of news.
Trump Bashing Fatigue has set in. This morning I tried to watch the news. No joy. Literally… and figuratively as in ‘could not complete it successfully’.
This started a while back, really. At first the Trump Bashing in the news was offset to some extent by the Trump Rallies, the Rightside Broadcasting, the anticipation of the election. I could also get some respite in the RT news who were more distant about Trump. Sort of a hopeful disengaged. Then there was Fox. Bashing back the loons and the progressive / socialist / American Social Liberals / “whatever” they call themselves now as they try to run from their long history of Nation Blundering.
Moving to the Roku and Web Based TV (at present via the Chromebox which has now moved to Media Center duties) provided some help. MANY new news sources. Lots of flexibility in the presentation. One discovery was that my usual consumption of news pattern (turn on a channel in the background, let it run and listen while doing other things) was now much less than optimal. Since “the top of the hour” was whenever I clicked on an app for some sources, I’d just “launch and watch” for the top news (usually about 1/4 hour). Reuters lets you choose. 10, 15, or 30 minute package. Some others do run like a live channel, but why sit through an hour of “5 folks on a bench talking smack” waiting for actual news when you already got it in a 15 minute summary?
Yet even then, I left something running most of the time. I’d do the Reuters 15 (since 30 recycles stuff from the prior day and has more ‘meaningful long pictures’ without real news in it), then a check in on NewsMax (often a talking head commenting on the news rather than news), RT, Al Jazeera, Sky, France24, CBSN, NBC, etc. Inside 1/2 hour to an hour I’d pretty much have all the news there was.
Then more change happened. After Trump was inaugurated, it got even worse. Basically Trump dissed the Russians, so RT went more arm’s length, lost the hopeful tone, and began reporting the latest attacks on Trump from US Media. The EU sources went bat shit crazy with TDS Trump Derangement Syndrome, and were frothing when they reported about the USA (that they felt compelled to do every single show). The TLNs (Three Letter Networks) of CBS CNN ABC NBC all went on a Parrot’s Jihad, every day running the same headlines for the same Rant Du Jour on Trump. My TBF set in hard then.
It started slowly enough. First I learned that it was of no use what so ever to watch each of the TLNs as they were parrots of the same Talking Points Memo. So I started a rotation. One today, another tomorrow. Then I noticed that Reuters was the same set of crap, just with a more subtile knifing of Trump via prettier language and more directed choice of adjectives. “Embattled Whitehouse” “Presidential fumble”… So dropped the TLNs most days. Still checked every so often just to see if the observation held. It did.
Then the Faux Russia Probe and Trump dissing the Russians caused RT to go a bit to the Dark Side with reporting what the TLNs reported, sometimes quoting their shows. GAK! I ran back to Fox via the satellite (despite wanting to ween off of it) for respite. What I found was no “Pithy Commentary” as O’Reilly was gone. Several other shows doing the bit of running snark clips from the “TLNs Trump Bashing” then snickering at them. This is news how?
Then last week I discovered that the Roku let me skip individual stories in the Reuters feed by pressing the left arrow. (Each “app” is different in what button does what… sigh. They need to use a consistent interface standard like Apple does. Not the Microsoft constantly mutating interface non-standard.) So I started my own little protest:
Every time a Bash Trump story came on, I’d skip it on the Roku with Reuters, or I’d leave the “live feed” on the TLNs and Sky / RT / France 24. Since they know who’s watching what, I thought I’d let them see a drop of audience when Trump Bashing pieces ran. That lasted about a week…
This morning, I tried to watch some TLNs or other. Fired it up, “Trump [negativity]…”, drop. Repeat. Repeat. On to Reuters. Skip, Skip, some mindless drivel not really news, Manchester sobbing on the streets, Skip… I could not bring myself to even try AJ or RT. I know Sky and France 24 will be moping about Manchester (but nothing that works to prevent “things like it” will be done), that they will do Trump Bashing when not moping. I know RT will be doing “Trump Pheh”. I know the TLNs will be All Trump Bashing All The Time. Fox has lost it’s spine going for more “balanced” emoting and fearful it might offend someone (Bye Bob Beckle, BIll O’Reilly, and so many others) so slowly turning into pap and pablum nattering (“Oh, isn’t it horrible we-who-used-to-be-on-the-right get so slandered by the left” only goes so far…) I’d stopped watching DW a good month ago as it was just a waste of time and all EU Rah Rah non-news.
So I sat there. Staring at the blank TV. Me, a self proclaimed “News Junky”, unable to tolerate watching the self proclaimed “news” channels.
That was when I realized I definitely had a hard core case of Trump Bashing Fatigue. TBF.
