Teen slang

As explained by Seth Meyers.

Mannequin

With James Corden and Victoria Beckham.

Maddow thinks Pence is complicit too

Granted I'm a bit leery about Maddow these days since her disastrous 'exposing' of the insignificant, two-page Twamp tax return. But in the clip below she does show that former Acting Attorney Sally Yates informed the White House in early January that Flynn was a possible target for Russian blackmail due to secret communications. Pence said in March that he wasn't aware of Flynn's Russian conversations, yet Rep. Cummings sent Pence a letter in November of '16 informing him of Flynn's Turkish connection. Pence was also in charge of the transition team and responsible for vetting nominees, yet claims to have no clue as to Flynn's past Russian dealings? He can't claim that because Congress notified him of these dealings.

Top Republican accuses Kushner & Bannon of Russia cover up

See this story. Republican strategist Rick Wilson has linked both Kushner and Bannon to the growing conspiracy. Both were connected to Ellis and Cohen-Watnick, who leaked intelligence to Nunes, the chair of the House investigation. Kushner and Bannon favored Cohen-Watnick is his position as senior director of intelligence at the National Security Council because he was “helping run the pushback operation on Russia with Nunes.” What a tangled web of deception and treason we have here.

Flynn wants to testify for immunity

See this story. Former National Security Adviser Flynn resigned in disgrace for lying in his confirmation hearing about having no ties to Russia. He has now proposed testifying before the Congressional committees and the FBI investigating the Russia connection in exchange for immunity from prosecution. While no deal has yet been struck, it is a curious offer in that Flynn must feel his knowledge and participation in the Russian investigation could result in serious criminal charges. Perhaps he has the dirt on Twamp and his swamp and it will be worth it to grant immunity to fry bigger fish?

Update: The Senate Intelligence Committee has rejected the immunity deal.

Smith of Fox on Nunes' sabotage of the Russian investigation

In this clip Smith reports on the White House officials who gave Nunes the report he then spewed to Twamp and the public. One is Michael Ellis, who works at the White House Counsels office. The second is Ezra Cohen-Watnick, the senior director for intelligence at the National Security Council and Twamp supporter. The only logical conclusion of all this is that it's a blatant attempt to sabotage the investigation and, in effect, suborn treason.

Glyphosate and celiac disease

I heard Hartmann talking today again about the use of glyphosate (from RoundUp) in wheat as the most likely cause for increased wheat sensitivity and illness. Here's an article and interview about the direct correlation of spraying wheat with RoundUp right before harvest and the rise of celiac disease. Also see Hartmann's segment on it below with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. It starts around 7:45. Kennedy said that the science on the relationship between glyphosate and celiac disease is suggestive but not as yet conclusive. While it needs further study the EPA won't be doing it.

The Seven Ages of Man

I was reminded this morning of this famous speech from Shakespeare's play As You Like It. It struck home because I am at the stage of moving from Justice to Pantaloon. And it gives cause for great concern, to see my abilities on the slow slide into death. And yet it's only the beginning phase, for I still have some wits about me, hence this blog. But Shakespeare's play in the character of Jacques, who gave this speech, was one who observed all the frivolity of the lovers from afar, himself moving into the Pantaloon.

All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances,
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages. At first, the infant,
Mewling and puking in the nurse’s arms.

Senator Warren reams Senate GOP

This woman must be our next President. She reveals how the Senate GOP has done nothing to help working families but has done quite a lot to hurt them. They'd made it easier for the following: corporations to pollute our water supply; the mentally ill to buy guns; hunters to shoot bears hibernating in their dens and wolves from planes; government contractors to steal worker wages; companies to hide worker on-the-job injuries; States to pilfer education funds; States to thwart the eligible unemployed from collecting their unemployment insurance.

And now they're going to overturn a rule that allows millions of Americans to obtain State- and City-sponsored retirement plans when their employers don't offer one. Why? Because the Chamber of Commerce, and the giant corporations they represent, don't want competition from these plans that offer better and safer retirement investments for less cost. But you might have thought letting the market decide through competition was what the business model was all about? If so, you were mitaken; it's about oligarchic monopolies who will thwart any and all competition.

General Electric defies Twampland

In this piece the CEO of GE questioned Twamp's mental stability due to not only denying climate change but removing all sane restrictions of fossil fuel production. The CEO went further in saying GE would continue to work on the transition to renewable energy and he urged other US companies to do the same.

Borowitz on Nunes

Borowitz does it again, lampooning Nunes' now paranoid refusal to call relevant witnesses or even conduct hearings in public, much less reveal his nonexistent intelligence source.

Nunes Says He Held Russia Hearings Alone in His Apartment and They Went Great

By Andy Borowitz,  March 29, 2017

WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report)—Representative Devin Nunes, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, told reporters on Wednesday that he just spent several days alone in his apartment holding hearings on President Donald J. Trump’s ties to Russia and that those hearings “went really great.”

“Having concluded several days of hearings on my own in my apartment, I am one hundred per cent satisfied that the President had no involvement with the Russians,” Nunes said. “Now it’s time to move on.”

Part of the Russian pee dossier confirmed

See this story. The part that was recently confirmed is that Mikhail Kalugin, a former diplomat at the DC Russian Embassy, was a spy spearheading the 2016 US election sabotage campaign. Intelligence officials knew about this as early as May of 2016 and it is why Kalugin was quickly recalled to Russia in August of 2016. If other parts of it are confirmed,  like that Twamp changed the Republican platform due to Russian blackmail, we're in for a great ride to treason.

Sanders on Twamp's environmental death knell

Continuing this post, Sanders provides in this Twitter video the environmental facts on the Clean Power Plan (CPP) and the consequence of Twamp's despicable actions. The CPP required the US to cut carbon pollution 32% below '12 levels by '20. This action was expected to avoid per year 1700 heart attacks, 90,000 asthma attacks, and 3,600 premature deaths.

Plus a key reason Twamp is destroying the CPP is to bring back coal jobs, but they just aren't coming back. Those jobs have been on the decline for decades. Meanwhile we can create millions of jobs through renewable energy production and sustain the environment. Such jobs already outnumber all fossil fuel jobs combined.

Touch

Little Mix on Corden last night. Nice samba rhythm, good voices and performance. And of course hot.

Aerial duet

With Corden and Kristen Bell. Unfortunately the prop malfunctions turning it into a farce, because Bell's crystal clarity of tone is beautiful. It seems though the skit was intended that way.

The Democratic Party is the problem, not the solution

Meyers on Nunes collusion

So Nunes colludes with Twamp to call into question the Russian collusion investigation. And Nunes was an advisor in Twamp's campaign. So perhaps even Nunes is implicated in Russian collusion and that's the whole purpose of his aiding and abetting Twamp? Meyers updates the story as the plot thickens by the minute.

Colbert diagrams Nunes conflict of interest

As only he can, he illustrates this conflict after setting it in context.

More than circumstantial evidence of Russian collusion

So said Adam Schiff, the Democratic ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee. I'm so looking forward to this becoming public along with indictments for treason.

Twamp hates the environment

And the people in it. Hence he signed an Executive Order to roll back our Clean Power Plan. By doing so he's reneging on our commitment to the world in the Paris Agreement. It also signals that we'll return to acceleration of climate change for the sake of temporary fossil fuel jobs that won't last long because that industry is on the way out. What kind of idiot doesn't understand that if our environment becomes inhospitable to life that includes Twamp and his swamp. Those in complete denial I suppose, yet another sign of his and his swamp's mental illness.

