Category: Uncategorized

Mueller’s Probe Heats Up

Follow the money. Great piece by alotfromlydia.wordpress.com

alotfromlydia's avatarA lot from Lydia

Special Council Robert Mueller’s recent subpoena of Deutsche Bank has given us a hint at the direction his Trump/Russia investigation has taken, and Donald Trump is feeling the burn… maybe that’s why he’s orange.

Trump owes Deutsche Bank (DB) $364 million, Jared Kushner owes them $285 million. Deutsche bank leant them both money when no American banks were willing to take the risk.

Deutsche bank has a cooperating agreement with Vnesheconombank (VEB). VEB is a Russian government-owned development bank and has been under US sanctions since 2014.

If Deutsche bank’s loans to Kushner and Trump have been, or were to be, transferred to VEB, Trump would have incentive to lift those U.S. sanctions. It might also be a means to launder Russian money.

Trump’s main appeal as POTUS, to Putin, was his ability to lift sanctions, and we know Michael Flynn made promises to Russia regarding sanctions. Trump, in return…

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A Stocking for Mom

Today would’ve been my mom’s birthday. I previously published this piece a few years ago. I still miss the Queen of Stockings.

nananoyz's avatarPraying for Eyebrowz

My beautiful daughter and I were visiting on the phone earlier this week about our impending family Christmas rendezvous in Nashville🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄.

My level of excitement is over the moon!!! In less than a week Studly and I will have our two kids, our in-loves, and our five grand babies all in one house to celebrate the holidays.

Because we are all traveling by car from our respective homes, luggage space is at a premium, so we’ve all agreed to buy gifts only for the kids. Of course I have bought stocking stuffers for the grown ups–and have told everyone to BYOS (bring your own stocking).

No one demands that stocking stuffers be bought, but you see, my Mom was the Queen of Stockings. Anyone who spent the night under her roof on Christmas Eve awoke to find a beautiful stocking filled to overflowing with carefully shopped for goodies–things that one…

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Less Perfect Union

eurobrat's avatareurobrat

It was true what they said–snooping doesn’t pay off.  You get more pain than satisfaction out of it.  But I just couldn’t help myself, could I?

I sit at the breakfast table, picking at my plate of eggs and sausage.   He shuffles towards the coffee-maker, rumpled and yawning.  The man I love.  The man I know.  The man I thought I knew.

But then I remember that I’ve seen his browsing history.  The websites he went to late at night.  Those pictures of strange men.  I have to ask, even though I realize it will wreck everything.

“Honey, did…did you vote for Trump?”

He turns around and stares.  “What?”

“Don’t lie.  You’ve been reading Breitbart.”

“And you’ve been checking up on me.”  With a sudden burst of energy, he strides out of the kitchen.  “That’s an invasion of my privacy.”

“This is for your own good,”  I plead, getting up…

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That Woman

nananoyz's avatarPraying for Eyebrowz

She haunts me at times

Those weary eyes and sad smile

When the facade fades

I cannot gaze long

Fearful of her influence

Leery of her ills

Mocking me, she stares

Eye to eye, she locks me in

My mirror tells all

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No Waves

Are you happy?

Jan Wilberg's avatarRed's Wrap

Lately I’ve taken to asking people if they’re happy. We’ll be having a pretty normal conversation and I’ll blurt out, “Are you happy?”

I’m not sure why this has become the question du jour.

Today I was having lunch with a friend and he seemed to me to be not happy and so I asked him the question. As it turns out, there was just a part of his life that he wasn’t happy with but the rest was fine. So the job was a headache and unfulfilling but what he did with the rest of his life was okay. Not fabulous, but reliably okay. He didn’t seem exactly taken aback by the question but did have a look that said, “Is this germane to anything?”

Why are you asking me if I’m happy?

A while ago, a therapist who worked with teenagers told me that the most important question…

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A Toast to Studly Doright

We pulled off a surprise yesterday, and I’m still amazed that Studly Doright didn’t know what we were cooking up for him.

Several months ago I began plotting a 60th birthday surprise for my husband. I first called his mom in Texas and asked if it would be okay with her if Studly and I came to her home in Hereford for Thanksgiving. I told her I was hoping our children could make the trip, as well and surprise their dad for his birthday. She might have squealed a little. I took that as a yes, and the planning began.

I texted our daughter who lives in Illinois, and our son who resides in Dallas, crossing my fingers and holding my breath that they could make the trip. Almost instantly I received replies of “Yes!” from each of them, even though it wouldn’t be an easy trip. For my daughter and her husband who are in the middle of moving into a new home, this certainly wasn’t an ideal time to drive all night, with three kids in tow, but they did it. No hesitation. My heart is pretty full right now.

