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Robert Hall

Glen Hirose

Jack,

I do not disagree, but my point was our behavior just might be a consequence of our genetic makeup, and not so much our political persuasion.  Momentarily we are anti-Islam before it was the Hispanics, Vietnamese, Germans, Catholics, right-handed, left-handed, short, tall, black, white… We as humans need to dislike, mistrust, and fear someone.  That’s why people like Willy Hearst became so powerful. 

The politician is a consummate salesman; he/she delivers what the people want, not what they really need. That troubles me because I’ll end up as part of that cloud of cosmic soot too.

By the way how did you get that heron to land?

Jack Mallory

Glen--can't blame our behavior on our genes. Like all critters, we have hard wiring. But our hard wiring allows and encourages an enormous range of behavior, from really "good" to really "bad." But genes don't know good from bad, only reproductively advantageous or disadvantageous. We're wired to be both very competitive and very cooperative; really nice to each other and really shitty. Often we cooperate to compete. We can look at our fear of strangers as irrational xenophobia, or as behavior protective of our family or group. When the bad guys are at the door, xenophobia can be "good!" 

On the other hand, when you've been xenophobic with your neighbors, but you need a handout 'cuz your crops failed, xenophobia don't look like such a great strategy! 

Similarly, being aggressive and domineering can make a person a real asshole. On the other hand, if you're looking someone to lead your war party (offensive or defensive) maybe that's who you want. But, was Patton any better a general than Eisenower?

Point is, our behavior involves possibilities and choices, not orders from the Genemaster. It's actually much harder this way--we get to choose, but we're responsible for our choices!

Forgot to post the link to  Mexico offers to pay for Trump’s impeachment: http://blog.timesunion.com/davidkalish/mexico-offers-to-pay-for-trumps-impeachment-instead-of-border-wall/2706/

It's a sad statement when writers have to post a "(This is a work of satire)" with their satire, because many readers can't tell real news from fake news from satire. Imagine: Catch 22, by Joseph Heller  (A Work of Satire). Maybe there should be some form of literacy test before people are given access to written text. That's sarcastic humor, not a serious suggestion.

And this, also from earlier today:

Glen Hirose

Jack,

I certain hope you are right. I just hope it doesn't take a few million years to prove it.

Beautiful photo by the way.

Helen Lambie (Goldstein)

There is a ghost in the forum! Earlier I posted a photo of Nelson Mandela with Trump's quote about "No politician in history ... has been treated worse or more unfairly" from the commondreams.org website. Later after getting the new New Yorker in the mail and laughing my ass off, I tried to post it, but the Forum software kept putting in the Mandela photo, so I gve up.I just returned to try again and see that the New Yorker cover is now where the Mandela photo used to be. Magic! I tried to repost it but the software keeps putting in The New Yorker cover. If someone can please go to commondreams.org and repost the Mandela photo for me I would be most appreciative!

Helen Lambie (Goldstein)

WTF??? While I was posting just now, the forum software replaced my earlier post of Mandela, which had been mysteriously replaced with the New Yorker cover, with the original Mandela photo. OK kids--here goes. I will try to post the New Yorker cover--wish me luck.

Helen Lambie (Goldstein)

It did it again! While I was successful in posting The New Yorkercoverat the same time the software went back and replaced the Mandela photo with the New Yorker cover again. I give up. Do you think Trump is a hacker of our forum?

Robert Hall

Jack Mallory

Here you go Helen. I did it with a screen shot, to get around the problem--which I've had, also. 

Yeah, the Whiner in Chief has been treated worse than Nelson Mandela, or Mohammad Gandhi, or Aung Adan Suu Ky, and thousands of etceteras. People who wouldn't know history if it came up and bit them in the ass shouldn't make historical references. 

Nora Skinker (Morton)

First rule learned by those who choose to develop an interest in the game of politics: some people just can't be taken literally. It's all in the eyes of the "beerholder". I mean, next to Christ, Mandela didn't do badly, did he? 

