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."

Monday, July 04, 2011

Abraham Lincoln on Jefferson, human rights, and property rights (1859)

Springfield, Ills, April 6, 1859

Messrs. Henry L. Pierce, & others.

Gentlemen

Your kind note inviting me to attend a Festival in Boston, on the 13th. Inst. in honor of the birth-day of Thomas Jefferson, was duly received. My engagements are such that I can not attend.

Bearing in mind that about seventy years ago, two great political parties were first formed in this country, that Thomas Jefferson was the head of one of them, and Boston the head-quarters of the other, it is both curious and interesting that those supposed to descend politically from the party opposed to Jefferson should now be celebrating his birthday in their own original seat of empire, while those claiming political descent from him have nearly ceased to breathe his name everywhere.

Remembering too, that the Jefferson party were formed upon its supposed superior devotion to the personal rights of men, holding the rights of property to be secondary only, and greatly inferior, and then assuming that the so-called democracy of to-day, are the Jefferson, and their opponents, the anti-Jefferson parties, it will be equally interesting to note how completely the two have changed hands as to the principle upon which they were originally supposed to be divided.

The democracy of to-day hold the liberty of one man to be absolutely nothing, when in conflict with another man’s right of property. Republicans, on the contrary, are for both the man and the dollar; but in cases of conflict, the man before the dollar.

I remember once being much amused at seeing two partially intoxicated men engage in a fight with their great-coats on, which fight, after a long, and rather harmless contest, ended in each having fought himself out of his own coat, and into that of the other. If the two leading parties of this day are really identical with the two in the days of Jefferson and Adams, they have perfomed the same feat as the two drunken men.

But soberly, it is now no child’s play to save the principles of Jefferson from total overthrow in this nation.

One would start with great confidence that he could convince any sane child that the simpler propositions of Euclid are true; but, nevertheless, he would fail, utterly, with one who should deny the definitions and axioms. The principles of Jefferson are the definitions and axioms of free society.

And yet they are denied and evaded, with no small show of success.

One dashingly calls them “glittering generalities”; another bluntly calls them “self evident lies”; and still others insidiously argue that they apply only to “superior races.”

These expressions, differing in form, are identical in object and effect—the supplanting the principles of free government, and restoring those of classification, caste, and legitimacy. They would delight a convocation of crowned heads, plotting against the people. They are the van-guard—the miners, and sappers—of returning despotism.

We must repulse them, or they will subjugate us.

This is a world of compensations; and he who would be no slave, must consent to have no slave. Those who deny freedom to others, deserve it not for themselves; and, under a just God, can not long retain it.

All honor to Jefferson—to the man who, in the concrete pressure of a struggle for national independence by a single people, had the coolness, forecast, and capacity to introduce into a merely revolutionary document, an abstract truth, applicable to all men and all times, and so to embalm it there, that to-day, and in all coming days, it shall be a rebuke and a stumbling-block to the very harbingers of re-appearing tyranny and oppression.

Your obedient Servant


A. Lincoln

119 comments:

  1. Deuce,
    I don't know how to post this below your latest.
    Maybe you could do it and describe how...

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  2. Rufus,

    I just learned a little bit about reconstruction in Mississippi after Lincoln was assassinated.

    Maybe you know and can tell?

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  3. So sayeth the Emancipator about The Writer, and Slaveholder.

    Thomas Jefferson did not, even upon his death, free his own son.



    George Washington - Abraham Lincoln

    Tough call.

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  4. Doug, I am ashamed to admit, I know virtually nothing of Reconstruction in Mississippi. Or, really, anywhere else for that matter.

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  5. A senior official in Moammar Gadhafi's government says Libyan officials and rebels are making progress in talks aimed at stopping four months of fighting.

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  6. Doug, you piqued my interest, so I went to the ol' trusty Wiki. Actually, a pretty good short history of Mississip. The section for Reconstruction was about what I expected ( X 10.)

    Mississippi has always been a poor, backward state. However, in spite of my rants to the contrary, it really is, slowly, getting better. We just need some "real" industry.

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  7. For years, workers at Iogen Energy Corp. have sought to perfect the 21st-century alchemy of cellulosic ethanol – the art of turning agriculture waste into motor fuel.

    ...

    Montreal-based Enerkem Inc. produces ethanol from old telephone poles at a demonstration plant in Westbury, Que. It is building two subsidized plants that use municipal waste as feedstock, one in Edmonton and another in Mississippi that has qualified for $130-million (U.S.) in financing from Washington.

    Enerkem has applied to Sustainable Development Technology Canada for financing for another commercial plant.


    Fuel From Straw

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  8. There are always bright spots in every economy. One just slapped me in the face the other day.

    Last Fall I drove by the local John Deere Dealership, and was gobsmacked by the incredible amount of BIG, Huge machinery he had stocked. I wouldn't even begin to try and guess how many millions of dollars worth of big tractors, and combines he had out there. This in little old, poor Tunica County.

    And, last year was a bad year. Too hot, too dry, for way too long. I thought the man had lost his mind.

    Today his lot is almost empty.

    And, talk about a gamble paying off. We've had some damned good farming weather this year. On top of that, a bunch of the local farmers took a look at the floods building in Wy, and N.D, and jumped in and planted corn, and got it in real early. The Winter wheat came in great, and the beans are looking spectacular.

    Sometimes, you get the bear.

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  9. Mr Lincoln recognized empire when he saw it.
    Based out of Boston.
    Not far from New Haven.

