Jeb Bush, Dr. Ben Carson, Chris Christie, Ted Cruz, Carly Fiorina, Jim Gilmore, Lindsey Graham, Mike Huckabee, Bobby Jindal, John Kasich, George Pataki, Rand Paul, Rick Perry, Marco Rubio, Rick Santorum, Donald Trump. and Scott Walker.
While there are more than 80 other candidates filed to become the GOP nominee for the Presidency, these are the ones that the polls and Fox News have beatified as being worthy of sainthood. We are now awaiting the miracles to achieve canonization. Since all of them disagree with Pope Francis about climate change, this may be an uphill climb.
In the meantime, Roger Ailes is calling the shots in the nomination process rather than Reince Priebus. August 6 should be interesting with 10 candidates vying for the lead and 7 consigned to the kids’ table prior to the main event. The Donald Trump mania will put him on stage in the middle of the field with others flanking in poll numbers order.
Latest polls show that respondents don’t care if Trump can’t win against Democratic opposition. They just want a nominee who agrees with them. The years of Fox preaching of hate and fear has come home to roost. They have created a brainwashed coterie who would rather a candidate agrees with their prejudices even if that means going down in flames unable to achieve nothing.
Jamie's Place for Stuff 
GOP’s epic trainwreck: Jeb Bush flails and Donald Trump ascends as the party goes further off the rails
As Jeb! drops into third place, Trump gains strength from the disdain of the media and Republican elites
JOAN WALSH
http://www.salon.com/2015/07/30/gops_epic_trainwreck_jeb_bush_flails_and_donald_trump_ascends_as_the_party_goes_further_off_the_rails/
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Jamie, re ailes
from http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/stewart-obama-ailes-secret-meetings
“The Daily Show” host Jon Stewart debunked reports on Wednesday night that he took secret meetings with President Barack Obama but revealed his only secret meeting of his tenure: Fox News president Roger Ailes.
[….]
Stewart revealed he did have one “secret” meeting — with the head of Fox News back in 2010 after appearing on “The O’Reilly Factor.” It’s a meeting, Stewart said, Ailes would deny even took place.
“In my entire tenure here of being yelled at by some very influential and powerful individuals and Billy Joel, only with one of those people has a phone call ever ended with, ‘This conversation never happened and if you say it did, I will deny it,’ ” Stewart said while a picture of Ailes appeared. “And it wasn’t the fucking President.”
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I’ve met Roger Ailes exactly once in my life. This experience was less than wonderful and sufficient for one lifetime.
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Ah, our Republican brethren–‘Bless me Father for I am of the Right and am Right.’
Thank you once again, Jamie.
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This morning I have no excuses–to the yard I go; the kids deserve a Saturday relaxing.
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from http://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/robert-schlesinger/2015/07/31/the-gops-donald-trump-debate-opportunity
And this is the opportunity Trump has created for the GOP: People will come for Trump but most of the time they’ll get everyone else. “In a 90-minute debate with 10 candidates, Mr. Trump’s speaking time is unlikely to reach 10 minutes,” the Times story estimates. That leaves an awful lot of time for the actual serious Republicans on stage to demonstrate to casual voters that they’re not race-baiting clowns performing in a circus run by either Trump, the (unpopular) tea party movement or the (wildly unpopular) GOP congress.
?actual serious Republicans?
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“Serious Republicans” is a bit of an oxymoron with emphasis on the moron. Every time I’ve seen one speak, it is almost coma inducing boredom.
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Since tonight is the last Blue Moon for three years, a little trivia. The song we all know had four incarnations. The first was written for Jean Harlow and then dropped from the movie:
Oh, Lord,
If you ain’t busy up there,
I ask for help with a prayer
So please don’t give me the air
Oh, hear me Lord,
I wanna see Garbo in person
With Gable when they rehearsin’
While some director is cursin’.
