How Can You Miss Someone If They Won’t Go Away?

David Brooks: the ostensibly conservative New York Times columnist, TV pundit, bestselling author and lecture-circuit thought leader, defines everything that’s wrong with allowing  the country’s elite to select our candidates/leaders.

From Brooks’ November 11, 2016 NYT column:

Finally, it seems important to be humbled and taught by this horrific election result. Trump’s main problem in governing is not going to be some fascistic ideology; his main problem is going to be his own attention span, ignorance and incompetence. If he’s left to bloviate while others are left to run the country and push through infrastructure plans, maybe things won’t be disastrous.

…

Trump’s bigotry, dishonesty and promise-breaking will have to be denounced. We can’t go morally numb. But he needs to be replaced with a program that addresses the problems that fueled his assent.

After all, the guy will probably resign or be impeached within a year. The future is closer than you think.

Keep in mind that Mr. Brooks is the elitist who first alerted us to the awesome qualifications that Barack Obama possessed to run the country:

That first encounter is still vivid in Brooks’s mind. “I remember distinctly an image of--we were sitting on his couches, and I was looking at his pant leg and his perfectly creased pant,” Brooks says, “and I’m thinking, a) he’s going to be president and b) he’ll be a very good president.”  - New Republic

Brooks was actually describing himself; peering into a mirror and seeing Barry staring back at him:

Brooks, a conservative writer who joined the Times in 2003 from The Weekly Standard, had never met Obama before. But, as they chewed over the finer points of Edmund Burke, it didn’t take long for the two men to click. “I don’t want to sound like I’m bragging,” Brooks recently told me, “but usually when I talk to senators, while they may know a policy area better than me, they generally don’t know political philosophy better than me. I got the sense he knew both better than me.”

Mind you, he felt that way to the end, writing last year:

Many of the traits of character and leadership that Obama possesses, and that maybe we have taken too much for granted, have suddenly gone missing or are in short supply.

Specifically he sited these 4 traits that he sees in Obama: “superior integrity,” “basic humanity,” “soundness in his decision-making”  and finally, “grace under pressure.” I’m beginning to think this is more than a bro-mance; I think we’re dealing with a case of Narcissus-by-proxy here.

Obama radiates an ethos of integrity, humanity, good manners and elegance that I’m beginning to miss, and that I suspect we will all miss a bit, regardless of who replaces him”.

Might I humbly suggest that the next time we select a president based on the recommendations of the political elite at least we do so based on something more than their analysis of the crease in his trousers.

“I’m not arrogant, I’m just better than you.”

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The Whole World’s a Stage for the Democrats Talking Points

I’m hitting the road early today for points West so I just want to leave you with a few observations regarding the Senate confirmation hearings which seem to be oriented more along the lines of “when did you stop beating your wife” than serious vetting sessions.

1. Pocahontas wants Ben Carson to promise that “neither the President Elect nor his family will  benefit - “not one dollar” - from anything HUD related. It’s as if she thinks the whole world operates the shameless way she and her fellow Democrats do; using power and position to line their own pockets. She forgets: Trump is already rich, he’s come to help the taxpayers not to bilk them.

2. Kamala Harris wants Secretary of Defense nominee Pompeo to promise not to put into place “any policy that will discriminate on the grounds of sexual orientation. And she also wanted him to acknowledge NASA’s conclusion that “97% of actively peer-reviewed academics believe in climate change” because that’s the CIA’s biggest problem right now, climate deniers.

3. Kirsten Gillibrand grilled Secretary of Defense nominee General James Mattis about his desire to roll back recent decisions about women in combat and the military’s LGBTQ  policy. He gave a Rhett Butler response: “Frankly, senator, I’ve never cared about two consenting adults and who they go to bed with.”

4. Rex Tillerson, who as CEO of ExxonMobil, acknowledged the need to address global warming, endorsed a carbon tax and publicly supported the Paris Climate Agreement. Butt that’s not good enough: he must concur with current Secretary of State Kerry, the Pentagon and intelligence community that climate change is “a major concern and a national security priority.” He dodged a bit on that to Tim Kaine’s dismay.