    Much to the chagrin of the deniers, more than likely.

    While, in the original draft of the Declaration it was
    "Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Property"
    that were inalienable rights, granted by the Creator.

    Property edited to "Happiness", in the final draft.

    Inalienable rights are like that.
    Subject to editing, for political purposes.

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  10. Evidently Wiki doesn't have the tidbit I heard about, no doubt the self-loathing puke Ken Burns erases it wherever he can.

    Had to do with Lincoln's desire to "come down easy" on the South versus the bastids that took charge when he was gone:

    Certain unscrupulous northerners took advantage of the situation, and used blacks to stick it to the conquered plebes in the South.

    Anyhoo, for a time, Mississippi had a 100% black legislature, and needless to say, whitey took it in the shorts.

    The guy spining this yarn did his dissertation on this many years ago.

    He said many of the ills lasting through Jim Crow til the sixties (and til now in some ways) were nurtured in that period.

    Purty interesting, I think I'll try and find out more about it.

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  11. I don't know, Doug. It was a tumultuous time, for sure.

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  12. Locke, Mason and Jefferson all marched to a similar drummer.

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  13. I had read that, about Mr Lincoln's intentions, doug.

    The Republicans in Congress had other ideas than to follow that course.

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  14. I think it was pretty complicated. More moving parts than are generally recognized.

    I'll go back and get that link. It gave a pretty good rundown of what happened during that time.

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  15. desert rat said...
    I had read that, about Mr Lincoln's intentions, doug.

    The Republicans in Congress had other ideas than to follow that course.
    ---

    Please don't tell us that the Pubs had a worse record than the Dems in Reconstruction!

    Nowhere could I find an account like that, quite the contrary.

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  16. Found an old Ebony article about Black Power in Reconstruction, but nothing about all black Miss. Legislature.

    The Democrats quickly squelched black attempts to permanently gain power.

    ...has an account of Lincoln looking into the feasability of shipping them all out.
    His man concluded that they were being born more quickly than they could possibly be shipped out.

    If only the Dems knew about Planned Parenthood back then their dreams could have been realized.

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  17. In 1866, Congress passed the Civil Rights Act (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_Rights_Act_of_1866) and the Reconstruction Act (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reconstruction_Act), which dissolved all governments in the former Confederate states (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confederate_States_of_America) with the exception of Tennessee (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennessee).

    It divided the South into five military districts, where the military through the Freedmen's Bureau helped protect the rights and safety of newly freed blacks. The act required that the former Confederate states ratify their constitutions conferring citizenship rights on blacks or forfeit their representation in Congress.

    As a result of these measures, blacks acquired the right to vote across the Southern states. In several states (notably Mississippi (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mississippi) and South Carolina (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Carolina)), blacks were the majority of the population.

    By forming coalitions with pro-Union whites, Republicans took control of the state legislatures.

    At the time, state legislatures elected the members of the US Senate (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/US_Senate). During Reconstruction, only the state legislature of Mississippi elected a black senator.


    On February 25, 1870, Hiram Rhodes Revels (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiram_Rhodes_Revels) was elected the first black member of the Senate (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Senate), becoming also the first black member of the Congress.

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  18. From 1868, southern elections were accompanied by increasing violence, especially in Louisiana, Mississippi and the Carolinas.

    In the mid-1870s, paramilitary (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paramilitary) groups such as the White League (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_League) and Red Shirts (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Shirts) worked openly to turn Republicans out of office and intimidate blacks from voting.

    This followed on the earlier years of secret vigilante (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vigilante) action by the Ku Klux Klan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ku_Klux_Klan) against freedmen and allied whites.
    After the disputed Presidential election of 1876 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_election,_1876) between Democratic Samuel J. Tilden (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_J._Tilden), governor of New York (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York), and Republican Rutherford B. Hayes (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rutherford_B._Hayes), governor of Ohio (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohio), a national agreement between Democratic and Republican factions was negotiated, resulting in the Compromise of 1877 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compromise_of_1877). Under the compromise, Democrats conceded the election to Hayes and promised to acknowledge the political rights of blacks; Republicans agreed to no longer intervene in southern affairs and promised to appropriate a portion of federal monies toward southern projects.

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  19. 13th Amendment

    The 13 Amendment was hinted at by Abraham Lincoln in the Emancipation Proclamation in 1862. Johnson made it part of the Reconstruction plan to allow a pardon to the Southern states after ratification of the 13 Amendment. The first of the 'Reconstruction Amendments' states that slavery will no longer exist in the United States, except as a form of punishment. [6] It was Lincoln's belief that this amendment was the only way to end slavery for good. Congress debated over the specific wording of the amendment, and they even considered mentioning a kind of civil rights clause. This clause would have made it unconstitutional to discriminate against former slaves. Finally, the wording was decided upon, and Senate passed the amendment in 1864.

    The amendment was a large political matter.

    If the Republican party were to win the 1864 election, the amendment would be ratified with no problems. They believed the amendment to be the complete and total end of slavery.

    However, if the Democrats won the election, they would push for states' rights and hopefully allow some states to keep the institution of slavery around.


    But with Lincoln winning the election, the amendment was passed by the House of Representatives in 1865 and was officially ratified by the required number of states later that year. This marked the official end of slavery in the United States.[7]

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  20. Wife's gonna stuff an M-80 up my ass for the Fourth is I don't tend to the Honeydos quick-like.

    Reconstruction must be put on hold.