Please let me open up my eyes at seven
And find I’m looking through the Golden Gate
And walking right into my movie heaven,
While some executive tells me I’ll be great
Oh, Lord,
I know how friendly you are
If I’m not going too far,
Be nice and make me a star.
The next time around, it became “It’s Just That Kind of Play” also dropped with lyrics unpublished and un-missed. The third time it made it into a movie, but flopped as “The Bad In Every Man”
And finally Rodgers and Hart got it exactly right and Mel Torme delivered the perfection:
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okay, so she ain’t mel and certainly not patsy cline but that blue moon still shines
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The Mel Torme version would _never_ have been allowed at one of our prep school dances.
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and don’t forget doo wopping that blue moon
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The one that surprised me for Blue Moon of Kentucky was 3/4 of the Beatles
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Team Clinton Scolds the New York Times
Taylor Marsh
http://www.taylormarsh.com/2015/07/team-clinton-scolds-the-new-york-times/
“I appreciate the fact that both you and the Public Editor have sought to publicly explain how this error could have been made. But we remain perplexed by the Times’ slowness to acknowledge its errors after the fact, and some of the shaky justifications that Times’ editors have made. – Jennifer Palmieri, Team Clinton
TEAM CLINTON took it to the New York Times on their scurrilous hack job over their “criminal inquiry” reporting. For anyone who’s been covering the Clintons as long as I have it harkens back to the days of Jeff Gerth’s Watergate story that opened the door to two terms of investigations of President Bill Clinton.
From Communications Director Jennifer Palmieri
The speed with which the Times conceded that it could not defend its lead citing Mrs. Clinton as the referral’s target raises questions about what inspired its confidence in the first place to frame the story that way. More importantly, the Times’ change was not denoted in the form of a correction. Rather, it was performed quietly, overnight, without any accompanying note to readers. This was troubling in its lack of transparency and risks causing the Times to appear like it is trying to whitewash its misreporting. A correction should have been posted promptly that night.
Regardless, even after this change, a second error remained in the story: the characterization of the referral as criminal at all. By Friday morning, multiple members of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform (who had been briefed by the Inspectors General) challenged this portrayal—and ultimately, so did the Department of Justice itself. Only then did the Times finally print a correction acknowledging its misstatement of the nature of the referral to the Justice Department.
Of course, the correction, coming as it did on a Friday afternoon, was destined to reach a fraction of those who read the Times’ original, erroneous report. As the Huffington Post observed:
“…it’s unlikely that the same audience will see the updated version unless the paper were to send out a second breaking news email with its latest revisions. The Clinton story also appeared [on] the front page of Friday’s print edition.”
Most maddening of all, even after the correction fixed the description of the referral within the story, a headline remained on the front page of the Times’ website that read, “Criminal Inquiry is Sought in Clinton Email Account.” It was not until even later in the evening that the word “criminal” was finally dropped from the headline and an updated correction was issued to the story. The lateness of this second correction, however, prevented it from appearing in the paper the following morning. We simply do not understand how that was allowed to occur.
Jennifer Palmieri
Communications Director”
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And the hits just keep on coming.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/mike-huckabee-troops-abortion_55bbc20ee4b06363d5a22323?utm_hp_ref=politics
Huckleberry doesn’t rule out the use of troops and the FBI to stop abortions? Look, I’ve seen red meat before, and this is redder than most. Perhaps he hasn’t heard of a line of cases on the issue that began with Roe v. Wade – after all, he was a Baptist minister, not a lawyer, but that was a pretty well known decision even outside the legal world. I’m pretty sure it made the evening news. Good god, spare me from this nonsense.
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the huckster is just trying to make the debate 10 gig.
mercy should falleth as the gentle rain on them below the poll line as well as us before they begin foaming at the mouth or worse. let them all on that damn dais. free the minimalist seven! wallflowers, unite, you have only your dignity to lose!
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Huckafuckabee is such a sick man..
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I suspect you’re right and hope they do – then no one will remember who said what about what.