I ought to have realized it last weekend. I spent most of the weekend news time doing “binge watching” of some The CW fluff shows. Yes, I know their target demographic is “Women and girls, teens to 30ish” and I’m not. Every show tends to have women in leadership positions, guys wanting to fix things with violence, and then the women fixing it afterwards or ‘talking down’ the guys. Also, at least once, often twice per show, there’s the OMG Something Blowing Up IN SECONDS!!! drama moment and… folks take time for hugs and good byes and explaining why it’s OK and don’t feel bad that they are going to die saving everyone else or diffusing the bomb is in their skill set or ‘whatever’… OH, and hair always looks good, even when mussed up after a ‘cat fight’ and at least once there’s a romantic moment with a Guy In Touch With His Feelings Sharing. Yeah, different world. Have I mentioned lately I have “novelty seeking behaviour”? That’s part of why I’m a News Junky… or was…
The 100 – a distopian future adventure drama. Women with swords, guys with guns, a plot line with space stations AND bunkers AND folks on horseback having knife fights.
The Flash – classical geek fare, but with changes. Lots of female villains and such. The Flash having lots of emotional angst over ‘relationships’ and talking it out with the ladies involved.
Even Supergirl – with a tough women heading up the newspaper and a woman president along with a woman Evil Villain and of course the Super Girl. Guys as Eye Candy for the ladies and prone to fighting when inappropriate (the women only fight when they’ve talked out the other options…) Yeah, different world view by quite a bit.
Now think on that for a minute. THAT was what beat out watching the news. For a GUY, way out of their demographic, who historically LOVED NEWS.
That really ought to have clued me in that TBF was biting. I just brushed it off as “novelty seeking” and something different for the weekend, maybe.
Now after trying for the rest of the week to get “engaged” with the news again. I’m sitting here wondering if I can finish the binge watch of The Flash on Netflix and be up to date enough for The CW current season to make more sense… and if a new episode of The 100 is up yet…
This in the middle of a premier Presidential Tour of the most important players in the next year or two of future history. Arabs buying $100 Billion+ of arms (to be used on whom, when?) and sinking another $400 Billion+ into USA investments. $1/2 Trillion cash swing in one trip. And folks wonder why Trump went there first… Israel, The Pope, G7, EU Leadership, etc. etc. The news ought to be brimming with insight into the direction he is shifting the globe in these actions. I ought to be drooling over the choice morsels of Future-In-The-Making.
Yet the “news” on Reuters was something about his son-in-law being part of the Russia Probe now – as if Dimocrats adding another notch by persecuting yet another Trump Supporter was news, or even meaningful. “Do you now or have you ever drunk vodka!!??” Have you EVER spoken to anyone from Russia? How about “Have you taken $Millions from Saudis for your Clinton Foundation and then given them anything they wanted including access and staff positions for folks like Huma?”
No. The “News” has broken themselves. I don’t have any enthusiasm for The Daily Propaganda. Just not in me. So I’m joining the spouse for a while in the “I hate news” camp. She never watches it. “It’s too depressing”. I think I finally see why.
Besides, It’s far more fun to watch women in tights and a cape having a cat fight and then talking out their feelings about their Dad Issues… ( Kara, supergirl, talking with her adoptive “sister”, about both missing their Dad, who was dead, but turns out isn’t… Need to find out if they manage to ‘rescue’ him, or if he needs rescuing, and who will rescue whom right back… )
It’s a pretty sad day in the news business when THAT beats out news for a news hound. Even when I have the entire internet at my disposal, a dozen local news channels, all the TLNs, Fox, and all the major international news feeds and more. Being 90%+ Left Wing, they suffer collectively from TDS Trump Derangement Syndrome, and that has made them propagandists by choice, leading me to TBF Trump Bashing Fatigue, and simply shit-canning them until they clean up their act. Start reporting something positive, or at least informative, about the world and the USA and our POTUS.
Musings from the Chiefio 
Trump is avoiding the media going direct to the public.
The media have discovered that they have lost their role. They can’t manipulate, then can’t filter, the can’t distort and they can’t embellish any more. They can’t spin it.
So they resort to reporting on bust ups at photo shoots, and whose holding hands. The extent to which they are now relevant.
I quit liking TV news a long time ago. I’d seen the same plays from the same playbook far too long with the same TPM like stylebook. You know, arch-conservative businessman villain and enlightened progressive hero of the ‘little-guy’. Newspapers had long been that way, some small local-only papers excepted. Even the WSJ was like that. The paper was as left wing style-wise as the NYT. The difference was the editorial page.
Fox was different enough under the helm of Roger Ailes, but even then the left-wing good, right-wing bad was present. That only worsened over the years. Spice that with events where you were there and pertinent details that you knew never made the cut. Sorry Dan and your predecessor, Walter, you never were completely honest. You always left tells for those with knowledge of things you never were able or allowed to say.
