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Jack Mallory

“biased,” “left wing,” “hyperbolic” but no examples. I gave you the article, Nora, with a link, and you can't go to the trouble of supporting your criticism with evidence? BCC taught you better!

Nora Skinker (Morton)

As much as I hate to give you a bad name, William, we are on the same page. And, contrary to what my forum reputation is, I DO want the Democratic Party to be smart and do well. Showing they can work with Republicans would be good start. 

For those who don't follow or care about the Redskins, skip the rest of this post. Yesterday was an embarrassing mess where half (and probably more than half) of the already dwindled attendance turned their collective backs on the team and emptied the stands at halftime with the score a miserable 34-0 against the Giants. After reading Josh Norman's whine about not feeling the fan-love, I have to come down hard on him, as other discouraged fans have done. Year in and year out, we see our home team getting less and less competitive, playing more and more carelessly. It's hard to justify a $600 price tag to gas up the car, drive the beltway, pay for parking and lunch to take a couple of my grandies to the nosebleed section where we usually get wet from air-born beer and are subjected to a cacophony of words that would make a sailor blush. I weathered it because it's an excitement into which I was born and to which I wanted to expose my kids and grandkids. Call me a traditionalist, but happy family memories often bear repeating. Add the taint of politics, money and then noting a lack in team effort and lousy front office decisions, and I'm pretty much done. I realize there are injuries. I realize Sanchez is a third stringer. I realize they made a mistake in getting rid of Cousins. But, after a number of disappointing years (most of which I'm glad my parents aren't around to see), it's hard NOT to boo and walk away. Some of the responses from this morning's fanbase resonate with me. Here are two: "the fans have shown up for decades but they have finally had enough when year after year it's the whole franchise that doesn't show up." But, here's my fave: " after going to the store to pick-up some milk...I had two tickets to the Redskins game sitting on the seat of my pick-up. When I returned, I found someone had broken in...and left two more!"

Fan loyalty is a two way street, Norman.

Jack Mallory

Fun, interesting if you’re interested in regional American speech/accents. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/upshot/dialect-quiz-map.html?em_pos=small&emc=edit_up_20181210&nl=upshot&nl_art=5&nlid=35824785emc%3Dedit_up_20181210&ref=headline&te=1

My results, try it out! Trying to get my CA raised kids to do it, see how their results look. I'm clearly an East Coast speaker  

Jack Mallory

The Constitutional scholar that Nora recommends, Joe DiGenova, thinks that indicting presidents would remind them that they aren't above the law.

The common justification for not indicting sitting presidents is that the onerous burdens of office preclude such an interruption. 

https://www.newsweek.com/trump-150-days-presidency-trump-golf-club-1090729

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The ice flowers are blooming on the Contoocook:

Nora Skinker (Morton)

Actually, today yet another 'legal eagle', Judge (and syndicated columnist) Andrew Napolitano,  explained that a sitting president can be indicted but not prosecuted until leaving office. Makes sense to me. Law is like the Bible. Lots of interpretations!

Joanie Bender (Grosfeld)

Actually whether a sitting President can be indicted is open to discussion...Lawrence Tribe, a Harvard Professor, and Constitutional scholar says a sitting President can be indicted. He said that the framers never intended for a sitting President to be above the law...he said the DOJ policy would not hold up. He said that if that approach were followed, Trump could resign and Pence could pardon him and then in effect he would not be able to be prosecuted.  I tried to put the article Tribe wrote on the forum but kept getting ad blockers so I didn't find the article yet....I heard Tribe speak on a show about this. Love, Joanie

Glen Hirose

As I sit here looking at the wreckage of the Washington Football season I can't help but blame Dan Snyder.

Jack Mallory

I’d pay the VA for the joy of work working there. Shooting the shit today with a guy who lost both eyes in an IED explosion, fantasizing about glass eye designs. An eagle, globe and anchor (he's a Marine, obviously)? American flag? Predator skull? Just the word “Why?” Other suggestions not fit for a family forum. Some of those would really make folks look twice.

This is why vets need the VA, not some Medicare-like access to private health clinics, even if free. Not going to have these conversations in Dr. Whoever's waiting room, full of civilians. Love my vets. 

