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October 07, 2021 10:55 PM UTC

Friday Open Thread

  • 59 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols

“Perception is reality.”

–Lee Atwater

Comments

59 thoughts on “Friday Open Thread

  1. As I understand it, a former president has no claim to executive privilege. Executive courtesy has been extended to a former president by the White House in the past, I would expect, but what sort of courtesy does the Trump “Whitest House” deserve?

    It is past time to rein in the traitors and insurrectionists who are attempting to take control of our government through means other than fair, open elections.

    We have been fighting for free elections in other countries for a very long time. How about Democrats, Unaffiliated, and Republican voters start protecting free elections in OUR country?

    It is time to vote the Trumplican©️ party out of existence. This nation needs to come together and remember what makes us Americans. It is the sentiment expressed at the feet of the Statue of Liberty.

    The Trumplicans©️ want to replace it with a “KEEP OUT” sign.

    Vote Blue, No Matter Who!

    1. True Duke.  What was unearthed this week was beyond disturbing.  Treason and sedition are serious, serious things. If we have any rule of law in our country anymore, then Trump and his criminal flunkies will go to jail.

        1. Yep. 

          Shakespeare had an idea…😉

          P.S. The above refers to the phrase, “first, let’s kill all the lawyers”. The phrase is frequently used in the wrong context. It is spoken in Henry VI regarding who needed to be eliminated in order to pull off a revolution…IIRC.

      1. Al Capone was finally jailed for tax evasion.

        Bannon should be arrested for being a fascist, but that happens to be legal in the US, so what's the next best thing? Maybe being forced to testify against Trump.

        Frankly, I'd like to see Trump testify against Bannon. Talk about a walking perjury trap.

  2. Attention all PolCats!

    Soon you will be call to answer this question. Will our Manchurian President defend Taiwan with force or, see you wouldn’t want to be you?

    Force

    See you wouldn’t want to be you

    All 16 of you answer: except for Duke. He lost comment privileges until he completes ECON 101.

      1. Roger subscribes to the same kind pretzel logic we saw coming out of the Trump White House between 2017 and 2021.

        If someone says "cats and _____," the answer is not "dogs" but "artichokes."

    1. Hey Pfruit –  did you see the jobs report this morning?  Private sector jobs up 317,000 in September. On an hours-adjusted basis they were up 1,036,000.

      Marxist policies are clearly working. 

    2. Well, the Taiwanese can be grateful that the Draft Dodger President, Cadet Bone Spurs, is no longer in charge of their defense.  

      In fairness to Cadet Bone Spurs, he did suffer from Military Related Spinal Jaundice.  The main symptom is a big wide yellow streak down his back.

      Did I mention that Trump, who never met North Korean or Russian butt he didn't kiss, was a draft dodger?

      Oh, I did.

      Well good.  The question will be on the test.

      Yellow Streak Trump

      Kissed Kim Jung Un's rump.

      Yellow Streak Trump

      kissed Commie Putin's rump.

      Burma Shave.

    3. Actually, if it becomes necessary, I expect the US military will be the forces defending Taiwan.

      I trust you did see the story that made its appearance in the press about US Special Forces being in Taiwan to advise / assist with training, right? Pure coincidence the mission was publicized after the continental Chinese had flights through Taiwan's monitored air space, I'm sure.

      1. JID, reminds me of the Formosa Straits problems of the 50s except now everyone is so much better armed. A misfire this time will be a real Pacific war.

    4. Answering the call: . . .

      How bout’s we ship Roger Edwards to Taiwan as a show of Murican force pfruit, Pfruit? . . .

      . . . think that’d be enuf to scare them Chinese Reds into behavin’???

      “Now is the time for all good pfruits to come to the aid of that there Republic of China.”

      “I regret that I have but one Pfruit to give for their country.”

      (As a bonus, maybe he could hire a few Taiwanese CDLs over there?)

    5. Pfruit – can you tap your vast knowledge of ECON and whiteman ‘splain this to us? As proof this is a lie, I’ve paid for a handful of $25 martinis in that place. There is no way he’s losing money. 

      Trump DC hotel incurred more than $70 million in losses while Trump was president, documents show

      Former President Donald Trump racked up more than $70 million in losses over a four-year period from his Washington, DC, hotel, while publicly claiming that the hotel was making more than tens of millions of dollars, according to documents released by the House Oversight Committee.