The Dems not yet supporting Medicare For All

The list is below. If they are your representatives get busy and bug them incessantly to support it or get primaried.

Warren: Twamp would rather we die

No exaggeration. Continuing this post, Warren agrees with Moore that now that Twamp(don't)care has been defeated by we the people Twamp will do everything in their power to sabotage it even further. Twamp would rather see people, including his own voters, suffer horribly because he lost like the Biggest Loser he is. Let that sink in. People will die because of this Child's ego. That is your President, Twamp swampers. He sure as hell is #NotMyPresident.

Virtual Reality Pictionary

On Fallon last night. The 3-D tech makes it extra fun.

Kushner is a Russian agent

Continuing this post, Twamp's son-in-law Kushner is now under investigation in the Russian collusion scandal because he met with a Russian bank with close ties to Putin. This was previously undisclosed by the Twamp campaign and happened during the transition period. Colbert is probably right that Kushner in his new White House role, in good dictator fashion, will just revamp the Congress to eliminate such investigations. Even without that, Nunes, in charge of the House investigation, will just ignore it. The Senate committee might not be as forgiving.

Normandi & Val

Dance of the night last night. Although I didn't like using the side stage where their feet were hidden from the cameras by the spectators. And while Normani is an excellent performer and super hot, there wasn't enough actual cha cha content to adequately call it that.

Corrupt GOP suborns treason

Even after Nunes, the chair of the committee investigating Russian collusion, proved himself to be completely biased for Twamp, House Speaker Ryan continues to support Nunes running the investigation against calls for Nunes to recuse himself. Given that even some Republicans are now calling for an independent investigation due to the prejudice, this is blatant GOP corruption with a predetermined result. The GOP is now literally suborning treason.

Will corporate Dems refuse public option again?

Now that Sanders said he'll introduce Medicare for All, will the corporate Dems go along with it? The Dems, when they had the majority in Congress, could not even get a public option through because the corporate Dems were bought off by the health insurance companies. So while single payer is a great idea, the corporate Dems will thwart most assuredly thwart that again, even just a public option. A former insurance hit man discusses how that corrupt system works.

Still, progressives need to keep pushing it to demonstrate our values, with which the majority of Americans agree. The people like to see representatives fighting for them with authenticity and conviction, and that's what wins votes in elections. And at the very least, a government public option could be sold in conservative terms as a healthcare choice; let the people decide if they want it.

White House nepotism

Banana Republic much? Kushner, Twamp's son-in-law, will lead efforts to overhaul the federal government. WTF! Colbert astutely notes why such an overhaul is needed in this Administration. So Kushner is going to revamp government as a business where we the people are customers. Colbert again astutely notes that wait a minute, we the people are the government and our elected representatives are our servants. He also addresses Twamp's collusion with Russia.

Colbert is back

And on a rampage. He took last week off so he catches up on the political news, including the loser wealthcare bill where Bannon threatened the Freedom Caucus and they told him to go fuck himself (since no one else would). He also showed Twamp claiming that he never said Obamacare would be repealed that quickly with several clips of him saying it would be repealed immediately.

Michael Moore on Medicare for all

In this clip he assures us that the regressives will now undoubtedly make sure Obamacare fails spectacularly. So instead of progressives celebrating their victory it's time to push hard and daily fopr Medicare for all. We have to get it deeply entrenched in the minds of Americans that like other nations we too can really well cover everyone affordably without insurance companies. And we have to keep it as a centerpiece of all races in the 2018 mid-terms and the 2020 Presidential election. This is what the people want, what Twamp promised then but lied about. And this will be the winning formula in the upcoming elections.

Sanders pushes for single payer healthcare

Following up on the last post, this Democracy Now clip discusses first the disastrous Twamp(don't)care bill, then the benefits of single payer. What Sanders is proposing starts around 4:00. Granted this will take a new progressive majority in Congress and the White House, but it's good to get the ball rolling now so that the people know about it and want it by the next elections.

Warren on single payer/public option

Yes, she agrees this is what we need. But it won't come until the progressives have a majority in Congress and a President in the White House. In the meantime, fixing Obamacare is the immediate task. That ain't going to happen either with the GOP in control of everything and determined to make it completely fail now that their plan has been ridiculed by the people. So perhaps when they destroy it and leave millions to die in the streets the Dems, or even better a People's Party, will take up the fight for single-payer Medicare for All.

The essential benefits Twamp(don't)care cut

Yep, that was the final straw in their wealthcare bill. The Freedom Caucus demanded those benefits be removed or else, and the moderate Republicans said to do so was cruel to their constituents. The GOP had long wanted to get rid of them so as to offer the same kind of cheap policies that were available before Obamacare. Of course those essential services might be added to policies but for very expensive premiums and deductibles, if offered at all. The required essential services that would have been cut are:


1. Ambulatory patient services.
2. Emergency services.
3. Hospitalization.
4. Maternity and newborn care.
5. Mental health and substance abuse services.
6. Prescription drugs.
7. Rehabilitative and habilitative services and devices.
8. Laboratory services.
9. Preventive and wellness services and chronic disease management.
10. Pediatric services, including oral and vision care.

Chomsky on a possible false flag terrorist attack

See this story where Chomsky warned of this. Since Twamp is losing Bigly on several issues, and since at least some of his base supporters are realizing he is a Huge con man, Chomsky thinks given Twamp's humongous ego that it wouldn't be beyond him to stage a terrorist attack and blame it on one of 'them' to regain support. I just heard Hartmann talking about the same this this morning, below.

Facebook confessions

I got from it that when we confess our deepest secrets to our friends on Facebook, then Facebook broadcasts it to the world, sharing our most intimate details with advertisers and politicians, not to mention the Intelligence services.

Twamp's cruel, cruel budget betrays the people

On Redacted tonight. It cuts programs to provide jobs to out of work coal miners. National Endowment for the Arts eliminated. It cuts the Environmental Protection Agency by 30%. It eliminates all climate change initiatives. If cuts the National Institutes of Health by 20%, the State Department by 32%, as well as cuts to student loan programs, after school programs, housing assistance, heating costs, legal services for the poor, and meals on wheels. And all this to pay for the $54 billion increase to the military budget. That is certainly making America great again if you're a complete fucking idiot.

The battle for the Democratic Party

Great article revealing the corporate Dems who control the Party. And they hate their own progressive wing. Now they hide behind progressive sounding names like Progressive Policy Institute or Third Way. But make no mistake, they are anything but progressive. It's the same corporatist agenda that shuns unions and the progressive base while sucking up Wall Street money for favors. Their candidate for President was of course Clinton and we saw what happened to not only her but even further Democratic losses in the House and Senate. And of course the media blacked out Sanders because they are owned by these corporatists. They are still dominating the Party so why the hell does Sanders still think the Party can be reformed?

Single payer universal healthcare

The system we have versus the system we should have. The latter is true healthcare, since it is we the people protecting ourselves from illness while promoting health. With insurance companies it is wealthcare, only enriching those companies and the legislators that suck on their teat. We the people deserve better.