I thought it was me! maybe there is no news and the office people are just making things up to fill their air time. Maybe like AT&T, they laid off the field workers to save money. There seems to be less and less actual news and entertainment worth watching. I find my self watching reruns of stuff so bad that I would have never bothered with 20 years ago. Even Foxnews has become a pervaer of pap and fake news. Even with the paid trolls, comment sections often have more real news then the articles. Pulling weeds in the gardens is more entertaining the the boob tube offerings…pg
I’m right there with you, Chief! Been there for a number of weeks now. However, I suspect a LOT of people are there. I know some others at work and elsewhere. So, we’ve stopped watching the news and Rachael Maddow is #1 on cable news. It’s not like she’s gained any viewers! :)
Unless Trump himself has done something impeachable, which I doubt, I think the tide is heading back out. The special counsel is hog tying Congress, so less out of there. After the Republican in Montanna “body slammed” the rude reporter and won anyway AND! one supporter shouted out he liked it! A ray of rationality.
The intel agencies are under fire and the Trump team claims to know who three of the leakers are and are going to fire them.
A good week all round!
(Scarborough needs to be forced to live in China for the remainder of his natural life.)
I’m totally with you there. I don’t have much time for TV, but I am accustomed to perusing various websites and listening to talk radio on my drives. I can’t stomach any of it right now. All the made up scandals and breathless reporting is infuriating. There is so much interesting actual news out there and we’re having to listen to this? It’s no wonder some in Montana actually voted for the Republican BECAUSE he body slammed that reporter.
With all that in mind, thank you for providing this refuge of sanity and free thinking. Your posts and a lot of the commentors help so much with the mental stimulation I crave.
I find I can often tolerate the state news shows in the morning (mainly for the weather), but once they switch to the national show, I switch the channel or turn it off. I still have the hard copy newspapers, though. If I don’t like a story, I can just turn the page. Or if I like a story, I can cut it out and save it. I don’t have to waste my time allowing them to brainwash me.
I have been a long-time sufferer of OGF (Obama Glorification Fatigue). Anyone else got that?
E.M.
This help?
“Something is rotten in the state of Denmark
What is Debbie Wasserman Schultz hiding? This smells bad.”
http://www.smalldeadanimals.com/2017/05/something-is-ro.html#comments
and link
Been there done that as well. I literally never intentionally watch any of the classic news networks for news, simply because the only thing you can be sure of is what they are pushing is not news or most likely the truth.
It is so immersive you can’t avoid hearing their pitch because it get regurgitated “everywhere”.
So I changed tactics. I now follow about 100 feeds on twitter. It allows me to head line scan like I used to do with real news papers. Just scan down the feeds and if interested, click to see the full tweet and some of the comments. If it is crap I get to about the second sentence and click out. If it is worth checking out I can drill down to the source. That is where a lot of my “from twitter” items come from. I let other people read all the drivel and let them act as my curators.
After a while you learn who is a trusted source and who is a negative source (ie if this guy is pitching it, then the story is certainly crap or misrepresented / out of context)
The net effect is that I can get a quick over view with very little investment in time. Sort of like checking on drudge but a much wider sample.
Sometimes the real news content is the empty space between the competing stories.
“Why is this feed ignoring this part of the story and why are they pushing this line of thought when it is clearly bogus?”
It took me a couple months of religiously following every single tweet from most of those feeds to get a feel about who spent all their time blowing smoke up various body orifices and who had the knack to cut to the meat of the topic and strip away the crap.
I now also only spend a fraction of the time I used to following stuff, and sometimes get bored because there is so little quality out there.
But that said, twitter still is the best source out there right now for breaking news, often beating the majors by up to an hour or more. This at the slight risk of occasionally getting suckered into something that is really click bait or out right misdirection and totally false. That price I am willing to pay to get the lead time on real major stories. I am also slowly learning how to spot those stories but every once in a while you swing at a curve ball and completely miss it.
Thankfully several of you here are good at picking up those curve balls and the wide experience base here really helps to see alternate world views, (for example the European take on stories vs American news sources) Because of active filtering in the media, both Americans and Europeans are completely clueless about events and history in the other population groups and tend to judge stories out of context by applying their local perspective to a story from a different world view.
I tend to go in cycles, and like you EM have been a relatively low intensity consumer of news lately especially given all the dross in the melt at this time. I am just not willing to invest the time to skim it off and get to the clean uncontaminated truth. I have also become more patient lately just taking data in without judging knowing that the current news cycle will tend to sift out the junk in 24-36 hours, and the story will either vaporize or someone some where will pull back the cover and expose the real underlying story.
The sad part is the media is so clueless they simply do not realize that they are gutting their reputation and market and will soon only have idiots for viewers.
“So I’m joining the spouse for a while in the “I hate news” camp. She never watches it.”
