(from http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/trump-says-his-gut-more-reliable-everyone-elses-brains?cid=sm_fb_maddow&fbclid=IwAR26prHQczR9CRP4taBiw-uyqI2aXsla37umpw1P6qAKkk1brbX6eAhEjgU)
". . . I have a gut, and my gut tells me more sometimes than anybody else’s brain can ever tell me . . . "
(from https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2018/11/trump-general-motors-subsidies-threat?fbclid=IwAR0uCf7rjN_SK2HIE3OuUgxYvCZKRFAZ9_9cHzTBVSCA_K3r7DyMQdc_WLU)
". . . the president of the United States threatening to punish a private company for making a decision based on market realities that are partially his fault is . . . really something! But the whole thing takes on some extra hilarity when you realize, for the 927th time this year, what this not-at-all-smart guy is unintentionally proposing. As Dan Primack points out, subsidies for G.M.-specific electric vehicles do not exist. Rather, there are industry-wide federal tax credits of up to $7,500 available for purchasers of U.S. electric cars, with “aggregate caps of 200,000 vehicles per manufacturer.” In other words, getting rid of the subsidy in its current form would hurt both American consumers and other auto manufacturers. . ."
". . . "One of the problems that a lot of people like myself, we have very high levels of intelligence but we're not necessarily such believers," Trump said during a freewheeling 20-minute Oval Office interview with The Washington Post. . . Katharine Hayhoe, a climate scientist at Texas Tech University, said . . . that the president's comments risk leaving the nation vulnerable to the ever-growing impacts of a warming planet. . . "Facts aren't something we need to believe to make them true - we treat them as optional at our peril," Hayhoe said. "And if we're the president of the United States, we do so at the peril of not just ourselves but the hundreds of millions of people we're responsible for.". . ."
". . . Here are three traits . . . (of). . . people who by any reckoning are very intelligent. They all know it. A lifetime of quietly comparing their ease in handling intellectual challenges—at the chess board, in the classroom, in the debating or writing arena—with the efforts of other people gave them the message. Virtually none of them (need to) say it. . . They know what they don’t know. . . the most consistent marker of real intelligence. . . generally the cliche is true: The clearest mark of intelligence, even “genius,” is awareness of one’s limits and ignorance. . . On the other hand, we have something known as the Dunning-Kruger effect: The more limited someone is in reality, the more talented the person imagines himself to be. Or, as David Dunning and Justin Kruger put it in the title of their original scientific-journal article, “Unskilled and Unaware of It: How Difficulties in Recognizing One’s Own Incompetence Lead to Inflated Self-Assessments.” . . . Odds are that the world’s most flamboyant illustration of this dangerous misperception, despite his claimed omniscience, would not even recognize the term, nor its ominous implications in his case. . ."
Heard somebody say
They overheard you
Just the other day
A simple word
About the way we get along
If only I were sure
Of the semantics
Having doubts 'cause I'm
One hopeless romantic
Could it be
You're slipping away from me
What will I do
If what I'm thinking is true
And you want to be
Really free of me
I won't last very long
Very far from your heart
And this third-hand intelligence
Might be the way that it starts.
Heard somebody say
They thought they saw you
Walking in their way
You were not alone
They said he didn't look like
Thinking to myself
Must be mistaken
Try not to believe
but still badly shaken
Why would you
Deceive me in things you do
So many years
Sharing our laughter and tears
Lasted very long
Maybe I was wrong
Not to ask you
Why you feel
We've drifted apart
And this third-hand intelligence
Might be the way that it starts
Are my sources reliable
Wait and see
Wait and see
Is my psyche too pliable
It could be
It could be
If somebody said
The sky was falling
Would you believe it's true
And change your direction
From spinning round
When it hits the ground
That's just not true
Any believers are few
When you've seen it all
It could never fall
Any more than
I think you could
Tear us apart
And this third-hand intelligence
Might be the way that it starts
(from https://twitter.com/MichaelSteel, former chairman of the Republican National Committee)
“. . . just shut the hell up and get on the helicopter. Give us a rest from your crazy. You don’t know the 9th circuit from a circuit breaker. It’s Thanksgiving for crying out loud. Let us be thankful for your silence. You’ve said enough this week.”