Carpool karaoke with Take That

Christian Governor Brown on Meet the Press

When asked about the Wall he said, among other things, that it is not the Christian thing to do, even quoting the Bible. He's right. Too many so-called Christians do not treat the poor or downtrodden, the least of us, as if they are children of God. Especially those Evangelicals that supported Twamp, hypocritical bastards that they are.

Gorsuch versus women

Hartmann's show takes a look at this in the clip below. Gorsuch voted for Hobby Lobby to withhold birth control coverage to their employees on religious grounds. He's ruled to favor corporate discrimination against pregnant women, either though firing or disallowing necessary accommodation.

TYT discusses the happiest countries

According to the UN sponsored World Happiness Report. The Scandinavian countries, along with Canada, Australia and New Zealand, are in the top 10. The US is 14. One thing they have in common is democratic socialism, the boogie man in the US. Even those countries have high taxes, it is invested in its people via healthcare, social programs, infrastructure, education etc. In the US taxes are pilfered from those things and go to already rich corporations and the military.

The core of the Democratic establishment

TYT quotes Sanders on why the Dem Party is failing:  "Certainly there are some in the Dem Party who want to maintain the status quo. They would rather go down with the Titanic so long as they have first-class seats." Thing is Senator, that is a lot more than some Dems; it is the majority of the Party. So why the hell are you still trying to reform the irredeemable?

Moral Development and Reality, continued

Continuing this post, also of interest in the referenced pages is that formal operations are a necessary prerequisite for the meta-cognitive, meta-ethical investigation of such spiritual concerns via the likes of meditation. And while this existential domain does not follow an invariant stage sequence, it is also nonetheless developmental. These existential developments are indeed Kohlberg's 'state-stages' 5, 6 and 7. Again akin to the WC lattice in that the 'state-stages' can also be 'above' the other stages when one achieves a certain stage development. But they can also still be interpreted using lower moral stages.
 
This lends further credence to my long-held argument that the rational ego is necessary for both meditative state training and the door to postmetaphysical stage development. It is also the fulcrum around which both pre- and post-formal rational states and stages 'fold', overcoming the invariant sequencing of ever-increasing complexity in the standard stages. The latter might be very useful but are not necessary for this process, and in fact could very well inhibit it when they are not interpreted postmetaphysicially.

Instead of calling it 2nd-tier, a sequential metaphor, a more apt metaphor would be the twisted or twining tier.

Coward Nunes backing down in good Twamp style

Continuing this post, Nunes has to backtrack his previous frantic story to confirm Twamp's paranoia of being wiretapped. This led the Republican Congressional Campaign Committee to headline the story: Confirmed: Obama Spied on Trump. So Nunes, I guess realizing the craze he started, updated his story saying that as for Trump's assertion the Obama wiretapped him, "that didn't happen." TYT explores both stories in this clip, setting the record straight on the initial eavesdropping.

Change is AP style causing gang-land slayings

See this story on the Associated Press Stylebook now allowing 'they' as a singular pronoun. The Onion has some fun with it in this satire, copied below.

4 Copy Editors Killed In Ongoing AP Style, Chicago Manual Gang Violence

NEW YORK—Law enforcement officials confirmed Friday that four more copy editors were killed this week amid ongoing violence between two rival gangs divided by their loyalties to the The Associated Press Stylebook and The Chicago Manual Of Style. “At this time we have reason to believe the killings were gang-related and carried out by adherents of both the AP and Chicago styles, part of a vicious, bloody feud to establish control over the grammar and usage guidelines governing American English,” said FBI spokesman Paul Holstein, showing reporters graffiti tags in which the word “anti-social” had been corrected to read “antisocial.” “The deadly territory dispute between these two organizations, as well as the notorious MLA Handbook gang, has claimed the lives of more than 63 publishing professionals this year alone.” Officials also stated that an innocent 35-year-old passerby who found himself caught up in a long-winded dispute over use of the serial, or Oxford, comma had died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Moral Development and Reality

Continuing recent posts on morality, I just downloaded a free copy of this book from bookzz.org: Moral Development and Reality: Beyond the Theories of Kohlberg, Hoffman and Haidt by John C. Gibbs (Oxford UP, 2014). I'm looking at the section of "conclusion and critique" of Haidt starting on p. 31. Gibbs appreciates that we should account for our earlier human history and more primitive brain centers in describing morality. But to limit it to these structures and history at the expense of later brain structures and evolutionary development is another thing.

"The negative skew in Haidt’s descriptive work discourages study in moral psychology of higher reaches of morality such as rational moral reflection, empathy for the plight of entire out-groups, moral courage, and the cultivation of responsible, mature moral agency —broadly, study of 'the scope of human possibilities, of what people can do morally, if they are prepared, through development and education, to approach life’s important issues in a thoughtful way'” (34).

Jeffrey Sachs interview

On Hartmann yesterday. He sees the wholesale corruption of the Republican Party as morally evil, how they do not even blink when confronted with the truth that their health(don't)care bill is all about tax breaks for the rich at the expense of many Americans' health. Same with climate change, selling out the literal destruction of the planet for oil money in their pockets. Sachs then discusses some possible solutions from his new book.

Listen Liberal

I've posted before on Thomas Frank's work, particularly his book Listen Liberal. You can search for those posts in the search box on the upper right column. Here's a one-hour Frank presentation with Q&A about it if you don't have the time to read the book.

New Rule on Twamp's betrayals

Maher goes through some of the major ones. Twamp promised lower drug prices and instead will deregulate drugs further. He promised the XL pipeline would be built with American still and it won't. He promised to save coal miners but his budget guts help to them. He promised better and cheaper health insurance for everyone but the plan proposed was the complete opposite: not repeal and replace but bait and switch. He promised Mexico will pay for his wall and we will pay for it. It's endless promises of the moon while delivering a trip to the swamp. Maher's hoping Twamp supporters will wake up and see they've been conned bigly. But that will require some semblance of wits, and supporters to date just don't seem to have even a smidgen given they've fallen hard for this DonConMan.

Repeal and Disgrace

Maher's monologue comments on the failure of Twamp(don't)care. The Freedom (from healthcare) Caucus wasn't happen because it was still too generous and wanted and got cuts to hospitalization, doctor visits, maternity leave, mental health, lab tests, prescriptions and emergency room visits. Even after that it was still not cruel enough for these hateful cretins and they still vowed to vote against it. He then goes on to other political news.

Causation in multiple meta-frames, or InterPlayStation

A few things have reminded me of Bruce's work "Sophia Speaks" with parts of speech related to philosophical inclinations within plural meta-frameworks. One is Lakoff's work where he said in this interview:

"The science and the social sciences all use causal theories, but the metaphors for causation can vary widely and thus so can the kinds of causal inferences you can draw. Again, there is nothing wrong with this. You just have to realize that causation is not just one thing. There are many kinds of modes of causation, each with different logical inferences, that physical, social, and cognitive scientists attribute to reality using different metaphors for causation. Again, it is important to know which metaphor for causation you are using. Science cannot be done without metaphors of all sorts, starting with a choice of metaphors for causation. Most interestingly, if you look at the history of philosophy, you will find a considerable number of "theories of causation." When we looked closely at the philosophical theories of causation over the centuries, they all turned out to be one or another of our commonplace metaphors for causation. What philosophers have done is to pick their favorite metaphor for causation and put it forth as an eternal truth."

