Sunday, March 26, 2017

Springtime in Vermont

The local Maple Store is making Maple Creamees again!

17 comments:

  1. Nine months of winter and three months of hard sledding?

    listener--thanks for the heads-up about your congressional delegation's town hall; I got my Bernie fix for the day. I sent Bernie a link to this story from our local newspaper:

    Retired head of Fresno INS explains misbehavior of ICE officers [Click]

    --Alan

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  2. Loved this Opinion piece by Maureen Dowd in the NYT. I'll post the link but I will paste a large chunk I copied.

    https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/25/opinion/sunday/donald-this-i-will-tell-you.html?smprod=nytcore-iphone&smid=ntcore=iphone=share

    You sold yourself as the businessman who could shake things up and make Washington work again. Instead, you got worked over by the Republican leadership and the business community, who set you up to do their bidding.

    That’s why they’re putting up with all your craziness about Russia and wiretapping and unending lies and rattling our allies.

    They’re counting on you being a delusional dupe who didn’t even know what was in the bill because you’re sitting around in a bathrobe getting your information from wackadoodles on Fox News and then, as The Post reported, peppering aides with the query, “Is this really a good bill?”

    You got played.

    It took W. years to smash everything. You’re way ahead of schedule.

    And I can say you’re doing badly, because I’m a columnist, and you’re not. Say hello to everybody, O.K.?

    Sincerely, Maureen

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    Replies
    1. Hoo Boy, that's a doozy! And DT is also way ahead of schedule in rescuing James Buchanan's reputation...

      Alan

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  3. From the "fear government shutdown" article: "Each time there was an accommodation, there was a new demand.” Yeah, kind of the way Republicans played Obama on everything. And he didn't learn.

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  4. Giving Merkel an invoice! What a maroon! He's so used to bullying people and getting away with it that he has no concept of diplomacy or respect for anyone who isn't named Donald J. Trump. He's just lazy slobbing his way through the presidency. He does whatever Bannon tells him to do, he appoints whomever Pence tells him to appoint and all this following orders wears him out so that he must have a vacation EVERY WEEKEND! I swear I can't decide which of the four I hate more! Paul Ryan, Cheetolini, McConnell the Evil Turtle or Bannon The Destructor.

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    1. No, Trump is not a Maroon. He never attended the University of Chicago and probably is not smart enough to have been admitted.

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    2. Nor is he a descendant of escaped slaves living in the mountainous interior of Jamaica. And he strikes me as a psychopath; if he were a moron he would not likely be so obnoxious.

      Alan

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  5. Alan: I read in a Facebook discussion that a single-payer measure has been introduced in the California legislature. What do you know about that?

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    1. Not a lot, Bill; it was proposed when the possibility arose that the GOP might repeal Obamacare. People discussed the possibility of a multi-state compact. but I haven't noticed anything much about it lately. How to keep the money we send to the feds for health care and use it to fund a local system strikes me as a puzzler, although California is plenty big enough to have its own health insurance program.

      --Alan

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  6. Nonsequitur for Sunday [Click] What does Trump have on Sean Spicer that he is willing to continue as White House Press Secretary? Even Baghdad Bob didn't have such a long run of embarrassment, I think.

    On another note, Devin Nunes' district is around here; the past couple of days the local newspaper had been kind of noncommittal; lots of people quoted saying he's a good guy, or OK, grew up here, family here, takes his kids to the park etc. At least half the letters to the editor were supportive. But today--yikes! A blistering editorial, and ALL the letters to the editor were letting him have it. A remarkable change in public perception, it seems. I can't remember anything remotely similar with any other US Representative in this area, Republican or (the rare) Democrat. I think he's probably finished politically.

    Also in today's newspaper, here is a good and rather long feature about the
    Matheney Tract [Click]. Such small communities are numerous in the Central Valley--it ain't all beaches, palm trees and lotus eaters in California by a long shot.

    --Alan

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  7. "As of Saturday evening, rumors are swirling that Pres. Donald Trump’s ousted national security adviser Mike Flynn has cut a deal with the FBI and is now informing on his old boss, the president." From CNN...

    Old greenhouses in the Salinas Valley are being converted to grow marijuana on an industrial scale. [Click]

    'People aren't spending': stores close doors in 'oversaturated' US retail market [Click] Might it be that department stores will have to [GASP!] once again have full-time staff that know about their stock, and in adequate numbers too?

    Angie Thomas: the debut novelist who turned racism and police violence into a bestseller [Click] Young Adult Fiction at that! A hopeful sign indeed for our country, I think. listener--it sounds like your local library needs to lay in a copy or three!

    Marine Le Pen and Emmanuel Macron face off for the soul of France [Click]

    Wall Street’s love affair with Trump cools [Click] "The healthcare bill debacle has given Wall Street a more realist view of Trump’s abilities as a politician." A dandy cartoon…

    --Alan

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  8. Hallo! We had granddaughters here this weekend, and I'm quite content but rather tired...!

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  9. Title [Click]
    Merkel's party wins in Saarland bellwether vote for Germany [Click]

    Kaikoura: 'Most complex quake ever studied' [Click]

    Oh, and I managed to score a reasonably priced copy of the http://mentalfloss.com/article/58318/story-class-struggle-americas-most-popular-marxist-board-game [Click] board game on eBay. I look forward to it for its intended educational value, even if I must play against myself.

    --Alan

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    1. Repaired link:
      Oh, and I managed to score a reasonably priced copy of the Class Struggle [Click] board game on eBay. I look forward to it for its intended educational value, even if I must play against myself.

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  10. via Liane:

    If you are in any of these districts, CALL, CALL, CALL. If not, call anyway, and then call your Representative and ask them to apply pressure.
    Minority chair of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Adam Schiff is asking the public to demand that the hearing on Monday be open the the public.
    Committee leader Nunes has decided close it to the public and refuses to release information. It is imperative that the American Public know whether or not Trump and/or his associates committed treason.

    Chair Devin Nunes -(202) 225-2523 (barrage his office)

    Mike Conway (CA) - (202) 225-3605
    Peter King (NY) (202) 225-7896
    Frank Lobiondo (202) 225-6572
    Thomas Ronney (FL) (202) 225-5792
    Ileana Ross- Lehitinen (FL) (202) 225-3931
    Michael Turner (OH) (202) 225-6465
    Brad Wenstrup (OH) (202) 225-3164
    Chris Stewart (UT) 202-225-9730
    Rick Crawford (AK) (202) 225-4076
    Trey (Draco Malfoy) Gowdy (SC) (202) 225-6030
    Elise Stefanik (NY) (202) 225-4611
    Will Hurd (TX) (202) 225-4511

    House of Representative Switchboard:
    (202) 224-3121
    To get your Representative, just enter your zip code, and you'll be given the option of being put through to your rep or your senator.

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    Replies
    1. Have any of Trump's associates fled the country yet?

      Alan

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