Reading time – 4:09; Viewing time – 5:40 . . . “The history of the Great Wall of China began when fortifications built by various states during the Spring and Autumn [period] (771–476 bc) and Warring States periods (475–221 bc) were connected by the first emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang, to protect his newly… [read more]
The Reason
Reading time – 3:45; Viewing time – 4:46 . . . Bill Maher’s first guest on his program on January 25 was Ann Coulter. She is one of the far right Republican talking heads that Donald Trump periodically takes orders from. Coulter’s shtick is sensationalist anger and hate and she does it quite well. The… [read more]
A Picture In Three Dots
Reading time – 3:36; Viewing time – 4:44 . . . There was massive anger on the part of Bernie supporters after the DNC took several steps that assured that Hillary Clinton would be the Democratic nominee for president in the 2016 election. The result of that was a lot of Bernie voters who protested… [read more]
Potpourri v7.0 – Shutdown Edition
Reading time – 4:06; Viewing time – 5:34 . . . It is the bright, fresh practice of the Senate of the United States of America to formally abandon all activity if the President of the United States might not like what the Senate would do. Of course, this is in stark contrast to times… [read more]
Slavery
Reading time – 5:16; Viewing time – 8:10 . . . This post is longer than usual, but stay with me. I promise you’ll be rewarded. —————————————————— The 13th Amendment reads, “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United… [read more]
Wag the Dog
Reading time – 3:24; Viewing time – 4:37 . . . This is from the Sunday New York Times: “At [national security advisor John] Bolton’s direction, the National Security Council asked the Pentagon last year to provide the White House with military options to strike Iran . . .” Let’s put this into perspective. Gen…. [read more]
Immigration and Border Security Plan
Reading time – 5:19; Viewing time – 7:05 . . . Ever since the flamboyant down escalator “look at me” event in 2015, it has been our new normal to have a minimum of a week’s worth of hair-in-fire news every day. Giving credit where it’s due, Trump is supremely good at getting attention and… [read more]
Double Standard
Reading time – 4:56 . . . It wasn’t always this way. In fact, there have been many times when it was the reverse. But this is how it is today. Newt Gingrich was giddy in his self-righteous moralizing in pursuit of bringing down Bill Clinton following the 1994 mid-term election that put Republicans in… [read more]
Mike
Reading time – 3:40; Viewing time – 4:51 . . . When we’re presented with a large number it’s easy to fail to fully appreciate what it means, Indeed Josef Stalin said, “A single death is a tragedy; a million deaths is a statistic.” Sadly, Stalin was right. There are about 800,000 federal employees who… [read more]
What’s Next
Reading time – 4:45; Viewing time – 6:48 . . . I’ve been wondering about the important actions we should expect from the 116th Congress. Adam Schiff (D-CA), the incoming chair of the House Intelligence Committee, has promised a real investigation into Russian meddling in our 2016 election. That will be in stark contrast to… [read more]