. . . of bad U.S. choices do NOT justify the current administration's stance of Saudi Arabia, but indeed illustrate is error, IRRESPECTIVE of relative administrations' political affiliation. . . ((It's not blue against red, black against white, liberal against conservative, them against us. It is CORRECT against INCORRECT)
". . . In 1964, the U.S. overthrew (Brazilian President João) Goulart in one of the most violent CIA-backed coups up to that time. . . Goulart’s U.S.-backed successor, General Castelo Branco, would have a devastating impact on the Brazilian population. . . The Branco regime had tens of thousands of Brazilians — many of whom supported the coup — arrested and tortured to death. . . General Augusto Pinochet, who was grateful to the US State Department for its help in making . . . (itss) coup possible. . . Security officials herded labor leaders and other troublemakers into the National Soccer Stadium and forced them to sit in the stands while military police took them down by ones and twos to the field and shot them. Pinochet dispatched Allende ally General Ramos in a helicopter “Caravan of Death” to the north, where he had tens of thousands of “leftists” rounded up and disappeared. . . (During Nicolae Ceausescu's) 23 years in power, the regime liquidated all potential political opposition at home and funneled Romania’s resources out through an elaborate network of public-private partnerships that made the Communist dictator one of the world’s richest men. . . And through it all, as Romania’s foreign debt more than tripled, the US Treasury-backed IMF was always there with an open line of credit to ensure Ceausescu never had to reform. . . the CIA-supported, anti-communist Syngman Rhee (who) ran the Republic of Korea in the south. Rhee regularly arrested and occasionally even killed those he suspected of harboring communist sympathies, even presiding over several massacres. . . Indeed, In 1950, just before the Korean War, Rhee had approximately 20,000 supposed communists imprisoned, and in June of that year ordered the execution of those who he believed posed a threat to his regime. . . Then, in 1961, South Koreans — who were at this point poorer than North Koreans — saw the rise of Park Chung-Hee, who seized leadership via a coup tacitly supported by the U.S. Upon entering office, Park declared the rule of martial law and amended the constitution to support his own authoritarianism. . . While the South Korean economy did begin its decades-long boom under Park, it came at the cost of political repression, corruption, and even violence. Park used sham elections to legitimize his rule by decree, which on the less harmful end of things, included dictating the length of men’s hair and women’s dresses. . . While all of the dictatorships mentioned so far ended long ago, Uzbekistan’s continued until very recently — a fact that Washington doesn’t seems to mind much, likely due to the nation’s geography and its erstwhile leader’s shared interest in combatting Islamic extremism. . . The Karimov regime engaged in what the United Nations has called “institutionalized, systematic and rampant” acts of torture, which Karimov directed toward the Muslim community in particular. . ."