Another is Edwards et al work when they said:

Kohlberg and encouraging moral development

Continuing recent posts on morality, a good summary of Kohlberg's work is here. Of note is how to frame moral arguments to motivate upward change on the moral scale. It is in the last 2 pages of the article on implications for education. One was engaging in moral dilemmas via discussion, allowing students to uncover the higher code for themselves and providing encouraging feedback. Another method is encouraging the 'just community.' First establish where the group is, then engage moral discussion as before, then promote and reinforce wider and more comprehensive group inclusion.

Congressional Progressive Caucus healthcare plan

Given the defeat of Trump(don't)care, now might be a good time to see what they've proposed for healthcare in their 2017 Budget. Let's get busy and support this.

Affordable Health Care

Repeals excise tax on high-priced healthcare plans for workers and replaces it with a public option.

Implements drug price negotiation for Medicare.

Allows states to transition to single-payer health care systems.

Expands access to mental health care and treatments for opioid and heroin addiction. 

The full budget is here. See pp. 13-14 for more details. Also see the Economic Policy Institute's evaluation here. Just the bullet points follow. See it for details. It would:

Men don't know how women masturbate

Whitney Cummings discusses male feedback on a female masturbation scene in her new movie.

Big Baby Twamp's Time interview

TYT breaks down Twamp's childish responses in the Time interview. We honestly have an immature, and very likely mentally ill, child running this country.

Biggest Loser Twamp loses health(don't)care battle

Continuing this post, Twamp and the GOP lose their battle to replace Obamacare. Because they lacked the votes, and because Twamp couldn't close the deal with GOP detractors, the vote was canceled indefinitely. The Biggest Loser is some deal maker, eh?

Gorsuch and the frozen trucker case

Continuing this post, Democracy Now speaks with the lawyer (around 5:00) representing the frozen trucker that Gorsuch said should die or endanger himself and other people for his employer. He said that Gorsuch may have been most hostile judge he ever encountered. All the other judges in this case voted in favor of the driver except Gorsuch. Gorsuch and his ilk are aptly explained in my recent posts on conservative political ideology.

Whack-a-finger

I couldn't resist this cat video.

Twamp health(don't) care failing

See this article. Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-N.J.), chairman of the powerful House Appropriations Committee, said he will vote no on the Bill because

"Unfortunately, the legislation before the House today is currently unacceptable as it would place significant new costs and barriers to care on my constituents in New Jersey. In addition to the loss of Medicaid coverage for so many people in my Medicaid-dependent state, the denial of essential health benefits in the individual market raise serious coverage and cost issues."

Several other Republicans are against it for a variety of reasons and the House just doesn't have the votes to pass it. Twamp wants a vote even if it goes down so he can dole out retribution. But the Speaker doesn't want the humiliation.

Devastating critique of Haidt

Continuing from the last post, here's a very good article criticizing Haidt with lots of scientific studies. Which, by the way, supports all of my posts on conservatives' lack of human decency. The abstract:

"Moral foundations theorists propose that the moral domain should include not only ‘‘liberal’’ ethics of justice and care but also ostensibly ‘‘conservative’’ concerns about the virtues of ingroup loyalty, obedience to authority, and enforcement of purity standards. This proposal clashes with decades of research in political psychology connecting the latter set of characteristics to ‘‘the authoritarian personality.’’ We demonstrate that liberal-conservative differences in moral intuitions are statistically mediated by authoritarianism and social dominance orientation, so that conservatives’ greater valuation of ingroup, authority, and purity concerns is attributable to higher levels of authoritarianism, whereas liberals’ greater valuation of fairness and harm avoidance is attributable to lower levels of social dominance. We also find that ingroup, authority, and purity concerns are positively associated with intergroup hostility and support for discrimination, whereas concerns about fairness and harm avoidance are negatively associated with these variables. These findings might lead some to question the wisdom and appropriateness of efforts to ‘‘broaden’’ scientific conceptions of morality in such a way that preferences based on authoritarianism and social dominance are treated as moral rather than amoral or even immoral—and suggest that the explicit goal of incorporating conservative ideology into the study of moral psychology (in order to increase ideological diversity) may lead researchers astray."

Moral development

Continuing this post, let's look at developmental psychology. Magical, mythical, concrete and abstract thinking are levels of increasing development in the process of growing up. One of the earliest of these models was Maslow's hierarchy of needs. They correlate effectively with what we've been talking about. It answers the earlier question about loyalty. While the needs are retained the further one develops, they are also transformed into a larger context. Hence the sort of loyalty based on fear or safety issues might indeed be more loyal in the sense of dependence, like a child. It's true more developed loyalty is more abstract and 'aloof', where a greater negotiating reciprocation beyond childish needs is required.

Here's a Ph.D. dissertation from one who studies such development. From the abstract:

Senator Frankin on how Gorsuch cares for corps, not people

See the video below. Brilliant strategy Senator Frankin. In questioning Gorsuch he brings up a case where Gorsuch wrote the dissent. It was the case of a truck driver who discovered his trauker brakes were frozen. The trucker called dispatch to fix it but they never came. It was 14 degrees below zero and the trucker was freezing to death waiting, plus he didn't want to proceed on the trip with no trailer brakes endangering himself on the road. So after waiting for hours he unhitched the truck and drove on. He was fired for doing that.

The rest of the court thought what he did was reasonably and overturned the firing. But not Gorsuch. He argued that there was the 'plain meeting rule' to the governing statue. But the rest of the court argues that there is an exception to that rule when circumstances render it absurd. Frankin rendered Gorsuch's entire judicial philosophy, which is based on the conservative political philosophy, absurd: that real people should either freeze to death or endanger other people when your corporation puts you in that position.

Social Security facts

Don't believe those lying Republicans; the truth below.

Senate GOP gut internet privacy protections

Yep, they did it again. Under the previous FCC rules internet service providers (ISPs) had to get someone's permission before revealing personal information like "precise geolocation, financial information, health information, children's information, and web browsing history for advertising and internal marketing." Their argument was that web sites like Alphabet Inc.'s Google or Facebook Inc. didn't have to abide by those rules, so why should they? That being the case, why then didn't they vote to include those websites under these reasonable same rules? Because when a profit is to be make our privacy rights are irrelevant. That's there one and only bottom line.

Twamp loses the health(don't)care bill fight; new CBO score

Turns out Twamp isn't much a deal maker after all. He's been pressuring those Republicans against it for days to no avail. Even after Twamp promised the inappropriately named Freedom Caucus (aka freedom from healthcare) he'd abide by one of their conditions to eliminate essential health benefits-- meaning eliminating coverage for pre-existing conditions as well as no longer allowing children to remain on their parents' policy until age 26--Twamp still couldn't seal the deal. So sad. Biggest Loser. 

The Republicans were in a big hurry to get this revision passed before the CBO scored it, but they had to postpone the vote scheduled for today due to not having the votes to pass it in the House. Now let's see what bullshit they spin now that the CBO has scored it today. 24 million more people currently on Obamacare will still be uninsured in 2026. Premiums would still rise 10-15% until 2019, then become 10% lower by 2026 after it drives out people in droves from the program. The original bill was projected to reduce the deficit by $337 billion, this version by only $151 billion due primarily from reduced tax revenue. The score was based on the changes proposed Monday. It is likely several more changes have been made since then to woo those recalcitrant Republicans that still refuse to vote for it.