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Hillary Clinton Burns Jeb Bush Over ‘Right To Rise’ Hypocrisy
Her remarks came just before Bush spoke on the same stage.
Samantha Lachman Video
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/hillary-clinton-burns-jeb-bush-over-right-to-rise-rhetoric_55bb7e15e4b0d4f33a025adf?utm_hp_ref=politics
Love it. Hillary took it right to Jeb! Still says something Jeb spoke to the Urban League even though it was as if racism doesn’t exist..
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He’s baaaack.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/cheats/2014/12/12/mitt-says-jeb-would-be-toast.html?source=HuffPoFacebook&via=FB_Page
Mitt thinks about it again. Great – watching two of the uber rich slug it out should be fun. Popcorn, please.
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The debate may seem Trump-centric if the others spend their time responding to whatever wackadoodle stuff he spews. Trump may only get 10 minutes to speak, but he could still suck up all of the attention.
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I don’t think it’s too soon to start a boycott Beijing in 2022 movement. Between the computer hacking, the shoddy/toxic crap they produce while sucking up jobs, it’s just time to shut it down now.
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Clintons earned nearly $141M from 2007 to 2014, tax returns show
By Dan Merica and Eric Bradner, CNN
http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/31/politics/hillary-clinton-tax-returns/
“(CNN)Hillary and Bill Clinton earned nearly $141 million over the course of eight years and paid $43 million in federal taxes, according to tax returns her campaign released Friday.
In a lengthy statement and on her campaign website, Clinton detailed that she and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, paid more than $43 million in federal taxes from 2007 to 2014, over $13 million in state taxes and donated nearly $15 million to charity over the same period.
Clinton said she and her husband paid an effective federal tax rate of 35.7 percent and a combined federal, state, and local effective rate of 45.8 percent last year.”
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Expand Medicare, You Damn Idiots
The GOP—even Ronald Reagan!—once celebrated Medicare. Now they call for its dismemberment, which is a) dumb and b) will never happen.
Michael Tomasky
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/07/31/expand-medicare-you-damn-idiots.html
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Yes, I said it: Donald Trump supporters are living in a childlike fantasy land
That New Hampshire focus group indeed made me sad. Its Obama-hating Trump admirers want a daddy, not a president VIDEO
JOAN WALSH
http://www.salon.com/2015/07/31/yes_i_said_it_donald_trump_supporters_are_living_in_a_childlike_fantasy_land/
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Donald Trump = Sarah Palin in a bad comb over
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MSNBC Shakeup with last shows today. Bye bye to The Cycle, Ed Schultz, and Alex Wagner. I’ll miss the Cycle. I never watch the Rev. I like him but in small doses, but an hour show is too much. Unfortunately, we are still stuck with Joe Scarborough, Chuck Todd and Chris Matthews, all of whom make me want to throw things at the TV at regular intervals. So bye bye to the majority of the ladies (thank God they had the good sense not to mess with Rachel) and hello to more of the middle aged, right leaning white guys just in time to bash Hillary for the next year.
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Opening day of my fair…. here I go!
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Go go go… Enjoy
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RR,
Hope you sell out the store! Have fun.
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You weave what you sew, or is you reap what you sow, or something profound like that. Have a marvelously successful fair and don’t forget about us!
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Have a wonderful and successful fair Renee!!!!!
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Bernie Sanders’s Blind Spot on Race Was Imported From Scandinavia
The limits of democratic socialism in America today
Paul Blest
http://www.newrepublic.com/article/122432/bernie-sanderss-blind-spot-race-was-imported-scandinavia
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Of Lions and Men: Mourning Samuel DuBose and Cecil the Lion
Roxane Gay
“I am thinking about how and when people choose to show empathy publicly. Cecil the lion was a majestic creature and a great many people mourn his death, the brutality of it, the senselessness of it. Some people also mourn the deaths, most recently, of Sandra Bland and Samuel DuBose, but this mourning doesn’t seem to carry the same emotional tenor. A late-night television host did not cry on camera this week for human lives that have been lost. He certainly doesn’t have to. He did, however, cry for a lion and that’s worth thinking about. Human beings are majestic creatures, too. May we learn to see this majesty in all of us.”