Even if Trump had said, "no American politician..had been treated so unfairly...", he would have been just as trashed. Trash Trump is the rage now, as seen on The View yesterday when the ladies agreed that Obama had it worse than Trump. Michael Moore is cashing in on the bashing by writing & promoting a show tour to take Trump down. Sooo good for our country, isn't it? 

Lost in the quote is the vein in which Trump's words were meant: inspiring graduates to persevere through & against adversity. 

Nancy, I got your dear note & hope you received my reply. Thank you. 

Jack Mallory

Second rule? You own what you say. Trump diminishes those who truly suffer for their political activities when he compares his trivial experiences with those imprisoned or killed. Nor did Mandela, Gandhi, etc. whine about their real mistreatment. Actually, it's chuckle-worthy! Imagine either of them, "I've been treated worse than any politician in history (snivel) . . ." If Trump is the best we can do as an example for our young officers, we're in trouble. 

Glen Hirose

Helen Lambie (Goldstein)

Thanks Robert and Jack, for your insight into the ghost in the software--it's all Greek to me.

Nora Skinker (Morton)

Never ceases to amaze how small minds can dwell on such garbage. Tonight our Prez is on a hugely important trip abroad, meeting with dignitaries representing countries who would like to partner with us in eradicating Islamic terrorism, among other important matters. Looking at the world today, it's hard to imagine a greater volatility since WW2, facing this administration. The hotbeds of North Korea, China, Russia, Iran, Syria loom heavily. The opportunity this trip provides in trying to bring together important world-stage players & their ideas is an enormous story. But, what are the stories glaring from the front pages of our esteemed NYT & WaPo? Gossip! Innuendo! Trash! Who the F cares about whether Trump called Comey a nutcase? Or that Trump said he's been treated badly? Or that "someone in the Oval Office is a 'Person of Interest'? The best guess being floated is Jared Kushner!  (That's dangerously close to wrecking people's lives, isn't it?) If the world is laughing at us, it is because we are wrapped up in all the wrong crap while the rest of the world has really big stuff to lose sleep over. With Mueller onboard to man the investigative measures needed, why can't we just let HIM do that and, in the meantime, talk about matters of importance? Why? Because we are a tabloid culture - parasites feeding off a MSM that craves the highest ratings with the lowest caliber of information. Well, I never liked The Jerry Springer Show, so I refuse to be a participant. What I will do is offer updates on our leader's trip abroad (since nobody else will) & pray he is successful in being a good & strong ambassador, representing our country. He may not be THE most maligned politician that ever lived but I defy you to name another American President in our lifetime who has been more so. Do you really believe he deserves this? Or, better yet, do you really think WE deserve it? 

Jack Mallory

To check the reality behind Nora's concerns, I looked at the "Top Stories" page of the on-line NYT--this is as close as a digital reader can come to what Nora calls the "front pages." At about 8:30 this evening (I assume this changes throughout the day) I found 35 headlined articles. Although Airforce 1 is still in the air, there are 4 stories about his trip--hard to devote a lot of coverage before he's even on the ground, although I have seen earlier stories over the last several days. There are 7 stories about the many issues involved in Russian election tampering, investigations into the same, firings, Trump's conversations with the Russians, etc. And there are 24 stories about completely different topics, ranging from the ransomware attacks to Julian Assange to the Preakness, etc.  If the WaPo differs considerably, someone do some counting and let me know.

Seems like you're exaggerating things a bit, Nora. And some of us small minds don't think the coverage of Russian inteference in our elections is garbage, or that it's all "gossip, innuendo, and trash." Do you and Donald have the same script writer? Ah, well, perhaps we're just tabloid culture parasites. 

**************

Much more pleasant and elegant images at The Grand Old Osprey this afternoon:

Check out the talons: ospreys only eat fish, and these are how fish get from the water into the osprey.

Robert Hall

Nora Skinker (Morton)

Perhaps, but check out what tomorrow's papers are full of & take a look at TV's main news outlets. Don't miss my point. Am I exaggerating THAT much? You decide. 

So, what American politicians had worse coverage? And doesn't anybody want ANYTHING besides complete stagnation over the next 3 years? 