Joanie Bender (Grosfeld)

Trump wants to reclassify dangerous nuclear waste to save billions of dollars that it cost to more safely dispose of the waste....I know many Trump supporters are happy with him on so many levels but hard to believe they would want this dangerous waste in the earth. Love, Joanie   Thoughts Nori, and others?

https://www.chron.com/news/us/article/Trump-plan-to-reclassify-nuke-waste-alarms-13454572.php

Glen Hirose

Oops!

Jack I forgot to mention how beautifully you have captured nature's wonders in your latest photos. 

Jack Mallory

http://time.com/person-of-the-year-2018-the-guardians/

Time Magazine has produced a 2018 Person of the Year issue with four covers featuring some of The Guardians, as it refers to journalists around the world who have been threatened, jailed, tortured, and murdered. Guardians because they bear witness to the truths that make the difference between freedom and tyranny. They are the independent media that work to expose the mis-statements, obfuscations, and outright lies of despots, demagogues, and would-be autocrats: those who tell us there are no truths, that all realities are relative, that those who report it are enemies of the people.

The United States has in the past an been exemplar of freedom of the press, but totalitarians around the world now see our President as a model for their repression of truth-tellers. “Fake news” and “enemies of the people” are slogans shared by Putin, Basshar-al-Assad, Duterte, and Trump.

Time's Person of the Year issue celebrates those who sacrifice to resist autocracy and reveal truth in their news. 

Joanie Bender (Grosfeld)

Thanks Jack for that post of the wonderful journalists, some of which as we know have even given their lives to speak the truth. Love, Joanie

Glen Hirose

Oh yea!

Showin' off the Big Boy Skates; Mr. Ovechkin with a "Hat Trick" #21 so far...

Nora Skinker (Morton)

I hear ya, Glen! Shweet!! 18-9-3! Rich revenge for those many years we couldn’t cripple the Wings! 

I have no reason to criticize Time Magazine’s “Man of the Year” since Time itself is a journalistic enterprise but if the choice definition remains “the person or persons who most affected the news & our lives, for good or ill, & embodied what was most important about the year”, it seems one dimensional. Singularly, nobody dominated the news more than Trump &, if “groups” are to be considered, no one got or should get more recognition than the California firemen & women who, this year, looked death squarely in the face on an epic scale. JMHO. 

Joanie, for this administration to save up to $40B by temporarily scaling back the disposal of underground nuclear waste may or may not be wise. I suspect, because of the timing, it may be used as another bargaining chip toward tighter border security including steps closer to that $5B wall deposit. 

Joanie Bender (Grosfeld)

Nori, to me its definitely not wise to change the classification of nuclear waste that has already ready been deemed highly dangerous to a lesser classification so you don't have to spend that large amount of money to clean it up. The result is hurting the health of the American people...that should be a priority and not a possibly bargaining chip as you were thinking might be possible...Love, Joanie

Nora Skinker (Morton)

Joanie, though I may or may not condone this change, depending on what the studies show, I see nothing wrong with looking at the nuclear waste disposal plan as it stands today & assessing to what degree it could safely be augmented. Cutting costs cautiously & in sensitive areas does not always mean sacrificing safety. I would hope more info would be forthcoming in that regard & will be on the lookout for it. 

A holiday shopping tip: I gave my 7 & 8 year old grandsons (brothers) two remote controlled motor boats I found on Amazon last Christmas. Each ran about 50 bucks. I cannot tell you what a smash hit they were! AND, after gawd-knows how many pool & lake races, those boats are still up & running. Better yet, the guys consider me “cool”. Who knew? 😎

Jack Mallory

Joanie, in terms of changes in nuclear waste disposal I'm sure we can expect to see the same consideration for human safety vs. corporate profitability that we've seen in the administration's response to climate change. Science and safety will come first, I'm sure. 

When General Flynn goes for sentencing next week, I wonder if he'll be remembering his "Lock Her Up" chants at the Republican National Convention as he waits to hear his fate? Life has such a wonderful way of coming around to bite people in the ass, sometimes. If they were to jail all of Individual-1's criminal cohort they could dedicate a whole new wing at one of those nice, White Collar prisons. Maybe they should leave one cell available?

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Can't really complain about cold weather when it continues to bring out the ice flowers. Thanks for the compliment, Glen! 