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  21. Jeff did do the Purchase and wrote the 'Jefferson Bible' which was very perceptive for its day. Terrible handler of money, though.

    dwrnl

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  22. Thousands showed up at the Washington Monument for the fireworks, and at the Charlottesville, Va., home to Thomas Jefferson officials upheld a tradition by swearing 77 in U.S. citizens.

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  23. No, doug, what I said was that Mr Lincoln's Reconstruction plan differed greatly from that of the Republicans, in Congress.

    Mr Johnson tried to implement Mr Lincoln's program, and was impeached for the effort.

    In late 1863, Lincoln announced a formal plan for reconstruction:

    A general amnesty would be granted to all who would take an oath of loyalty to the United States and pledge to obey all federal laws pertaining to slavery
    High Confederate officials and military leaders were to be temporarily excluded from the process
    When one tenth of the number of voters who had participated in the 1860 election had taken the oath within a particular state, then that state could launch a new government and elect representatives to Congress.

    The states of Louisiana, Arkansas and Tennessee rapidly acted to comply with these terms. Despite an early position showing a vindictive streak, Andrew Johnson continued Lincoln's plan for reconstruction when he took office after Lincoln's assassination. Civil governments were set up, except in the state of Texas, after conventions in each state officially abolished slavery, repudiated their debts, and canceled the acts of secession. Representatives were elected to serve in Congress.

    However, the Lincoln plan was not acceptable to Congress, which rejected the representatives.


    Lincoln Reconstruction Plan

    Nothing to do with Democrats.
    Everything to do with Republicans.

    Republicans who dominated the Federal government for the next fifty years. Bringing the graduated income tax and the direct election of Senators to the nation.

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  24. Lincoln was dead by 1866, he had no impact on Reconstruction, after that.

    Johnson's Reconstruction "Carrying Out Lincoln's Plan" April 15, 1865 - March 4, 1869

    President Abraham Lincoln and the Radicals in the Republican Party had clashed bitterly about reconstruction policies long before the assassination thrust Vice President Andrew Johnson, a Democrat, into the fray. "Mr. Johnson, I thank God that you are here", said Radical Republican Sen. Ben Wade. "Lincoln had too much of the milk of human kindness to deal with these damn rebels. Now they will be dealt with according to their deserts."

    Believing he was basically carrying on Lincoln's plans for reconstruction, Johnson, by a May 29, 1865, presidential proclamation, granted amnesty and pardon to all persons who directly or indirectly participated in the "rebellion", with a wide range of exceptions.
    ...
    The Radicals were furious. Surely there were Southerners who must hang. What about freed slaves? They should be enfranchised, and the property of the whites should be divided amongst them. Would these states be represented in Congress by the same people that had led them in rebellion? Radical Republican Thaddeus Stevens asked his colleagues if there was "no way to arrest the insane course of the President."


    They did arrest the course set by Mr Lincoln and followed by Mr Johnson, impeachment.

    Although the impeachment trial of Andrew Johnson was ostensibly about a violation of the Tenure of Office Act, it was about much more than that. Also on trial in 1868 were Johnson's lenient policies towards Reconstruction and his vetoes of the Freedmen's Bureau Act and the Civil Rights Act. The trial was, above all else, a political trial.

    That Mr Johnson was a life long Democrat, made it easy for the Republicans to bring the impeachment charges, in the House.

    He was not convicted, but he was politically neutered.

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  25. In accordance with the principles of America and of capitalism, I recognize your right to hold any beliefs you choose -- and, on the same grounds, you have to recognize my right to hold any convictions I choose. I am an intransigent atheist, though not a militant one. This means that I am not fighting against religion -- I am fighting for reason. When faith and reason clash, it is up to the religious people to decide how they choose to reconcile the conflict. As far as I am concerned, I have no terms of communication and no means to deal with people, except through reason.


    What in daylights is a militant atheist, or an intrasigent atheist??

    I remember a group around here called Militant Atheists and we were laughing and wondering what the hell they wanted.



    dwrnl

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  26. It was fine right where you put it Doug. A very eye opening letter I must say.

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  27. Oh, yeah, Great Post, Doug.

    Lincoln was a fascinating gentleman.

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  28. indeed excellent

    I remember that about an all black legislature now you mention it

    dwrnl

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  29. In case you needed reminding about the grifter in The White House

    The Missing US Ambassador at the feast for Ronald Reagan
    Last night's Guildhall dinner in honour of Ronald Reagan's centenary was a truly glittering and warm occasion.
    The British roasted lamb and the sunny Californian chardonnay evoked the close Anglo-US relationship of Reagan and Thatcher as much as the fine speeches by Condi Rice and William Hague.
    But guests were left asking, where on earth was the American ambassador to London, Louis B Susman?
    "Our ambassador should be here," said Lynn de Rothschild, the American entrepreneur who is married to Sir Evelyn de Rothschild and was one of Hillary Clinton's key fundraisers in 2008 as well as a supporter of several Republican presidential candidates. "This was an historic dinner to mark Reagan's centenary and to celebrate him as the man who ended the Cold War. What could not be more important?
    "Why is our ambassador not here on Independence Day? No excuse. How is it that America is not represented in this room by our ambassador? It is appalling that no representative of our government is in this room. This has the feel of petty partisanship."
    Ambassador Susman is, of course, a long-standing Democrat fundraiser, nicknamed the vaccuum cleaner for his skill at sucking donations out of the wealthy. And his efforts to fill Obama's campaign pockets was said by many to be his main qualification to come to London.
    According to the US embassy spokesman: "Ambassador Susman was pleased to be invited to the dinner but was unable to attend."
    He had however been at the unveiling of a statue of Reagan in Grosvenor Square earlier in the day, and hosted a generous breakfast for the entire VIP visiting party and the military band. So he cannot be accused of snubbing the Reagan centenary.

