The inevitable end result of our last 56 years

[Joe Bauer]

19 hours ago, Kirk Gallaway said:

Whoa Joe, you look like the same person!

You haven't lost it at all!

Kind of a flashback from the past!

You remind me of 70's AM Talk show host, Gary Collins!

Gosh Kirk...you make me blush.

One time back in 2012 I walked into a crowded Subway sandwich shop for a lunch snack and some crazy hat, colorful neck scarf and hugely oversized frumpy coat wearing lady sitting by herself yelled out really loudly..."HEY...IT'S MITT ROMNEY" upon seeing me.

Everybody turned toward me and I was frozen with a dumb "duh" look on my face.

I went home later and after studying my reflection in the mirror for an hour I finally decided there was maybe some resemblance, however, I would never again allow anyone to say I looked like a Republican without a middle finger salute back in response.

I dunno.  Because I never knew who my real father was as my mother would never discuss her affair, I used to fantasize that maybe my father was some famous or important person?

Or, seeing my mom conceived me while my birth certificate father was in the Army/Air Force in 1950 and was away in Korea as a navigator on bombers, that maybe some high ranking Air Force officer was my biological father? General Curtis LeMay maybe?

Or maybe Congressman JFK was visiting Fairchild Army Air base in Spokane, Washington around the end of December, 1950 and my very attractive officer club employed mother may have caught his roving eye?

 

 

 

Edited December 7, 2022 by Joe Bauer

[Douglas Caddy]

From the NY Times:

 

Trump Organization Found Guilty in Tax Fraud Scheme

The former president’s company had been accused of providing off-the-book benefits to executives. The testimony of its former chief financial officer proved crucial to the case.

 

[Joe Bauer]

1 minute ago, Douglas Caddy said:

From the NY Times:

 

Trump Organization Found Guilty in Tax Fraud Scheme

The former president’s company had been accused of providing off-the-book benefits to executives. The testimony of its former chief financial officer proved crucial to the case.

 

RIGHT ON !!!

[John Cotter]

On 12/5/2022 at 1:31 AM, W. Niederhut said:

John,

    As a fellow musician, (guitarist and violinist) I'm truly surprised to hear you endorsing Mathew Koch's disparaging nonsense about the highly original, creative guitar compositions of David Evans (aka the Edge.)  His guitar compositions during the past 40 years speak for themselves, including my original U2 favorite* (below.)  Where did you ever hear a guitar played like this before 1983?

    De gustibus non est disputandum.  🤥

     I'm responding in red to your other recent post (below.)  

William,

You haven’t identified any flaw in my reasoning. Rather have you exposed flaws in yours.

You, Bono and his U2 colleagues profess to be Christians. Yet you reject the teaching of St Thomas Aquinas and other Church Fathers on the question of wealth, and instead subscribe to the thinking of Adam Smith, which is based on greed, one of the seven deadly sins of Christianity.  

Not entirely accurate.  I was referencing Adam Smith only in the context of pointing out that commercial wealth isn't necessarily a zero sum game-- i.e., one man's earnings don't necessarily result in another's poverty.  At the same time I, certainly, agree with St. John Chrysostom and the Church Fathers on the subject of wealth and poverty.

Who doesn’t advocate peace? As I said, motherhood and apple pie. The sad reality is that the peace process in Northern Ireland, by definition, only happened as a result of the IRA’s anti-imperialist guerrilla warfare – which campaign, by the way, contrary to what you suggested, was not sectarian.

Obviously sectarian atrocities were committed by both sides during “The Troubles”, but those atrocities were not approved by the IRA leadership and had nothing to do with the IRA’s anti-imperialist campaign.

Just like freedom for southern Irehttps://www.google.com/search?q=Paddy+Cullivan%2C+Both+Sides+Now&oq=Paddy+Cullivan%2C+Both+Sides+Now&aqs=chrome..69i57j0i546l4.10608j1j15&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:ce2e801e,vid:CwDHCCrg1V0land came only after the blood sacrifice by a brave minority in 1916. The majority of the Irish – like the majority in any society – were (and are) authoritarian lickspittles who kowtow to their overlords whoever they are. It was only after the British executed the 1916 leaders that the Irish War of Independence began, and it was only after that that Ireland won some degree of independence (now being frittered away, thanks to the likes of Bono).

