Miscellaneous And Off Topic Subjects

[lineygoblue]

I don't think he expects you to watch, Strangelove.

[Dr. Strangelove]

I don't think he expects you to watch, Strangelove.

He is your party's past, present, and future. There is no party, there is only Trump. What a great lineup of speakers. Trump, Trump, Trump, Trump, Trump, Trump, Trump. Branding!


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[lineygoblue]

Well, of those pictures, I could enthusiastically vote for Nikki Haley, and probably Tim Scott. I am getting weary of the Trumps as much as I was weary of the Bush family. I think Mike Pence is a solid moral man who would be a good leader, and stand for the things that are right. But, he's going to be subjected to the same treatment that Dan Quayle was, meaning he's too good of a man for the job.

As for the 2020 election, I see both parties suffering from the same disease. The Dems have put up their weakest candidate of my lifetime, alongside a supposed "moderate" who has an unending list of wacko groups that she's willing to pander to. She would have thrown Justice Kavanaugh in jail, if she knew it would have sealed the Democratic nomination for her. And, if/when she becomes President, it wouldn't surprise me to see her ask the Senate to begin proceedings to have Kavanaugh impeached.

As for the Republicans, they have Trump because they couldn't field a candidate in 2016 that was capable of beating him. That's been a problem for them ever since Dubya left office. John McCain surrendered his presidential campaign right after he selected Sarah Palin as his VP candidate. Barack Obama sent his regards for the lovely surrender. Then, along comes Mitt, who campaigned against Obama like he was walking on egg shells every day. He also surrendered early, losing his manhood in late September and early October of 2012. Obama sent his regards as well, and now he and Mitt are good buddies. So, in 2016 the toughest competition they ran was Jeb Bush. No wonder Trump waltzed in and snatched the nomination. He was the only one in the race that had bigger balls than Hillary.

So, here we are. We're about to get the asshole-ish Trump for another 4 years, or we're going to get about 12-18 months of a semi-retired Joe, followed by the man-hating, race-baiting Kamala.

Good times.

[Dr. Strangelove]

Saw this pointed out. Not a single former Republican President or nominee for President will be speaking at the convention. Did any in 2016? Part of the cause is only Dubya, Romney, and Dole are still alive and two of those are mortal Trump enemies. Dole is too old and unhealthy to even speak. If McCain and Bush were still alive they obviously wouldn’t be invited to speak either.

Carter, Clinton, Hillary, and Obama spoke for the Dems. I don’t think Kerry or Gore did but they obviously aren’t persona non grata like all the former Republicans are. Hell, Mondale and Dukakis are both still alive too

[lineygoblue]

I don't think Dubya or Romney would speak at the convention even if they were asked. I doubt they were asked.

McCain burned his bridges with Trump before he passed. Bush Sr. would have refused as well.

I believe Dole has dementia and is wheel chair bound.

[Ghengis Jon]

That's too bad about Bob Dole. Since Bob's now 'disabled', I wonder if Trump will mention him at the convention to mock the handicapped in one of his standard displays of empathy.



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[Hannibal]

Here is a counter to the narrative that there was some sort of magic bullet that our government(s) failed to use to stop the spread of the virus and let us live our lives.

Here is a graph of Hawaii's cases. They went into full lockdown pretty much right away and cranked up their unemployment rate to over 20% at one point. Five months later, the virus is finally breaking out there. (this is from the JHU site this morning).

We were screwed from the beginning. We flattened the curve. It's now time for life to go on.

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[Dr. Strangelove]

A good article from one of the better reporters covering conservative politics. What, if anything, does the Republican Party even believe in anymore?


****************

It can now safely be said, as his first term in the White House draws toward closure, that Donald Trump’s party is the very definition of a cult of personality. It stands for no special ideal. It possesses no organizing principle. It represents no detailed vision for governing. Filling the vacuum is a lazy, identity-based populism that draws from that lowest common denominator Sanford alluded to. If it agitates the base, if it lights up a Fox News chyron, if it serves to alienate sturdy real Americans from delicate coastal elites, then it’s got a place in the Grand Old Party.

