Rand Paul Blocks Defense Spend

Interesting.  Sen. Rand Paul has stopped consideration of the NDAA (defense authorization) bill.

Apparently he'd like to have a conversation about SPENDING SHITLOADS OF MONEY.

Bad Enough That Chicago People Are Here.....

The home turf was invaded by a bunch of FIBs for the Brewers/Cubs series.

That's bad enough.

Then some beached whale who thinks he's King of New Jersey shows up, too.

I dunno.  If I wanted to be King, it wouldn't be 'of New Jersey.'

Hot Air Asks the Wrong Question

The headline on this HotAir post asks the wrong question:  "McCain once almost left the GOP.  What about now?"

Here's some text:

...a sitting Democratic senator, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of upsetting Schumer on such a sensitive issue, said, “I’m just certain Chuck is already thinking about this – reaching out to McCain and Collins and Murkowski and others and asking if they really want to stand with the GOP....Politico, quoted at HotAir

What you see in the Politico/HotAir piece is a take on politics which is fading fast in the rear-view mirror.  The "R vs. D" simple-math stuff began its fade before Reagan, and one could argue that that division was no longer a useful analytic tool as early as 1960 or so--the year JFK got elected.

Because ever since then, the US has had three--maybe FOUR--political "parties."  There were the mainstream Democrats and Republicans, which are really the Same Party.  Then there were the hard-Left (anarchists, socialists, Communists) who broke through at the 1968 Democrat convention and have taken over a large part of the (D) Party.  Finally, there is the hard-Right (constitutional conservatives, Birchers, "alt-right" of various stripes) who are a growing force in the (R) party and are probably at break-through in the next year or so.

You can say that Reagan was a "hard-right" guy--except he didn't govern that way, either in California, or in Washington.  Granted, he was ham-strung by Congress.  You cannot really say that Bill Clinton was a "hard-Left" guy--and neither is Hillary, really; she dirtballed her hard-Left opponent into submission, but Bernie and Fauxcahontas are within an inch of taking over the Party, and anyone who can't see that is blind.

The Hard-Left/Hard-Right war is happening in Congress and in lots of the several States, right in front of Politico's noses--and they haven't figured it out yet. 

Anyhow, to get back to McPain:  whether he wears the (R) or (D) label is irrelevant--like Manchin, Collins, and a number of other old farts in Congress (including young farts like Paul Ryan), he's a Member in Good Standing of the Uni-Party.  Think Boehner, Cantor, and even Madison's own Tammy.  Ciphers with no agenda other than Mo'D.C.!!  Mo'Gummint!!! Mo'Pension-for-MEEE!!

Want to make it only three parties:  Left, Right, and Center?  Go ahead.  But now the Left and Right have a lot of traction that they never had in the late 20th Century.

Trump?  He's another "Center" party guy but a lot more obnoxious.  Has a few "right" leanings, has a few "left" leanings, and is going to sink his own ship trying to run DC like he runs real-estate development.  What counts, long-term, in that office?

Mike Pence.

The Russians? Nope. The Pakistanis.

Owen highlights a very disturbing situation in DC--and even by DC standards, this one is very disturbing.

But hey!  It's only national security 'n stuff, and it's not The Russians, and it's the Good Guys (Clinton, Wass-schultz, and other Democrats).

So it won't make Da Nooz.

Then there's THIS:

...Lt. Col. Shaffer doubled down on his explosive claim that the Awan brothers sent sensitive intel to the Muslim Brotherhood.

Lt. Col. Tony Shaffer revealed to Laura Ingraham, who filled in for Tucker Carlson Thursday evening, the Pakistani IT staffers were sending sensitive information to the Muslim Brotherhood....

Now as we all know, Barack Obama was and is a "fellow" in the Muzzie Brotherhood. 

Very strange that this Paki was a bedfellow with Debbie Blabbermouth-Shultz, who, as a female of the Jewish persuasion, is high on the list of Muzzie Brotherhood Enemies.

Sessions: The Meaning of "Sex" Is "Sex". Period.

There will be more screeching, wailing, and stamping of widdle feets.

...In recent years, lawyers for liberal activist groups shifted from their perennial efforts to amend federal civil rights laws to declare sexual orientation and gender identity to be specially protected categories like race, arguing now that legislative changes are not needed, because current laws against sex discrimination already cover those newer social disputes. Under President Barack Obama and Attorneys General Eric Holder and Loretta Lynch, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) adopted those positions over the past several years.