BINGO! I remember when the elites declared Walter Cronkite “the most trusted man in America.”
What? He just read the news slowly so he could be understood. Big deal.
About 12 years ago we turned the TV off and it hasn’t been on since. Each day I check 5 or so news sites on the web. If there is something in the headlines that seems important, I will click on it. I am just as apt to click on something silly or odd. Sometimes this takes more than 15 minutes. Then I’m off to actually do something.
When I want to waste a few minutes by looking at a video, I may look for how famous songs, or other things, came about. Two recent songs: Steve Goodman’s “City Of New Orleans”; and “Smoke on the Water” by Deep Purple.
Today, I need to pack for 2 days of trail work in the Cascade Mountains of central Washington.
Spent the morning in the garden tending to Strawberries and some veggies.
Watching news — NO.
Canada’s Rex Murphy is a good read. A few others too. Scott Adams (Dilbert).
Often I find things to read here {Thanks, E. M.}, or one of the other frequently visited sites. Many of these are well known. Maybe I should mention Energy Matters by Euan Mearns.
And this?
https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2017/05/26/first-lady-melania-trump-a-stunning-siren-wows-europe/#more-133326
E.M. Do you wear bifocals?
“deplorabledaveinsocal says:
May 26, 2017 at 2:49 pm
They can be a source of amusement… When I want a different perspective, I wear my glasses upside down… In fact, wearing my glasses upside down while reading the tripe on other sites, it actually makes sense…”
https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2017/05/26/president-trump-weekly-address-a-foundation-of-economic-prosperity/#comment-3955211
@ John F, now you’ve done it. As much as I dislike ‘public’ transportation, I do love the songs. Now I have to go find them on the internet and play them.
You all may appreciate this from ‘The Pointman’
I like the new definition of “World Leader” as in “Did the president of the United States, Donald Trump, shove a world leader out of his way in an attempt to end up in the front of a group of NATO leaders?” …
Population of Montenegro in 2015 was 622,388 – about the size of Baltimore (26th largest city in USA population table)
(https://www.google.com.au/search?q=population+of+Montenegro&oq=population+of+Montenegro&aqs=chrome..69i57.8378j0j1&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8)
Ahhh brings back those nostalgic longings for the peaceful 60’s when students took over colleges.
http://thefederalistpapers.org/us/report-college-students-seeking-hostages-students-and-faculty-told-to
https://kiwifarms.net/threads/students-become-stasi-after-professor-refuses-to-leave-campus-for-being-white.31123/
If this checks out to be true, seems like we are about to replay the 1960’s riots phase of politics.
With some mentions showing up on social media of plans for a major protest around July 2 (Antifa), sounds like a set up for a long hot summer replay to me.
Survival of the entire swarm of swamp creatures is at now stake!
Oh what a tangled web they weaved,
When first they practiced to deceive!
In other news – Israel is running a gas pipeline to Europe.
The Syrian War is over ( what they are doing now is jockeying for position )..
I expect that in 6 months there will be other announcements of pipelines.
The Lame Stream Media are destroying themselves. Trump can frustrate them even more by:
1. Refusing to comment on anything that is “Under Investigation”.
2. Ending the Q&A at WH press briefings. Failing that answer questions with “YES”, “NO”, or “NO COMMENT”.
3. Operating in “Campaign Mode” to remind the American people why we elected him rather than Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, Paul Ryan, Mitch McConnelll or anyone else owned by the “Donor Class”.
The Media managed to trivialize themselves during Trump’s momentous overseas trip.
The reported on veils, bowing and other nonsense. Unless you watch Fox News you won’t know that Trump challenged world leaders to get serious about eradicating Islamic barbarism.
E.M.
Check the link in
“This is why Comey must go as part of draining the swamp. http://209.157.64.200/focus/f-bloggers/3555156/posts
This reads better than a high-intensity/intrigue spy novel except for the fiction part. It’s a lengthy read, but well worth the time.”
http://www.smalldeadanimals.com/2017/05/reader-tips-3839.html#comment-1106263
TBF? Trump Bashing fatigue.. Nah trump Bashing Festival..Except most participants are joyless losers.
TDS:Trump Derangement Syndrome is much more “Lewish.”(Lewanski? of Climate Change Infame.)
Using the communist technique of declaring all who doubt your omnipotence as insane.
I am still amused, the Presstitutes are all in on Trump is Evil,all who support him are evil demon worshipping cretins..What a way to address over half your market.
They are not Bashing Trump, they are genuinely deranged.
The hysteria is bringing their stupidity and treachery to the attention of so many more voters, the proverb, better to be thought a fool than rampage onto national TV and remove all doubt, has never been truer.
The bedwetting, emotive breakdowns and tantrum throwing has been nonstop since November, even some Democrats are finally asking the obvious..”What do we hope to accomplish here?”