“Owning the libs and pissing off the media,” shrugs Brendan Buck, a longtime senior congressional aide and imperturbable party veteran if ever there was one. “That’s what we believe in now. There’s really not much more to it.”


https://www.politico.com/news/magazi...vention-400039

[Hannibal]

The Republican Party is split right now between the mostly older Romney, McCain, Kasich "BoomerCons" and the mostly younger Right Wing Nationalists. The former group believes in free markets but is not willing to lift a finger to fight for them, out of fear of being called "racist". The latter doesn't really care for free markets and is more interested in preserving the country's identity and culture for the future, as well as mitigating the damage of the welfare state. There is a civil war of sorts in the Republican party right now. The BoomerCons fail to realize that the public has rejected free markets and that debate is over. They also fail to realize that no matter how many times the apologize or signal their virtue, they will always be considered "racist".

[Hannibal]

It is interesting to see how wearing a mask has become a form of virtue signalling. Famous people who want you to know how how virtuous they are are wearing masks when they don't need to wear masks, just to show you that they are good people and they care. A couple of examples:

1. On site news reports everywhere wear masks on camera, even though there is nobody nearby them when they are socially distanced from everyone. It looks stupid.
2. Dr. Fauci wears a mask to throw out the first pitch, even though there is nobody within sixty feet of him. Then, while he watches the game in the stands with a group of people all sitting nearby (not socially distanced), he does not wear a mask.
3. Half of the pictures in Joe Biden's campaign ads show him wearing a mask.


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[Dr. Strangelove]

GOSSIP TIME: Another former Trump family insider writing a tell-all book. Stephanie Wolkoff used to be a close friend of Melania's and got the blame for extravagant spending during the Inauguration. Supposedly she was recording conversations with Melania too, including venting about Trump and the adult Trump kids.

https://yashar.substack.com/p/scoop-...comments-about

[Hannibal]

New record highs for the S&P 500 and the NASDAQ this morning. My country is burning but at least my 401K is in good shape!

[lineygoblue]

On Saturday August 22, in Santa Clara California, county officials went to the North Valley Baptist Church and posted a letter on the front door of the church, notifying them that if they held Sunday worship services the next day, they would be fined. NVBC recently started having services again after complying with Governor Newsome's lockdown orders having suspended all services for 24 weeks.

On Sunday, the congregation decided to have church services anyway. During the morning worship service, Santa Clara county officials walked into the service and interrupted it, and notified the pastor that he was violating the 'stay at home' law. He was fined $5,000 for holding the service, and in the citation it was specifically noted that "singing" had taken place, which was also against Newsome's order.

NVBC is one of those evangelical, fundamental churches (a rarity in California) that still has Sunday evening services, so the church decided to go ahead and have their regularly scheduled evening service. County officials came in again, interrupted the service, and once again fined the pastor and the church $5,000 for holding services, and specifically for "singing".

IMO government officials like this are using COVID as a precursor to clamp down on religious expression that they find offensive. If they can get away with fining this church for simply meeting and singing, they will be able to get away with fining them for "preaching hate" or some other made-up unconstitutional nonsense. Oppose gay marriage? You're preaching hate. Oppose abortion? You're preaching hate. Your church believes in fundamental Christian principles as in Christ being the only way of salvation? Your church is preaching hate.

This is only the warm-up act, folks. Elected officials like this are coming for basic constitutionally guaranteed freedoms. And not a single elected Democrat from California will speak up for this church. Not one.

The church's website. http://nvbc.org/?fbclid=IwAR0W1WQkco...c1ixSuvc6H1zag

It should also be noted that the congregation was not fined for failure to social distance. They were not fined for failure to wear face masks. They were fined for meeting, and singing.

In Santa Clara County California, the local Wal Mart is open and serving customers. Bars are open. Gas stations are open. Restaurants are open with limited seating and take out. Churches are the only places that have been ordered to close completely, and now, .. fined.

[Hannibal]

It would all be OK if they were shouting "Black Lives Matter" and throwing bricks and Molotov Cocktails at cop cars.

[lineygoblue]

It would all be OK if they were shouting "Black Lives Matter" and throwing bricks and Molotov Cocktails at cop cars.

Exactly.

And I guarantee that no county official would ever walk into the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta and tell them that they can't meet. Or sing.