Up until the time Studly saw his children and grandchildren I didn’t think we had succeeded in surprising him. I’d accidentally said too many things over these last few weeks that might’ve given the whole thing away, but the tears in his eyes upon seeing our kids and their kids told me everything.

Today is Thanksgiving, and we’ll enjoy a huge lunch with our family at Saint Helen’s home. We’ll be surrounded by, not only our children and all five of our grandchildren, but Studly’s three sisters, his brother, various nieces and nephews, and in-laws and maybe even some outlaws. We still have a couple of smaller surprises for Studly, but I think he’s already considering this the best birthday ever.

I wrote a little piece of bad poetry to read as we toast his 60 years on earth. Here’s your sneak peak. Hopefully I’ll have some pictures to share tomorrow.

“A Toast for David”

Tall of stature

Short of patience

You’re over the hill

But not yet ancient

They tell me you were

A cute little baby

That’s hard to believe

After 60 years, yet maybe

Your eyes do have a twinkle

And your smile a boyish tilt

You’re still quite a charmer

And live life to the hilt

I’m glad that I found you

In that Piggly Wiggly store

Here’s to you turning 60

And here’s to many, many more.

Mysteries of Clonegam

Enjoy this beautiful post by inesemjphotography.com.

inese's avatarMaking memories

Clonegam

This is one of the most peaceful views in the country. You are slowly driving uphill watching for pheasants and cars coming in the opposite direction, and when you finally reach the top of the hill you stop for a second to take in the view of the green fields dotted with ancient trees – a pastoral landscape rolling towards the Comeragh Mountains. Curraghmore Demesne, beautiful like a picture.

Clonegam

I parked my car at the Clonegam Church gate and used the stony steps to get on the other side of the wall. The whole herd of cows stopped grazing and stared at me. I crept along the wall and tried to blend with background. My target was too far away, and I didn’t want any cow companion to follow me. First I had to reach this group of trees encircled with stones.

Clonegam

If you enlarge this picture, you will see…

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GOP Believe Their Tax Plan Will Pass

C’mon people. Don’t let congress get away with this charade. Read more at alotfromlydia.wordpress.com

alotfromlydia's avatarA lot from Lydia

How is it the GOP is confident their tax plan will pass? When did healthcare cuts become part of the tax bill?

“Apparently somewhere between the salad course and the entree, it was decided that permanent corporate tax cuts should be paid for, in part, by kicking 13 million Americans off their health care and raising premiums for millions more,” ~Senator Ron Wyden, Top Democrat on Finance panel

This tax bill is a covert attempt to gut healthcare, but the GOP somehow believes it’s different than previous failed attacks on ACA. Why? This bill gives money to the billionaires who make large donations to campaign funds of GOP members, so more congressional republicans are likely to vote yes to keep their cash cows lactating.

Those GOP members who were outspoken when they voted against the previous attacks on healthcare might put greed over the health needs of average Americans…

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Some New And Old Political Shinola

Great stuff from a friend. These are the ideas I ponder even as I acknowledge I’m part of the problem. Read more at 1xpad.com.

r.Douglas's avatar1XPAD.COM

I enjoy politics because I enjoy process and policy. Governance. While there is truth in the now tried, true and, trite cliché: politics is showbiz for ugly people, but what’s really unattractive about politics is the ideological tribal mask one must wear to climb the totem of the multimedia mediated State.

At one point in my lifetime there were progressive Republicans, conservative Democrats, and numerous species of the two party system that split the damn difference in deference to the political  issue at hand.

Let me muddle something for ya. Trump and many of his supporters are revanchist. And many in the so-called progressive resistance, they are actually the new conservatives. What both sides seem to lack is an appreciation of the republican process. An understanding of the rules. Which is why personality politics is trumping regular order legislative action, and why the executive branch often courts and sparks a…

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The Christmas cards Facebook banned

Ellen Hawley's avatarNotes from the U.K.

A British artist’s Christmas cards were recently banned from Facebook for having “adult content.”

Adult content? That’s prude-speak for sex.

The banned cards showed a robin, a stag, and a squirrel, none of them doing anything unconventional for Christmas cards, although in fairness these are creatures who, in the normal course of their lives will either have sex or at least try to.

So why the ban? The artist says didn’t even describe the robin as being a red[gasp]breast, just a robin. She’s tried to get Facebook to reconsider but you can pretty well guess how well that’s worked.

It could be that the decision-making algorithm looked at some of her other cards. One reads, “No / Fucking / Ho.” But that’s not the one she was promoting, Still, thought the algorithm, There’s got to be something wrong with that robin.

The artist has a disabled husband and…

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