Okay, so much of the news is so bad that sometimes, well, sometimes ya just gotta laugh. There's nothing else you can do.
It's well-known that Ambassador William Taylor testified before the House committees looking into impeachment that Tweetie-pie did withhold U.S. military aid to Ukraine in an attempt to secure an "investigation" of Joe and Hunter Biden, that this was clearly conveyed to Ukraine, and the Ukrainian government understood what was being demand.
The Wall Street Journal's editorial board jumped to The Great Orange One's defense, including among the usual talking points this intriguing argument: Quoting:
Mr. Taylor says in his statement that many people in the Administration opposed the Giuliani effort, including some in senior positions at the White House. This matters because it may turn out that while Mr. Trump wanted a quid-pro-quo policy ultimatum toward Ukraine, he was too inept to execute it. Impeachment for incompetence would disqualify most of the government, and most Presidents at some point or another in office.
That is, the editorial board of the Wall Street Journal is saying that there may be no quid pro quo - and thus, they argue, no basis for impeachment - because Tweetie-pie was too incompetent to pull it off!
This is how you know that they know that they are in deep do-do. Sometimes ya just gotta laugh.
Ya Gotta Just Laugh: TheRump "vindicated" by Comey
This is one of our occasional features: Ya Gotta Just Laugh, for those occasions when there really is no other response.
TheRump's private attorney, Marc Kasowitz, said His High Orangeness felt "completely and totally vindicated" by James Comey's opening statement to the Senate Intelligence Committee because it included references to three occasions where he told TheRump that he wasn't the subject of an FBI counterintelligence investigation about possible Russian interference in the 2016 election.
Of course, that same statement also described a dinner where TheRump asked Comey if he wanted to stay on as FBI director and then said "I need loyalty, I expect loyalty" - which any reasonable person would read as "If you want to keep your job, you'll do what I want" - and a meeting a couple of weeks later where he told Comey, referring to then-national security adviser Michael Flynn, "I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go," which is classic obstruction of justice: As Comey noted, when the president of the US takes you aside privately and says "I hope you can see your way clear" to doing such-and-such, that ain't no "just expressing a hope." Because if it is, then the Mafia boss saying "Nice little business you got here; it'd be a shame if something happened to it" is "just expressing a desire for your safety."
But don't worry, TheRump surely hears that "many people say" that he is totally vindicated.
This week: Good News: Supreme Court supports right of third-party repair https://www.wired.com/2017/06/impression-v-lexmark/?google_editors_picks=true https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/16pdf/15-1189_ebfj.pdf https://www.wired.com/2017/03/right-to-repair-laws/
Potential Good News: Supreme Court will review a case of cell phone tracking https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2017/06/supreme-court-will-hear-significant-cell-phone-tracking-case https://www.eff.org/document/united-states-v-carpenter-sixth-circuit-court-appeals-csli http://fortune.com/video/2017/06/05/supreme-court-data-privacy-case/?xid=gn_editorspicks&google_editors_picks=true
Footnote: Supreme Court might reconsider "third party doctrine" https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2016/05/graham-enbanc https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2015/05/third-party-records-privacy-doesnt-require-secrecy
Not Good News: Congressional reactionaries want to make Section 702 of FISA permanent http://whoviating.blogspot.com/2015/05/2036-traitor-act-provisions-up-for.html https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2014/05/way-nsa-uses-section-702-deeply-troubling-heres-why
News on Chelsea Manning and Julian Assange http://whoviating.blogspot.com/2010/12/they-say-that-information-wants-to-be.html http://whoviating.blogspot.com/2010/12/once-more-into-leak.html http://www.cnn.com/2017/04/20/politics/julian-assange-wikileaks-us-charges/index.html https://theintercept.com/2017/04/14/trumps-cia-director-pompeo-targeting-wikileaks-explicitly-threatens-speech-and-press-freedoms/ http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-04-14/wikileaks-issues-response-cia-director-mike-pompeo http://www.thedailybell.com/news-analysis/hypocrite-cia-director-who-delighted-in-wikileaks-dnc-release-threatens-julian-assange/ http://www.cnn.com/2017/04/24/politics/kfile-mike-pompeo-wikileaks/index.html
Update on voter ID laws http://whoviating.blogspot.com/2017/06/233-good-news-north-carolina-voter.html http://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article154384454.html http://www.dailykos.com/story/2017/6/5/1668987/-Massive-win-Supreme-Court-strikes-down-North-Carolina-s-GOP-drawn-maps-for-racial-gerrymandering http://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/politics-columns-blogs/under-the-dome/article151912142.html
Ya Gotta Laugh: TheRump "vindicated" by Comey https://www.aol.com/article/news/2017/06/07/trump-says-he-feels-completely-and-totally-vindicated-after-co/22131560/ http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/latest-news/trump-expected-loyalty-sacked-fbi-boss/news-story/db911fdb61b6bad91401e808f2fcc510
Clown Award: Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/04/20/what-is-fueling-fake-hate-crimes-across-u-s.html http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/a-model-society http://whoviating.blogspot.com/2017/05/209-clown-award-mick-mulvaney.html
Outrage of the Week: TheRump quits Paris Accord https://weather.com/news/climate/news/paris-climate-agreement-fact-check http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/americans-oppose-climate-pact-pullout-plurality-rejects-economic/story?id=47847725 https://weather.com/science/environment/news/mayors-governors-denounce-trump-climate-accord-decision http://www.politico.com/story/2017/06/01/climate-alliance-washington-california-new-york-239038
Ya Gotta Just Laugh: TheRump supporters think ad for sci-fi series is real radio station
This is an occasional feature, filed under the heading of Sometimes all you can do is laugh.