On July 26, the Trump-Sessions DOJ reversed course, arguing that the words of Title VII have the same dictionary meanings today that they had in 1964, and thus that homosexuality and transgenderism are not specially protected legal categories....

I suppose Bruce Jenner will be unhappy, too, but maybe Sessions will work on folks with mental diseases next.

"News" in Milwaukee's Litterbox-Liner

Haven't subscribed to a hard-copy for a couple of decades, haven't subscribed to the pixel-edition, either.  But I do read the headlines every day, just in case.  And, just in case, I also check the death notices to see if I should appear at the office.

Anyhow...

Ever since the Milwaukee Bucks wrenched $$Umpty-Millions from the taxpayers for a Thoroughly Modern Dance Hall (or whatever that thing is), the Local Litterbox-Liner has published an essay about every three days on the progress of said ripoff.  With pictures!!

Very few people in the greater metro area give a rat's ass about this building, its owners, or its occupants.  Maybe that's why the paper is fixated on covering it.  Either that, or it's real close to a favorite bar or two.

Fun WIth Congressional Scumbags

This is a helluvagood idea, and I note that Trump can (almost) tweet it into existence.

...Activists including Heritage Action, the political arm of the conservative Heritage Foundation, have proposed that Mr. Trump’s administration change a rule promulgated by the Office of Personnel Management during the Obama administration that allows members of Congress and their staff to obtain subsidized insurance alongside other Washington, D.C., small businesses....

Let THOSE bastards and their staffs pay $1,000.00/month or more in premiums, and pay $12-15,000.00/year in deductibles, like at least one blogger I know.  They may never blow off ObozoCare, but they may have to sell off their overpriced houses in the DC area.

*snif* *snif*  And Paul Ryan may have to move from his walled-in compound. 

O, the horror!!

Matthew Walther's Fantastic World

Perhaps this young fellow thinks that he speaks for 'all Catholics' in the US.  If so, he would be the very first person to do so in over 225 years.  Fantasy-world starts there.

But let's see what he has to say!

...my favorite president, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, quoted papal encyclicals and entertained princes of the church at the White House....

Oh, really.  That makes Roosevelt......what, exactly?  Let me help you, Matthew!  He was a Protestant Statist who was well-read and who happened to be NOT Republican.  (Who besides the good guys can quote Scripture to his advantage, Matthew??)  And "NOT Republican" was just fine with Catholics--at that time.  What was that time.....again?.....about 75 years ago, no?

One more thing--and this is the important one:  FDR was the first President to ram Federal money into Catholic charities.  So, Matthew, 30 pieces of silver......

...the libertarian economics championed by the Republican Party are absolutely at odds with a plain reading of the documents that together comprise the church's social teaching....

"The Republican Party" "champions" "libertarian economics"??  Not judging by the current occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.  (Let's not quibble about whether he's a (R) or not.  Takes too much time.)  And not judging by the current Speaker of the House, either.  Nor the entirely (R) government of the State of Wisconsin.  And--Matthew--have you read Leo XIII's 'social doctrine' encyclicals??  No??  Better get busy.  Read up on the part about "intact families" and report back to us.

....single-payer, for example, is only one possible (though probably, I think, the most straightforward and workable) response to the question of how to ensure that people receive medical care...,.

Why sure!!  Ask Charlie Gard.  Or his parents.  Go ahead, Matthew.  We'll wait.

Just one more!!

... But to deny that these rights exist in keeping with libertarian principles about positive liberty is to pretend that the church has no right to inform the consciences of the faithful.....

1)  Straw man; and 2) Does not follow.

Matthew is probably a very pleasant young fellow.  His mom is probably proud of him.  It would be nice if he'd get a job and read the entirety of Catholic social doctrine.  It's probably too much to ask if we ask him to understand that Republicans are not Conservatives are not Libertarians.

We Are All Charlie Gard Due to John McCain

And, like Charlie Gard, we will all die at the behest of the State, and at the place and time the State directs.

It reminds me.  I have something for John McCain.  It was written about Julius Caesar, by the man who killed him.  This is a bit premature, of course.

Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more. Had you rather Caesar were living and die all slaves, than that Caesar were dead, to live all free men? As Caesar loved me, I weep for him; as he was fortunate, I rejoice at it; as he was valiant, I honour him: but, as he was ambitious, I slew him. 