And as the accusations have gotten uglier, more and more questions are raised, “Why is Trump a criminal for doing what Obama did?
How was the alleged interference with the federal election, by “The Russians” carried out?
What actual effects?
Who? What ?Where?
Pretty empty plate.Well except for the Clinton Cash.
Every Media/DNC alleged “Trump Scandal” blows back ..The latest is Debbie Wasserman Whatever,abusing her authority and exposing her terror of where the criminal investigation of her former IT bandits is going.
Trump is a huge win for the Republic.
Just by winning office he has forced the Uniparty to expose themselves.
And short circuited an whole mess of corrupt schemes.
As George Carlin said;”Its a big club and you ain’t invited.”
Now such childish tantrums get old real fast, but some real strange connections are being exposed by this prolonged loss of mind by the Progressive Party.
Meanwhile President Trump is outstanding, telling the “World Leaders” to wake up and smell the sewer.
That they are laying in.Or should that be lying in?
A leader of any sort, no matter how flawed, is still a beacon of hope in a leaderless swamp.
Of course our Efete Elites will be having the vapours over this “vulgar oaf”..
How dare he prevent the savages from removing their heads,blowing up other peoples children and taking away their, control through fear, scheme.
Trump bashing is the latest desperate attempt by the UN’s globalists who paid pseudo-scientific atomic, nuclear, and particle physicists to
1. Betray the public,
2. Prostitute themselves, and
3. Accept Phoney Noble Prizes for
enslaving humanity by hiding reality, God, truth with simple logical errors after nations and national Academies of Sciences were united on 24 OCT 1945:
Jon Rappoport and Jo Nova’s blogs offer Nobel Prize winning atomic, nuclear and particle physics a chance to publicly admit, deny or debate this simple logical error
http://joannenova.com.au/2017/05/weekday-unthreaded/#comment-1914348
@John Roberts:
THEY may be having a Trump Bashing Festival, but I am suffering from Fatigue at it… so for me, it is definitely Trump Bashing Fatigue I’m feeling…
But yeah, sure hope they get enough blow back to melt their foundations…
@G.C.:
Some of the changes at the press conference have already lit their hair on fire. Letting in the “unwashed” press. Taking questions out of the front row of TLNs…
I think it would be interesting for Spicer to read some of the prior day stories, critique them, point out where they are doing blatant spin and fabrication, state the real case clearly, and they say “Any questions on this story?”… Just “be the mirror” and reflect their stuff back at themselves…
@Larry:
Watching the evolution of protests in Venezuela has been interesting, tactically. Protestors now outfitted with helmets (motorcycle type most preferred, some bike and hard hats) and gloves (the better to throw back tear gas grenades) along with more industrial style respirators. Many now starting to carry shields, and wearing goggles.
Brings new meaning to the phrase “Gear Up!”… and likely explains the full on panic in places like California to disarm the population via gun confiscation / banning laws.
It is an interesting laboratory model of what works, and what doesn’t, in getting a rogue government back under popular control…
@Another Ian:
Nope. Thanks to an ersatz radial keratotomy (from crap blown into my eyes – how the procedure was first discovered, btw) my two eyes have different focal lengths. (Folks pay a lot of good money to get this done deliberately, so as to avoid bi-focals). So pretty much I can read anything up close with one eye, see things clearly far far away with the other, and the middle ground is good stereo vision.. Only when very fatigued AND in very low light, do I need to dig out the readers.
@All:
I actually watched some RT and related news this morning. Still not ready for a full serving. Did notice Melania and Trump having a big SMOOCH in front of a crowd.
My guess is the press making a big deal out of the hand swat justified a visual comeback.
IMHO, my interpretation of the hand swat was much simpler: She is a professional model and doing the “cat walk thing” when on the red carpet. Holding hands changes your gate and doesn’t look the same. She was just saying “Not now dear, I’m on stage.”
Similarly Trump pushing to the front: Isn’t that what we elected him to do? ;-0
With that, I’m going to go tune up The Banana Boat. It made the run back from Florida with a “Wobbly Shaft” (Yes, I suffer from wobbly shaft ;-) in the distributor. It needs a bushing machined. But with that many miles and barely limping in, I’m going to adjust the points myself (file smooth and gap) so it runs better and can be a decent ride to the Mechanic for “shaft tightening”… Yes, tuning up an old car is more interesting to me at the moment than the latest mud tossing fest by The Infestation…
So wine cooler under the shade tree, spanner, flat blade screwdriver, feeler gage, and plugs socket, 4 cylinders, carburetor, points, condenser and no plastic shit between me and the block. Ah, a glorious day!