Tim Kaine: "Do you lack the knowledge to answer my question or are you refusing to answer my question?" 

Rex Tillerson: "A little of both."

Syria, 2016: Damn that Global Warming!

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Everything That Glitters Is Not Gold

So Trump held a Presser yesterday. He covered a few topics: Russian hacking, Intelligence community leaks,  his time schedule to Build-the-Wall, the steps he’s taken to avert even an appearance of conflict of interest with his corporation. Butt the only thing anyone wanted to talk about was the completely fabricated yet salaciously entertaining Russian “Golden Shower” report.  That our Intelligence community saw fit to present the dossier last Friday to the president, the president-elect and the Congressional so-called Gang of Eight speaks more to the state of our Intelligence community than anything else.

To say the “report” lacked veracity is rather obvious at this point.

 

It would be the equivalent of the National Intelligence Community presenting one of Ulsterman’s (now defunct) wildly entertaining, albeit completely fabricated, interviews with the unnamed “White House Insider” to a Congressional committee as fact.[Ed. Not to be confused with the Molsterman Reports which are 100% certifiably true and accurate] Even though a quick Google of “D.W. Ulsterman” would have identified him as a writer of fiction.

Anyway, I thought somebody might want to talk about the costs to the Trump family associated with a Trump presidency: Ivanka is giving up her job while her husband, Jared, is stepping aside from his companies - Kushner Companies and Observer Media. The Trump Organization will not enter any new development deals while Trump is president and they have terminated all pending business deals, no doubt incurring millions of dollars in walk-away fees. To say this adds up to “billions and billions” is not an overstatement. It’s Yooge!

Butt it’s not enough for the Left, which has suddenly rediscovered “ethics” after they have spent the last 8 years of the unholy Obama-Clinton alliance on hiatus (along with the Media).

Buh-bye to the ‘Ethics Takes a Holiday’ Era

I would think the Media would be pleased that Ethics will once again be taking up residence in the White House.

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Obama World: The Fun Never Stops!

Yesterday’s big stories:

1. Jeff Sessions. Democrats’ narrative: RACIST!

Alternate narrative: Why does Jeff Sessions force his bi-racial granddaughter to play with a white baby doll? RACIST!

2. Trump supposedly compromised by the Russians per our spooks (can I say that?). Turns out the report was completely fabricated by the only source less credible than CNN, BuzzFeed.

Readers of this newspaper know well not to include me among Trump’s supporters. But the scurrilousness of what BuzzFeed has done here is so beyond the bounds of what is even remotely acceptable it should compel even those most outraged by Trump’s political excesses to come to his defense and to the defense of a few other people mentioned in these papers whose names are also dragged through the mud. – NYPost

Should have taken the Washington Post’s advice sooner.

Hmmmm…didn’t Buzzfeed itself just warn us to be on the lookout for #fakenews about Trump? Think they did:

 

3. Barry’s Never-Ending-Story Speech. The biggest news about Barry’s Buh-bye is that it is the #3 big news story of the day. Read here if you want a real summary of how The Won redefined the definition of marriage, made America sick again, rebooted Cuba and claims that he created a healthy economy, reduced poverty and improved race relations. The speech was less “goodbye” than…

 

Obama World: The Fun Never Stops!

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Give Me A “T” “R” “U” “M” “P”

Forgive me, I realize it’s not “art,” just a pastime enjoyed by the Basket of Deplorables™. Butt what a game last night! Congratulations to our Clemson fans! Wow, the winning touchdown with one second left on the clock! I haven’t seen that since Michigan State beat Michigan in the final second in 2001! (And then again in 2015 butt by then we were used to losing.)  I’m not whining; being an adult I know how to handle a loss without taking a safety pin.

Butt enough about fun, let the Senate games begin! Today’s first skirmish is between Jeff Sessions, AG nominee and liberal Democrats who will play him as a racist (what else?). Also today, John Kelly, a retired four-star Marine general tapped for the Department of Homeland Security. They may want to give him a wide berth and just let him march downfield.