I'll defer to your knowledge on the subject of Irish history.  My understanding is that Bono and U2 were mainly opposed to violence against civilians in Ireland.

Unfortunately, imperialists understand only one language, the language of physical force. How did the USA win its independence from Britain? That’s why John Lennon was right and Bono was wrong.

Not entirely in agreement.  The United States was rooted in rebellion against authority from the beginning.  That phenomenon was always a mixed bag-- even linked to "anti-intellectualism" in American history, as described by historian Richard Hofstadter.  It's one reason Canadians are more civilized than Americans, and not plagued by America's epidemic of gun homicides.  American cowboys insist on "independence" and associated gun-slinging.

As for John Lennon, he has been lionized by atheists, but was always a disturbed character, IMO-- the kind of sacrilegious guy who used to piss on nuns' hats from his balcony in Hamburg.

Bono’s ostentatious “standing with” Ukraine in its purported armed resistance to Russian imperialism contrasts starkly with his condemnation of the IRA in its armed resistance to British imperialism.

It's one thing to fight the Brits for independence.  It's another thing to bomb Irish (or British) civilians, isn't it?

In any case, I prefer Gandhi and Martin Luther King's non-violent approach to freedom. 

What he’s really standing with (at a safe distance of course – like a succession of Hollywood celebrity clowns such as Sean Penn) is the current unipolar world order – the establishment that has made him rich, the establishment that’s maintained by violence, the violence of Anglo-American/Nato militarism. So much for peace.

U2 has long been implicitly critical of American imperialism and the U.S. military-industrial complex.

They have also been critical of militant Russian imperialism.

I see no contradiction in that.

As for economic inequality, as I’ve said repeatedly, there is only one logical and fair solution – economic equality or as close to it as possible. Philanthropy and charity only mask and reinforce the fundamental problem of inequality. As the African saying goes, the hand that gives is always above the hand that receives.

IMO, the ideal political system is social democracy with free market economies that are properly regulated in the public interest-- Denmark and the Scandinavian countries are the model.

That's why I support Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and the progressive Democrats.

Republicans in the U.S. want nothing of the kind.  They have systematically fought against progressive policies in the U.S. that would regulate plutocratic profiteering, and reduce wealth inequality-- the graduated income tax, government subsidized healthcare, education, and housing for the poor.

In the U.S., Republicans are the party of plutocracy and wealth inequality.

*

 

 

William,

I won’t clutter the thread with a detailed rebuttal of your post.

Instead, I’m posting a link to Paddy Cullivan’s Irish history version of Joni Mitchell’s song Both Sides Now, in which he satirises what we in Ireland call “West Brits” such as U2 – those who distort history by (a) pushing a false equivalence between British imperialism and those who fought against it and (b) condemning only the latter because they disrupted the authoritarian status quo.

https://www.google.com/search?q=Paddy+Cullivan%2C+Both+Sides+Now&oq=Paddy+Cullivan%2C+Both+Sides+Now&aqs=chrome..69i57j0i546l4.10608j1j15&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:ce2e801e,vid:CwDHCCrg1V0 

Edited December 7, 2022 by John Cotter

[Matthew Koch]

On 12/4/2022 at 7:26 PM, Cliff Varnell said:

And your proof that the FBI told Twitter not to run the Hunter Biden non-story is what?

Kind of ironic the FBI warning about disinformation when James Comey lied about Hillary’s e-mails 11 days out in ‘16.

The Fascists are just pissed off the FBI didn’t do it again with Biden.

Hey Cliff, lololololololololols

Go check News about the Twitter 2 release or go to Twitter what you said isn't aging well!! 

[W. Niederhut]

1 hour ago, John Cotter said:

William,

I won’t clutter the thread with a detailed rebuttal of your post.

