but for today
“Here comes the dark. The winter solstice — marking the longest night and shortest day of the year — is Monday night.
The solstice occurs at the same instant everywhere on Earth. In the United States, it happens at 11:48 p.m. ET Monday (or 10:48 p.m. CT, 9:48 p.m. MT and 8:48 p.m. PT).
In Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia, that means the solstice actually comes on Tuesday.” according to http://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topstories/mondays-winter-solstice-marks-the-longest-night/ar-BBnL8ev?ocid=spartanntp
The Heilan’ Coo
I'm a hair-dishevelled heilan' coo, Hamish McKay be ma name; Welcome tae this dreichet glen I'm cursed tae ca' ma hame. Depending on the mood I'm in I'll raise ma horns on high, An' if I like the look o' ye I'll likely let ye by. But should I dinnae like the look O' ye, then tak great care, I'll raise ma horns on high again, Go on, get oot o'there! So whether welcome yae or nae, I'll raise these horns sae mean, Then ye shall ken ma meaning By the twinkle o' ma een. Courtesy of MARION GRAY Wollaton Road Wollaton Park Nottingham-
Favorite Quotes
'Anni, amori e bicchieri di vino, nun se contano mai.”' '“Years, lovers and glasses of wine; these things must not be counted.' Anthony Capella
"1933: We did not think of the great open plains, the beautiful rolling hills, and winding streams with tangled growth as “wild.” Only to the white man was nature a “wilderness” and only to him was the land “infested” with “wild” animals and “savage” people. To us it was tame. Earth was bountiful, and we were surrounded with the blessings of the Great Mystery. Not until the hairy man from the East came—and with brutal frenzy heaped injustices upon us and the families we loved—was it “wild” for us. When the very animals of the forest began fleeing from his approach, then it was for us that the “Wild West” began." - Luther Standing Bear
"I do NOT believe we are all born equal. Created equal in the eyes of God, yes, but physical and emotional differences, parental guidelines, varying environments, being in the right place at the right time, all play a role in enhancing or limiting an individual's development. But I DO believe every man and woman, if given the opportunity and encouragement to recognize their potential, regardless of background, has the freedom to choose in our world. Will an individual be a taker or a giver in life? Will that person be satisfied merely to exist or seek a meaningful purpose? Will he or she dare to dream the impossible dream? I believe every person is created as the steward of his or her own destiny with great power for a specific purpose, to share with others, through service, a reverence for life in a spirit of love."
— Hugh O'Brian, "The Freedom to Choose"Recent Comments
Jamie on The Rape tony bassham on The Rape rebelliousrenee on The Rape Oregon Democrat on The Rape Overbosity on The Rape
Jamie's Place for Stuff 
Wouldn’t it be exactly the reverse in Australia with the summer solstice – Shortest night and longest day?
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Lindsey Graham has dropped out of the GOP race. http://www.politico.com/story/2015/12/lindsey-graham-suspends-presidential-campaign-217028
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Mmmm. I had forgotten that he was in.
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looks like he’s been busy earning (unlike some of his fellow gopers) his senate pay
and
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/lindsey-graham-jon-stewart-911_566dc159e4b0fccee16eed78
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jace, re fearless leader’s fearless leader’s latest
http://townhall.com/tipsheet/christinerousselle/2015/12/18/jim-webb-makes-a-pretty-bold-claim-on-twitter-n2095253
wonder if the boss is still on board re that tweet and/or ghost wrote it
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Funny how times change. 8 years ago the DNC was nothing more than an arm for Obama.
Go figure.
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Jace…
Craig and I did exchange Holiday greetings… but not a peep from him on any upcoming blog.
Oh well… what will be will be…
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I got a card from both of them, but I think it was David doing the sending and still no news on a new blog.
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renee. here’s some snow for rick
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and for tony
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Thanks Pat, that was a very good find..
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The way this race is shaping up, it is Hillary facing the Anybody But Her Old White Men’s Club even if that means Donald.
