, since the US has no banking relationship with Tehran.

      Wooden pallets stacked with euros, Swiss francs and other currencies were flown into Iran in an unmarked cargo plane to cover the first $400 million.

      “The reason that we had to give them cash is precisely because we are so strict in maintaining sanctions — and we don’t have a banking relationship with Iran — that we couldn’t send them a check,” Obama said in an Aug. 4 press conference.

      Although he insisted there was no connection to the hostages, one of them described waiting for “another plane” to land before being freed from Iran.

      “I just remember the night at the airport sitting for hours and hours there, and I asked police, ‘Why are you not letting us go?’ ” former hostage Pastor Saeed Abedini told Fox Business.

      “He said, ‘We are waiting for another plane, so if that plane doesn’t come, we never let [you] go.’ ”

      Donald Trump has denounced the payments.

      “Our incompetent Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, was the one who started talks to give 400 million dollars, in cash, to Iran. Scandal!” Trump wrote on Twitter...


      As with many of Trump's Twitter feeds, he proves he often shoots from the hip on issues he knows nothing about.

      The payments were actually a good deal for the US. The payments were going to happen anyway but initially Iran was asking for $10 billion. When they couldn't agree on the amount, the case was going to arbitration where the US side expected the decision would cost the US around $4 billion. Instead, in 2015, they talked Iran into setting up a joint tribunal (US and Iran) monitored by the Swiss. That tribunal came up with the $1.7 figure which was a good deal for the US.

      .

      The negotiations on the nuclear deal were separate from those on the older arms deal and were handled by separate groups.

      Delete
    8. Of course, but how were they seized? Where were the assets when seized? Did the US go to Tehran and steal It? What proof says it was theirs? We should have kept it and at the very least, trickled it to them slowly to make sure they toe the line. Worst negotiation I have ever seen.

      Delete
    9. This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
    10. Answer: the 2 billion was in US investments, and it was there when Iran killed 241 Marines. What's 2 billion divided by 241? A little over 8 million a Marine? Like I said, We should have kept the money.

      Delete
    11. .

      How were they seized?

      Iran paid the US money for arms.

      Where were the assets seized?

      The US took the money but never delivered the arms.

      Trickled it slowly?

      Hell, we owed them for the initial deal since the Shah was in power.

      Worst negotiation I have ever seen.

      Nutz.

      .

      Delete
    12. The money was sitting in a Citibank acct.

      Delete
    13. .

      Answer: the 2 billion was in US investments,

      Well, if you consider military arms that were never produced or delivered and investment, well then, yes.

      it was there when Iran killed 241 Marines.


      Surprisingly, that is close to (though a little less than) the number of Iranians that were estimated killed during the 1953 coup organized by the US and the UK to reinstall the Shah.

      .

      Delete
    14. .

      The money was sitting in a Citibank acct.

      What does having a trust fund in the bank to pay for the claim have to do with it?

      For that matter, what does it matter where the money was?

      .


      .

      Delete
    15. What value do you put on a dead US Marine, Q? Are you saying 241 dead Marines serves us right because of something that happened in 1953? Tit for tat? Just trying to understand your reasoning, old boy.

      Delete
    16. .

      Just trying to understand yours.

      Are you arguing an individual American life all things being equal are more important than those of someone in Iran?

      .

      Delete
    17. All things AREN'T equal.

      Idiot.

      Delete
    18. What Doug said.

      Who is Doug?

      Delete
    19. .

      Right, in one case the US troops were killed in the middle of a civil war in Lebanon. In the other, the Iranians were killed in a US/UK initiated coup that not only ended up in the Iranians being killed but in the overthrow of their democratically elected government in order to protect UK oil interests and the US' paranoid belief the commies were coming.

      .

      Delete
    20. What ever you say. Bottom line is they had 2B invested in the US robust economy, because theirs didn't exist and because the US allowed them to do so, and while it was there they decided to blow up 241 US Marines in another country. We should have kept the money. Screw them. Obama and Kerry are chumps.

      Delete
  31. The Casino on the Hill now far overshadows The Washington Monument in our Capital City.

    What does this say about our society and our Republic ?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. New MGM megajoint peers down on Washington Monument

      http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/MGM-Casino-Prepares-for-Opening-at-National-harbor-404772256.html

      Delete
    2. We need a Constitutional Amendment to allow Trump to keep his hotel in DC.