I'll be off to CA on Friday, driving to Santa Fe starting Sunday or Monday. Don't know if we'll be able to take much time for photography, but I'll have the camera just in case.

Nora Skinker (Morton)

Now, now. I thought I was the cynical one, Jack! 👊😎<>>

Good for you to go south this time of year! Safe travels & shoot us some good ones! 

Jack Mallory

Sarcastic, yes, cynical, no. A cynic (“a person who believes that people are motivated purely by self-interest rather than acting for honorable or unselfish reasons”) would think that putting profits before people was normal, acceptable. Those who support Individual-1, who excuse or even approve his behavior, are cynics. 

I'm a realist. I know some people behave like Trump and his supporters; they prioritize the wealth of the few over the well-being of the many. I don't believe that's normal and acceptable—I condemn it, and do what I can to resist it. Maybe some of those Sunday mornings at St. John's worked, or maybe I’ve figured out some sense of morality on my own. Being raised a Norman Vincent Peale Presbyterian doesn't seem to have done much for Trump's moral behavior.

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Going to Santa Fe isn't exactly like going to FL. Temp there right now, with wind chill is 13 deg!

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And now AMI adds to Cohen's testimony that the hush-money payments were intended to affect the elections, not hide the PIC's betrayals from his wife. If he's not indicted now or later, he'll go down in the history books as an unindicted co-conspirator, or at least an unindicted slime-ball. Perhaps the arc of the moral universe bends towards biting even POTUS in the ass!

Lots of regrets in life, but at least voting for him isn't one of them! 

Joan Ruggles (Young)

First Jack, I can't begin to understand how those beautiful ice sculptures in your photos were created! Just beautiful!
Second, I took the language quiz and to my surprise it said I was from Baltimore/Washington. Even after not having lived there for 50+ years!

How much do I love Nancy Pelosi? Let me count the ways. I have been tired of people saying she is too old and should step aside for the next generation. She is, by the way 78. Not much older than we are. Yes, the next generation needs to be groomed for leadership rolls (as my husband keeps saying), but no one has her experience, savvy and political shrewdness yet. Her handling of the sham “negotiations” meeting in the Oval Office was masterful. I found it interesting how numerous times she tried to give DT an out from the awkward debacle, suggesting they continue off camera, but DT just couldn’t give up being on TV.

Once Nancy started talking, it was only when DT heard his own name -“Trump shutdown” - that he began to show interest.  For me the most fascinating thing to watch was the master of “the art of the deal”, showing us exactly how he negotiates. He announced he has the votes in the House for the wall, which he doesn’t. Isn’t that a stupid lie to throw out to Nancy Pelosi who is an expert at knowing where the votes are? But she corrected him. Then he tried to mansplain to her how many votes he needed and that she was in a “situation where it’s not easy for her to talk”. To which she promptly told him “Please don’t characterize the strength that I bring to this meeting as leader of the House Democrats who just won a big victory”. She represents the new majority in the House and he will have to deal with her, like it or not. Then he said “If we don’t get what we want one way or the other…..I will shut down the Government.” This is how the dealmaker negotiates? My way or the highway. Brilliant! He should “write” another book about it. He kept saying “border security” “border security” “border security”. Nobody disagrees! We all want border security including Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer. Where was he willing to negotiate?

Now that DT has owned the looming shutdown - “I am proud to shut down the Government for border security” - translation “the wall”, he’ll have to deal with the fallout. Here comes the TRUMP SHUTDOWN. He really will do just about anything to get his name on something.

FYI DT interrupted Nancy Pelosi 16 times. Also I'm not the first to have noticed that our VP resembled a potted plant for the whole event. 

I was happy to meet Nancy Pelosi at a fundraiser this summer. She’s impressive. In spite of being tiny and very soft spoken, she’s tough as nails. I’m sure in addition to the fact that she’s a powerful woman and she’s short add to DT’s disrespect for her.
To watch the entire meeting https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZtCfBR8ZZQ

Joanie Bender (Grosfeld)