Helen Lambie (Goldstein)

"If the world is laughing at us, it is because we are wrapped up in all the wrong crap while the rest of the world has really big stuff to lose sleep over." No, Nori--the world isn't laughing at us because we are wrapped up in all the wrong crap, they are laughing at us because we elected a reality-show huckster and buffoon for a president. 
"NATO is scrambling to tailor its upcoming meeting to avoid taxing President Donald Trump’s notoriously short attention span. The alliance is telling heads of state to limit talks to two to four minutes at a time during the discussion, several sources inside NATO and former senior U.S. officials tell Foreign Policy. And the alliance scrapped plans to publish the traditional full post-meeting statement meant to crystallize NATO’s latest strategic stance.
On May 25, NATO will host the heads of state of all 28 member countries in what will be Trump’s first face-to-face summit with an alliance he bashed repeatedly while running for president. NATO traditionally organizes a meeting within the first few months of a new U.S. president’s term, but Trump has the alliance more on edge than any previous newcomer, forcing organizers to look for ways to make the staid affair more engaging.
“It’s kind of ridiculous how they are preparing to deal with Trump,” said one source briefed extensively on the meeting’s preparations. “It’s like they’re preparing to deal with a child — someone with a short attention span and mood who has no knowledge of NATO, no interest in in-depth policy issues, nothing,” said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity. “They’re freaking out.”
http://foreignpolicy.com/2017/05/15/nato-frantically-tries-to-trump-proof-presidents-first-visit-alliance-europe-brussels/?utm_content=buffer33134&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer
I'm sure the NYT and Washington Post will cover Trump's first trip abroad in great detail. I just hope he gives them some substance to report on and not just angry tweets and complaints of imagined slights. He is an embarrassment to the US. I don't understand how you can't see that.

Jerry Morgan

I am sorry but I will take three years of stagnation over Trump's and republican's agenda.  As for politicians that have gotten worse.  Let's try Lincoln, Kennedy, Clinton both of them and Obama.  That's just off the top of my head.  Please.  Trump has brought his treatment on himself the rest of these names did not deserve their treatments.  Trump acts like a child and when he gets treated as one whines his little handed fake tan ass off.  I have no respect for a person that shows little or no respect to others.  LOCK HIM UP...LOCK HIM UP...SOONER RATHER THEN LATER.,..

Jack Mallory

Js think similarly with their small minds. Infected by the same parasites, no doubt. As Jerry pointed out, Obama received tons of lying right wing, often racist, criticism around founding ISIS, nationality, religion, Michelle, etc. and guess who led some of it--for years? Yup!

This morning's NYT coverage: 35 Top News articles--3 Trump trip related, 3 investigation related, 29 completely other. So relax, Nora. I'm going to let you do the count from now on, prove you're not exaggerating. Try a word count, maybe that will make your point. 

Here's an interesting NYT article on the WaPo's digital business model, and its success both financially and journalistically. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/19/business/washington-post-digital-news.html?smprod=nytcore-ipad&smid=nytcore-ipad-share

Why do I think So-called has never spent a lot of time hiking or kayaking--or even looking up? 

Mom and dad just barely made it into the same photo. Interested in ospreys? Here's a web cam. http://www.ustream.tv/channel/mY4FjTPkjCn?utm_campaign=www.marshypoint.org&utm_source=ustre.am%2F1vD0a&utm_medium=social&utm_content=20170520030424

Glen Hirose

Should have posted this with the previous photo, but Lily was having a meltdown.

   
  Yonah Schimmel's on the Lower East Side; the sign has been misspelled since the day it was painted—in 1910.

www.thekitchn.com/whats-a-knish-food-history-205340

Nori,

I believe that the news media’s primary job is to “Sell the Story”; it’s a for-profit-business after all. There have been heroic journalists like Edward R. Murrow, Ron Nessen, and too many others to mention here, but there was also a W.R. Hearst, Jack Anderson, and countless other sensationalists that used their celebrity status to gain wealth and power at the expense of the truth. A tragic example of irresponsible reporting was the "The McCarthy Hearings" The lives of hundreds of innocent people were destroyed. If not for the new TV talk show, “See It Now” and Edward R. Murrow; who knows what “McCarthyism” would have become...