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Donald Trump Demands Apology from Hillary Clinton Over ISIS Claim
By Taylor Marsh
http://www.taylormarsh.com/2015/12/donald-trump-demands-apology-from-hillary-clinton-over-isis-claim/
“SO, THE debate happened. Bernie Sanders apologized for something that we all know Hillary Clinton would have been pilloried for doing. But then Debbie Wasserman Schultz jumped in, which is the only ingredient you need to overshadow snooping by Bernie’s bro’s, because if the DNC chairman isn’t the most reviled person in Democratic politics, she’s close. And it turns out, trying to hide Clinton from controversy through weird debate dates and times didn’t stop Hillary from touching off a Trump versus Clinton squabble over her “lying” about ISIS using Trump’s words as a recruiting tool.
While the real drama remains whether Chris Christie can take the momentum he’s stirring up in New Hampshire and turn it into making him the Trump alternative. It’s a long road, but considering Marco Rubio’s empty suit routine, which remains impressive because of age and demographic outreach, I’d like to see Chris Christie surprise everyone and come in second, next to Trump. Third?
Come on, Santa, can you do that for me?
It would make January hell on wheels for Republicans!”
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I feel guilty. We just got a snow fall and Renee didn’t. It did all melt though.
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Graham has dropped out……….now all he has to do is tune in and turn on……..
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Webb is right about the DNC.
The thing is, they made a commitment to her if she stepped aside for Obama.
It stunk in 2008 & it stinks now, too.
The party machine is a problem, but it’s too big to fail.
(I’m tired of Debbie Wasswrmsn-Schultz, too.)
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I’m not thrilled with Debbie either, but after the way the party screwed Hillary in 2008 if they want to put a thumb on the scale, it is all right with me. It may not be fair, but it is damn well just. Quite frankly the Supreme Court is too damn important to take any chances on anything but success.
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me too. bet some of the folks who are now burning for Bernie and complaining about dnc devilry are many of those who backed barack back then backing that very same devilish dnc.
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surely there must be one of those (according to big d) hateful disgusting reporters out there who’ll take the challenge and dig up kgb graves to prove him wrong on putin
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Trump’s attacks on Clinton get very, very personal
He calls her bathroom break during the Democratic debate “disgusting” — and worse.
By Ben Schreckinger
“GRAND RAPIDS, MICH. — Donald Trump is taking his criticism of Hillary Clinton into new territory.
The Republican frontrunner mocked his Democratic counterpart for a “disgusting” bathroom trip she made during Saturday night’s debate, and said Barack Obama “schlonged” her in the 2008 primaries at a raucous rally here on Monday night.
Story Continued Below
For Trump — who comments often on Clinton’s penchant for pantsuits, has insinuated she is in a lesbian relationship with close aide Huma Abedin, and insists she doesn’t have “the strength or the stamina” to be president — Monday’s remarks take his focus on her personal life to a new level of intimacy.
Remarking on Clinton’s late return to the podium after using the bathroom during a commercial break at this weekend’s Democratic debate, Trump said, “I know where she went. It’s disgusting. I don’t want to talk about it. It’s disgusting.”
Trump also took a shot at Clinton for losing the Democratic nomination to Obama in 2008. “She was favored to win and she got schlonged,” he said. “She lost. I mean, she lost.”
At one point, Trump contemplated the possibility that Clinton would become the next president and slapped his palms on his head in mock exasperation. “Is that a president?” he said. “You saw her the other day, in all fairness.”
Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2015/12/donald-trump-hillary-clinton-debates-bathroom-217052#ixzz3v34aXPWY
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“To those in the Republican Party who want to win, check my plan out,” Mr. Graham told CNN. “Hillary, if you get to be president, I’ll help you where I can. I hope you’re not. But if you are, I’ll be there to help you win a war we can’t afford to lose.”
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If Hillary Clinton’s Campaign Had Breached Data, She’d Be Forced Out, Aides Say
By Amy Chozick
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Hillary Clinton Embraces Bill Clinton’s Economic Legacy
By AMY CHOZICK
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I’m voting for Clinton in the primary….
and I can’t stand Wasserman Shultz… I would never give a penny of my hard earned money to the DNC. I did give directly to Hillary and will probably do it again.