      1. My uninformed guess: The Trump Hotel lost $70 million the same way all Trump enterprises have lost money – the Trump family eats the meat off the bones then a lender like Deutsche Bank comes forward to prop up the "business" a little longer. Folks, these are not businesses – they are criminal enterprises. Just ask Weisselberg. Oh, he's not talking, you say?

      2. You can claim losses via depreciation, even while your books might show net operating income. Another expense might be huge "consulting" or "brand" expenses that go to a different Trump investment vehicle. Maybe legal fees to a Trump Law-Pass-Through company.

        Commercial Real Estate investment has a large number of tax avoidance mechanisms. I'm sure there are others I've never heard of.

        And it is all legal – that is how it is done. You would be stupid not to take advantage of tax breaks.

        1. He shouldn't have been so generous with those big discounts for the Secret Service?! . . .

          . . . and, those guys don't really need free in-room HBO . . .

    6. I will abstain from political sport book drama as fun fake political analysis when there are American lives at risk, Americans who volunteered to stand up, put on a uniform and swear an oath to defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.

      The primary purpose of the Taiwan Relations Act, the current US law, is to ensure US Taiwan policy will not be changed unilaterally by the president and ensure any decision to defend Taiwan will be made with the consent of Congress.

      I infer from your flippancy that your preference is embarrass the President, thus somehow owning the libs and providing more bs talking points for the low information Republican base. As mean spirited use of American military action as I can think of.

      Why not just resurrect General MacArthur and invade China, as soon as possible? Might as well invade Persia Iran at the same time, because if you want a land war in Asia might as well have multiple fronts. pp.

       

  3. President Biden will restore the currently downsized Bears Ears and Grand Staircase/Escalante National Monuments, as announced on Yahoo News and thus fulfilling a campaign promise. Trump had downsized Bear Ears at the request of a Canadian mining company, as well as from politicians in Utah.

      1. I do not know about "damage," per se. The tribes likely would have kept some stats. I do know that the BLM rushed to complete management plans for the downsized areas and offered some oil & gas leases. Few if any leases were bid on. I saw a quote from an energy company executive back in 2017 that went something like "only a fool would bid due to the highly adverse PR that would be likely."

        1. CHB – Here’s a good piece on today’s event.  As imagined: white ranchers mad; enviro and tourism execs happy.  

          Biden administration expands monument designations, frustrating rancher groups

          President Joe Biden has signed proclamations to expand the perimeters of several national monuments, a move that will alter the management of millions of acres of western lands.

          Specifically, Biden restored protections created during the Democratic administrations for the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments in Utah as well as the Seamounts Marine National Monuments in the Atlantic Ocean. 

          Biden said he discussed the move with Utah’s two senators – Republicans Mike Lee and Mitt Romney – prior to the public announcement. He said the pair “didn’t agree with what I was doing, but they were gracious and polite about it.” In a statement, the two senators were joined by the state’s four House Republicans — Blake Moore, Chris Stewart, John Curtis and Burgess Owens — in saying Biden “is delivering a devastating blow to the ongoing efforts by our delegation, along with state, local, and tribal leaders, to find a permanent, legislative solution to resolve the longstanding dispute over the boundaries and management of the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments.” 

          Interior Secretary Deb Haaland was among the Cabinet secretaries present at the White House event Friday and said the move recognizes the importance of the land to Native populations.

          “The historical connection between Indigenous peoples and Bears Ears is undeniable; our Native American ancestors sustained themselves on the landscape since time immemorial and evidence of their rich lives is everywhere one looks,” she said. “This living landscape must be protected so that all Americans have the profound opportunity to learn and cherish our history.” 

          Collin O’Mara, president and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation, said Biden’s action “is safeguarding lands of cultural significance for five sovereign Tribal nations, conserving important wildlife habitat, and ensuring that future generations will be able to experience these lands and waters for generations to come.”

          1. Thanks. Rob Bishop actually tried a legislative solution when he was in Congress. However, it was woefully short sighted and did not pass.

            When Ryan Zinke was touring Utah in 2017 to compile his report about the “Democrat national monuments,” he ignored local ranchers who supported the Monument designations. About the same time, a local outfitter in Boulder, UT was quoted (paraphrased): “Grand Staircase isn’t part of our local economy; it IS our local economy.

            Headwaters Economics in Bozeman, UT has done some good economic studies showing the value of protected lands in Western rural counties; those economies are much better than counties without those lands.

            I support Monument and wilderness designation in southeastern Utah. I’ve been a member of SUWA (Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance) and getting close now to 30 years.