The thing that the video cannot show is intent and method. In my minds eye I can clearly hear the photographer telling everyone, “hurry up everyone get to your assigned spots for the photo op”, (establishes urgency), second it looked very much to me that President Trump used touch to non-verbally communicate. A friendly squeeze to the shoulder/arm and a gentle touch to the back with the other hand by Trump on the Prime Minister of Montenegro was a non-verbal way of saying excuse me, coming through on your right.
In fact the Prime Minister has gone on record supporting this view, as he perceived it at the time as an entirely non-offensive situation, that he had thought nothing about at the time and even praised the President for his support of Montenegro’s membership in NATO.
Being of small stature I frequently find my self pinched by much larger men in a crowd like that which is milling around for some purpose such as for class picture a training seminars etc..
Often they want you to order yourselves in a certain way quickly, usually in a very compressed time window like just before we break for lunch, (often short people in front) or stair step by height from the center, and I often use a gentle touch on an elbow or shoulder to wordlessly say, “I’m on your right”, much quicker, and more effective than trying to talk over them or get their attention verbally when everyone is gabbing and they are a foot taller than me. It is their natural reaction to turn toward the touch and give way slightly to see who they bumped into.
Like you I’m suffering from TBF.
Apart from the piece about Comey mentioned in a comment earlier (https://www.jerrypournelle.com/chaosmanor/) this piece by Margolis caught my eye.
https://www.lewrockwell.com/2017/05/eric-margolis/trump-of-arabia/
Boggles the mind when you think about it.
AA
This is TOO GOOD!!! Obama spying to rig the election!
“Coyle noted that Brennan broke with his predecessors who stayed out of elections. Several weeks before the vote, he made it very clear he was pulling for Hillary. His deputy Mike Morell even came out and publicly endorsed her in The New York Times, claiming Trump was an “unwitting agent” of Moscow.
Brennan isn’t just a Democrat. He’s a radical leftist who in 1980 — during the height of the Cold War — voted for a Communist Party candidate for president.
When Brennan rants about the dangers of strongman Vladimir Putin targeting our elections and subverting our democratic process, does he not catch at least a glimpse of his own reflection?
What he and the rest of the Obama gang did has inflicted more damage on the integrity of our electoral process than anything the Russians have done.”
http://nypost.com/2017/05/26/how-team-obama-tried-to-hack-the-election/
EM, I empathise! Down here in NZ (about as far from the USA as one can get) our TV and print media are in full-on TDS mode. More and more of my contacts are picking up on the bias, which is really getting old. At least I am no longer a lone Trumper!
The truth will out in time, for example the public drum beat which constantly down plays Trump’s skills is now being countered by first person accounts that display a very different picture of him as a thoughtful intelligent President, who asks intelligent questions and seeks a winning solution to problems.
http://ijr.com/2017/03/822619-i-had-dinner-with-the-afghanistan-ambassador-what-he-said-about-the-differences-between-trump-obama-is-stunning/
We went on a road trip for a couple of days and when I got back he had made a defense deal with the Sau…He did what?!
I believe, based on his speech, that this ME policy shift is simply saying that the Arabs will now take care of problems in the Arab world by purchasing the defense themselves (out in the open), and there will be no more Americans and Brits intervening with boots on the ground (and all paid for by us). …And possibly Iran is on the cusp of some very bad actions.
Benjamin Netanyahu has emphasized that the President has assured him that the U.S. is committed to “preserving Israel’s qualitative edge in the Middle East.” So there is a $75 million addition to Israel’s missile defense.
Other than that shocker I have been very impressed with President Trump’s trip abroad. One does not simply walk into NATO and say the expense of European defense was never meant to be carried by the US, but by all the members. –Unless you are President Trump.
I was pleased that President Trump brought up the huge, $247bn trade deficit with Germany in private talks. The bad trade deals and currency manipulation is what he campaigned on.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-01-31/euro-surges-after-trump-trade-advisor-accuses-germany-using-grossly-undervalued-curr
Over all, he is taking the actions he said he would take if elected.
Someone mentioned the gas and oil fields in Israel. They are off the coast and one is called Tamar and the other Leviathan (?). I did read that a gas pipeline to Europe could be in the offing.
This would pose a threat to Russia’s Gazprom interests. It’s something to consider, as if we don’t have enough to be nervous about.
Budget cuts of over 3.7 trillion, who cares what they say in the press!
Of course they will say he is a big bad man and he is crazy. That is a lot of our money they are counting on. Plus the interest on the debt, those scoundrels.
That is my take as well Zeke, let the folks who live there fight their own wars, we will help but no more massive troop insertions. You want an army or an on call air force, fund it and staff it your self.
Something that did not make a lot of news is that at the same time he made that large weapons sale agreement with SA and re-asserted our support of Israel, he also mentioned he might sell off 50% of our strategic oil reserve (which was a big slap in the face to OPEC reminding them and Russia that we have the capacity to drive their profit margins into the dirt any time we want to.)
