Have some health issues flaring up and minor surgery on Friday, so may not post much till Monday, although I’ll try. Anyway, an open thread so you can discuss what’s going on. As usual, if I covered a topic in the last week, please comment there instead.
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momo5
Just take care –> Get well.
StewartM
Take care Ian. Wish you a speedy recovery from the surgery!
In a less cheery note, here’s a video of Planet Earth’s future in the next 1 billion years:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwzTr49rPw8
And Dolly Parton is dead. Sadly for the US and world, the wrong 80-year old died.
different clue
I grew up till age 15 in Knoxville, Tennessee. I would like to visit back there at some point. If I actually do that, one place I would like to make very sure to visit is Dollywood, right near Sevierville, Tenn.
Images related to Dollywood.
https://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images;_ylt=AwrEbce7VI9qVAIAzrdXNyoA;_ylu=Y29sbwNiZjEEcG9zAzIEdnRpZAMEc2VjA3Nj?p=dollywood+theme+park&fr=sfp
One of the less well known things about Dollywood, which I would especially want to see if I get there, is the American Chestnut tree recovery-restoration work which is being done there.
Bill Owens’ American Chestnut Fund at Dollywood
https://eagles.org/donate/american-chestnut-fund/
When I was young and living there, there were still chestnut saplings struggling up from legacy American chestnut root systems. The blight would kill them after a few years but the roots stayed alive. I saw one of those saplings emerging from legacy roots in the woods at the top of the ridge we lived on the side of in Knoxville, around 55 years ago or so.
Mark Level
Hope you recover quickly, Ian.
And I’m with Stewart, I suspect Dolly really was one of the good ones. Just saw a segment on Jimmy Dore where he covered her promoting the Moderna Vax early on, though, with her celebrity oncologist, & Jimmy Dore says (as a person who considered himself vaccine-injured, got treatment) it’s strange that she went straight to a Stage 4 Cancer, no 1, 2 or 3 prior . . .
Main interesting scrap of news today: CIA chief Ratcliffe turning up yesterday in a Military Plane in Russia, and doing a Military parade out of it!? Why? (I guess the US MIC marching not emaciated from being on ships, good PR if anyone watches. I didn’t.)
Some speculate that he’s negotiating a stand-down on the failed Proxy War via defeated Ukraine, we all know the Donald will always line up with the winners. (Well, apart from Iran.)
Haven’t seen that former denizen on here who used to promote Banderism in weeks . . . don’t know of a single regular here he convinced of the glories of the Lost Cause of Galitzian N@zism. Can’t blame a guy for tryin’ I guess.
different clue
An amateur layman’s tribute to Dolly Parton.
A queen ❤️
https://www.reddit.com/r/TikTokCringe/comments/1vywdtr/a_queen/
different clue
Here is a Belle of the Ranch video called:
“Let’s talk about Trump’s Lake Ontario joke….”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfOifW5c3Zk
She suggests thinking about this as an example of Trump’s distraction strategy, of spewing bunches of chaff, squirrels, bright shiny objects, and clouds of bright shiny squirrel-object chaff to divert people away from talking about the things they would really be better off talking about.
Trump’s one-time thinking-brain dog Steve Bannon used to call this ” Flood the zone with shit”.
Steve Bannon Flood the Zone.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlJSznEQ6vY
( In this video, Bannon carefully leaves “with shit” unsaid. . . . this time).
Mr. Leaf’s newest video appears to take this “flood the zone” statement as a serious threat. On the other hand, Mr. Leaf appears to respect Belle of the Ranch’s work. So if he sees this video, he may decide to think about this as “flooding the zone” distractionism. And people within the US might be advised to think about it the same way, and keep right on talking about the Building Trump Depression and other Trump dechievements and decomplishments that effect us for real.
mago
Tick tok tick tok goes the clock while the sands run down.
My grandfather had an hour glass with one side filled with sand which when inverted trickled down through a narrow waist to fill the other side, thus marking an hour.
So old school in the digital age.
My grandfather also had a crystal ball inherited from a gypsy woman that was passed down to me. It’s one of the few possessions I’ve carried around and cherished over the decades, along with knives and cookware. The crystal ball sits upon a window sill, and the pots and pans and knives I use daily.
What I want to say is may your days be long and your health improved. May all obstacles vanish before the sands of time run out. Sending all good wishes.
different clue
Most people here have probably heard/read about Hakim Jeffries’s ‘secret meeting’ with Jared Kushner, to allegedly work out ‘some areas of agreement on things and stuff in common’. If it really was meant to be secret, someone must have disapproved and revealed the ‘secret’.
I don’t need to offer links, it should be easy to find out about on line.
But I saw an interesting video by someone who’s videos normally repel me to the point where I don’t watch them, but the title caught my eye. It’s James ” Ugly Jim” Carville looking like an old snapping turtle with mange and scabies, and lecturing Hakim Jeffries about how he has really done fucked up by meeting with Kushner.
I hope every Democrat takes this meeting the way Carville has taken it and I hope ‘someone’ can mount an Independent Candidate run against Jeffries in order to get Jeffries defeated. It would be worth risking a wished-for DemParty majority in the House if it made sure of defeating and deleting Jeffries. Jeffries is obviously a ” reach-across-the-aisle” cuck. He may even be some kind of Secret MAGA Agent. People should start chanting that at him at his every public appearance.
If someone makes such a run against Jeffries, I will send them a little bit of money.
James Carville: Urgent Message for Hakeem Jeffries
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCzmVxxZfnI
different clue
And Kyle Kulinski of Secular Talk, who I believe is considered a Progressive ( as in NOT a liberal) discusses this secret meeting in his own special way. He makes clear his belief that Jeffries is indeed a Total MAGA Collaborator and a not-even-secret-anymore MAGA agent and operative. ( Just like Pelosi was probably a secret Bush-Cheney agent and operative . . . in my own purely layman’s opinion).
HAKEEM JEFFRIES IS F*CKED | The Kyle Kulinski Show
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ct1uFtxyD4
spud
JEFFRIES simply learned from the master, and there is a endless supply in the democrat party, that either learned for the master, or are being groomed to learn from the master.
Bill Clinton and Newt Gingrich worked together during the 1990s, particularly on welfare reform and budget issues, despite their political differences. Their collaboration was significant in shaping policies during a time of divided government.
Wikipedia Cambridge University Press
Collaboration Between Bill Clinton and Newt Gingrich
Key Areas of Cooperation
Bill Clinton and Newt Gingrich, despite their differing political ideologies, collaborated on several## Collaboration Between Bill Clinton and Newt Gingrich
Key Areas of Cooperation
Bill Clinton and Newt Gingrich, despite their differing political ideologies, collaborated on several important issues during the 1990s. Their partnership was notable for its impact on policy-making during a time of divided government.
Welfare Reform: Both leaders worked together to reform welfare, aiming to create a more efficient system that encouraged work and reduced dependency.
Budget Issues: They also addressed budgetary concerns, focusing on fiscal responsibility and economic growth.
Significance of Their Collaboration
The cooperation between Clinton and Gingrich was significant for several reasons:
Bipartisanship: Their ability to work together showcased a rare instance of bipartisanship in a politically polarized environment.
Policy Impact: The reforms they enacted had lasting effects on American social policy and budget management.
This collaboration exemplified how leaders from opposing parties can come together to address pressing national issues, despite their differences.
Wikipedia PBS
StewartM
DC,
So you knew Knoxville when it was a ‘scruffy little town’, eh? With hobos tenting out in the middle of the city between UTK and downtown? Where traffic was befuddled at “Malfunction Junction”?