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The DNC hasn’t a clue. Beyond showing up every 4 years for the presidential election they do very little that matters. Which is probably one of the reasons republicans clean up in off year elections and in down ballot races.
I think Howard Dean understood that. His successors, not so much.
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Good read here, though somewhat long it is worth your time.
Wasserman Shultz and the DNC could learn a few things from Cecile Richards and Planned Parenthood
http://www.alternet.org/how-ceo-cecile-richards-kicked-butt-right-wingers-out-destroy-planned-parenthood
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I think we need to remember that team Obama has controlled the party machinery for 7 years.
the loss of so many states to the Republicans can be put squarely at his feet. Don’t like what the party is doing blame team Obama. They did it.
Jack
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As to Bernie, His team misused the data base so he should expect to lose access. If he is looking for some one to blame he only has to look in the mirror, He hired the ethically challenged bunch. everything else is just a bunch of whine.
Jack
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I really don’t like most versions of “Little Drummer Boy” But I will make an exception for this one.
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beautiful – aesthetically exquisite
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potty talk? calling people names, yelling “jerk” and “liar” or bullying or making silly faces and gestures… seems we’re back in grade school. hope they ring the bell soon and we can get back to learning something
time for the boys to stop pulling the girls’ pigtails or it might backfire on them
from
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/Decoder/2015/1222/Trump-s-crude-comment-reveals-his-biggest-problem-women-voters
If Trump ran against Hillary Clinton, he would lose badly, according to polls, and his margin of defeat would be entirely accounted for by his unpopularity with women.
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So do you think HRC mentioning Trump so many times was to help him win?
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http://www.marketwatch.com/story/how-hillary-clinton-could-win-the-white-house-by-march-2015-12-18?dist=afterbell
“”If Hillary Clinton and her allies are smart, they’ll spend their $50 million-plus campaign war chest over the next few months making sure Marco Rubio doesn’t get the Republican nomination.
They’ll run ads in the primary states trashing the senator from Florida among conservatives — cleverly hiding the source of the ads behind secretive super PACs with conservative-sounding names.
They’ll encourage Democratic activists to cross over to GOP primaries to support Rubio’s extremist opponents.
Clinton herself may even help out by making a couple of high-profile speeches in which she praises Rubio for his “moderation” and “bipartisanship” — especially, she might say, “on the subject of immigration.” Nothing could hurt the young senator more with the GOP base.
Obama could take him golfing.””
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already being done by jeb! so no need for her to waste the money
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Schlonged? Donald Trump’s Pathetic Frat-Boy Politics
Describing the way Obama defeated Clinton, Trump displays the psycho-sexual paranoia of the right.
By Joan Walsh
http://www.thenation.com/article/schlonged-donald-trumps-pathetic-frat-boy-politics/
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Sorry, The Donald. We can’t just shake it and go like y’all. I guess Queen Malania must not go the the bathroom.
Agree that they need to watch Rubio. Trump is an attention vampire; they need to remember he is a distraction.
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Just saw an ad for a new movie about Banghazi. (I think it’s called, “13 Hours.”) I wonder how that impacts the Hillary campaign?
Vulgarity aside, Trump was right about what happened to Hillary in 2008.
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today’s the day and it’s time to sing to the tune of
o festivus o festivus
a holiday for the rest of us
your pole of aluminum so bright,
grievances to air and feats to fight.
we look to you to set us right
about the chaos
come Christmas night
o festivus o festivus
a holiday for the rest of us
and for those who are too young to know the legend
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Blood, Sweat and Trump
Frank Bruni
“The fluids of women in particular rattle Trump. When a lawyer who was questioning him during a 2011 deposition asked for a break so that she could leave the room and pump breast milk for her 3-month-old daughter, he was unhinged.
“You’re disgusting,” he berated her, according to a story in The Times earlier this year by Michael Barbaro and Steve Eder. Then he stormed out of the deposition.
More famously, he reflected on Megyn Kelly’s interrogation of him at the first Republican presidential debate by saying that “you could see there was blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her wherever.”