Sanders on the GOP health(don't)care TAX plan

Sanders has it right in this FB post. It's not about health care at all but a tax break for the wealthy. He quotes Speaker Ryan as evidence: "We are repealing Obamacare and replacing it with good Republican tax policy." 

Senator Warren on how Twamp rigged the SEC

Warren's excellent questioning of the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair nominee shows exactly why he was chosen in the first place. As a lawyer for a law firm that has represented many of the banks and corporations who violated SEC law, an Executive Order requires that he must recuse himself in all those cases. And that would be a significant number of cases that come before the SEC for enforcement. In effect this allows all those banks and corporations to go unpunished for their crimes. Touche Senator Warren.

Senator Whitehouse on Gorsuch

Whitehouse goes through several Supreme Corp cases showing how when they had a 5-4 conservative majority they invariably ruled in favor of corporations over people. And how they voted in favor of Republicans to suppress voter participation, as well as opening dark money in their favor. Very instructive on those Supreme Corp cases that many may not be aware of, and how the ideology behind dark money buys those decisions. He then fits Gorsuch's  judicial voting history into this picture. With him on the bench it will be just more of the same.

The (Self-)Righeous Mind

Continuing the last post, our local brain, mind, consciousness group had a discussion of the political mind. Haidt's work The Righteous Mind was one of the topics.  The previous article, as well as several of the readings for the meeting, well address Haidt's claims that liberals don't promote loyalty, authority or purity. That's because conservatives are loyal to only their select in-group, maintaining a purity standard that seeks to punish those not within. And they tend toward authoritarianism, to blindly accept strong, so-called 'successful' people as a sign of proof for that selectively pure inbreeding. Which is exactly how Haidt describes those traits.

Liberals though also value those traits but extend them to a larger constituency, the entire human race to whom they are loyal. Granted they don't buy the in-group purity, but the other side of that according to Hadit is sanctity, which liberals indeed value in all humanity. True it's not the religious fundamental form of sanctity but a broader, more inclusive humanism that sees the better angels of our inherent nature. They also respect authority but not blindly, requiring it to be earned.

Some of the referenced reading list from the group is below. Read them to fact check my conclusions:

Why are Republicans so cruel to the poor?

Good article. There are a number of factors for this cruelty, why they literally want to take away food, shelter and health care away from the poor. Their authoritarian tendencies make them susceptible to bullying and dominance. They believe in the 'just world fallacy,' that everyone gets what they deserve They tend not to use systems thinking, instead believing there is a more direct causation as in the noted fallacy. From this view social inequality is deserved and fair. They tend to only have compassion and care for those in their own socio-economic group. They believe in 'rugged individualism,' that the individual is solely responsible for their fate regardless of circumstances. This is exemplified in certain Evangelicals enamored of 'prosperity programming,' that God favors the rich and detests the poor. This is a really sick bunch of cruel and inhuman bastards.

The dark money behind Twamp and Bannon

Democracy Now clip on Robert Mercer, the billionaire behind the Twamp swamp vision of America. Bannon has been quoted as admitting Mercer's pivotal influence in their support. Mercer financially backed both Bannon and Conway before they joined the Twamp campaign and continued that support when they did join it. It appears it was their ideology that Mercer supported, and all three thought they could manipulate Twamp to implement it.

Discussion ensues with Jane Mayer about her recent article on the topic. Mercer is a far-right extremist who hates government and wants it decimated. He has contempt for social services and the people who need them. He despises the mainstream media, thinking they are a bane to his humanity-hating agenda. He is the one behind Bannon, Conway and all the other Twamp appointments that they manipulated Twamp to install. All the Executive Orders and legislative proposals coming out of the White House are testament to his influence.

Also detailed is how Mercer's money got Breitbart News off the ground, its intention being to call into question fact-based news reporting by filling the airwaves with unsubstantiated racist and xenophobic propaganda. It was the ultimate post-truth program to confuse supporters into believing their twisted vision of a white nationalist (neo-Nazi) America. Twamp is just the manipulated front spokesperson for these people pulling the strings.

Intel Committee chairman biased beyond repair

See the clip below for the latest story on the Twamp swamp wiretap story. Nunes, the chairman of the Intel committed, held a press conference saying there was "incidental collection" of Twamp campaign communications that had nothing to do with Russia but nonetheless made their way into intel reports. He felt this supported Twamp's claims of being wiretapped so went to the White House to tell Twamp before he discussed it with the Intel committee, the proper procedure. And you don't reveal it to the public.

Revealing classified information for political gain amply demonstrated Nunes lack of impartiality in this case. All the more so given such legally collected information was irrelevant to the purpose of the committee, investigating Russian connections and interference in the election. Republican Senator McCain said this shows Nunes' obvious bias in the matter and therefore an independent committee should proceed with the Russia investigation. Many others, including Republican Congresspeople, are convinced that the only possible explanation for this behavior was to bolster Twamp by tainting the the legitimate investigation.

Bernie and the People's Party

Nick Brana is spearheading the movement to draft Bernie to head a new People's Party. The first question is why not either reform the Dem Party or join the Green Party, since both already have the infrastructure in place. Staring a new Party is a humongous task. Brana responded that whatever direction we take, it has to inspire people to get involved. And according to polls, the majority find that inspiration in having Bernie lead a People's Party.

He gives the example of how the Republican Party replace the Whig Party by bringing together a number of other small Parties and constituencies. And now there are a lot of people disillusioned with both major Parties as well as the ineffective Green Party. That was part of Trump's appeal to these people; he was considered an outsider to the corrupt system. Bernie is also considered as being outside that system, having been an independent his entire career. The same people respond to him in that regard. He would also attract those Green Party voters into a larger Party and constituency.

Still, the process of starting a new Party and building the necessary infrastructure is daunting. Brana makes the good point that when Bernie started his campaign he had nothing. And yet look at the movement he inspired, the money raised taking no PAC or big corporate money. He's proven that there is a need for a new direction in politics, that people support such an idea. And these same people are motivated to do all the legwork to form something new that represents them and has a very good chance at succeeding.

$10 million in dark money supporting Gorsuch

In this Democracy Now clip they discuss Senator Whitehouse making this claim at the confirmation hearing. Whitehouse also noted that $10 million in dark money was paid to thwart Garland's nomination. What could this possibly mean?

How to go Paleo

JP pokes fun at the modern cave men that justify eating as much meat as possible.

Supreme Corp unamimously overrules Gorsuch

You heard that right. The Supreme Corp ruled today to overrule one of Gorsuch's rulings. The case in point was Gorsuch ruling that federal funds under the IDEA Act to provide an education to disabled students be the bare minimum. The Supreme Corp unanimously ruled that the IDEA Act had to be far more than the bare minimum, saying that it was tantamount to no education at all. So there you have it. Gorsuch is so far to the extreme that even the Supreme Corp finds him to be cruel to those most in need, the disabled. But it is right in line with the Twamp/Bannon alt-right swamp.

FYI, see the National Education Association report on Gorsuch's other rulings regarding disabled students.