On its streaming TV service, Amazon is running an adaptation of a 1962 novel called The Man in the High Castle by noted sci-fi author, the late Philip K. Dick. It's an alternative history story in which the Allies lost World War II to the Axis at least partly because Germany got "the Bomb" first. The story is set in 1962 and the US has been divided into an eastern zone controlled by Germany, a western zone controlled by Japan, and a lawless neutral zone between. There, a fledgling resistance movement is trying to get started.
As part of the advertising for the show, Amazon set up a website called resistanceradio.com featuring three looped streams supposedly from three pirate radio stations that are part of the show's fictional world. The company also set up a sponsored hashtag on Twitter, #ResistanceRadio.
Well, apparently a number of TheRump supporters heard about this and without even looking at the site, without doing one bit of thinking or checking, stomped over to Twitter to complain about the "liberal bias" of this non-existent station and to fume about "lefty loonies" who "would rather USA fail then admit Trump does anything good" and are "resisting facts like Trump is President."
This week:
Good News: victory for voting rights in Texas
http://whoviating.blogspot.com/2017/03/132.html
http://www.tristatehomepage.com/news/politics/texas-redistricting-plan-violates-voting-rights-act-judges-say/670602463
http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2017/3/11/1642452/-Huge-Court-strikes-down-Texas-Republican-drawn-congressional-map-for-illegal-racial-gerrymandering
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9wwbLsQNKXEV2d5SlhhLVF6VTA/view
http://electionlawblog.org/wp-content/uploads/Perez-congress-opinion-3-10-2017.pdf
http://www.rollcall.com/news/politics/redistricting-congress-states
Good News: more support for drug importation bill
http://whoviating.blogspot.com/2017/01/104-outrage-of-week-dems-choose-big.html
http://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/2/28/14765092/cory-booker-pharma-bill
Not Good News: TheRump goes after clean water rules
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/trump-rsquo-s-order-may-foul-u-s-drinking-water-supply/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rapanos_v._United_States
http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2017/2/28/1638639/-Trump-ignores-Supreme-Court-ruling-in-EO-to-roll-back-Clean-Water-Act-protection
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/clean-water-rule-repeal-risks-trump_us_58b91b1fe4b05cf0f3ff7372
Footnote: even TheRump is for "clean water"
http://www.great-lakes.net/teach/pollution/water/water5.html http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Cuyahoga_River_Fire?rec=1642 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZVgNwD14pA
Ya Gotta Laugh: TheRump supporters think ad for sci-fi series is real radio station
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2017/3/11/1642522/-Trump-Supporters-Reaction-to-Amazon-s-Resistance-Radio-is-both-Sad-and-Hilarious
http://resistanceradio.com/
http://io9.gizmodo.com/trump-supporters-get-mad-because-they-think-the-man-in-1793159888
For the Record: resistance continues
http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2017/3/15/1643796/-Thousands-are-showing-up-to-welcome-Trump-to-Tennessee-with-a-Protect-our-care-rally
https://twitter.com/hashtag/ResistTrumpTuesdays?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
For the Record: best country in the world?
https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/overall-full-list
For the Record: vibrator company tracks product use
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-we-vibe-privacy-lawsuit-settlement-0314-biz-20170313-story.html
Update: government spying on citizens
http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2017/3/12/1642731/-Best-Buy-s-Geek-Squad-provides-extra-service-a-search-of-your-computer-and-a-report-to-the-FBI
http://www.ocweekly.com/news/fbi-used-best-buys-geek-squad-to-increase-secret-public-surveillance-7950030
And then there all times when all you can do is laugh.