Clinton’s bathroom break — or, more precisely, Trump’s revulsion toward it — lies at the intersection of his misogyny and his fastidiousness. He’s a germophobe who once labeled himself “a clean hands freak,” called handshakes a “terrible custom” and said that the obligation to engage in them was one of the great curses of celebrity like his.”
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Clinton To Sanders Supporters: Don’t Pass On Me Because I’m “Not Pure Enough”
RCP
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2015/12/23/clinton_makes_pitch_to_sanders_supporters_republcian_alternatives_very_dangerous_dont_pass_because_im_not_pure_enough.html
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tony, frustrating isn’t it that she gets blamed when she responds to the bully boy but others are heralded
from http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/hillarys-great-victim-jeb-bush-trump-comments/story?id=35915135
Speaking after a town Hall in New Hampshire today, Bush denounced Trump, calling him a “chaos candidate” and, rather than coming to her defense, went on to slam Clinton.
“She’s great at being the victim. You know the victim, this will enhance her victimology status this is what, this is what she loves doing,” he said.
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Yep, very frustrating.. Great at being the victim.. Umm and what male would he say that about? What about his lousy brother.. Ugh, somethings never change..
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Does the Schwanz have a plan to stop the rain? Four inches since yesterday morning.
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add to yours these choice descriptive words from milbank’s column https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/oy-vey-trump-is-such-a-putz/2015/12/22/4576edb0-a8de-11e5-bff5-905b92f5f94b_story.html?hpid=hp_no-name_opinion-card-c%3Ahomepage%2Fstory
But since Trump has started us on this tour of Yiddishkeit, it’s worth noting that Yiddish insults are custom-tailored for the overbearing and boorish gantseh macher that Trump has made of himself. He’s a shmegegi and a mamzer, a fabrecher and a nudnik with a lot of chutzpah (and a tuches un a halb). Sorry, you’ll have to look those up.
[….]
…cut Trump down to size with perhaps the greatest Yiddish aphorism of all: Du kannst nicht auf meinem rucken pishen unt mir sagen class es regen ist.
You can’t pee on my back and tell me that it’s raining.
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from http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/john-mccain-donald-trump-is-basically-doing-propaganda-for-vladimir-putin-7915259
If there was any question about whether U.S. Senator John McCain would endorse Republican front-runner Donald Trump now that his long-time BFF Lindsey Graham dropped out of the race, the answer is loud and clear: absolutely not.
In the latest back and forth between McCain and Trump, the Arizona Senator called the real estate mogul-turned-politician a propaganda tool for Russian President Vladimir Putin, adding that he was either profoundly ignorant, or the perfect example of how not to conduct diplomatic relations with our international adversaries.
[….]
“The thing that’s so concerning about Mr. Trump’s compliments of Vladimir Putin is that Vladimir Putin has slaughtered his own—killed his own people, including people I knew. His equipment has shot down and killed a couple hundred people.”
Putin is “a bully and thug, and to pay a compliment to this KGB-apparatchik-murderer is something that I just can’t find in anyway plausible. [It] is incomprehensible,” McCain added.
[….]
Perhaps the best part of McCain’s interview about Trump was the sheer frustration in his voice, as if he just could not believe a presidential front-runner was glorifying Putin and his involvement in Syria – a strategy most believe is intended to prop up the government of Syrian President Bashir Al-Assad while he slaughters his own people.
?a bully and a thug? elementary, john. birds of a feather flock together
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/Users/reneeblanchette/Desktop/12366451_10153324101743494_8243423176357717741_n.jpg
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oh…. never mind… instead…
NEW THREAD!
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From Craig today: After a years long battle with more ailments than Carters had Little Pills for, my Mom — Tabitha (Toby) Craig Crawford — died on Christmas Eve today at 10:38am ET at Dr. Phillips Hospital in Orlando. Those who knew her remember a woman who couldn’t avoid praising a restaurant server, no matter how awful the service. Who once called the garbage company to tell them what a nice job they were doing. Who served as an official greeter at St. Lukes Methodist in Orlando wearing her trademark broad brim hats — and never forgot a name. Who effortlessly put a smile on any frown she encountered. And who leaves a son privileged to have learned what unconditional love is all about.
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New Thread to leave remembrances of Toby
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