Warren on the true GOP and Twamp agenda

Great clip of her reaming them for lying about what they'd do for the American people. And what they're actually doing. Twamp promised to stand up for workers and create good, high-paying jobs. So far, the GOP has voted on no legislation to grow the economy, increase jobs or wages. What they have done so far is voted to make it easier for big government contractors to steal wages, as well as make it easier to injure workers without liability or even to report those injuries. She also details how Twamp's budget cuts will do much the same to workers, and without Vaseline. Look not to what they say (fucking lies) but what they do (fucking abominable).

Manafort colluded with the Russians

See this story. Manafort was previously the manager of Twamp's campaign. He worked for a Russian billionaire oligarch to “advance the interests of Russian President Vladimir Putin.” He promised to do this via US "business deals, politics and news coverage." He failed to registered as a foreign agent as required by law. Both Manafort and Twamp said Manafort never work for Russian interests. The Press Secretary tried to defuse the story claiming Manafort has a limited role for a limited time in the campaign.

Schumer: boycott Gorsuch while FBI investigates Twamp

The Senate minority leader is suggesting this reasonable constraint. Do we really want a Supreme Corp justice for life who was appointed by a possible Russian agent? After all, the GOP stopped a legitimate President who was not under such an investigation from filling that seat. But the GOP doesn't care about possible treason if it supports their agenda. So much for country first, eh?

Steve Bannon expose

Abby Martin of Empire Files does an in-depth expose of Bannon, the brains pulling Twamp's strings. It's a frightening picture of a neo-Nazi hell bent of the power to implement the alt-right's evil agenda. And yes, I do mean evil. David Duke of KKK fame praises him as articulating their agenda. White nationalist Andrew Breitbart called Bannon "the Lenny Riefenstahl of the Tea Party movement." Riefenstahl was a Nazi filmmaker for Hitler's propaganda. He blamed the financial crisis on hippies instead of the bankers. Also search my other posts on Bannon by putting his name in the search box.

I appreciate the end, where Martin asserts correctly that resisting Bannon and Twamp will not come from a Wall Street Democratic Party. It will come from a progressive, multi-cultural movement in the streets. Welcome to my little alley of the resistance.

WSJ on the lack of Twamp's credibility

Yes, the conservative Wall Street Journal is flat out saying that Twamp "lacks respect for the truth," and because of that will be viewed as a "fake President." Even after his wild allegations about being wiretapped were refuted by the FBI and Justice Department, he still "clings to his assertion like a drunk to an empty gin bottle, rolling out his press spokesman to make more dubious claims." When even the WSJ calls him on his lies you know it is Twamp's complete unraveling.

Eternal objects

Some stuff from the archives I was re-reading. First two quotes about eternal objects from Shapiro's chapter 2 of Without Criteria followed by my commentary.

"Eternal objects thus take on something of the role that universals...Platonic forms and ideas played in older metaphysical systems. But we have already seen that, for Whitehead, 'concrete particular fact' cannot simply 'be built up out of universals'; it is more the other way around. Universals...can and must be abstracted from 'things which are temporal.' But they cannot be conceived by themselves, in the absence of the empirical, temporal entities that they inform. Eternal objects, therefore, are neither a priori logical structures, nor Platonic essences, nor constitutive rational ideas. They are adverbial, rather than substantive; they determine and express how actual entities relate to one another, take one another up, and 'enter into each others’ constitutions'” (18).

"Actual entities continually perish; but the relations between them, or the patterns that they make, tend to recur or endure. Thus it is not 'substance' that endures but 'form.' And even forms do not subsist absolutely, but continually 'suffer changing relations'" (19).

What I see here is differance as a recurrent pattern that repeats or iterates, but itself arises from, and cannot be separated from, temporal actual occasions. And which changes with each of those actual occasions. It is in a sense like Bryant's virtual substance, or an eternal object as described above, which is both a universal aspect within a particular manifestation.

Also see this post on image schemas. These are pre-linguistic, embodied, non-dual 'categories' that do not divide but connect us to the world. These basic categories (differentiations) provide the ground from which later abstract, dualistic thinking develops. And they are neither an a priori particular nor universal, but are in the middle of any nested abstract hierarchy. They function very much like differance, and may in fact be another way of describing a similar (if not identical) universal and embodied 'pattern' born from the very specific and particular instantiations that give rise to it.

How Darwin is perceived

Hartmann explores how Darwin is perceived by progressives and conservatives. For progressives it's survival of the species, for conservatives it's survival of the fittest. Hartmann points out the Darwin only used the phrase conservatives love once, but not in the context they use it. Darwin thought the origin of the species relied on love and cooperation. It was his nephew, Herbert Spencer, that twisted Darwin into the current conservative canard about the fittest deserving their just rewards. And what constituted being the 'fittest' in terms of white, aristocratic superiority that needed eugenics to maintain their purity.

Hartmann on Gorsuch

He starts with quoting Warren on how Gorsuch has a knack for arguing for corporations and against ordinary working Americans. He supports Citizens United. He thinks it's reasonable for employers to protect themselves against prospective female employees by asking about their maternity plans, since he thinks women abuse such rights. He's praised someone who fraudulently claimed Obama was not born in the US. The same person Gorsuch admires also fraudulently claimed massive US voter fraud by those darkies, hence the need for even more voter suppression. He supports making torture legal again. 115 civil rights organizations oppose his nomination.

Hartmann thinks that due to the above the Democrats should filibuster Gorsuch because the GOP refused to even hold hearings on Obama's nominee, Garland. In fact, filibuster every Twamp nominee until the end of his 4-year term. The GOP has proven that this is a successful strategy for which they did not pay, so fuck 'em. Give them their own medicine and refuse to approve not only a Supreme Corp nominee but every federal judgeship as well.

Every nation except the US had adopted universal healthcare

Camp ridicules the GOP health(don't)care plan by showing which nations adopted universal healthcare and when. Seems the entire developed world has already done so. And the GOP is still in the regressive backwater on this, and every other, issue. Which, by the way, expresses their lack of acknowledged, universal human values.

Nancy & Artem

See previous video for some of the criticism. While her partnering and dance technique was far better, she did lack some emotional connection with the audience.

Rashad & Emma

They had the second highest score of the evening. The dance starts around 1:15. While he has  charisma, athleticism and good body control in his solo moves, but his partnering and cha cha technique (what little of it there was) was abysmal. Nancy Kerrigan was much better in that regard but got lower scores.

Simone & Sasha

As expected, Simone Biles got the best scores. Their dance is below. The dance starts at 1:10.

FBI investigating the links

In Twamp's campaign and the Russians. Olbermann discusses the carefully crafted FBI statement that makes clear there are such links under investigation, not whether such links exist. The question is whether those existing links colluded with Russia to swing the election. To be continued.

Greenwald on Sanders

In this clip he addresses the balance Sanders is trying to negotiate between legitimate criticism of the Dem Party while practically and at least partially working within that system to maintain some legitimacy and support. It's a delicate balance the Greenwald thinks Sanders is well maintaining.

Gorsuch's record

How the Supreme Court nominee has ruled gives a good idea to how he'll continue to rule. Senator Whitehouse noted he ruled in the Hobby Lobby case that a corporate has religious rights over its employees. His batting average on corporate versus human litigants is 21-2 for corps. Special interests and big dark money groups are spending millions to support Gorsuch. Given the foregoing, and that Garland's nomination was thwarted, then why even consider Gorsuch? Very good question. Do we the people really want allow the oligarchy to completely enslave us?