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  30. So Mrs Rothschild felt slighted that the US Ambassador did not attend her private dinner party.

    Wonder how much money she raised, for Mr Huntsman, the current beneficiary of her fund raising prowess?

    Mrs Rothschild has publicly stated that Mr Obama is not qualified to be President, while she was living as an expat, in London.

    Little wonder she feels slighted, by the Ambassador of his government.

    Lady Lynn Forester de Rothschild was once a prominent fundraiser for Hillary Clinton in 2008, but then drew attention when she later supported Senator John McCain against Obama.

    She said she is still registered as a Democrat, but considers herself independent and won’t support the party as long as Obama is president.

    “America needs a president who understands the special sauce of what it is that makes this country great,” she said. “The fact of his personal story of being half black and all that is a wonderful, inspiriting story. But it doesn’t qualify him to be president.”


    Lady Lynn Forester de Rothschild, an expert on petty partisanship, whilst living abroad.

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  31. "Mrs Rothschild has publicly stated that Mr Obama is not qualified to be President, while she was living as an expat, in London."

    That is unfortunate, now that you mentioned it.

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  32. .

    Lady Lynn Forester de Rothschild, pompous bitch.

    .

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  33. The Ambassador did attend the PUBLIC ceremonies commemorating Mr Reagan.

    He just skipped the private dinner, hosted by the President's political opponents.

    The was no slight to Mr Reagan or his accomplishments, just to Mrs Rothschild and her private dinner party.

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  34. Pompous? she may be a bitch but she's really but a forester.


    dwrnl

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  35. Ten days before Mrs Rothschild leveled insults to the US Ambassador to Englan, she helped raise $1.2 million for Mr Huntsman, working hand in glove with the Chairman of Morgan Stanley, a bank to big to fail.

    Morgan Stanley only exists, today, because of the Federal bailout money.

    Mr Mack, he certainly understands the "Secret Sauce" of success in the US.

    After announcing his campaign in New Jersey on June 21, Huntsman held a fundraiser in Manhattan that generated an estimated $1.2 million. Lynn Forester de Rothschild, who backed Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) in 2008 before supporting Republican nominee Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), hosted the event. Also raising money for Huntsman were Morgan Stanley Chairman John Mack and Georgette Mosbacher, a former finance co-chair for the Republican National Committee.

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  36. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  37. "Secret Sauce", that'd be those Federal bailouts, to Mrs Rothschild's friends.

    Mr Obama, he just does not understand that only the elites can get that Federal money.
    There not being enough for everyone else to "wet their beak" at the Federal trough.

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  38. Not only does Mr Mack understad the "Secret Sauce" of US success, he knows how to tap the Chinese "Soy Sauce" of success, too.

    The Beijing Government's China Investment Corporation (CIC) will inject $5 billion into Morgan Stanley in return for a 9.9 per cent stake.
    From 20DEC2007.

    Mr Mack, he has a history of hitting the "Sauce".

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  39. Mr Mack gets $5.5 billion from Charlie Chi-cap, then supports Mr Huntsman, Mr Obama's Ambassador to China, for the position of US President.

    Morgan Stanley, they like the "Sauce" of success.
    It's tasty.

    Awaken to the realities of the unipolar politics of finance.

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  40. The "Sauces", they do need to be kept "Secret", to be truly successful.

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  41. Mr Mack, he found the "Sauce" for himself.

    John Mack, the bank's chief executive, decided not to take a bonus for 2007, just a year after granting himself the biggest payout, $40 million, made to a Morgan Stanley head.
    ...
    Morgan Stanley's fourth-quarter writedowns, mostly related to high-risk American sub-prime mortgages, astonished Wall Street.

    The firm had said last month that it had recorded $3.7 billion of writedowns on mortgage-related investments in September and October and that losses would continue to mount in November, but even the most pessimistic analyst predictions did not forecast that the eventual writedowns for the fourth quarter would be so high.

    Colm Kelleher, Morgan Stanley's chief financial officer, said: “History has proven that that worst-case scenario was not the worst case.”

    However, he said that Morgan Stanley had “total conviction” that its trading loss does not put Mr Mack's position in jeopardy, adding that he is “absolutely the right person to lead this firm out of this hiccup”.

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  42. Thanks for digging, Rat. Good stuff on those bastards.

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  43. The fact of his personal story of being half black and all that is a wonderful, inspiriting story. But it doesn’t qualify him to be president.”


    True enough.

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  44. While Mr Huntsman was Ambassador to China, well Mr Mack tasted a little more "Soy Sauce"

    Jul. 15, 2010

    China Investment Corp. just named Morgan Stanley's John Mack a member of the $300 billion sovereign-wealth fund's international advisory council, says the Wall Street Journal.

    Morgan Stanley was already somewhat close to CIC after they bought a minority stake in the U.S. bank in 2007, but now that Mack is on board with an advisory committee, they're going to be even better positioned with the bank.
    ...
    this is good news. This is a crucial 2 years for China. CIC is one of the Chinese banks that are making all the big deals right now. Plus, CIC is connected to the government because it manages part of the People's Republic of China's foreign exchange reserves.


    Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/awesome-for-morgan-stanley-john-mack-just-got-named-to-the-board-of-a-huge-chinese-bank-2010-7#ixzz1RFmqsnx8

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  45. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  46. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  47. The Chinese have certainly "grown", since the Clinton Campaign of 1996.

    Al Gore and the Temple of Doom

    Moving from Monks to Money Centers.

    They are now "to big to fail".

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  48. .

    We have heard that Obama is not qualified to be president. Hard to argue with that. The list of his sins of ommission is almost as long as that of his sins of commission.

    However, there is little doubt he will be the Dems candidate in the 2012 election so this brings up another question.

    I consider most of the GOP candidates that will be running for president t be dicks. But that opinion is based on a superficial view gleaned from articles I have read.

    Since there is only a little over year before the election it's probably time to get a little more serious. In order to start looking at these guys I would ask that anyone here (with the exception of dhrw since we already know where he stands) who has a particularly strong positive feeling about a particular candidate throw his name in the ring along with any reasons why they like the guy/gal or guygal.

    That would allow us to discuss the pros and cons of each candidate.

    And please no "anyone but Obama" shit. It's juvenile. There must be some positive reason you are in favor of a particular person.

    Doug?

    Gag?

    Great Poobah?

    Ruf?

    .

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  49. I would really, really like to think my "guy" hasn't surfaced yet.

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  50. .

    I would really, really like to think my "guy" hasn't surfaced yet.

    So would many of us.

    However, with a little over a year to go, with the need to build a machine (sorry team), with fund raising requirements, etc, time is quickly running out.

    Is there anyone out there you would like to see get in the race?

    .

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  51. Probably a henny penny thought.

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  52. Well, Q, it would have to be someone that had a chance to beat Obama.

    To do that would require mobilizing, with enthusiasm, ALL of the disparate factions of the "Right".

    They'd have to have a record of job creation, wherever they're from.

    They'd need to be from a populous State and be capable of raising large sums of cash.

    They'd have to be willing to take the risk.

    Mrs Rothschild knows that Mr Romney does not qualify.

    Mr Huntsman is not from a large enough State and has little national name recognition.

    Rick Perry could pull it off.

    I've seen a few stories, lately, where they are trying to distance him from GW Bush.

    Prepping the battlefield?

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  53. Pawlenty has spent a year and a half meeting Iowa Republicans and building a circle of top Iowa consultants, but registered only 6 percent in a recent Iowa poll.

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  54. Michele Bachmann does not have enough understanding of her own family finances to be taken seriously.

    She's received much to much "Secret Sauce", while in public denial of need for the Federals to spend that money.

    There’s $259,000 in federal subsidies paid since 1995 to a family farm of which Bachmann is a part-owner. Another $30,000 went to Bachmann and Associates Counseling Clinic in the last five years from various Minnesota government agencies, including one small payment logged the day after the congresswoman’s official 2012 kickoff.

    In addition, at least $137,000 came from Medicaid-backed programs for patients using the mental health clinic run by her husband, Marcus Bachmann.

    All of the money poured through legitimate channels and Bachmann disclosed the income on her congressional financial disclosure forms. Most public payments to the clinic are connected to services it provided, although it did receive a federal health grant for employee training.
    ...
    The Bachmann clinic also received $24,000 — split between the state and federal governments — for a grant program to train counselors who treat people with both mental illness and substance abuse issues.
    ....

    Throughout her career in the state Legislature and Congress, Bachmann has fashioned herself as one of the fiercest foes of government spending.


    The hypocrisy of taking almost $460,000 in subsidies, while decrying those subsidies as un-American, would be her undoing.

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  55. Rick Perry deemed the No Child Left Behind education bill and the Medicare prescription drug benefit - signature accomplishments of Mr. Bush - "Big government," "Washington-centric" programs, adding in a separate interview that No Child Left Behind is "a monstrous intrusion into our affairs."

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  56. The question for Mr Perry, is the risk of taking on a sitting President worth it, or should he wait in Texas, until 2016?

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  57. Christian Science Monitor - ‎Jul 2, 2011‎
    Perry brings to the table 10 and a half years as Texas governor, a strong record of job creation, and the social-issue positions of a religious conservative. Many tea party activists are clamoring for Perry to run.

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  58. So, is this an endorsement from DR?

    Will you vote for Perry if he runs, DR?

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  59. Great work on the Rothschild "secret sauce" story, Rat. Very good.

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  60. I would probably vote for Romney, but I'm developing a bit of a crush on Palin.

    I, honestly, believe that Sarah Palin might make the best President.

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  62. yes, that and the research on the Bachman federal money trail. Good stuff.

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  63. Mr Perry's positions on Mr Bush's signature programs seem to mirror my own.

    I doubt he has any major skeletons in his closet.

    From what I know today, gag, I probably would. He certainly outshines the other GOP hopefuls, none of which I'd vote for.

    I rather promote an anti-binary position, than vote for any of them.

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  64. I Like Perry, but I am here in his state and get force fed positive info.

    Dude jogs with a pistol incase his dogs get attacked by coyotes. My kind of guy.

    Surely his handlers are vetting him big time. I am also sure the Dims have already started their process as well.

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  65. .

    Rick Perry could pull it off.

    Don't know much about Perry except that his supporters are trying to secure a spot for him in Iowa. Has anyone seen any poll numbers indicating what level of support he might garner.

