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Nora Skinker (Morton)

Love it! To snatch Gold from the likes of Niklas Edin (Sweden’s skip) is HUGE! 🇺🇸

Nora Skinker (Morton)

Shout out to the Independents (those who, more times than not, find their comfy levels falling somewhere ‘tween Left & Right) among us: consider the clever radio showman & author Michael Smerconish a good bet to find yourself at home for a change. Saw him on C-Span this morn, touting his new book, “Clowns To The Left Of Me, Jokers To The Right” (great title, eh?). Haven’t read it yet but can recommend him as a bright source of current event discussions, having listened to & learned from, screamed at & sung his praises, for years. Tooling down the highway, give him a listen on SiriusXM the POTUS station. Then share! 

Glen Hirose

I went to see the "Darkest Hour"

What a great portrayal of the man that saved Europe and possibly the world from the Nazis...

Nora Skinker (Morton)

High five, Glen! It’s such a pleasure (albeit unique) to agree wholeheartedly with someone on the forum! Bring on the Oscars! 👊😉

Jack Mallory

Looks like his bone spurs have finally healed, after 5 chances to ”run in there” 50 years ago!  

Nora Skinker (Morton)

One would almost think it’s a laughing matter. 

Jerry Morgan

Still the same (words might make a good song line) Jack...same as before, same as now she aint never gonna change.  Not worth the time.  tRump is so lame. Hope you are doing well...I gotta pick my spots and only respond to the most outrageous egreious posts.  Otherwise I would just be wasting all my time. 

Took 50 years and the end of the Vietnam war to get him in shape.  Wonder how much of that time was for the bone spurs and how much for the yellow streak.  71 years and I have met many a bully and they all had one trait in common.  They were all cowards.

Robert Hall

Wolfgang Voegeli

Nora, when a Western European speaks of gun control, he does not mean the soft approach that your list entails. Gun control means stopping the sale of guns to and banning the possession of guns by anyone who does not have a sound reason like hunters having passed an exam or personnel of security transports. In Germany, not even the security personnel of the public railway carries guns. Those who have a license need to lock their guns away in a safe at home to prevent any unauthorized persons accessing them. Of course, these measures cannot stop killings with the use of guns. But they are very successful in keeping the numbers down.

You are right that the US is a special country. In no other civilized country is the risk of being murdered with the use of guns 5 times that of Germany. Very few other democratic countries allow for a government to be voted into office by a minority or would block a substantial part of the political spectrum - such as the greens - from entering into parliament.

The right to carry arms can easily be construed in such a way that it does not entail the use of modern firearms just as nobody would argue that it encompasses the use of tanks, artillery or nuclear bombs as Jerry pointed out.

Glen Hirose

Do you remember?

Apparently the movie was a "Stinko".

Nora Skinker (Morton)

How refreshing of you, Wolfgang, to set aside the time to illuminate your gun control position further for me. Engaging in real conversation about volitile issues is becoming rarer these days. Yes, the fact that there are too many GUNS in our culture, compared to Germany, might be a crucial element. What is more important to me, however, is that there are too many PEOPLE who want to kill people. Numbers & calibers of guns would be moot, if there were not as many people intending to murder. I have seen in my lifetime a crumbling of the values in our culture & feel THAT is the cause of our intentional murder rate. The breakdown of the family & lack of marriage commitment (most importantly, absence of a father figure to young sons), a glamorization of violence, a huge rise in drug abuse (both legal & illegal), assassinations, lackadaisical abortion attitudes, a catastrophic war still fostering anger & resentment, no proactive mental health measures, little value placed on parenting, rejection of spiritual & religious mores, little accountability, lack of respect for authority, the list goes on. I do not steal. It is not because I am afraid of getting caught, but because I feel God is watching me. That simple concept of right & wrong & conscience seems bygone as I watch looters & rioters destroy. But I digress.  

Whether it’s trying to corral guns unconstitutionally from public use, (as you propose) or focusing on a decaying value system (as I propose), there is no quick fix. So, we are faced with unsafe schools with students & teachers not knowing what to do right now. Instead of mulling the reasons we are here, what do you propose Mr. Trump might do to help this situation today? Let’s talk about THAT while other forum members (who obviously have “dogs in that fight”) continue to gnash teeth over the flaws of their (seemingly) legally elected President. 