Instead, I’m posting a link to Paddy Cullivan’s Irish history version of Joni Mitchell’s song Both Sides Now, in which he satirises what we in Ireland call “West Brits” such as U2 – those who distort history by (a) pushing a false equivalence between British imperialism and those who fought against it and (b) condemning only the latter because they disrupted the authoritarian status quo.

https://www.google.com/search?q=Paddy+Cullivan%2C+Both+Sides+Now&oq=Paddy+Cullivan%2C+Both+Sides+Now&aqs=chrome..69i57j0i546l4.10608j1j15&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:ce2e801e,vid:CwDHCCrg1V0 

John,

    I think I understand what you're getting at, although Irish history is not my forte.

    When I was a medical student in Boston circa 1980, my housemates and I had two young women from Ireland living at our house for several months, (one of whom later married my housemate.) They were "illegal aliens" and refugees from the civil war and violence in Northern Ireland.  I used to ask them to read Yeats' poems to me so that I could hear the verses recited with proper Irish accents.

    By the way, Boston is a very Irish city.

    I may have misperceived U2's songs from that era as lamentations about the sectarian violence between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland.  And I don't really understand the historic relationship between the IRA and the sectarian violence at that time.  Obviously, the IRA was fighting against British rule, but were they also aligned with Irish Catholics against Irish Protestants in the North?

[John Cotter]

1 hour ago, W. Niederhut said:

John,

    I think I understand what you're getting at, although Irish history is not my forte.

    When I was a medical student in Boston circa 1980, my housemates and I had two young women from Ireland living at our house for several months, (one of whom later married my housemate.) They were "illegal aliens" and refugees from the civil war and violence in Northern Ireland.  I used to ask them to read Yeats' poems to me so that I could hear the verses recited with proper Irish accents.

    By the way, Boston is a very Irish city.

    I may have misperceived U2's songs from that era as lamentations about the sectarian violence between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland.  And I don't really understand the historic relationship between the IRA and the sectarian violence at that time.  Obviously, the IRA was fighting against British rule, but were they also aligned with Irish Catholics against Irish Protestants in the North?

William,

 It doesn’t seem like anything I say will dislodge you from your insistence that the Northern Ireland conflict was about sectarian violence.

 Your insistence is based on your continued ignoring of the concept of imperialism and of how every political event in Northern Ireland over the past 100 years is the result of British imperialism – which is still ongoing there.

 I’m not going to keep explaining something to you which is so simple that I have assume you don’t want to know about it.

[Matthew Koch]

24 minutes ago, John Cotter said:

William,

 It doesn’t seem like anything I say will dislodge you from your insistence that the Northern Ireland conflict was about sectarian violence.

 Your insistence is based on your continued ignoring of the concept of imperialism and of how every political event in Northern Ireland over the past 100 years is the result of British imperialism – which is still ongoing there.

 I’m not going to keep explaining something to you which is so simple that I have assume you don’t want to know about it.

John, it's been awhile since I researched the troubles but I thought it was rather interesting that Ulster division was involved in the occupation of Palestine and the transfer to Israel and the head of the brigade referred to it as something like a middleeastern Ulster. Later after Bloody Friday descendants from the Ulster Division formed the Ulster Brigade as a tribute to the former military brigade to counter the reforming of the IRA, hopefully I didn't butcher that too bad.. 

[W. Niederhut]

40 minutes ago, John Cotter said:

William,

 It doesn’t seem like anything I say will dislodge you from your insistence that the Northern Ireland conflict was about sectarian violence.

 Your insistence is based on your continued ignoring of the concept of imperialism and of how every political event in Northern Ireland over the past 100 years is the result of British imperialism – which is still ongoing there.

 I’m not going to keep explaining something to you which is so simple that I have assume you don’t want to know about it.

John,

    I'd, certainly, like to understand that history better.  For example, have the Protestants in Northern Ireland been aligned with the Brits, or with their fellow Catholic Irishmen in Northern Ireland against British rule?  For some reason, I thought the Orange Protestant sectarians in the North were aligned with the British against the Catholics.