      Delete
    3. MOME:

      Keep it up:

      Deuce has informed me that Quirk's gonna pay for all the white space he's stolen from us Patriotic Americans for all these years.

      Truth, Justice, and The American Way will out in the end.

      Death to the Radical Islamic Muzzies!

      Delete
  32. "I'm the guy that has always argued vehemently against any use of political violence in the USA."

    ===

    Except for Donna Brazile.

    The miserable Bitch has the audacity to condemn the Ruskies for (allegedly) outing her sorry, criminal, fat black ass.

    ReplyDelete
  33. Death to Trudeau:

    He's so stupid, he's a threat to humanity.

    ReplyDelete
  34. Death to Idaho Bob for arguing so vehemently.

    ReplyDelete
  35. Hillary Clinton

    HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON
    Trump tweets: My supporters would be 'scorned' for questioning election
    New reality: Politicians talk, stock shares drop
    Blame game bubbles over Russian interference in election
    MORE
    campaign chairman John Podesta on Sunday refused to say the presidential election was "free and fair."

    Asked on NBC's "Meet the Press" if the he thought the election was "free and fair," Podesta demurred.

    “Well, look, I think the Russians clearly intervened in the election and I think that now we know that both the CIA, the Director of National Intelligence, the FBI all agree that the Russians intervened [and] helped Trump and that as ... NBC first revealed, that Vladimir Putin was personally involved with that,” he replied.
    Host Chuck Todd then pressed Podesta, saying: "You didn't answer the question. Do you believe it was a free and fair election?"

    “Well, I think it was — I think it was distorted by the Russian intervention,” Podesta said. “Let’s put it that way.”

    Both the CIA and FBI have concluded that Russia interfered in the election to help Donald Trump win.

    Intelligence officials have said Russians were behind the hacking of emails belonging to Podesta and Democratic National Committee staffers.

    ===

    It wasn't what the Democrats did.

    It wasn't what the emails said.

    It was Putin!

    Death to Putin !!!

    http://thehill.com/homenews/news/310941-podesta-refuses-to-say-election-was-fair-and-free

    ReplyDelete
  36. Tuckered Out

    http://thehill.com/media/307684-tucker-carlson-stepping-down-as-the-daily-callers-editor-in-chief

    ReplyDelete
  37. Make Brazil the permanent head of the DNC.

    They deserve each other.

    ReplyDelete
  38. Replies
    1. That Chauffeur that drove her into a telephone pole is probably Russian.

      Delete
    2. .

      Damn, Doug was just getting to her.

      .

      Delete
    3. Zsa Zsa always a favorite with me.

      But, it's time.

      My thoughts and prayers of course turn to her 347th husband, left so alone, Frédéric Prinz von Asphalt.

      Delete
    4. Prinz Asphalt gains the distinction of being the only male Zsa Zsa didn't throw under her bus.

      Delete
    5. What about Doug ?

      Outta luck.

      But a big winner anyway for avoiding the wheels of her bus.

      Delete
  39. I take back everything I wrote about Quirk.

    ...I just read his replies to Kristof.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. .

      The alt right here are about equivalent to the alt left. The only thing that makes them marginally more acceptable is that they are somewhat less objectionable winners than the left are poor losers.

      :o)

      .

      Delete
    2. Er....he's related to Nater ?

      Delete
  40. .

    Deuce has informed me that Quirk's gonna pay for all the white space he's stolen from us Patriotic Americans for all these years.

    Informed you?

    Was that by wireless and secret decoder rings?

    .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Don't count on it.

      The Quirk I know has never paid for anything.

      Delete
    2. .

      Bull.

      The Quirkster always pays his debts.

      Take all the white space you can carry, boys, and put it on my tab.


      .

      Delete
  41. Damn, Doug was just getting to her.

    Damn, Doug, did you DO ZAZA?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Doug couldn't get past Prinz Asphalt, Virtue Defender.

      Delete
    2. I was thinking she'd still look better than Hillary in an open casket.

      ...then I got the brilliant idea to sequester all that carbon when Hillary kicks the bucket to prevent Global Climate Change.

      Delete
    3. You'd be 'filthy' rich if you could figure out how to recycle Hillary's gas.

      Delete
    4. Stupid me, I forgot Methane is a more potent driver of Global Climate Change than C02.

      Delete
    5. we could always flare it off.

      An Eternal Flame.

      Delete
  42. Donna Brazile is calling on Congress to conduct a bipartisan investigation into Russia’s meddling in the U.S. election.