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tony, marc murray cartoon said the same thing.
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Tony, One thing to consider is the numbers involved. Where there is lots of something, it loses value. When it is rare, the value goes up. The slaying of Cecil and in all probability his cubs and his whole genetic line would be the equivalent of slaying about 400,000 people. The people would be replaced in about a month of dedicated intercourse. The lions could well be extinct in less than 50 years. It’s harsh, but basically as much sadness as a human death causes and some of the great and good more than others, no one would be missed by anyone other than their family and friends. The world will probably miss lions.
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Jamie,
You nailed it with the cartoon of the GOP clown car.
Sadly between the image of republicans running wild and the very real prospect that our elections are for sale to the highest bidder it would appear that our electoral process has more in common with a three ring circus than any serious exercise in democracy and representative government.
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heads up, renee, fearless leader’s fearless leader is coming your way. save a scarf for him.
from http://www.wmur.com/politics/democrat-webb-to-make-first-postannouncement-visit-on-aug-15/34472270 MANCHESTER, N.H. —
Former U.S. Sen. Jim Webb of Virginia will speak at Hudson VFW Post 5791 on Aug. 15, and will be “outlining his position on the economy, national security and veterans issues,” his campaign told WMUR.com in a statement.
The 4 p.m. event is open to the public, and the audience is expected to include military veterans who support Webb, the campaign said.
The campaign is planning other events for the weekend of Aug. 15 and 16. Although they are not yet finalized, “this will be the major speech and event of the swing. We consider this the launch of what will be a major commitment by Jim Webb to vigorously campaigning for the all-important New Hampshire primary,” a campaign spokesman said.
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some interesting numbers noted in http://onpolitics.usatoday.com/2015/07/31/rand-paul-hillary-clinton-kentucky/
The poll also found that voters in Kentucky think Paul is doing a better job than his counterpart, Mitch McConnell, the Senate majority leader, though a plurality does not think either one is doing his job well.
In response to the question of which Republican senator was doing the better job, 25% answered Paul, 15% said McConnell, 16% they are doing their job equally well, but 37% said neither are doing their job well.
🙂 am surprised that so many think those two are doing a job at all 🙂
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Jamie,
Chuck Todd has finally returned to where he belongs with an hour long political show that nobody will watch. Now if only Maddow could take over MTP Sunday morning television might be somewhat interesting.
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Jace, I don’t think Maddow would be a good host. I want someone who will dissect the onion layer by layer until we get to the core. In the process, we should gain real understanding of the onion. We don’t gain that same understanding in a slice-and-dice process; that’s how I see Rachel so often using her remarkable intelligence. That’s just my POV FWIW.
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as quoted at http://edition.cnn.com/2015/07/28/politics/john-boehner-speakership-mark-meadows/index.html
“You’ve got a member here and a member there who are off the reservation — no big deal,” Boehner said.
john, imho you have quite a few of them “off” in more ways than one.
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James Zogby pretty much nails it here. A worthwhile read.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/james-zogby/the-gop-reaping-what-it-s_b_7917072.html
In the past week, alone: Trump continued his rant against “illegals”; Ted Cruz called his party’s legislative leader “a liar” on the floor of the Senate; Scott Walker was slightly more refined accusing his party’s leaders of making “false promises”; Mike Huckabee charged that with the Iran deal, Obama was marching Israelis into the ovens; and Marco Rubio criticized Trump saying that America didn’t need another president with “no class”, because we already have a president with “no class”.
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There are many problems in this world and the lion being killed was one. It did nothing other than what lions do. It did not have a choice not a voice. The business/culture that supports what this creep did is disgusting. People are capable about caring about violent cops, warfare, poverty, and, animals.
