leh-nerd skin-erd

I’m probably a bit less concerned about the extremes, but when you add in “citizens must show papers” (think O’Hare airport lines), while it’s a ***** free for all at the southern border and “how dare you ask for papers in that case!” coupled with “people shouldn’t need papers to vote”, it’s relatively easy to see that the tail wags the dog. and don’t be closed-minded, there are no genders and the number of genders is infinite depending on #yourtruth.

I was on the wrong side of the old “You’ll put your eye out” when I was a young man. Wrong place, wrong time. ***** happens sometimes...though being completely honest, I was a bit over the top with my own children. Had nothing to do with my own dealio , much more to do with my own generalized anxiety that BAD stuff can happen coupled with a spouse who felt the same. I’d knock it back 15-20% if I could do it again, and have shared that with my awesome adult-aged children who seem none the worse for wear. Jarts is Thunderdome BG. Crazy talk!! Jarts...you people are Tiger King without the prison time! (Presumably) ?

Those of us who cast our votes were hoping he would do his job, and most of us scrape the opinions of a Julie Tsirkin off the bottom of our shoe if we happen to step in it.

Reddogblitz = Reddogright. Though, on WMDs, my thought at the time was that everyone in the world thought there were WMDs in Iraq. I recall....hmm, Hans Blix (?) from the UN saying as much before the war, and I always viewed that scenario as Hussein playing chicken with the wrong Texan. I’ve learned a lot since that time, but that was my read at the time.

No, I don’t think that at all. I think President Trump wants to save as many people as possible, as most presidents would, and he’s pragmatic. I think his desire, or impulse, to speak what’s on his mind allowed him to cut through the bull#### and tell the American people what he heard, what was being reported, and what the medical professionals at his level shared. I can see a medical professional suggesting “well, some of what we’re hearing is promising, so, let’s move forward cautiously with trials and....”, I can see him recognizing that people were going to die, and he shared what he had heard. I’d bet his advisers were telling him to stay quiet, to remain guarded and he thought “F&$# that.”. In that regard, he’s pretty amazing, assuming of course success follows. i think you’re 100% flat out wrong, I think he care as much about the people of this country as any President ever has, and more than most in recent memory, but even if you’re right, he wins by American lives being saved. What’s better for a narcissist (as some see him) than saving lives?

I have been laughing about this reply on and off for about 8 hours now. You give me far too much credit for attempting to set a trap for you, I had typed a reply last night and somehow swiped the wrong way on my ipad and lost it. I'm really not all that complicated. With due respect, the 'straw man' reply is overused and I reject it's application here. We learn and grow by being open-minded. I acknowledge fully that I disagree with you on many issues, and that my opinion is unlikely to change based on your feedback. However, you posted the article, you put it out there as a hammer to the sensibility of Trump supporters, you indicated that the three news outlets reported it, and my impression was that you viewed it as follows: "One news outlet reporting it's ok to be skeptical, two gives the story credibility, but three is a slam dunk!". My point is that history shows us that media sources uses circular sourcing, reporting what another outlet published, and more recently, hiding behind the tag line "....which we have not independently verified". Let's go with the Covington Catholic story as an example. There are others more relevant to Russia, but I think we can agree on a rush to judgement, a narrative that was concocted by media sources that had no basis in fact. I don't think I denigrated your argument, I'll have to check. I simply asked the questions to try and understand that which to me is virtually impossible to understand. This is one of the biggest stories in the history of our nation: A president accused of treasonous activity and an attempt to remove him from office. I assume we can agree on that? So...How did the major media outlets so misread the Russia investigation, how did they misread the tea leaves, how did their sources fail them so badly, and how did they miss the malfeasance at the FISA court level and upper echelon of the FBI? I know how I square it, I'm just wondering how you saw it? Was it incompetence, intentional or something else? As a gesture of good faith, I'll even share my reply to your reply in advance: Whatchootalkingbout Willis?

Come on Gary B. If we're going to sit in judgement of every person holding a political office making comments and doing it for political gain, let's just concede that everything that is ever said or done by a person holding political office is done for his/her own political gain. It's much easier that way than debating back and forth over an attempt at humor and an acknowledgement that a political enemy praised someone.

I wasn't under the impression that was GF's point, the President's initial comments on the drug came two-three weeks before the democrat thanked him for elevating the status of the drug as a potential option that she believes saved her life. I think her comments were heartfelt and transcended politics, in what bizarro world should he be criticized a response for her acknowledgment of appreciation? It happens, think Chris Christie praising BO after Hurricane Sandy.

