as a schoolgirl because 17,000 people have said on Facebook that they're going to show up for Bernie's rally at Washington Sq, in New York City tomorrow. To quote Rachel "Something's up - watch this space". She did feel compelled however to at least admit that when Obaman in 2008 he rallied 24,000 at the same place - and then proceeded to lose the NYState Primary. As she grudgingly had to recognize, "rallys aren't votes".

Apparently he MSM (and MSNBC in particular) feels that they have to keep pushing "this is a horserace", come hell or high water until they've squeezed the last possible viewer out of the programming, facts be damned. I for one will be thrilled when April 19 comes and goes and even the most diehard Bernie fan will have to recognize that Hillary will be our candidate for President.

Source: Rachel Maddow Shoe 3/16/16

According to Nina Totenberg, NPR's Legal Correspondent appearing on the Rachel Maddow Show tonight Obama has made a deal with the Repubs that goes like this: The Repugs will still not consider or do anything with Obama's nominee for the Supreme Court until after the election in November. Then, if the Democrats win the Repugs will approve Garland for the Supreme Court. Totenberg stresses that this is in line with Obama's judicial philosophy of wanting judges (or Justices) who defer to the Legislature and the Executive.

No link yet.

Thank you! Totally unexpected and most probably unearned but nonetheless totally appreciated. Thanks!

Venezuela's new Finance Minister embraces the 'Bolivarian' idea that there is no such thing as inflation:

"Venezuela's new economy czar Luis Salas is tasked with controlling what is believed to be the world's highest rate of inflation, but comes to the job with an unusual perspective: that inflation does not really exist.

Essays written by Salas describe scarcity and spiraling prices as the result of exploitation by businesses rather than government policy, offering an academic underpinning to the "economic war" explanation that Maduro uses to describe the current malaise of recession, runaway prices and widespread product shortages."

snip

""Inflation does not exist in real life," he wrote in a 2015 pamphlet called "22 Keys to Understanding the Economic War." "When a person goes to a shop and finds that prices have gone up, they are not in the presence of 'inflation.'"


http://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-economy-idUSKBN0UL27820160107

While recently Roto-Rooter skindiving over at Jim-Bob's cesspool I came across this gem:

"Trump is a “giver”... he gets enjoyment out of sharing and doing for others. In a time when jobs are scarce, people are hurting and the left has gone so far into oblivion... to find a man who cares and will give his talent, money, time and ideas... it’s a good sign he’d do the country a heap of good."

What is it that they're smoking over there?????

Got to go now - take a long, hot shower after that.

Source: Yahoo News

So much for Chavismo's 'belief in democracy':

Roughly a quarter of the way into a multi-hour speech last week, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro recalled a conversation he claimed to have had nine years ago with Hugo Chávez, his deceased predecessor. In Maduro’s telling, despite his electoral success, el Comandate had long harbored a secret desire to “break definitively” with the “old bourgeoisie structures of representation” that he felt distanced the government from the people. “This is a task we have still to carry out,” Maduro announced. Five days later, his government made good on that promise.

Over the past few days, tensions between the chavista government and the new opposition-dominated National Assembly, which was inaugurated last week after December’s landslide election, reached a fever pitch. On Monday, the constitutional chamber of Venezuela’s supreme court — which in over 45,000 decisions over the last dozen years has never ruled against the presidency — suspended the assembly and declared its leadership to be “in contempt” of the court’s authority.

It’s unclear what this determination means, since there is no constitutional basis for any of this. The supreme court claims that its ruling nullifies in advance any legislation the assembly might try to pass — unless the opposition acquiesces to the suspension of three of its legislators, whom the government accuses of buying votes in the remote state of Amazonas. The stakes are high, since the loss of even a single legislator could neutralize the opposition’s two-thirds supermajority, threatening its ability to reform the constitution or initiate a recall referendum against Maduro

Read more: Yahoo News

*No link provided since this comes from the sewer over at FR, but when I read it it struck me as the best description of those who want to openly carry their firearms everywhere at any time.

"Situational awareness trumps all! I let nobody close to me and my head is on a swivel in bathrooms, parking lots, retail/restaurant lines, basically every where. Somebody wants mine they will get it business end first. Action beats reaction every time."

No paranoia here. Nope. None at all. (And he was specifically talking about being in a WalMart bathroom).

supporters are, wonder no longer. An old classmate (with whom I obviously share no political leanings!) sent me this yesterday. You may need a shower afterwards or at least a clean-up with Clorox but I do think it's important for us not to minimize the craziness that's out there right now in a large segment of the electorate. If they believe this, they will truly believe anything!