    When the Wisconsin Supreme Court approved the law that Walker pushed through regarding public service unions, Dougo took it as a sign I was all wet when I suggested the GOP was overplaying its hand in a purely political sense in the walk up to the 2012 election.

    In fact, since the law was passed, the polls have not been friendly to the Governor. In 2010, Walker was elected with 52% of the vote. In May of this year his approval rating has fallen to 43%.

    Here in MI, Snyder won in 2010 with 58% of the vote. His popularity is now down to 33% after he pushed through legislation taking on the elderly, the poor, and the unions. 800,000 recall signatures have been submitted.

    In AZ, Brewer went from 54% to 46%, in FL Scott went from 49% to 29%, in GA Deal went from 53% to 35%, in OH Kasich went from 49% to 38%, and in PA Corbett went from 49% to 39%. I don't have the numbers for Christie but the last I saw he had dropped down into the lower 40% range.

    It all gets back to who is electible. I could be wrong, but I believe the Tea Party's cache is on the wane. Independants now view the freshman class of Tea partiers as either idealogues or politicos who have been co-opted by the system.

    Those, like Perry, who plan on riding their Tea Party bona fides to victory may be disappointed.

    Although from what little I know of him it seems like he has done some good things in Texas.

    (Of course, just being from Texas might not be all positive these days.)

    .

    ReplyDelete
  66. Texas has 8% Unemployment, and is looking at an enormous budget shortfall in 2012 - On the order of $27 Billion for '12 - '13.

    In case his dogs are attacked by Coyotes? really?

    He was Al Gore's Texas Co-Chair, you know?

    When Jan Brewer was fighting the good fight for locking up illegal immigrants Perry dissed her.

    I can't see it.

    Looks to me like a lot of "hat," very little "cattle."

    ReplyDelete
  67. .

    I Like Perry,...

    Dude jogs with a pistol incase his dogs get attacked by coyotes. My kind of guy.





    Not me.

    If the guy wasn't a pussy, he would have a dog big enough (or mean enough) to take on a coyote by itself.

    .

    ReplyDelete
  68. Palin, on the other hand, left her state $9 Billion in the Bank, cut the budget during a time of "surplus,' put a bunch of political crooks in jail, including some from her own party, jerked a knot in Exxon's tail, and left Her State with 6% Unemployment.

    And, sold the Government Jet.

    She's also the Only politician, talking head, pundit, etc (except for Rockman at TOD) that gave a coherent accounting of exactly What those $4 Billion Oil Co Tax Cuts really were.

    She's the Only Republican Candidate I've heard call for Drilling in ANWR, Now. And, she's the only one that's pointed out how much oil production in the Gulf is going to "be down" next year as a result of the Moratorium.

    ReplyDelete
  69. .

    Palin is one we will have to disagree on Ruf. I won't waste time getting into the same old arguments.

    In a crowded field, it is still possible for her to get the GOP nomination.

    That being said, if she got the nomination, Obama would likely win with 55% of the vote.

    The last 'disapproval' ratings i saw for her were a month or two ago and they were at 60%. The last 'disapproval' ratings for her in Alaska were at 61%, this from a state that had her approval ratings at 80% before she ran for VP.

    With disapproval ratings like that you might as well forget it.

    You and dhrw may love her but it appears a good portion of America doesn't.

    .

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  70. Her husband, meanwhile, was a star basketball player, worked for years on the North Slope, Won the Irondog 4 times (once with a broken arm,) and is serious about fishing.

    Sarah played a basketball game with a broken foot, kills Caribou, is fearless, and spent a day on TV clubbing halibut in the head.

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  71. OK, the coyote thing was a publicity stunt, that all these shit kickers down here got a big charge out of, but I am sure some desperate soul will bring it back up at the right time.

    True enough, there is a budget deficit PROJECTED for '12 and '13. '12 and '13 ain't here yet, and he is confident he will get it fixed in time. Don't forget the 9.4 billion they have tucked away from taxing the oil and gas companies just for rainy days.

    He will certainly have to have that shortfall fixed to run in '12.

    ReplyDelete
  72. If the guy wasn't a pussy, he would have a dog big enough (or mean enough) to take on a coyote by itself.

































    heheh, more Detroit nitwittery.

    Our German Shepard Shasta jumped out the window of our car and took out after a coyote not yet fully grown.

    Coyote retreats a bit then turns and makes a stand. One look at those teeth Shasta is back in the car.

    dwrnl

    ReplyDelete
  73. Q, she basically dropped her "disapproval" rating from 67% to 52% with one 4 day bus tour.

    Most people don't know any more about her than what they've heard from the talking heads. And the talking heads from Both sides of the aisle are agin'er.

    That's what campaigns are for.

    ReplyDelete
  74. I recall a Deuce entry a while back that said Obama will be at 47% approval rating come post time. The liberal media will deliver another 4%. I still see that as the standard bearer.

    ReplyDelete
  75. If somebody had given me a name like "Shasta" I woulda been a pussy, too.

    ReplyDelete
  76. .

    Sarah played a basketball game with a broken foot, kills Caribou, is fearless, and spent a day on TV clubbing halibut in the head.

    Oh, well why didn't you say so. You sure changed my mind in a hurry. She is either qualified for president or to participate in a winner-take-all cage match in the Octogon against Tonya Hardy.

    :)

    .

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  77. Gag, I think he'll be lucky to be above 40.