There is tears for his love; joy for his fortune; honour for his valour; and death for his ambition. 

Who is here so base that would be a bondman? If any, speak; for him have I offended.
 
Who is here so rude that would not be a Roman? If any, speak; for him have I offended. 

Who is here so vile that will not love his country? If any, speak; for him have I offended. 

I pause for a reply.

Yes, well.  Who here is so base.....so rude....so vile....?  I pause for a reply.

Adam Carolla, Leo XIII's Disciple

There's a mythology that the Catholic Church's "social teachings" have to do with giving away money to the indigent.

Not even close.

The Church's "social teachings", which were summarized and iterated by Pp. Leo XIII, actually begin with the family--and really don't stray far from that "family" thing.  Ever.

Now comes Adam Carolla.

...Asked by Rep. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., what Washington D.C. can do to help stand up for free speech, Carolla described the root of our free speech and intolerance problems and said intact families are the best guarantor of a peaceful and happy civil society....

At one time, Carolla hosted a call-in show whose audience and participants were troubled kids.

...“And I learned that all of these problems that we’re talking about – free speech, discrimination, hatred toward other people, and drug addiction, violence, crime – it all stems from the family. And when the family is intact, much of this stuff just goes away, you don’t have to legislate it away. It just goes away because people are brought up in intact families with decent caring parents, whatever their color, whatever their background is, and then they produce little decent individuals who go off to college or a job, place of work, and they don’t need to be coached up, and they don’t need to be legislated, and they don’t need bloviated by people like us. They grew up in an intact family.”...

Hot damn!  Anthony Esolen would love this guy.

McConnell: "Screw You, Voters!!"

"Leader" McConnell is done with faking his desire to repeal ObozoCare.

Frankly, it's time that "leader" McConnell is replaced.

Fun With the Liars in the Senate

So RoJo was chatting with Vicki today and the topic of the 'vote-a-rama' on ObozoCare came up.

Seems that the Pubbies introduced an amendment for single-payer.  That amendment was the work of John Conyers (D-MI), now out of the House--but it was his very own single-payer bill.

Naturally, the Republicans voted it down.

But several (D) Senators voted FOR it, as you might expect.

MORE (D) Senators, however, voted "present" on the bill.

Gutless hypocrites, just like Mitch McConnell.  Yes, it's a pattern, dear readers.

The Donald: Nutbag? No. But Close.

In behavior which was predictable, The Donald has gone wacko-nutbag vis-a-vis Jeff Sessions.

Predictable?  Yes; that's from his real-estate-developer and TV producer background.  These are occupations very friendly to a "my way or the highway" business approach, because they are small businesses which depend on the talent and wits of the principal to survive and prosper.  IOW, megalomaniacs are just fine,.

But the Gummint ain't a small business dependent on the President's persona.  And--much as most of us would like to see it happen--the Gummint ain't going to turn around and behave, or wither away, just because The Donald waves his magic red hat and chants "MAGA MAGA MAGA."

Further, The Donald has to share a spotlight with other players, whether he likes it or not.  And he does NOT like it.  Megalomaniacs don't share.

So he "acts out," and--to no one's surprise--"acts out" like a spoiled child.

It is probably true that if one wants a friend in DC one should buy a dog.  But it does not help if one starts machine-gunning allies, too.  So now we'll get to see Teh Stupid in action. 

The benefit?  We won't pay as much attention to McConnell, who is slime-bagging as his nature demands.

Where Sykes Goes Wrong

Charlie, who like Erickson, can NOT get over Trump's election, tries to nail it all down here:

...A year ago, many conservatives rationalized their support for Trump because the “ends justified means — and that the end was the implementation of conservative policies.”...

He's wrong, on two counts.

1)  Many Conservatives rationalized voting for Trump because HE IS NOT HILLARY.

2)  Many Trump voters ARE NOT CONSERVATIVES, and never have been Conservatives.  A favorite trick of the Upper Crust Journalists--of any persuasion--has been to conflate "Trump voters" and "Conservatives."  That's a serious fallacy.  Lots of Trump voters were voting Democrat only 4 years ago, and still may be doing that on lower levels of Gummint (see Paul Ryan, e.g.)

'K, Charlie?  Try again and try to be a little more...ahhh....accurate.  And stop your whining.