The tears for the lion, well, I have those, too, as well as for the animal that was killed to use as bait. Again, lions don’t have choices when they kill for food, humans do. And they may certainly have the choice not to kill an animal “because it’s an activity (the dentist) loves.” Yes, he loves wounding and dismembering animals for the fun of it. That’s where the tears come in, I think.
I feel bad for the cattle I see grazing in my drive home. I send them love (verbally) and hope they are having s good day because I know their fate. It makes me sad that people still think they need to eat meat to survive. I was one of them until five years ago. It’s not killing for fun, though.
It makes no difference to the poor cows why they are being killed, but there is something extra disturbing about killing for fun. It’s something that rich guys like the dentist, Trumps sons, and, serial killers of humans have in common: killing for fun and keeping body parts as trophies. It’s sick and it’s sad.
I think there is less sadness and more fear involved surrounding the issue of out-of-control officials. We can all see ourselves in those situations, so the possibility leads to fear, not tears.
Humans can be awful, but they can choose to be wonderful. I am so sorry we suck so much of the time.
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Marco Rubio criticized Trump saying that America didn’t need another president with “no class”, because we already have a president with “no class”.
I think Marco meant we already HAD a president with no class Shrub
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Chimpanzees are not people — YET. http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/jurisprudence/2015/07/habeas_corpus_and_personhood_for_chimps_judge_barbara_jaffe_gives_liberty.html
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Damn, I think Jim Webb may have just stepped in it unless he is actually planning to run as a Republican. He picked up from the usual RW outlets and is circulating on his website as fact that the Navy is planning on charging the Lt. Cdr who fired his weapon at the Muslim terrorist who attacked the recruiting location. This was my response:
” Jim don’t pick up this crud from right wing sites. If you go to the original reported story, the Lt Cdr discharged his private weapon (not military) in violation of existing orders but there is no plan to bring charges at this time. The whole incident is being investigated. Just more crap dredged up on the basis of supposition not facts.
http://www.navytimes.com/story/military/2015/07/21/sources-navy-officer-marine-shot-chattanooga-gunman/30426817/
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Jamie, there was a comment on that chimp personhood page from dan who took umbrage at the judge’s “Humans and chimps share almost 99 percent of their DNA” logic pointing out how we share dna with a lot of others….like even bananas. at http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2013/07/125-explore/shared-genes is an interactive chart showing the closeness of our other relations.
which brings up the teaching wiki writes about “Mitakuye Oyasin (All Are Related) is a phrase from the Lakota language. [….]The phrase translates as “all my relatives,” “we are all related,” or “all my relations.” It is a prayer of oneness and harmony with all forms of life: other people, animals, birds, insects, trees and plants, and even rocks, rivers, mountains and valleys.”
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The Unbearable Nuttiness of Mike Huckabee
P. J. O’Rourke
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/08/01/the-unbearable-nuttiness-of-mike-huckabee.html
“Oh go home, you old fundamentalist fool, before you embarrass the Republicans any more.
“Playing the Hitler card” is an infallible sign that a politician has run out of intelligent, substantive and plausible ways to criticize an opponent. This would be amusing (Mel Brooks made Hitler amusing), except “playing the Hitler card” is also an infallible sign that a politician has run out of amusing ways to criticize an opponent.
So goodbye to you, Mike Huckabee.”
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How to Fix Hillary’s Trust Deficit
Poll after poll shows that few voters think Clinton is honest and trustworthy. After decades in the public eye, is there any way to fix that?
Eleanor Clift
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/07/31/how-to-fix-hillary-s-trust-deficit.html
Clinton’s ramped-up public appearances show she’s paying attention along with the orderly rollout of policy positions designed to appeal to progressives while not veering too far from the center where she came of age politically. Speculation that Vice President Biden might yet enter the race picked up after this latest round of polls, but for Democrats to panic would be silly: Clinton is still the most commanding non-incumbent presidential candidate either party has seen in modern times.