Meyers on the latest poltical news

In his Closer Look last night he covers Twamp holding yet another meeting in the 'southern White House,' meaning his Mir-a-Logo resort. Never mind that we, the taxpayers, pay for these trips not only for him but for his security and all those government officials that have to travel to it. Also covered is the FBI investigation into possible collusion between the Twamp campaign and Russia, as well as Lying Loser's claim of being wiretapped.

Twamp totalitarian nepotism continues

Now it's Ivanka that will get an office in the White House. However it won't be an 'official' position so she won't have to be sworn in or held accountable to ethical rules. But she will get security clearance. This is the kind of shit you see in dictatorships, not democracy. But that's exactly what Twampland is all about.

GOP health(don't)care 2.0

So they made changes to appease their rabid Freedom (to die) Caucus and now it's even worse. It gives States the option of requiring Medicaid recipients to work. Never mind that most of them are children or so old and sick they can't work. And we know this will be implemented in red States. It also prevents States from expanding Medicaid.

Kasparov on GOP misdirection re: Russia

Former Russian world chess champion Kasparov's Tweet below on the Republicans investigating Twamp collusion with Russia.

The house is on fire, Trump is running around with a box of matches, and the GOP demands to know who called the fire department. — Garry Kasparov (@Kasparov63) March 20, 2017

World Happiness Report

See this article discussing it, with the actual report here. Norway is #1, with the top 10 including Denmark, Iceland, Switzerland, Finland, Netherlands, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and Sweden. The US moved from 13 last year to 14 this year due to, according to Jeffrey Sachs, a "multi-faceted social crisis" of "worsening public health indicators"; "plummeting" trust in government; and "astronomical" income inequality, with "the rise of mega-dollars in U.S. politics" and the "deterioration of America's educational system" helping to fuel "destruction of social capital."

See the article and the report for much more. We can expect the US to drop even further next year given the current Administration and Congress.

CNN panel discusses FBI revelations and Twamp response

Continuing earlier posts today, see the panel discussion below. It was confirmed beyond any doubt that the Obama Administration did not wiretap Trump Tower, that there is an investigation into Twamp campaign collusion with Russia, that the UK did no participate in a wiretap, and that there's no evidence of election machine hacking. And the Twamp press secretary is still defending outright lies. I guess in the alternative Twamp swamp facts just can't penetrate.

Miami and Atlantic City flooding due to sea level rise

Which is due to climate change and increased ocean volume. It has already begun and will only continue to get worse. And no surprise, Twamp plans to cut federal funds to these cities to deal with the problem.

How the GOP sabotaged Obamacare

You're heard their BS lies about Obamacare failing. The main reason prices have gone up and some providers are pulling out is because of GOP sabotage. Obamacare had built-in risk corridors, which meant that the money insurance companies lost in the first 10 years of the program due to taking on people with pre-existing conditions would be remunerated. But in '15 Senator Rubio and his cohorts injected a poison pill into a spending bill that eliminated the risk corridors, thereby withholding $2.5 billion to insurance companies that year. That is why some companies pulled out and others raised rates. So why aren't Democrats shouting it out to everyone?

Comey confirms investigation of Russian interference

In the 2016 election. It includes investigating any links, and possible coordination, between the Twamp campaign and the Russians.

FBI Comey: Twamp's wiretap assertion is a lie

And he's here also speaking for the Dept. of Justice. Twamp is the Biggest Liar.

Twamp himself will defeat his new travel ban

The first ban was obviously a Muslim ban and that's why the courts stopped it. So the new one has been reworded to try to make it appear to not be a Muslim ban, an Constitutional violation. And yet Twamp still lists is as a Muslim ban on his website. Which is exactly what the new court orders stopping the second ban are pointing to: Twamp's own statements on the effects of the bans. I'm grateful Twamp is too stupid to realize he is the problem here.

Twamp's approval rating at record low

So obviously some (many?) of the people that voted for him now disapprove of him. Then couldn't tell that what he's done so far could be predicted from his long history of doing the same kinds of things? Come on America, stupidity is not a virtue. Look what it's got us. And look what it's doing to you, the Twamp voter. Wake the fuck up and do your civic duty to keep informed from real, not fake, news.

In the video below Scarborough is wrong, as usual, saying we couldn't have known Twamp would do what he's done based on the past. That's the very mistaken notion that got him elected. And recall Scarborough was a rabid Twamp supporter in the beginning.

Warren on GOP/Trump health(don't)care

She says it best so I'll let her speak for herself, and the millions of us that will suffer from this scheme to rob the poor to pay the rich.

Universal health coverage

The US isn't even in the game with the rest of the developed nations, because the US is, well, undeveloped.

GOP's updated health(don't)care plan won't be CBO scored before vote

Continuing the last post, in that video Ryan discussed changes to their current plan. This story shows how Ryan intends to keep the scheduled vote for the updated plan on Thursday of this week, before  the CBO can score the updated plan! That in itself speaks volumes about what the new plan will be like. And when he gets his way we'll be stuck with it even after the CBO later decimates it like the first plan.

Wallace grills Ryan on his health(don't) care bill

Wallace presents the case well using CBO numbers that the elderly will be paying up to half of their income for healthcare in the next ten years. Ryan hems and haws around that with the usual regressive lies.

Being a minimalist

I've been a minimalist my entire adult life, eschewing the consumer lifestyle for personal and environmental reasons. And yet I nonetheless find this JP video on the topic amusing.

How Austin killed Uber

See this story. Austin created a law that required Uber drivers, like taxi drivers, get fingerprinted and have a background check. Within 36 hours both Uber and Lyft pulled out of Austin. Local ridesharing services have been picking up the slack, Ride Austin being one of the largest. However the Texas State legislature, which is being lobbied by Uber and Lyft to the tune of $2.3 million, is considering State laws that would overturn Austin's city law, once again giving the market back to Uber/Lyft.

Juno to challenge Uber

Good story about a new ride sharing start-up in New York City, Juno. They polled Uber drivers to see if they had a market and drivers unanimously hated Uber. Juno will offer drivers the choice to be employees or contractors. Employees will get ownership in the company, which will only take 10% commission on a ride. "It’s time for an ethical, socially responsible ride sharing service. And that’s what we are doing.” The collaborative commons is gaining ground by the day.

Meals on Wheels produces 'results'

Recall this post where the Office of Management and Budget said Meals on Wheels doesn't produce 'results' so its funding must be cut. This article cites several studies that indeed the program "improve[s] the quality of people’s diet, increase their nutrient intake, and reduce their food insecurity and nutritional risk. They also noted that the programs increased chances for human contact and improved quality of life." But you see, the majority of old people and poor people don't vote Republican so they should stave to death. There's a result the GOP can get behind.

Melania's government bill could feed the poor

This clip shows what it costs the taxpayers to let Melania live in Twamp Hotel instead of the White House. The cost could just about pay for all the cuts proposed in the Twamp budget aimed at the poor, the elderly and the environment.

Colbert mocks Twamp on St. Patrick's day

He opens his monologue lampooning Twamp citing a supposed Irish proverb when in fact its a Muslim poem. Colbert then proceeds to quote other 'Irish' proverbs.

Jake Tapper interview

On Maher last night. Tapper first acknowledges that politicians have always lied, but he has never seen it on this level of frequency or severity since Twamp came on the scene. Another unprecedented behavioral pattern is to completely discredit the entire media as fake news because it challenges Twamp's actual fake news. This is extended to anyone and anything that also challenges the Big Lies.