In this case, it's one of those things where you're annoyed because you've said it but can't prove because you didn't write it down anywhere (or, in my case, blog it): A while back I was telling people that you could understand everything about Donald TheRump if you just bear in mind one fact: He's a real-estate salesman.
More recently, I've been saying to friends that I don't think TheRump wants to be president. I think he just wants to become president. He wants to see if he can make the ultimate score, can he pitch himself into the presidency.
Well, this is what Paul Manafort, TheRump's current campaign chairman and chief strategist, had to say about what TheRump is looking for in a vice-president:
He needs an experienced person to do the part of the job he doesn't want to do. He seems himself more as the chairman of the board, than even the CEO, let alone the COO.
It appears I was righter than I knew. And ya gotta just laugh.
Sources cited in links:
http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2016/5/26/1531171/-Trump-adviser-Trump-wants-a-white-male-vice-president-to-do-all-the-presidenting-he-won-t-do
Left Side of the Aisle
for the week of June 2-8, 2016
This week:
Good News: Mr. Death loses a couple
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/jurisprudence/2016/05/john_roberts_s_court_sees_racism_in_foster_v_chatman.html
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/05/im-not-saying-the-supreme-court-is-passive-aggressive-but/484007/
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/05/supreme-court-foster-chatman
http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2016/05/31/supreme_court_makes_death_penalty_less_inhumane_in_lynch_v_arizona.html
http://www.npr.org/2016/05/31/480181285/amid-strong-dissent-supreme-court-weighs-in-on-2-death-penalty-cases
Not Good News: "End of the road" for antibiotics in sight?
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2016/05/26/the-superbug-that-doctors-have-been-dreading-just-reached-the-u-s/?wpmm=1&wpisrc=nl_p1most-partner-1
http://www.forbes.com/sites/judystone/2016/05/26/dreaded-superbug-found-for-first-time-in-u-s-patient-a-physicians-perspective/#752e7a786241
http://www.cdc.gov/HAI/organisms/cre/index.html
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/05/27/1531441/-First-superbug-resistant-to-a-last-resort-antibiotic-confirmed-in-US
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2016/05/03/1-in-3-antibiotics-prescribed-in-u-s-are-unnecessary-major-study-finds/?tid=a_inl
http://www.forbes.com/sites/judystone/2016/05/26/dreaded-superbug-found-for-first-time-in-u-s-patient-a-physicians-perspective/#752e7a786241
Ya Gotta Just Laugh: what TheRump wants in a VP
http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2016/5/26/1531171/-Trump-adviser-Trump-wants-a-white-male-vice-president-to-do-all-the-presidenting-he-won-t-do
Footnote: media ignore poverty in debates
http://fair.org/home/in-nine-democratic-debates-not-a-single-question-about-poverty/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2015/11/23/youre-more-likely-to-be-fatally-crushed-by-furniture-than-killed-by-a-terrorist/
Left Side of the Aisle for the week of October 22-28, 2015
Good News: Interior Dept. cancels plans to sell leases to drill for oil in the Arctic. http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/nation-world/national/economy/article39543321.html
Good News: gun control laws in NY and CT upheld by federal appeals court. http://www.ca2.uscourts.gov/decisions/isysquery/7541c52a-9924-4ba1-af2b-59f16bbeb2a5/3/doc/14-36_14-319_opn.pdf#xml=http://www.ca2.uscourts.gov/decisions/isysquery/7541c52a-9924-4ba1-af2b-59f16bbeb2a5/3/hilite/ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/federal-court-gun-laws_56250954e4b08589ef4816a6 http://www.wsj.com/articles/appeals-court-upholds-core-parts-of-two-post-newtown-gun-laws-1445272717 http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/heller_decision_leaves_room_for_new_gun_restrictions_retired_justice_steven/
Footnote: gun control being Constitutional means little if the laws can't get passed. http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/10/19/us-usa-court-guncontrol-idUSKCN0SD1NA20151019 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/gun-control-poll_56252adae4b02f6a900d2865