Jack Mallory

Glen--I'm too young to remember them, but I've read about them and taught them a little in history classes. The "McCarthy Hearings" were the weeks long Senate confrontation between McCarthy and the U.S. Army, responding to his reckless and usually evidence-free accusations of Communist influence. The famous culminating moment was when Army Council, Joseph Welch, referring to McCarthy's attacks on a young lawyer on Welch's staff, said, "Let us not assassinate this lad further, Senator; you've done enough. Have you no sense of decency, sir? At long last, have you left no sense of decency?"

By the end of the hearings, televised by a couple of networks, McCarthy approval ratings had plummeted. Eventually, the Senate voted to censure him, putting an end to his rampage. 

If anything, the media played a major part in McCarthy's downfall--especially Edward R. Murrow, as you say, and Herblock (Herbert Block), the political cartoonist for the WaPo who I remember well from the Nixon era. I'd pay money to have Herblock alive today, covering Trump!*

Thanks for jostling my memory (and encouraging me to look up the details on Wikipedia!). Reading about it is a lot like reading current events. The Wikipedia article on Tail-gunner Joe notes that "McCarthyism" is a term  "used in reference to what are considered demagogic, reckless, and unsubstantiated accusations, as well as public attacks on the character or patriotism of political opponents." Sound familiar?

*Herblock cartoon aimed at anti-communist hysteria, but it would certainly fit today's anti-Muslim xenophobia:

Glen Hirose

McCarthy died in Bethesda Naval Hospital on May 2, 1957, at the age of just 48. He was an alcoholic...

Jerry Morgan

Must have been watching fake news today when the talking heads of CNN spent a large portion of a show on Bill Cosby.  Poor Bill.  Wonder who is persecuted more Whiney Trump or Whimpering Bill?  So whatever happened to Whiney rape charges.  Imagine a suspected sexual predator in the WH again.  Congress brought the articles of impeachment against Clinton for lying to the Congress where are these people today?  Clinton was only accused of lying to Congress about his sexual activities while Trump has lied about everything.  I ask again how do you KNOW when Trump is lying and the answer is when he moves his lips. 

So Nora I had an MRI  last week and my Oncologist informed me that my brain was of normal size.  This was verified by my Primary Care Doctor.  When was the last time you had your brain measured?  It seems that you have reduced your arguments to childish comments about small minded people and accusing people of having no concern for the atrocities that are going on around the world.  At the risk of being callous,  I wonder how the deaths of the Syrian  children compare to the millions that are starving to death around the world.  Since it appears that the more well to do countries of the the world are incapable of multi-tasking we should just bomb the crap out of all the people and let God sort them out.  At home we could do away with all social programs.  Since we can't bomb the crap out of everybody and provide for the health and welfare of our people just stop all non-military programs and only the strong will survive.

Finally, anyone who has Social Security or Medicare or VA benefits should be very aware that you are only one major illness away from losing everything.  Do we all not remember that for those of our parents that did not or could not afford private insurance had to be financially destitute to qualify for Medicaid.  When it came time to put my grandmother in a nursing home we had to liquidate all her assets including her home to qualify for the government to pay for a minimum of long term care.  When that ran out she would be put on the street at 80 years old.  Even if she had gotten healthy enough to go back home, she wouldn't have a place to go home.  That is what Ryan, Trump and the white  boys club wants.  Maybe we should be questioning the size of their brains.

Jack Mallory

Jerry--I love starting the morning with a cup of coffee and a chuckle. Thanks! I'm glad I don't have medical confirmation that my brain is shrinking, which yesterday's search for car keys might suggest. Don't leave your keys on the hood of the car while putting kayak on rack. It will take you a LONG time to find them again. 

Nora--what happened to the "updates on our leader's trip abroad" you were going to give us? I'm forced to rely on that tabloid, the NYT, which this morning gives us 4 trip articles, only 2 investigation-related pieces, along with 28 articles about completely different topics. "Exaggerating THAT much." Yes, you are. 

*************

Red-Tailed Hawk AND an osprey, circling over my kayak yesterday. Made me feel like a fish.