Nora Skinker (Morton)

Glen: ah, Billy & Gore!! Only thing wrong with “The Best of Enemies” was a lack of a middleman! 

Janet Lowry (Deal)

A litany of talking points does not a discussion make.

Nora Skinker (Morton)

Agree! So, pick one & let’s discuss, Janet! 

Jack Mallory

Wolfgang--thanks for your trenchant observations on our current political situation. Jerry--I agree, pig wrestling loses its charm, except, I suppose, for the pig. But sometimes Trump's comments are so outrageous that, when they expose the stunningly shallow nature of his persona, they can't pass without comment. You're right, only the humorists can turn much of current events into something other than frightening, sickening, or tragic. But as I've said before, humor has kept me sane(ish) in the worst of times, and I'll continue to rely on it. 

It's hard to satirize someone whose own remarks would seem profoundly self-satirizing, Many veterans, and probably first responders of all types, people who have had to make real choices that put their lives at risk, must be stunned by the imaginary heroism of a man whose greatest danger is overturning his golf cart. We could punch walls, cry, or vomit. Or, we can just laugh bitter laughter, hope to stay sane.

https://www.duffelblog.com/2018/02/trump-awards-self-medal-honor-hypothetically-saving-everyone-school-shooting/

ADDENDUM: I had missed his likening the aptitude needed for shooting bad guys in schools to “putting.” 

Nora Skinker (Morton)

Note to Helen, etal.: looks like Trump is bucking NRA members in his insistence to outlaw bump stocks. If you care to get behind him in doing this, back slowly away from that punched wall & vomit, & call your state representatives. That is, if you hate bump stocks more than you hate Trump. Or, if you love those Parkland kids more than you hate Trump. 

Joanie Bender (Grosfeld)

Nora Skinker (Morton)

Hi, Joanie. Short answer: ask me later. Long answer: I realize that the Left views this through a different lens, surmising that Trump is sweet on Putin & all that, but here is my take: (1) it is early in the administration, (2) Russia is important, plays a big role in Syria, may be an asset if our relationship with NoKo goes south, moves on a world stage with their behaviors in the Ukraine,  (3) pending is Mueller’s probe dealing with whatever may have happened regarding Trump & Russia in the ‘16 election, (4) Obama did nothing in ‘14 when he first learned of this & there must be a good reason for his inaction & why we never knew the reason (classified?), (5) I tend to believe that our strong sanctions legislation is being used as leverage in our dealings with Putin right now. His economy is a shambles & can not afford heavy sanctions. Like my mother used to hold over me a Forsythia bush switch, I would comply with whatever she wanted of me without her ever touching my legs with it. That said, I depend on people like Ben Cardin (D-MD) to keep watching the situation. Until I know the full story, however, I generally try to dodge the politics & not speculate. Time will tell. 

What is your take? 

Joanie Bender (Grosfeld)

Obama was trying to be careful and not move too quickly as the facts were coming in, as Trump was already calling the election rigged....but it was Obama who did throw out a large group of Russian diplomats and it was Obama who instituted sanctions against Putin. You asked for my take. To me after Mueller released the 13 indictments against the Russians, there is no question that Putin commtted cyberwarfare against us and this to me is very serious and must be stopped for future elections. This is WAR. Trump has refused to institute the sanctions Congress put into place to show Putin that "crime doesn't pay" as they say. Trump has refused to say one word against Putin who is a brutal dictator  This has nothing to do with Syria. if there are areas to work with Putin that is separate. We can't allow him to attack our elections and Mueller has concrete evidence of the severity of what Russian has been doing in the 2016 election and is continuing to do. It is very dangerous to our democracy. Love, Joanie

Nora Skinker (Morton)

Yes, I did ask for your take & I thank you for it, Joanie. That is definitely the liberal position as seen & heard from MSM outlets these days. That is not to say it is true or false, however. I learned many years ago that, when it comes to politics, what we choose to believe at any given time can change on a dime at a later date. Who knows that Obama may have thought it best that we not do much since we, too, snoop into other countries’ politics & to go there may uncover highly secretive information that he felt might be even more harmful to our nation. Presidents know a lot more than we do, or CNN. I still say, it’s wiser to wait & see what happens. I disagree that Russia’s leading role alongside Assad is not an important factor. If it isn’t, it should be. Remember, we were in bed with Russia in WWII. Remember, too, that we are in a much stronger bargaining position than Russia, because we have a much stronger economy. We can make threats & our enemies know we can follow-through whereas Putin’s weakened Russia can not. Not easily, anyway. 