             

             

            1. One of the few things upon which you and I agree. Your comittment to SUWA is good on you.. Southeastern Utah, really, all of southern Utah is easily in the running for most beautiful place on Earth.

              Just considering the size and scope of the “Staircase” is a mind blower, let alone the “Big Five”…Zion being my favorite.

          1. Skinny, have you ever heard "the Encana Bluegrass Blues"? It is a song about the devastation wrought by the Oilyboyz. I was involved in the original recording of the tune. If you are interested, Der Google will get you there. I am on my phone😠

    1. OTD in 1871 the Great Chicago Fire began. 

      It destroyed the office of U.S. Army engineer John Barlow, who accompanied the Hayden Expedition.

      “All my instruments, maps, books, everything brought back from the Yellowstone, including specimens, were consumed.”

    1. He doesn't deny that Biden is the president and he has donated to Democrats in the past. He is dead man walking into the Republican primary. A RINO zombie, as it were.

    2. Since Mr. O’Dea is a businessperson, I would expect he would have a better understanding of inflation. Having a run-up now in inflation is to be expected, considering the severity of last year’s Trump Recession, and the continuing supply chain problems.

      He complains about the government bowing down before China, Russia, Iran, the Taliban. Seems to me most of that came from Trump, especially his deal last year with the Taliban.

      O’Dea is correct about the waste in the progressives’ proposed $3.5 trillion giveaway. Biden is finally admitting that whatever is approved will likely be means-tested. Joe Manchin wants no more than $1.5 trillion and that may be too much.

      1. Wasting money on child care so women can re-enter the workforce.

        Wasting money on sick-leave so food workers don't sneeze on your food.

        Wasting money on Medicare so sick people don't go bankrupt.

        Wasting money on child tax credit so child poverty is cut by 3/4.

        Yup… that there is a lot of waste.  Joe Manchin says pick one. Which of those programs do you want to cut.

         

    1. Here in western Garfield County, it is like an extension of Mesa county, especially in its attitudes and politics.

      We only go out for supplies, still, and mask wearing is, apparently, not in style. I am frequently the only masked one in sight.

      Freedumb!

       

        1. In 1170 CE, the most powerful nation in Europe was the Eastern Roman Empire, under the emperor Manuel I Komnenus.

          Fame is fleeting as the Komnenian restoration came to a close in 1185. The sack of Constantinople by the 4th Crusade was just 19 years away, in 1204; thus proving for all time that, when given the opportunity, the Christians will eat their own. The 500 year Imperial barrier that kept the Muslim hordes out of southeastern Europe was forever breached.

  4. THIS is why ending the forever war was the right decision. Yet we sit here with the Manchin ‘Pick-One’ shitshow.  

    Son of Afghanistan’s Former Defense Minister Buys $20.9 Million Beverly Hills Mansion

    Not much is publicly known about the various business interests or wealth origins of Wardak, an ethnic Pashtun refugee who was born in Afghanistan in 1977. But public corporation records show he’s the president of a Miami-based firm called AD Capital Group. Various reports have also noted that his older brother Hamed Wardak, a Georgetown University grad and onetime valedictorian, is a successful businessman who runs military transportation company NCL Holdings. Based in Virginia but operating primarily in Afghanistan, NCL has secured lucrative U.S. government contracts in exchange for protecting American supply routes in Afghanistan; those contracts were reportedly worthnorth of a whopping $360 million.

    1. if cutting off funds to corrupt politicians is the goal, the bug-out was the right move.

      I would not, however, enjoy explaining that to an 18 year-old Afghan woman raped and forced into prostitution for the crime of getting a high school education.

  5. This is some serious 1837 white man shit. We are in an upside-down world. 

    "The filibuster is the only thing saving democracy"

    ~Joe Manchin, TODAY

     

    1. Manchin's also completely lost track of which Virgina he's representing and in which century  . . .

      (or he imagines that the rest of the country has)

      . . . maybe it's that Lindell MyTimeMachinePillow he's sleeping on??

      What's next, "the only thing that will save democracy is letting just white, male, property owners have the right to vote"???  (. . . which is, admittedly, not that far from our Senate's makeup, anyway.)

    2. I wish he would just change parties and make it official. At least then we could point to Majority Leader McConnell and blame him for nothing getting done.

    3. The phrase from my youth was "we have to destroy the village in order to save it."  Seems like an equally tortured logic to point to recent filibusters and say "yep, that's democracy in action."

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