I suggest that he also might have given a back channel nuclear umbrella to SA if they are attacked by Iran with nuclear weapons, or at least an agreement that we would look the other way if they acquired a few from Pakistan.
Larry I am glad I was thinking along the same lines as you.
In my view, nothing will work in the ME. Everything they do is designed to draw in the super powers. But it is a new tack.
Also, as Nigel Farage has said, there is no track record of success after our interventions, and things have only gotten worse. But the governments of GB, France and people like John McCain and John Kerry just love to jump in without even knowing who we are supporting. That has to stop.
E.M.
Another way of saying it
“Notes of a Reformed News Weasel: Understanding the Vacuity”
https://fredoneverything.org/
Hopefully Trump and all his advisors get to be more informed when they read —
A meteorologist and an analytical chemist teamed up explore the claims that CO2 levels drive climate. (They also mention the role of underwater volcanoes, a drum that I have been beating for more than 20 years.)
In their newly published paper, ‘Role of atmospheric carbon dioxide in climate change‘( http://principia-scientific.org/publications/Role_of_CO2-EaE.pdf ), meteorologist Dr Martin Hertzberg and analytical chemist Hans Schreuder cite a plethora of data concerning what is known – and currently accepted – about the role of carbon dioxide in climate change (global warming).
The data examined includes:
(a) Vostok (Antarctica) ice-core measurements;
(b) rising CO2 levels in the atmosphere;
(c) temperature changes that precede CO2 changes;
(d) global temperature trends;
(e) satellite data;
(f) effect of solar activity.
The two highly qualified scientists found that:
“Nothing in the data supports the supposition that atmospheric CO2 is a driver of weather or climate, or that human emissions control atmospheric CO2.”
Any changes in CO2 levels are “overwhelmingly natural.”
Looking at the relationship between CO2 and climate over the past 400,000 years, the data indicate that human-caused CO2 emissions had no influence on the Earth’s temperature.
EM ” I’m going to adjust the points myself (file smooth and gap) so it runs better and can be a decent ride to the Mechanic for “shaft tightening”
spanner, flat blade screwdriver, feeler gage, and plugs socket, 4 cylinders, carburetor, points, condenser and no plastic shit between me and the block. Ah, a glorious day!”
Now that is true nostalgia for bringing back the memory of cars that you could actually “Work On”,
instead of the sensor & computer controlled ones of today which require major diaginostics to do any damned thing to.
It fooled me in to spending £110 to have a fix that I could easily do myself. Having suffered “sensor” failures in the past I thought I had the same again, (very similar running problems), whereas it turned out to be just a cracked Plug Lead. Something I could easily have dealt with.
@ AC, well, I am of the opposite opinion. I remember that era well. I found it to be too expensive, in either my time or my money, or both. As the years progressed and the willingness to work on a car that constantly needed to be worked on, I happily dropped them like lot potatoes. There are times when I do miss that 1968 Galaxie 500, especially considering the coin it goes for today, but I don’t regret the current era. Not at all. If I want to tinker like that, I’ll build an RC airplane.
Cracked plug lead? One of the $100 machines my nephew has could easily have found that. The trouble, to the extent there is trouble with these, is that the manufacturers change their diagnostics systems. Those old hand held devices won’t work with the new systems, so you have to buy new ones every so often. The new ones will work with the old versions.
@ChiefIO,
Exactly the same here, but I’m wondering how much of it is the fact that PDJT isn’t at home, and they’re making hay while the sun shines. Also, with no Daily Briefings, and only PDJT’s speeches to go on, they haven’t anything else other than bashing him wherever they can.
As the Pointman article linked above says, this will probably subside a little as the media move from Anger to Bargaining, stage two and three of the grief process. Also, they are going to have their ability to set the narrative, severely curtailed. Apparently, Priebus and Bannon left the tour early to set up a media “war room”. My guess is they are going to sidestep the “fake” media altogether.
At the same time, I think the media are going to be too busy defending Obama et al, from what is about to descend on them. I saw somewhere (I’ll have to keep better track of these things), that the report that Sara Carter / John Thompson? wrote about mass spying by Obama was got as a result of PDJT declassifying the info. If that is true, then that’s as big as firing Comey.
Comey was the plug that kept all the critters in the Swamp doing their swampy things. Now that he’s gone (and his “tapes” are now available), it’s going to flush a considerable amount of them out of there. Washington will look very different at the end of his first year than it did at the start. All the corruption is going to start coming out now, as a trickle initially, building up to a flood.
And all just in time for him to select his candidates for the 2018 elections. You’d wonder if this was by design. And the really delicious part of it, is that the act of trying to delegitimise PDJT has exposed their own corruption. PDJT didn’t have to do anything except counter-punch. Sun Tzu at his finest. Really the only question now is, which of the many manifestations of their corruption will be the one that takes them all down.