Good chat! Thanks, Joanie! 

Jerry Morgan

You see Joanie Putin hasn't done anything wrong.  He did the same thing as Nora did help put tRump in office.  tRump won by a landslide if you include the people of Russia.  Nora continues to deflect the issue of guns just like the tRump and that litany of hers looks like tRump's resulme.  Shame he doesn't believe in any of the good Nora cites.  People like tRump and his supporters throw shit against the wall and see if it sticks.  Nora In reality the last 8 years was  a period of hope for the world.  Now my hope is that we can survive this idiot and the damage he and his followers are doing.  More harm to the world then any other time since Hitler.  If I had one thing to say to him it would be stop lying that would serve two purposes we might get something accomplished and since he can't talk without his little white lies I wouldn't have to hear him whine about Obama.  His followers say we should move on about Russia and his sexual assaults when he can't move on about Obama.  Maybe if he could he might actually get something accomplished.  Maybe if tRump stopped throwing people under the bus he might get some cooperation and maybe his staff might just hang around for a while. 

I can see why tRump likes Hicks so much she is willing to lie for him too.  Hasn't anybody told her that a white lie is a lie?  Such great moral character.  Kind of stuff that would fit right into Nora's list.

Jerry Morgan

Nora please make up your mind is it time to talk time to wait or time to do something about it.  I am confused.  I personally don't think this country can wait.  Certainly not 8 years.  We have a president and friends that aren't capable of being leaders, don;'t even really want to be LEADERS.  tRump should just get into his gold plated auto, take his From Russia with Love (Donald Red Grant) look-alike with him up 95 to NYC and take the Dump Tower elevator up to never be seen again like Howard Hughes never to be seen again. 

Nora Skinker (Morton)

Hi, Jerry! There isn’t a whole lot I can respond to from your last two posts. It is painful, I am sure, to see so much of the product of your life’s work in jeopardy. The Dems would be wise to use environmental issues & climate change front & center in their platform, instead of making DACA, Trump’s personality shortcomings & identity politics its ‘calls to arm’. Do you agree it might be time for fresh blood, too? Feinstein is considered too far right now & Pelosi seems unable to fire-up the base anymore. Thoughts? 

Glen Hirose

The Washington Post reporterd today that the IRS has deployed a new "Tool" to help the Taxpayer accurately report investment income.  

Nora Skinker (Morton)

In reflecting on Jerry’s recent posts, am struck by the depth of disdain for Trump but am saddened by the level of distrust & loathing projected towards everyone in Trump’s world, as well.  From what I’ve heard & gathered, Hope Hicks has been an employee with high integrity. I’ve no reason to think otherwise, but through Jerry’s lens, if she is aligned with Trump, she must be bad news. Even me! Where does this come from? His angry references to “white lies” is unsettling since, it was my understanding that Ms. Hicks (under oath) was asked if she had ever lied for the President. She stepped outside to ask her lawyer if that would mean something like answering a phone call by saying the POTUS was not available for comment, when in fact he was. Interestingly, reporters knew this immediately, from some leaker (a leak, which incidentally is against the law, since discussing information outside a grand jury room about that which takes place inside the jury room, is unlawful). I seem to be the only one bothered by that, however. Then the press hypes the whole “white lies” thing & that’s something they can bash Hicks & her boss with! Another hot “gotcha” moment. Now take a step back & think about just how grave that “white lies” moment is in comparison with just about any issue this country is facing today & it’s laughable. How can we possibly have reached this deep an abyss in our tabloid world of journalism?  And Jerry asks “how can anything get done?” You tell me! And, this is not a hostile press? Puleez.