(from For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway)
". . . So if your life trades its seventy years for seventy hours I have that value now and I am lucky enough to know it. And if there is not any such thing as a long time, nor the rest of your lives, nor from now on, but there is only now, why then now is the thing to praise and I am very happy with it. Now, ahora, maintenant, heute. Now, it has a funny sound to be a whole world and your life. Esta noche, tonight, ce soir, heute abend. . . "
". . . "This is about 'America first.' (said Trump while commenting on his unwillingness to accept the CIA's contention that the Saudi royal family was involved in the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi) They're paying us $400 billion-plus to purchase and invest in our country," Trump said. . . He went on to claim that he has "no business whatsoever with Saudi Arabia." While the president may not own property there, Trump does have a long personal financial history with the Saudi government that equates to tens of millions of dollars. . . Those transactions from the Saudis to Trump include a $20 million 282-foot yacht and a stake in his Plaza Hotel in New York to a billionaire Saudi Prince in 1991, the 45th floor of the Trump World Tower in 2001 for $12 million and a $270,000 payment from a Saudi public relations firm after a trip to Trump’s D.C. hotel. . . "
(https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/unusual-statement-disputing-cia-filled-exclamation-points-trump-backs-saudi-n938526)
". . . Trump. . . said Tuesday that his administration would stand by Saudi Arabia's rulers and take no actions against them over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. . . the extraordinary statement . . . called the "crime" against Khashoggi "terrible" and "one that our country does not condone.". . . But. . . stopped well short of pointing blame at Saudi Arabia — despite NBC News and other reports last week that the CIA concluded that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered Khashoggi's killing — and cast questions over who killed the journalist. . . "
OHO (duo Jay & Ray) brings OHO's (visit www.ohomusic.com) original, rock/prog/folk/jazz/pop music and sophisticated, thought-provoking covers to 99 Sea Level, a stunning oceanfront restaurant; home to Chef Danio Somoza, whose farm to table philosophy is bolstered by a unique culinary landscape. 99 Sea Level sources from local fisheries, farms, and orchards to bring excellence and innovation together on the plate. From select meats to local seafood and vegetarian fare, freshness meets inspiration that is perfect for everything from romantic evenings to lively gatherings. Experience the extensive, rotating wine list by the glass or bottle, which pair perfectly with seasonal menus. Hope to see you there. (Friday, December 28, 2018 4:00-7:00PM)
(from For Whom The Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway)
[As Pilar, wife of rebel leader Pablo, instructs Agustin on guarding the dynamite to be used in blowing up a bridge]
". . . "where the [insert profanity which Hemingway calls 'un-nameable'] is this vileness that I am to guard?" "In the cave," Pilar said. "In two sacks. And I am tired of thy obscenity." "I [profanity] in the mild of thy tiredness," Agustin said. "Then go and befoul thyself," Pilar said to him without heat. "Thy mother," Agustin replied. "Thou never had one," Pilar told him, the insults having reached the ultimate formalism in Spanish in which the acts are never stated but only implied. . . "
". . . (Trump's claim of) lifetime of success in business, TV and politics “would qualify as not smart, but genius . . . and a very stable genius at that!”. . . ?
(from https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-says-finland-doesnt-have-california-wildfires-problem-because-1220911)
". . . In a press conference Saturday afternoon in Northern California President Donald Trump did not blame climate change for the deadliest wildfire the nation has seen in a century, but said instead that Finland doesn’t have the same problem because “they spend a lot of time on raking” leaves. . ."
. . . Do you know what you want?
Do you highly value anything at all?
Do you live with other people
In this world of good and bad?
Did you notice that they're
Very much like you?
Do you try to understand
The things that someone else goes through?
Do you make an extra effort just to try?
Do you think that is could simply be
Exactly what we're all supposed to do?
(from https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/11/13/andrew-johnson-undermined-congress-cabinet-david-priess-book-222413)
". . . declared leading radical senator Thaddeus Stevens of Pennsylvania just months after (Andrew) Johnson’s (who assumed office after Lincoln's assassination) inauguration, “to arrest the insane course of the president in Washington?” . . . legislators urged the president to call Congress into a special session, or at least delay controversial moves until it was scheduled to convene in December. Johnson obstinately ignored them. . . This stubbornness and refusal to cooperate with even moderate Republicans escalated once Congress came back into session in December of 1865 . . . Johnson vetoed both a civil rights bill designed to fight back the dreaded black codes and another measure to expand the functions of the Freedmen’s Bureau. . . The legislative branch, as a consequence, did something that was then unprecedented in American history on a major piece of legislation: They overturned a presidential veto. Then they did it again. Ultimately, they turned back the president’s rejections of bills a stunning 15 times—a record to this day, even though Johnson served a shorter term than most presidents. . .The president also saw his judicial appointment powers curtailed. When a Supreme Court vacancy came up, Congress eliminated the seat rather than confirm Johnson’s nominee. As a hedge against a potential future Johnson appointment, they went ahead and legislated in advance that the next high court vacancy, too, would not require filling. . ."