“Candidates are big packages,” says Cook. “Bill Clinton got elected and reelected with lousy trust numbers…There are other issues, like being an adult and knowing stuff.”
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Joe Biden in 2016: What Would Beau Do?
Maureen Dowd
Lol, another hit piece on Hillary.. Only Dowdy the orginal “mean girl” could have the title of her piece be about Joe yet in the end its all about her hate for Hillary…
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enjoyed this breakdown from https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2015/07/31/which-2016-presidential-candidate-has-the-worst-logo/?hpid= about decoding the symbols of the different campaigns.
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Sunday Serendipity.
Something romantic for today. A special voice and a special way with songs. Enjoy the music and enjoy the day!
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would ya believe the rolling stones? really, really botched it up
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http://www.salon.com/2015/08/02/this_is_how_the_clowns_took_over_the_sad_history_leading_to_the_spectacle_of_a_fox_news_debate_starring_front_runner_donald_trump/
Good read here on how the clowns took over. I guess that liberal bias in the media just aint what it used to be.
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goodies for upcoming debate
taegan’s The GOP Debate Watch Party Pack at http://politicalwire.com/2015/07/23/the-gop-debate-watch-party-pack/
and trump debate bingo
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DNA doesn’t have anything to do with treatment of non-humans, IMO. The breathe, they feel physical pain, stress, joy (just watch the vids of dairy cows jumping for joy at being released, or, in the field listening to jazz), and, relationship with their young and other beings. It’s not a human thing, it’s a sentient being thing. They are used, abused and killed because there is money in it, just like there is money in gas and oil so the powered-that-be don’t care if they use, abuse or kill humans, animals, plants, air, or, waterways. It’s about feeling entitled to do what you want at the expense of others. The human ego is certainly not on the endangered list.
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I think I’ve figured out the appeal of Trump. I watching a Fred Astaire movie called, “The Notorious Lady.” There was a line to the effect that the higher up you are in the world, the more mistakes you are allowed to make. When you get to the top, you can make tons of mistakes and people will just think it’s your style.
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After five days, Windows 10 is not in my DNA. It does not want to handle my complex operating environment of been-around-the-block programs with grace and aplomb; I’m disappointed. People buying a new computer off the shelf will probably be happier, as will folks using just the clutch of programs that the manufacturers recommend.
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Time for American Pharaoh, NBC!
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All by himself…
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I like Trump bingo
but what about a trump drinking game
Every time he uses the phrase “horrible person” I’m sure others have suggestions
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Just about any of the suggestion for the squares on the Bingo card under “Words” would make a great drinking cue … Maybe rank them by the number of shot you have to take. Of course this could be fatal.
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Caitlyn Jenner’s Conservative Views Create Tension In ‘I Am Cait’ Teaser
Jenner’s views on social programs don’t go over so well with her friends.
Lauren Zupkus
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/caitlyn-jenner-conservative_55be5945e4b0b23e3ce31979?
Oh I’m over Cait!! My only satisfaction is Republicans in mass think she’s a joke and could care less about trans issues.. Talk about being in a bubble.. Watchout trans people with her as your spokesperson.. Although trans people didn’t choose her, the media has..
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Girl Wounded In Jerusalem Gay Pride Attack Dies
Shira Banki was among six people wounded by an ultra-Orthodox Jewish man.
AP
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/jerusalem-gay-pride-attack-girl-dies_55be30a0e4b0b23e3ce31312?
Another crazy godly Religous person kills in the name of religion.. Oh and last week a nice condo maintenance man with a Jesus cap on said to me, “Ive heard your a homosexual, please your a nice person, stop your ungodly ways”.. I said to him, you don’t know me and please don’t pray for me.. I told him you and your kind pick and choose from the old testament like its a buffet.. I’ll take my chances, thanks..
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New column
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