    They've shot their bullet with the SPR drawdown, and oil prices are already back on the rise. We'll be back above $4.00 gasoline by Spring, and Obammie will be in deep trouble.

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  78. .

    Our German Shepard Shasta jumped out the window of our car and took out after a coyote not yet fully grown.

    The operative words here are "Our German Shepard..."

    What can you expect of a poor dog whose role model's idea of handling a perceived problem is poison.

    It's hard to believe the poor dog isn't in analysis.

    .

    ReplyDelete
  79. Rufe

    I think there are 43% that will vote for him no matter what.

    ReplyDelete
  80. 4.00 gas will not matter. Alot of his constituents don't drive. That's a joke ya'll!!!

    ReplyDelete
  81. .

    Q, she basically dropped her "disapproval" rating from 67% to 52% with one 4 day bus tour.

    I hadn't heard about the drop in disapproval ratings so I looked it up. It was a big drop in disapproval; however, at the same time, her approval ratings dropped from 38% to 24%.

    Did she really gain anything?

    I guess it's in the eye of the beholder. Any disapproval rating over 40% spells big trouble to me.

    .

    ReplyDelete
  82. It is not the percentage of votes received that counts. Or Al Gore would have been President.

    No, amigos, it is the States that are carried, by the varied candidates.

    NY, CA and IL will all go for Obama.

    It takes 270 votes, to win.
    Obama received 359, last time around.
    Maverick, 179.

    Look and see which where each State went.

    Which States are going to switch.
    Where can the GOP match their 2000 results?
    Against a sitting President.

    When there is no Ronald Reagan.

    Results that left Mr Bush the winner, with less votes than Mr Gore, but the winner none the less.

    ReplyDelete
  83. Poor Shasta was to much for us to handle though she was fierce in the defense of home and daughter.

    So we gave her away.

    I called the new owners a month or so later...how are things going?

    She's out chasing the cattle again the lady say, sounding exhausted.

    Shasta was twice the size of that coyote.

    Big on cattle but "all bark no bite"
    when it came to a coyote half her size.

    Was a funny incident.

    dwenl

    ReplyDelete
  84. How does the GOP carry OH, PA, FL and two other States to be named later?

    But without OH, PA and FL the GOP has no chance, at all.

    ReplyDelete
  85. Pennslyvania, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana all might switch. Florida etc

    ReplyDelete
  86. They get more votes.

    ReplyDelete
  87. Sure, Gag, I agree. Even if his "approval" rating is under 40% he'll still get 47 - 48% of the vote.

    Some of those disapprove because he's not liberal Enough. They'll still vote for him over any Republican.

    Also, probably somewhere between 40 and 45% percent would, literally vote for Attila the Hun if he was a Dem. A similar number, of course, would vote for said Hun if he was a Pub. That leaves 20% that actually decide elections.

    And, I'll bet if truth be told, that twenty percent pretty much splits down the middle on "leanings." Sometimes it's just a matter of whose "leaners" come out to vote. A lot of McCrazy's stayed home in '08.

    Maybe, with $4.00 gas a few of Obammie's leaners will stay home in 2010.

    ReplyDelete
  88. In 2004, a sitting Republican President received 286 votes.

    The Democratic challenger, 251.
    A one or two State difference.
    Either FL or OH would have made the difference, then.

    The Republicans are in the deep caca.

    The Democrats are in a stronger Electoral College position, naturally.

    It's demographics.

    ReplyDelete
  89. McCain was just the worst candidate imaginable, and he still would have won if the Economy hadn't completely dove off a cliff.

    McCain even managed to lose Indiana. Indiana! Thass almost unimaginable.

    ReplyDelete
  90. Look at the maps

    It is clear, when the GOP wins, it's a squeaker, the Dems win in landslides. In the College, even when the raw vote is close.

    2000 being the exception.

    PA never voted for Bush, they certainly won't go for the GOP, now.

    White flight, as Deuce has described, has carried that State.

    It is not only the number of "Leaners", but where they reside, that has to be taken into account.

    ReplyDelete
  91. McCain made a special trip to Iowa, just to give an anti-ethanol/anti-farm speech.

    The man was a disaster.

    Unless Obama gets unbelievably lucky in some way, or the Pubs do something even stupider than I think they're capable of, I believe it could be a rout.

    ReplyDelete
  92. The GOP has a very tough row to hoe.

    That's a fact.

    The Congress has about an 18% approval rating and about an 85% re-election rate.

    Incumbency counts,

    ReplyDelete
  93. I don't know, Rat. Red states (like Texas) have picked up a slew of electoral votes from "redistricting."

    I'm sure you can put Ohio, and Indiana back into the R column. Probably Fl, NC, Va, and Iowa.

    I don't know much about N. Mex, but I bet Colorado comes home.

    Ah, let's face it. It's all guessing, now. We might nominate another McCain. Or worse.

    The Saudis might find another four, or five million bbl/day of oil lying around, unused. I might be sleeping with Julia Roberts.

    In politics, a month is a lifetime. A year? ?

    ReplyDelete
  94. And, yes, Incumbency definitely do count.

    ReplyDelete
  95. Renewable energy production has surpassed nuclear energy production in the U.S. according to the latest issue of Monthly Energy Review published by the Energy Information Administration. Production of alternative energy is also beginning to close in on domestic oil production.