    When my wife and I traveled from Dublin to Belfast in September of 1990, there was a bomb threat against our train.  I assumed it was made by the IRA, but I didn't really understand the whys and wherefores-- especially since we were traveling through Ireland proper for most of that trek.

[Ron Bulman]

The Florida F/U is coming.  The Gov vs the former prez.  The party will implode.

Fox Business Host Drops Hard Truths In Trump-Bashing Segment (msn.com)

[Joe Bauer]

Georgia Senate Election Called!

Warnock/Democrats WIN!

Walker/Trump/Repubs LOSE!

[Ron Bulman]

It's everywhere these days.  Violence.  This one hit's home for me.  20 miles from where I used to live.  I have a seven-year-old granddaughter living with us.  Eighty miles from where it happened.  A FedEx drivers' brain . . .  I can't find the word.

In rural North Texas, community gathers to mourn Athena Strand (msn.com) 

[Ron Bulman]

26 minutes ago, Joe Bauer said:

Georgia Senate Election Called!

Warnock/Democrats WIN!

Walker/Trump/Repubs LOSE!

Democratic Sen. Warnock wins Georgia runoff against Walker (msn.com)

[Richard Price]

48 minutes ago, Joe Bauer said:

Walker/Trump/Repubs LOSE!

Thank GOD!  It would have been a loooooong 6 years to be represented by a running back that doesn't even know what a pronoun is, much less the duties of a US Senator...  And doesn't even live in GA.  I was afraid that, like in an op ed penned by a fellow Georgian, I would have to watch "Deliverance" on auto replay until I could understand my fellow citizens.  We still have MTG to try to live down for 2 more years.

While I'm quoting you I'll chime in on your forum pic as well.  I think it was an excellent idea to update the picture.  I second the comments made by Kirk.  Hope you are getting better each day and have renewed good health.

[Kirk Gallaway]

On 12/5/2022 at 12:16 AM, Benjamin Cole said:

Add in Bret Stephens of The New York Times. He called Russiagate "an elaborate hoax." 

"To this day, precious few anti-Trumpers have been honest with themselves about the elaborate hoax — there’s just no other word for it — that was the Steele dossier and all the bogus allegations, credulously parroted in the mainstream media, that flowed from it."---Bret Stephens. 

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/21/opinion/bret-stephens-trump-voters.html

Man, that guy Stephens is even more off-base than Mate, Greenwald and Taibbi! 

What do make of that? 

So Ben. You've now turned your stripes to Brett Stephens? Since you're not familiar with him, you might research his background? I know you'll take interest in his latest article! Maybe I can entice you to read with some teasers?

Brett Stephens:

ARE We (The U.S.) SLEEPWALKING THROUGH THE DECISIVE DECADE?

Stephens:Costs: The United States, goes a common talking point, spends more on defense than the next nine nations combined. That’s true but misleading. It doesn’t take into account significant American disadvantages in purchasing power and personnel costs. One example: A U.S. Marine private can make about as much in salary and benefits as a Chinese general.

Wow! Given the fact that we pay higher wages, do you think maybe we should cut the Marine wages and maybe then expend more on Defense then the only the next 8 countries combined?

Also, I thought you were present when we discussed cutting Defense by half, probably a dozen boring times. I guess we were just barking at the moon? Well anyway, I know you were quite the Ukraine hawk but,  sorry to see you go.

Stephens:Trends: Military spending as a percentage of gross domestic product, at around 3 percent, is well below the plus-4 percent average of the past 50 years. It will continue to fall for the next decade, according to projections from the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, and more of the funding will be eaten up by inflation.

Stephens:Readiness: The Air Force is short by about 1,650 pilots. The Army is short by roughly 30,000 recruits. More than half of America’s bombers were built during the Kennedy administration.

Wow, I didn't know that, chalk another one up for JFK!

Stephens: These issues are compounded by public neglect! During the Cold War, defense problems were major political issues, so people paid attention. 

Definitely, the Cold War were the good old days!

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/06/opinion/military-defense-spending.html?campaign_id=255&emc=edit_ntbs_20221207&instance_id=79491&nl=bret-s