Joan, I couldn't agree with you more. Thank you for your post and the photo of you and Nancy Pelosi is beautiful. You both look so lovely. I LOVE Nancy Pelosi and I also hate the way some of the younger members of the democratic caucus talk about her as if she is a has been...I also hate when age is used against someone. Its what people are able to do no matter what their age is. There are many chronilogically older people who have a young beautiful spirit like Nancy Pelosi and she is tops at effectiveness and getting things done. She pushed through Obamacare when it was very hard to do that. I don't like that she was pushed to agree to term limits. I would want her to be speaker for as long as she was able and willing to be speaker. She can take on Donald Trump the best of anyone. She told him that there are not the votes for the border wall and she would know..I don't like Tim Ryan and the others who have led the charge saying that they have members who were voted in because they promised they wouldn't vote for the same leadership. They want change...well the old leadership, Nancy Pelosi is a big factor why we had 40 new congress people as she is a GREAT fundraiser.  Anyway, so glad to read your post. I really love Nancy Pelosi and I met her this past summer during a fundraiser for Jamie Raskin, our congressman from Maryland. I heard her speak and she is so intelligent and worthy...we are lucky to have her and I would love if Donald Trump had to resign and Pense too and then she could be President. Love, Joanie

Jack Mallory

Thanks, Joan. I have no idea how the "flowers" form. Some combination of just right temperatures, rise and fall of the river. It's only every few years that they form.

It was classic Trumpism in his attempt to buffalo Pelosi and Schumer, and I was glad to see them give it back. Now he tells us that Mexico WILL (in some inexplicable way) be paying for the wall. If that's true, why the threats to shut the government down? And he tells us the border is ALREADY secure?

Is everybody as confused as I am? Could it just be age? Ours, or his?

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Congratulations to the Senate for finding their moral backbones and voting to end our support for the Saudi war in Yemen. Now if they could go help their colleagues in the House find theirs . . .  Trump must find it a bit frightening that there are moral backbones in Congress. God only knows where that could lead . . .

Joanie Bender (Grosfeld)

Jack, the war in Yeman is so tragic as you have been mentioning. Its heartbreaking...I was so glad the Senate voted that way too. Ryan was terrible to attach discussion of the war to the farm bill...Love, Joanie

Nora Skinker (Morton)

Gosh, I would have thought Sante Fe's daytime temps in the 50s might feel pretty good next to your NH daytime temps of 30's or so, Jack.  Thanks for correcting me! I was unaware that I even mentioned Florida. But, whatever. And, without a trace of sarcasm, I'm SO glad you are a self-professed REALIST and not a "person who believes our President is motivated by self-interest rather than acting for honorable or unselfish reasons". Whew, glad we got that straight. 

As the Left's only suggestion to comprehensive Immigration Reform is sitting down and talking about it and since Congress has been doing nothing BUT that for about 20 years now, am hopeful that this administration stays steadfast in it's insistence on a border wall along with any and all other measures needed to see that caravans do not continue to wreak havoc here or in Mexico. 'Come legally' is the message and if it takes a wall and shutting down about 16% of the government to do it, so be it. It is odd to me that the Dems were onboard to allow $20B+ for the wall and a pathway to DACA citizenship just a few years ago and now won't budge on a mere $5B and DACA pathways. What could have changed? Do ya think it might be because Trump's name is all over it? (That's sarcasm).

As for Pelosi, next to some of the characters who seem to be hell bent on electing leadership based on inborn characteristics (race, sex, nationality) and not achievement or brains, she's looking better and better. Talk about identity politics! Just today I heard a CNN pundit say that no White male should be considered as a Democratic candidate in 2020, when just last week, Stormy Daniels' attorney Michael Avenatti said the Dem nominee SHOULD be a White male. On top of that, how about MSNBC's Mika Brezinski declaring our Secretary of State is Trump's 'butt boy". Things are getting ugly, my friends. You are so smart to stay alongside the safer, gentler 'old-schoolers', Biden and Pelosi. At least, like the VP, they're groomed to keep their venomous rhetoric close to the vest. 

Jack Mallory

The wall will be paid for by Mexico and the border is secure. Trump tells us this, and we can trust the President to mean what he says, right? 

“I'm SO glad you are a self-professed REALIST and not a "person who believes our President is motivated by self-interest rather than acting for honorable or unselfish reasons"”

Got to read what I write, not what you would like me to write, Nora.

“I'm a realist. I know some people behave like Trump and his supporters; they prioritize the wealth of the few over the well-being of the many.”

Off to Santa Barbara!