Outrage of the Week: the continuing toll of gun violence. http://www.vox.com/cards/gun-violence-facts/guns-per-capita-america-us http://www.vox.com/cards/gun-violence-facts/guns-international-comparison-us-homicide http://www.vox.com/cards/gun-violence-facts/gun-homicide-decline-crime-drop http://www.vox.com/cards/gun-violence-facts/gun-homicide-effect-increase http://www.vox.com/cards/gun-violence-facts/gun-suicide-attempt-control http://www.nationaljournal.com/s/53345/states-with-most-gun-laws-see-fewest-gun-related-deaths http://www.vox.com/cards/gun-violence-facts/mass-shootings-rare-united-states http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2015/oct/02/mass-shootings-america-gun-violence?CMP=ema_565a http://shootingtracker.com/wiki/Mass_Shootings_in_2015 http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonkblog/wp/2015/10/14/people-are-getting-shot-by-toddlers-on-a-weekly-basis-this-year/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2014/09/04/how-often-do-children-in-the-u-s-unintentionally-shoot-and-kill-people-we-dont-know/ http://www.examiner.com/article/boy-kills-girl-over-puppy-boy-11-charged-with-first-degree-murder-of-girl-8 http://www.aol.com/article/2015/10/11/gun-violence-researchers-becoming-an-endangered-species/21247776/ http://www.forbes.com/sites/janetstemwedel/2015/10/01/congress-still-bans-cdc-scientists-from-studying-gun-violence/
Ya Gotta Just Laugh: TX to allow guns on campus - while Texas A&M bans nerf guns. http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/10/15/1432991/-Texas-university-will-allow-guns-in-dorm-rooms-but-nerf-guns-are-strictly-prohibited
Clown Award: AK Gov. Bill Walker http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2015/10/alaska-gov-says-state-urgently-needs-more-oil-drilling-pay-climate-change http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-34501867
Everything You Need to Know: about money in politics http://www.healio.com/infectious-disease/hiv-aids/news/online/%7B745d9cc5-df37-4139-b1ac-6dde7b8ae463%7D/daraprim-price-jump-raises-concerns-among-id-groups-providers http://democrats.oversight.house.gov/sites/democrats.oversight.house.gov/files/documents/2015-09-21%20EEC%20Sanders%20to%20Turing%20Pharmaceuticals.pdf https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/politics/2015/10/15/bernie-sanders-rejects-ceo-martin-shkreli-campaign-donation/FcSKxu1VIr7pubg9cI3CQN/story.html
Only the poor face drug tests to receive any public aid or benefit
http://www.ncsl.org/research/human-services/drug-testing-and-public-assistance.aspx http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/02/26/court-rejects-florida-law-requiring-drug-testing-for-welfare-recipients/ http://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Drug-testing-welfare-applicants-popular-but-can-4416545.php?t=0dbaab4db5b05374ef http://www.tbo.com/ap/politics/welfare-drug-testing-yields--positive-results-252458 https://malegislature.gov/Bills/BillHtml/143634?generalCourtId=12 http://www.wvgazettemail.com/article/20151019/GZ01/151019454/1101
"He writes with sensitivity, passion, intelligence and with an eye to the common good."
"[He is] clearly one of those silly people who believes in 'civilization,' probably along with the Tooth Fairy and justice."
"He lives in a magical fantasy world."
"Powerfully spoken."
"A balanced and sensible view concerning the crazy ideas that often prevail regarding war and freedom."
"You do good work."
"Our political differences are vast and irreconcilable but he earnestly believes what he wants is best for the country; he’s firmly committed to it, makes no apologies for it and won’t settle for less."
"God bless you!"
"SHUT THE FUCK UP."
About Lotus
Lotus has been at various times the newsletter of a local peace group, a column in a different group's newsletter, a stand-alone monthly, and now a blog. Posts appear bi-weekly; posts are drawn from my weekly cable-TV show "The Erickson Report," which can be found here.
Comments either here or by email are encouraged. Comments here must be reasonably relevant and reasonably civil. Spam, trolls, and comments that are merely personal slams on me or another commenter will be deleted without hesitation, warning, or regret.
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Our lives are not our own, we are bound to others, past and present, and by each crime and every kindness, we birth our future. - author David Mitchell
Okay, so much of the news is so bad that sometimes, well, sometimes ya just gotta laugh. There's nothing else you can do.
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