    “As Chair of the Democratic National Committee — one of the main victims of the Russian attacks — I ask that you support and provide any needed assistance to an independent, bipartisan investigation of the attacks that includes public hearings," the interim chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee wrote in a letter to Congress Sunday.

    “What we do know is that these intrusions were not just ‘hacks’ — they were attacks on the United States by a foreign power, and they must be treated as such,” she said.

    http://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/310940-brazile-writes-letter-to-congress-calling-for-investigation-into-russian

    ReplyDelete
  43. If Bill Clinton and Donna Brazile had had any normal sense of shame, they would both be hiding under the same rock.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. What do you want to be when you grow up Johnny?

      "I want a Be Job in the Oval Office"

      Delete
    2. “I want a man who is kind and understanding. Is that too much to ask of a millionaire?”

      :-)

      Delete
  44. It wasn't a Russian Chauffeur, and it wasn't her hairdresser:

    It was the Rolls.

    "The last surviving Gabor sister, she had been in declining health after being seriously injured in 2002 when the Rolls-Royce convertible in which she was riding, with her hairdresser at the wheel, jumped a curb on Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood and struck a light pole. The accident left Gabor partially paralyzed."

    http://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-zsa-zsa-gabor-20161218-story.html

    ...she was only 85.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. But when Francesca Hilton began performing a stand-up comedy routine in 2008 that riffed on her famous family lineage, Gabor supported the move, according to her daughter. “My mother and I, we’re the best of friends now that we’re the same age,” Hilton, then 61, said in a joke referring to Gabor that wrapped up the act. Hilton died in January 2014 of an apparent stroke. She was 67.

      ===

      “A girl must marry for love,” Gabor once said, “and keep on marrying until she finds it.”

      Delete
    2. “A girl must marry for love,” Gabor once said, “and keep on marrying until she finds it.”

      Prinz Asphalt finally filled the bill.

      Delete
    3. Zsa Zsa was the best looking young 85 year old chick on Sunset Boulevard, for sure.

      And the most dignified.

      Delete
  45. WALMART HAS SIGNED UP TO SELL BLACK LIVES MATTER APPAREL.

    BUT PULLED AN ALL LIVES MATTER STICKER FOR BEING "OFFENSIVE"

    https://thinbluelinehq.com/blogs/news/walmart-has-signed-up-to-sell-black-lives-matter-apparel-but-pulled-an-all-lives-matter-sticker-for-being-offensive

    ReplyDelete
  46. The latest in lighting:

    LED Lava Lamps

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's what I got you for Christmas: LED Lava Tube Lamps, string set, 100 yards

      Delete
    2. My tube is only 90 yards.

      I think I'll hang a double string over the entrance with the extra ten yards.

      Needless to say, I'm overwhelmed by your thoughtfulness.

      Delete
    3. I don't know where to send it.

      You got a rural route address and a box in front of the tube entrance ?

      I finally, after much internal debate, got Ash a Banana Carrier Case:

      https://www.google.com/search?q=banana+carrier+case&rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS698US698&espv=2&biw=1093&bih=510&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiN0-HTtP_QAhVNHGMKHR4aDNMQsAQIkAE

      Singles, or doubles....Banana Bunch Carriers manufactured to your specifications at minimal extra cost....

      Distributed out of Detroit, Michigan through "Q"'s Banana Case Distributors, LLC.

      Delete
    4. https://www.amazon.com/Banana-Protector-Container-Storage-Outdoor/dp/B00G0OA6TU

      http://bananabunker.com/

      Delete
  47. The latest in bad trips:

    Santa Cruz County Sheriff's office issues warning after multiple LSD-related incidents

    http://www.sfgate.com/news/bayarea/article/Sheriff-s-Office-Issues-Warning-After-Multiple-10803538.php

    ReplyDelete
  48. A THREE-year-old boy being taken on a Christmas shopping trip by his grandmother was shot dead when a motorist opened fire on her car.

    ...

    The latest road rage killing is also the 40th murder in Little Rock this year.

    ...

    Scottie Long, of The Mercy Church, Little Rock, released Acen King’s name earlier today.

    ReplyDelete
  49. Sunday night football and Carrie Underwood thighs. It's good to be an American.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. In this one case, it'd be better to be a Canadian.

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Fisher_(ice_hockey)#Personal_life

      Delete
  50. Zsa Zsa. I knew that spelling didn't look right.

    ReplyDelete