As long as we have the right to repair whatever we buy, I’m mostly OK with it. I say mostly because I don’t want a car connected to the internet, giving someone else the ability to hack it or shut it down.
http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/infrastructure/a25246/right-to-repair-legislation-under-fire-in-nebraska/
My inlaws watch CNN. I had to leave the room. Too depressing. I did read the news on line to find out what is happening, but CNN is just worthless when it comes to news!
Many have heard of the Lofo voters. These are the ones that do not watch the news – and vote. But I was presented with the Misfo voter. This is the one that blames Trump for anything. In all honesty, I know they were there on the other side with Obama (I made it a point of correcting those chain emails that blamed Obama for everything as well – but that was easy enough as that side seemed to be skeptical of the claims. Now the other side is not).
TBS is a good shortcut to the syndrome since they are at the root of it (well, the whole Turner fiasco). It is fitting that the initials fit his flagship station.
This post may assist as a palliative for TBF
https://townhall.com/columnists/kurtschlichter/2017/05/22/donald-trump-has-done-an-amazing-job-at-his-most-important-job-n2330044
Trump ought to get on the right side of this issue. Being behind a War On Abused Children will not sell really well.
The Federalist – The Surprising Link Between Broken Families And America’s Opioid Crisis
American Journal of Preventive Medicine – Relationship of Childhood Abuse and Household Dysfunction to Many of the Leading Causes of Death in Adults
Addiction doc says: It’s not the drugs. It’s the ACEs – adverse childhood experiences.
I have been saying that for over 12 years.
@Jim2:
Heard a story on the radio about that. NPR? maybe? Seems there’s a thriving market in hacking tractors. You need certain firmware thingies to do repairs… (not sure on the details and the article was for a “popular” audience) but there are lockouts so if you don’t code things right your tractor refuses to run. One example seemed to indicate that if the transmission didn’t speak to the computer the right encrypted bits, the tractor would refuse to run, so you had to get any tranny repairs done at the dealer. At outrageous prices.
IMHO, they will have to face the music of the Maker World eventually. Like I’m going to make my next cell phone ( the present flip phone is a solid tank, but eventually it will die. If not from battery death and no replacements available then from one too many drops or hinge wear). Tractors are a much simpler bit of kit. Expect to see “smog laws” applied to farm gear in an attempt to block self repair OR building of anything via prohibition on intake / exhaust / performance changes…
Personally, were I running a farm, I’d be buying Indian tractors just for the simplicity of repair.
@A.C.Osborn:
Why I keep it around, even if it is a bit of a ‘beater’ now and nearing 40 years old…
@Tom0Mason:
Nice to see something going our way being published…
@Saudi & German NATO news:
I’m thrilled at someone finally telling these folks they can’t freeload off of our war dead.
They want wars, attacks, “police actions”, “nation building”, “defensive posturing”, and even “peace keeping” (with guns, bullets, and dead…) they can do it their own damn selves with their own damn money and their own “Honored Dead”.
Trump told Merkel to pony up the Pesos for her defense, and she said ~”Germany can no longer depend on others”. OK, I’d love to see Germany do their own dirty work with their own military. We’ve cleaned up after their messes in 2 World Wars, after the next one it will be easier. Everything will be flat and relatively clean after the radiation decays to livable… just bulldoze and build. The UK can put up THAD (or similar if they have a home grown) to sit this one out, and the EU can figure out if they want a Civil War like the last 2, or to pick a fight with a bigger neighbor. I’d rather buy beer and chips for the TV show than bullets and body bags for the “honor” of participation…
Saudi can also find a nice way to deal with their excess of young male population and clean up their Sunni / Shia issues at the same time. Happy to be their arms merchant, not so interested in visiting… or having others’ “boots on the ground”. Get back to us when there is a victor, and don’t worry about blowing up any oil facilities in the process, we’ve got a strategic oil reserve to sell and LOTS of drilling to do. (BTW, Saudi, remember Israel has nukes, delivery systems, AND really nice missile defense systems. THEY will come through OK, but anyone who attacks them, not so much…)
So I’m 100% happy with the Trump “Pay up or DIY” tour.
Why would a news junky not want to watch the news channels? Simply because the news channels have stopped running any news.
Latest in Ruairi’s series
“Ruairi
June 1, 2017 at 6:14 am · Reply
Dear Donald, send one of your tweets,
That the U.S. won’t take up their seats,
At the Paris accord,
Which the skeptics abhorred,
But adored by the warmist elites”
http://joannenova.com.au/2017/06/trump-nearly-really-almost-about-to-pull-out-of-paris-agreement/#comment-1915867.
OMG, what a masterstroke!!! America out but will “re-negotiate”. Hey America, NOW you’re back.