    During the first three months of 2011, energy produced from renewable energy sources (biomass/biofuels, geothermal, solar, hydro, wind) generated 2.245 quadrillion Btus of energy equating to 11.73 percent of U.S. energy production. During this same time period, renewable energy production surpassed nuclear energy power by 5.65 percent. In total, energy produced from renewables is 77.15 percent of that from domestic crude oil production.

    When looking at all energy sectors, production of renewable energy has increased by a little over 15 percent when compared to first quarter of 2010, and by more than 25 percent when compared to the first quarter of 2009. Of this total, biomass/biofuels accounted for approximately 48 percent of this total followed by hydropower at 35.41 percent, wind at 12.87 percent, geothermal at 2.45 percent and lastly solar at 1.16 percent.

    Despite a seemingly low number for solar power, when compared to first quarter last year, solar power has increased by 104.8 percent while wind power increased by 40.3 percent.


    IEA

    ReplyDelete
  96. Obama has a $Billion bucks and will run against the Republican Congress.

    To call them "Do Nothing" would be easy upon them. They'll paint the GOP as being obstructionist and worse.
    Medicare and Social Security killers.

    The Ryan Budget was a disaster for the GOP, when the Congressmen went home.

    The MSM will roll with the incumbent President.

    It is not going to a repeat of 1980, there is no Ronald Reagan.
    Morning has broken.

    ReplyDelete
  97. Rat, I don't think Reagan could have beaten Carter but for those helicopters burning in the Desert.

    It IS hard to beat an incumbent. It took R. Perot to sink GHW bush, and, of course, Ford didn't have much of a chance after he pardoned Nixon.

    ReplyDelete
  98. .

    Poor Shasta was to much for us to handle though she was fierce in the defense of home and daughter.

    So we gave her away.




    How many little Bobbys and Suzies and Quierrmos have heard this same story.

    "We took Shasta 'to the farm' kids. It was for her own good. Now she will be able to run free for as long as she lives. She will be much better off."

    I've often wondered if kids stop believing these stories about the same time they stop believing in Santa Claus.

    .

    ReplyDelete
  99. Hidden from view, standing just outside the frame of that now-famous photograph was a career CIA analyst. In the hunt for the world's most-wanted terrorist, there may have been no one more important.

    ...

    Call him John, his middle name.

    ...

    He began to speak, about the operation and about the years of intelligence it was based on. And as he spoke about the mission that had become his career, the calm, collected analyst paused, and he choked up.


    bin Laden

    ReplyDelete
  100. Quirker that's ridiculous.

    She needed some space to run, in a town with a lease law.

    Even dotter got sick of her.

    ReplyDelete
  101. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  102. Russia has entered election season, with parliamentary elections in December and presidential elections in March 2012. Typically, this is not an issue of concern, as most Russian elections have been designed to usher a chosen candidate and political party into office since 2000.

    ...

    Putin’s goal was to fix the country, which meant restoring state control (politically, socially and economically), strengthening the FSB and military and re-establishing Russia’s influence and international reputation — especially in the former Soviet sphere of influence. To do so, Putin had to carry Russia through a complex evolution that involved shifting the country from accommodating to aggressive at specific moments.

    ...

    Putin, who had no choice but to appeal to the West to help keep the country afloat when he took office in 2000, initially was hailed as a trusted partner by the West. But even while former U.S. President George W. Bush was praising Putin’s soul, behind the scenes, Putin already was reorganizing one of his greatest tools — the FSB — in order to start implementing a full state consolidation in the coming years.


    Evolving Leadership

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  103. Unbelievable rock climb. If I lived to be a million years old I could never understand that.

    ReplyDelete
  104. Obama repeated his call Tuesday for a "balanced approach" to the negotiations that takes on spending in domestic programs, defense programs, entitlement programs and tackles changes in the tax code. He said he believed "there are enough people in each party" who are willing to "get out of [their] comfort zones."

    The White House said last week that congressional leaders must reach a deal by July 22 to avoid a default by Aug. 2, since lawmakers need time to write and pass legislation, The Wall Street Journal reported. The Senate canceled its week-long recess for the July 4 holiday on Thursday to continue negotiations.

    "This should not come down to the last second," Obama said Tuesday. He noted that he hoped a deal would be reached within the next two weeks.

    ReplyDelete
  105. Quote of the day:

    "I am not responsible for any actions or words that I create as I may be intoxicated or just plain crazy."

    ~ Unknown author

    ReplyDelete
  106. It is not unknown

    I suggest Quirk but the real answer is everybody

    heh

    ReplyDelete
  107. China Is Investing Heavily in Clean Energy


    To realize its 12th FYP and CCCS environmental commitments, China is investing heavily in its clean technology sector. In 2010, China became the world’s largest investor in clean technology by a long shot, winning it title as the best country for clean technology investment by Ernst & Young. Mr Shi Dinguan, senior adviser with China’s State Council, publicly announced that by 2020, the Chinese government will have invested RMB300 trillion (approximately US$45 trillion) in clean technology.


    China Clean Energy

    ReplyDelete
  108. That's good to hear.

    Have you ever seen those space shots of China? And the permanent smog cloud over Beijing?

    Great news they're cleaning it up. Never knew.

    ReplyDelete
  109. I don't think they have much choice, Sam. They can't get where they want to go on Coal, alone. They just don't have enough of it.

    Think of a Coal Train 2,000 miles long. That's what the U.S. and China use Every Freakin' Day.

    ReplyDelete
  110. Nite all. See you at Tomorrow's trainwreck. :)

    ReplyDelete
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