Tomorrow is Elaine Chao for Transportation secretary – aka Mrs. Mitch McConnell - a shoo-in. Also, for Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson: CEO of Exxon Mobil . Not a shoo-in. Deferred from yesterday to next week, Betsy DeVos for Education secretary ostensibly to complete her financial reporting requirements. Actually it is to better prepare for the assault launched against her by the terrifying teachers union.

Sure, she’s from a billionaire philanthropist family and has no direct experience working in public education. You would think that would function as a feature not a bug. All I know is that she seems to know how to use money wisely.

Left is the picture of Betsy preferred for use by Leftist publications and Teachers Associations; right is Betsy on a good hair and makeup day. Like when she met with The Donald in November.

And just like with Trump her enemies don’t hate her because they think she’ll fail, they hate her because they fear she will succeed.

The long knives have come out for Education secretary nominee Betsy DeVos. But her critics aren’t attacking her because they think she’ll do a bad job. They’re attacking her because they’re afraid she’ll do a good job. But I think that her success will be important, if you care about addressing inequality in America. - Glenn Reynolds, USA Today

What do you say – Let’s Make America Great Again! You know - like back in the days when even Meryl Street loved football.

1966: Yep, America was pretty great then. What happened Meryl?

If you think you’re butt-hurt now, wait till Trump sticks the tail on your donkey.

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We’ll Always Have Hollywood. Unfortunately.

Hollywood’s 2017 Pity Party officially began last night with the annual Golden Globes Award Show.

And the Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement Award went to…Meryl Streep! Her acceptance speech was everything you could expect from a former Presidential Medal of Freedom winner, Kennedy Center  Performing Arts Award winner and BFF to both Hillary AND Michelle:

After celebrating Hollywood’s diversity by running through a list of foreigners working there (legally, I assure you) she noted:

“So Hollywood is crawling with outsiders and foreigners, and if we kick them all out, you’ll have nothing to watch but football and mixed martial arts, which are not the arts.”

No, indeed. Those would be things the Basket of Deplorables would watch. Along with NASCAR. Definitely not “the arts” or anything else the Hollywood brain trust would waste their time on. Butt after insulting President Elect Trump Meryl continued:

“when the powerful use their position to bully others, we all lose”

 

“Disrespect invites disrespect.”

“Violence incites violence.”

 

“This brings me to the press. We need a principled press to hold power to account to call them on the carpet for every outrage.”

 

“So I only ask the famously well‑healed Hollywood Foreign Press and all of us in our community to join me in supporting the Committee to Protect Journalists because we are going to need them going forward and they’ll need us to safeguard the truth.”

 

Meryl hasn’t been as dramatic, or as wrong, since her 1989 fear-fueling “when are we going to stop killing our children!?”campaign against Alar. Celebrities should be “called to the carpet for every outrage” they perpetrate on the American people as well. In my humble opinion.

When are you going to stop killing the children truth, Meryl? 

Hollywood, filled with rarified idiots, where anything and everything is likely to be on display except reality.

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Why Trump Won, #698 (and counting). An Open Letter To Melinda.

Melinda Byerley, founding partner of TimeShareCMO a startup marketing firm, wants to make it perfectly clear what she thinks of Flyover America:

Dear Melinda,

I see you’re making progress; 8 weeks and you’ve already moved on from “denial”

to stage two in the grief process – anger. That’s okay, let it all out, we can take it. Heck, being your intellectual inferiors we probably won’t even understand what you’re saying, so let it fly! And although you’re in the business of marketing yourself, I see you’re blinded by your grief so perhaps I can help you simplify your message so the stupid people in Flyover will totally understand how the coastal intelligentsia feel about them. How about this:

Dear Flyover America: you are all stupid, violent, racist, misogynistic bigots and deserve to live in shitholes that I would never think of living in let alone relocate my business to. (Although I would love to move into your beautiful rural areas and make them into a liberal paradise; so just sit down and shut up or go away.)

Coming soon to a rural town near you

I know, Melinda, that you and your ilk will never be able to fathom why Trump won so I fear you will never reach step five which requires acceptance. So I guess my advice would be to embrace your grief; most likely you will be living with it for at least the next 8 years. Welcome to our world. 

Sincerely,

 

Do You Hear The People Sing?

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