So you have problems with all the players? Trump, his rivals/media that have miscast it as a political issue? I can see that, but with the world in free fall, I feel like people are able to navigate what the President said. It wasn’t particularly complicated, it provided some level of reassurance that options were potentially available. As for a “plain and simple” political gain, that’s in the eye of the beholder.

I hear you, and truth be told, I think TBF is a bit overwrought on this issue. I think he's a victim of too much data, too much time at the computer, too much time listening to all the gloom and doom. Dr. Oz was on tv today and referred to the politicization of the virus as a 'perversion of medicine'. I think that is an excellent way to put it. All I'm trying to get to is how someone like TBF gets where he is, and how he rationalizes the erroneous reporting over a 36 month period. I know how I feel, how many of us here feel about media reports. I had a heated discussion with an old friend who is a journalist a couple years ago--he said, basically, that fact checking at the major media outlets is so stringent that it would be virtually impossible for someone to do agenda-based reporting and cite 'anonymous sources' for political gain. How on earth does someone who can chew gum, drive a car and change the radio station get to the point where in essence he is advocating "BELIEVE ALL"? It's crazy and dangerous , and while we know that...Transpy seems to hang his hat on the media as infalliable and beyond reproach. Me? I think a guy like Sean Hannity, a guy like Chris Hayes and a guy like Rachel Maddow exist in media outlets, write 'fact-checked' stories and everything else such as what is cited by TBF. That begs the questions asked. I'd like one response on that issue other than the old fallback "Hooo-ha dude you're crazy!", which is just another way of saying "BELIEVE ALL". See, I'm not a blind homer, I'm just a guy trying to navigate all that noise. Btw that heart punch is graphic!

Sincerely, I keep looking for an answer and can't get one. Not from my liberal friends I speak with. Not from the media as a whole. Not from folks online. I'm asking with the utmost sincerity, and hoping you will answer. You mock Trump supporters for supporting the President. In an earlier post, you implored people to stop targeting Chris Hayes tweets about Trump falsifying projected mortality rates, suggesting the writer gets paid to stir the pot. Here, you insult a poster for holding a different opinion. That's fine, we all take swipes at each other, you're just a stupidhead. Seriously, though---What is the magic of three news outlets reporting something that makes it so ironclad that you would use it as a hammer to club another poster? Three quick questions: 1. WaPo, Atlantic, Associated Press--which, if any, called the Russia hoax correctly early on, say in the first 6 months of the investigation? Which one(s) correctly called McCabe's malfeasance, the surveillance issues and FISA run amuck, Schiff's claims to have intel that did not exist, and Trump's eventual vindication? 2. Are you concerned at all about the 'circular' intel used by the FBI to prosecute the Russia investigation--leaking intel subsequently proven to be false, allowing the intel to be published by the WaPo, Associated Press and The Atlantic, then citing the reporting as a means for prosecuting the case? 3. If Fox News was reporting to the contrary, would you consider it a valid news source, and if not---would you take the hit as a blind homer for rejecting the Fox reporting as biased? Thanks.

Were you 5-0, 5-9?

Thats a great catch, I thought she was familiar.

No, I think you’re a good poster and get a lot out of what you share. I do appreciate it. On the other hand, some things strike me as funny, and I was watching Ozark last night and there was a therapist on that Marty was bribing and, well, you know. My bad on that one.

JESUS CHRIST WITH STRIPES WILL YOU PEOPLE STEAL EVERYTHING FROM ME?? I used to love nothing more than driving my gas-guzzling SUV to a buffet, sitting within 2' of my friends and munching on plates of warm rice and finger foods before whistling at the pretty girls on the way home to watch Deniro in "Goodfellas". Somebody better fix this sh#t!

•••sits back, takes glasses off and slowly fixes gaze on Doc••• "And this television, Doc. It heard you? You think you saved Boris, right? How does that make you feel?"

If you're willing to surrender your rights as a citizen, there is always someone willing to take them.

Hey Alf-- I asked you a couple questions yesterday after you posted the Biden op-ed. I saw later that you're no Biden supporter. Just wondering if you had any thoughts on the questions posed....joe and his relationship with China, joe and his comparison of Covid to Ebola, etc.