McConnell's "Screw You!!" Fork

Play chess?  Then I don't have to explain "fork."

McConnell is offering the Senate two bad choices, sorta like CN vs. CS chemical weapons.  Note well:  the Senate will choose one of two horrible bills and attempt to shove the CN (or CS)  down YOUR throat.  Nice, eh?

This is what The Donald wants, too.  It's "New York values", ya'know.

...One of the bills being considered, the Better Care Reconciliation Act, would offer provisions to immediately replace parts of Obamacare, but it is controversial among centrists because it contains changes to Medicaid that would result in long-term spending cuts and is controversial among conservatives who say it does not go far enough in repealing Obamacare and driving down the cost of premiums...

"Medicaid spending cuts" is bullshit, of course.  The rate of increase diminishes--but there are no "cuts."  The important part:  ".....does not ....repeal Obamacare and drive down....premiums."

So that's Horrible Choice Number One.

...The other bill, the Obamacare Repeal Reconciliation Act, would repeal Obamacare's taxes, mandates and spending but leave in place regulations on insurers and give lawmakers two years to come up with a new plan. Conservatives favor this route and point out that senators supported the same bill in 2015 when Barack Obama was president and vetoed it....

Those "regulations" actually prevent reduction of premiums because they force men to cover their own pregnancy and 24-year-olds to pay what Old Farts pay--that is, identical premiums.

That's Horrible Choice Number Two.

RoJo figured out that McConnell is a slimebucket liar and let on to it a week ago.  Trump is a pure buffoon on this topic (he's not too bad on some others.)  Let's hope both Horrible Choices go down in flames.  

Traffic Signs

I guess it's no surprise that someone is putting up these signs around the Twin Cities.

A little nostalgia there--back in the late 1960's I visited a friend on the Macalester College campus.  It's one of the two times that my car battery failed.  DAMN it was cold there in January....

HT:  BearingArms

Paul Ryan Is a Hypocrite

Let's get this out of the way:  Paul Ryan was, in fact, NOT elected to save The Donald's ass.

Thanks for that info, Paul.

Now--from behind your walled-in-castle grounds, could you explain why the House of Representatives, under your "leadership" has not showed a scintilla of interest in Hillary Clinton's serial, egregious, and deliberate violations of the ESPIONAGE ACT????

There are those who think that you, Paul, are a danger to the country because you, Paul, are a member-first-class of the City Class and have forgotten the country-class from which you came.

Or were you elected to shovel Hillary's crimes under your bed, Paul??

Erick Erickson, Did You Lose Your Mind?

There are a few things which we used to take for granted in this country, among which was the maxim that "NO ONE is above the law."

That's something that Erick Erickson wants to bury in the same memory-hole in which we have buried "regular order" and the 9th and 10th Amendments, not to mention common sense and the laws of nature and nature's God (thank you, SCOTUS.)

Bullshit, Erick.

Here's his mealy-mouthing:

...the Trump Administration has been wise to avoid going after Clinton and others from the Obama Administration...

Oh, really?  So egregious, willful, blatant, and wholesale violations of the Espionage Act are to be forgiven through benign neglect?   

REALLY, Erick?  From you, who postures as "Mr. Military Backer"??

Bullshit, Erick.

Erickson blathers on and on about something like 'comity,' because after all, the Other Guys will eventually get back in charge, and Ohhhh!!!!, it would be Awwwwwwful!! if they actually prosecuted Our Guys for CRIMINAL ACTIVITY.

Bullshit, Erick.  It would be absolutely correct for them to do so.  And they (and Trump) would be derelict of duty if such prosecutions did not happen.  Please note that I said "criminal activity," not "political activity," Erick.

Some animals are more equal than other animals, Erick--but not in any country us dirt-people want to live in.

Fire the Entire Dept of Justice

Apparently Jeff Sessions has forgotten to issue the orders for all members of the DoJ to resign.

All of them.  Every damned one.

Sen. Franken Sucking Up to Mother Russia

We note that the Democrats are reverting to form--that is, sucking up to Russia.

That's because Russia has had the form of Government that Democrats prefer:  atheist, violent, authoritarian, but mostly atheist.  And, of course, Russia has a Government which rewards Government apparatchiks like Franken!

I'm sure there's a dacha with your name on it, Al.  Why don't you go there now?