Maher's monologue last night

His as usual humorous take on the week's political news.

MSNBC's unhinged Russian conspiracy

This piece rightly criticizes Maddow on her fanatical reporting on Twamp collusion with Russia. And yet to date there is no direct evidence of such collusion. Like the Twamp taxes story, Maddow has been fed the corporate media's penchant for hying stories for ratings, just like Fox Snooze. Granted there must be investigations to follow the leads, but to jump to conclusions is tantamount to the conservatives thinking Obama was  Kenyan, or that Clinton ordered Benghazi.

The danger in all this is to ignore the real issues at hand, and come up with a practical progressive agenda to counter Twamp and his swamp. The latter is what we should focus on, since the Dem Party will not. Let the investigative committees do their job and quit with the conspiracy theories. Otherwise the Maddows will marginalize the progressive agenda as crackpots, much the same way Fox has done to the conservative movement.

Hartmann on Dems, identity politics and the economy

Continuing the last post, Hartmann in the video below says pretty much the same thing, that Dems have to scrap the identity politics and fight for economic issues. And yet he also thinks the Party can be reformed?

Corporate Dems still don't get it

And they never will. This clip discusses a meeting of said corp Dems in Denver. They still think that to win elections they have to continue on the same course that has lost them bigly in the last several elections. And I mean BIGly. E.g.: continuing identity politics while discounting Millennials, student debt and economic issues. Obviously appealing to one's race, gender or sexual preference is moot if they don't have an agenda to economically help them. And it's equally obvious that in the last election it was indeed economic issues that flipped some previous Obama voters. But for the Dems to admit this would require that they also turn off the corporate money spigot, for that too is an economic issue since we all know those kinds of donors are the very people that rig the economic system against us.

The video also notes the DNC transition advisory committee is all corporate Dems who did not vote for Keith Ellison except for one. More evidence that these Dems just aren't going to change, ever. It's time for progressives to leave that corrupt Party.

Another Nazi in the White House

Continuing this post, there's another Nazi connection in the White House. Trump counter terrorism adviser Sebastian Gorka is a member of Vitez Rend, a group that the State Department lists as being under the direction of Nazi Germany. Still think we're not in the Fourth Reich?

Charlie Sykes on the Republican Party

Sykes was on Real Time last week. He was a conservative talk radio host. In this clip from Overtime he's asked about the Republican response to Twamp. At 3:10 he said:

"It's been painful to watch the absolute capitulation of the conservative movement and the Republican Party to Donald Trump." As a Republican he's upset by this.

Twamp refuses to shake Merkel's hand

He pretended not to hear the request to shake hands twice. Merkel, after all, is a woman who won't be having sex with Twamp, so why on earth should he dignify her with a handshake? He probably wouldn't even grab her by the pussy because she's not a 10.

Tucker Carlson & Bill Nye on climate change

A fine example of climate change denial masquerading as honest questions about an unsettled science. The science is overwhelming and settled on the topic, yet Carlson cannot accept what Nye is telling him.

Twamp and Palin on reading

This piece compares Palin's answer on what she reads with Twamp's. Both obviously don't read and probably never have. Twamp's answer:

“Well, you know, I love to read. Actually, I’m looking at a book, I’m reading a book, I’m trying to get started. Every time I do about a half a page, I get a phone call that there’s some emergency, this or that. But we’re going to see the home of Andrew Jackson today in Tennessee and I’m reading a book on Andrew Jackson. I love to read. I don’t get to read very much, Tucker, because I’m working very hard on lots of different things, including getting costs down. The costs of our country are out of control. But we have a lot of great things happening, we have a lot of tremendous things happening.”

Bannon a fan of anti-Semite Nazi philosopher

That headline should not come as a surprise. Bannon has cited Charles Maurras, who was sentenced to life for conspiring with the Nazis. See the article for specifics on Maurras and how Bannon fawns over his ideas and you can see these very policies coming out of the White House. In a way this is an expression of Philip K. Dick's book Man in the High Castle, now made into a Netflix TV series.

Some Twamp supporters are indeed idiots

It's a fact. Fuck the political correctness. They need to be called out and ostracized, not nurtured. There are countless examples, this being just one of the latest. This woman is crediting Chump(don't)care with her son's low insurance premiums when in fact it is due to Obamacare. Twamp's or the GOP's health(don't)care plans do not at present exist. It is this sort of idiocy Twamp and the GOP want supporting them, for they are easily manipulated.

Reich in DC

Good FB post  about the insular bubble known as DC, copied below:

"I’ve spent much of this week in Washington – talking with friends still in government, former colleagues, high-ranking Democrats, a few Republican pundits, and some members of Congress from both sides of the aisle. It was my first visit to our nation's capital since Trump became president.

My verdict:

1. Washington is more divided, angry, bewildered, and fearful – than I’ve ever seen it.

2. The angry divisions aren’t just Democrats versus Republicans. Rancor is also exploding inside the Republican Party.

3. Republicans (and their patrons in big business) no longer believe Trump will give them cover to do what they want to do. They’re becoming afraid Trump is genuinely nuts, and he'll pull the party down with him.

4. Many Republicans are also angry at Paul Ryan, whose replacement bill for Obamacare is considered by almost everyone on Capitol Hill to be incredibly dumb.

5. I didn't talk with anyone inside the White House, but several who have had dealings with it called it a cesspool of intrigue and fear. Apparently everyone working there hates and distrusts everyone else.

10 points about Twamp's budget

Twamp betrays coal miners

Remember he courted them in the election, saying he'd bring coals jobs back to Appalachia? We know those jobs aren't coming back due to cheaper natural gas production. So what does Twamp do to the coal miners he manipulated? His budget proposal will eliminate the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC), a federal program designed to invest in economic development and provides education and training for different jobs. The Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) program will also face drastic cuts, which program also retrains these folks in new jobs. Twamp betrayed you yet again. Please remember that in coming elections.

What Twamp deserves

Poor people eating is not a "desired result"

White House Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney said that Twamp's budget eliminates the Meals on Wheels program and the after-school nutrition programs because they "aren't showing any results." Yes, the neediest people eating to stay alive is not a desired result. We're seeing just how insane and cruel the Twamp swamp is. Mulvaney even considers these cuts compassionate! Talk about alternative reality.

Courts block 2nd travel ban

Both Hawaii and Maryland judges ruled to stop the ban. The legal rationale is that it is most definitely a religious and national origin ban and that just doesn't pass Constitutional muster. Twamp of course doesn't give a shit about the Constitution, one of those things requiring administrative deconstruction.

The Constitution is unfair to Twamp

Borowitz makes light off our bumbling Boy King:

Trump Says He Has Been Treated Very Unfairly by People Who Wrote Constitution

By Andy Borowitz,  February 10, 2017

WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report)—Hinting darkly that “there’s something going on,” Donald J. Trump complained on Friday that he has been treated “very unfairly” by the people who wrote the United States Constitution.

“If the Constitution prevented me from doing one or two things, I’d chalk that up to bad luck,” he said. “But when literally everything I want to do is magically a violation of the Constitution, that’s very unfair and bad treatment.”

Lashing out at the document’s authors, Trump said that “America is a great country, but we have maybe the worst constitution writers in the world.”