If wishes were fishes you would be

We agree--people largely don't care. Most live everyday lives, doing everyday things, raising everyday families. When I was in Vienna during the Obama years, I felt no special love for my country's kindness and generosity from the locals, and especially the cabbies who tried to shake me down every damn trip for some extra coin. I came back and told my friends that it wasn't so much that they hated Americans, it was more that they hated everyone. Do you think they care what I think of them? More recently, I and/or my family member travelled to Australia, Italy, India, New Zealand, Ireland, Morocco, England---and you know how much hatred they/we felt? Zed, as they say on your side of the Peace Bridge. Treated warmly...with open arms. Honestly friend, that's on you if you think it matters, that's on you if you worry about what the world thinks of me or mine. In a normal month, I cross paths with people from all walks of life and probably 4-6 countries represented. I absolutely agree I may cross the occasional Guyanese (nothing against these nice folks, just popped into my head) who distrusts or dislikes me for my American exceptionalism. Before you get all worked up about that expression, here's my definition: I'm lucky enough to have been born into a family where my parents (one of whom came from your neck of the woods) cared enough to cuff me on the ear when I crossed the line, to spend time with me when they could, to hold my hand when I cried and to tend to me when I was sick or injured. My experiences taught me to treat people well, to trust people once I verified that I could, to understand there was decency in the world, that skin tone is just a color, that there are people way worse off than me, and those with much more than I could ever hope to have in terms of $$$, but not a damn thing more in terms of what matters. That's American exceptionalism in my mind, and the cool part is you may have it too, it's just called something different and you say 'Eh at the end. There are a few places I'd like to see in the world before I shut this whole thing down some day. I'm interested in Ireland, Scotland, maybe London and a few others. I'd like to retrace the steps my father took during the war to end all wars WWII. If, along the way, someone has a bug up there a$$ because Joe Biden is running the world from Shady Acres Retirement Home LLC, it's not my problem. On the other hand, I'd just as soon visit the US, maybe SoCal, maybe New Mexico, and for some elemental reason I cannot explain, I really would like to see the Grand Tetons. I forgot that, damn you. Seemed a little corny to me, but then again, the daughter's mattered as well.

Well, as Joe himself says, "I'm in it until Johnson pulls the troops out of Vietnam".

On this note Bill, I always want to hear more. Can you explain what you mean by America being hated by 'the world'? See, I don't think most people in the world give more than a thought about me and my family. I don't think most could tell you who the vice-president is, Secretary of State, Majority leader of the Senate, gross domestic product, or how many states we had in the union. I don't think they could guess within +/- $1billion dollars on aid to any given country at any given point in time, how much debt is forgiven, how many citizens died on 9/11, how many individuals are in the country illegally, how many politicians get exceptionally wealthy while serving in office, or the annual contribution to NATO/UN/WHO by Americans both pre-Trump and post-Trump. I think more than a few could tell you Trump's stance on the southern border, but very few, if any could tell you that Trudeau spoke eloquently on Trump's stance on border security, but not at all on the Canadian response to Haitian's trying to make it to Canada. I said this before, I'll say it again--I am very proud of the association I personally have/had with Canadian relatives. It's a beautiful country, with good and decent people across the land. In that regard, it's alot like the US. I love and always loved the Canadian anthem, gives me chills to this day to hear it. As far as worrying about some guy in Nova Scotia hating me because of Donald J. Trump, I guess I'd be inclined to say to him the same thing I'd say to the guy from Bristol, Ct who hated me: "It seems to me that's your limitation, not mine, so go %$#@ yourself".

Never sakes second fiddle. I've been looking for a tag line, this is as good as any, since I have never saked second fiddle to no one no how.

It would be a minor role, obviously.

There's so much here to unpack from Biden's campaign pitch here, but he seems to compare the transmission potential of Covid wity that of Ebola. Alf, do you see this as a valid comparison based on number of cases world wide, the information available and transmission rates worldwide? Joe points to the Trump's failure to lead an international response to the virus, mocks walls and barriers in the fight against Covif, yet in retrospect shutting down travel to/from seems to be widely accepted as a means to combatting the spread. Joe is also on record as to encouraging people to get out, congregate and visit public places. Alf, given Joe's past experience with Ebola, did his actions conflict with his messaging from this opinion piece? Was he on the wrong side of the crisis, especially in light of widely published recommendations to, in essence, create distance and shelter behind the walls of one's own residence? He writes this: The outbreak of a new coronavirus, which has already infected more than 2,700 people and killed over 80 in China, will get worse before it gets better. Cases have been confirmed in a dozen countries, with at least five in the United States. There will likely be more. Joe's questionable ties to China notwithstanding, he's campaigned on his strong ties to world leaders, his perception that hes viewed as a strong world leader by other leaders of nations. He bragged about getting things accomplished in. While he mixed up the name of the leader from China that he worked with, his point was clear: I know these people, they know and work with me, I'm the man. Alf, 2700 infections and 80 deaths in China are of end of January, 2020? Does that sound right to you? Do these remarks leave you wondering of Joe has any connections, juice or fire power if this is truly what he thought at that time? Was he taken advantage of, relying on data he had access to given his relationship with Chinese leaders? Did he believe the lie, or simply perpetuate it for political expedience? I'd appreciate some feedback, because this piece by Joe looks very weak in retrospect.