Hold your nose - here goes:
============================================================
Subject: THE PERFECT DAY

January 20, 2017


1. President Marco Rubio and Vice President Carly Fiorina are sworn into office.


2. In a rare event on inauguration day, Congress convenes for an emergency meeting to repeal the illegal and unconstitutional Socialist healthcare farce known as Obamacare. The new Director of Health and Social Services Dr. Ben Carson announces that an independent group of healthcare management professionals is hired to handle healthcare
services for poor and low income people. They are also assigned the duty of eliminating Medicare and Medicaid fraud. Government’s costs for public healthcare are reduced
by 90%. Healthcare insurance premiums for working Americans are reduced by 50%. The move saves billions of taxpayer paid dollars. Healthcare service in the U.S
improves 100%.


3. Newly appointed department of Homeland Security Chief Donald Trump announces the immediate deployment of Troops to the U.S. Mexico border to control illegal immigration and the immediate deportation of illegals with criminal records or links to terrorist groups. New bio-encrypted Social Security ID’s are required by every
American citizen. Birthright is abolished. All immigration from countries that represent a threat to the safety of American citizens is terminated indefinitely. The move saves American taxpayers billions of dollars. Several prisons are closed.


4. Newly appointed Secretary of Business and Economic Development Ted Cruz eliminates more than half of the Government agencies operating under the Obama
administration saving taxpayers billions of dollars. Stocks rise 100%.


5. Newly appointed Director of Government Finance Rand Paul announces the abolition of the IRS and displays a copy of the new Federal Tax Return form. It consists of
one page. The instructions consist of two pages. The Federal Reserve is audited. The move saves American Taxpayers billions of dollars and increases tax revenue.


6. Hillary Clinton is in jail, where she belongs. Her cell is directly across from Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton who are serving time for ‘Hate Crimes”. She bitches at
them constantly from behind the bars of her cell in what some might call cruel and unusual punishment.


7. Bernie Sanders is in the nuthouse, where he belongs. His room is directly across from Nancy Pelosi, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Chris Matthews and Al Franken. They
meet for tea every day at ten and discuss the success and benefits of Communism and Socialism throughout the world. They also wonder when the “Mothership” is going to
pick them up and return them to their home planets.


8. Windows 12 is released. It is designed for humans, doesn't try to satisfy the needs of every person on the planet, doesn't require a degree in nuclear physics to operate
and looks just like Windows 7 except it is easier to use.


9. Barack Obama flees the United States under cover of darkness and returns to his homeland of Kenya before his trial for treason begins. He deplanes on a remote jungle airstrip. It was reported that he was last seen wandering through the jungle singing “Hakuna Matata” with a chimp named Commie.


10. Oscar Meyer announces the introduction of a new cholesterol and fat free pepperoni that tastes just like regular pepperoni.


11. A committee is not established to determine what is causing global cooling. Billions of taxpayer dollars are saved.



12. Dead people are no longer allowed to vote in Chicago, a huge blow for the Democrat Party in the State of Illinois.


And this my friends constitutes THE PERFECT DAY!!!!!!

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjnoJ6bpOTJAhVB6SYKHbafBtwQ3ywIIDAA&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3Dlj3iNxZ8Dww&usg=AFQjCNEbZr4Om6BXFHBgHhnL3aCgL5It-w&bvm=bv.110151844,d.eWE

Source: Hardball with Chris Matthews MSNBC

We just saw another example of Congress rushing in to introduce meaningless legislation in hopes of placating the nervous American public. Tonight on Hardball Republican Senator Jeff Flake said that he and Diane Feinstein will introduce a bill tomorrow which will modify the current visa waiver rule. (At present citizens of 39 countries - mostly European - are not now required to get a visa in order to travel to the US.). This new legislation would require any citizen of these countries who had travelled to Syria or Iraq in the past five years to now obtain a visa in order to travel to the U.S. Presumably this would let us examine people whose travel patterns made them suspect before permitting them to come here.

The only problem: Nothing prevents the potential 'suspect' traveller from declaring his/her old passport lost or stolen and obtaining a brand new, fresh passport. There is then no way to know whether the individual visited Iraq or Syria (or anywhere else). It's a meaningless, feel-good gesture designed to show the constituency that 'Congress is on top of things' when, in fact all it does it create more red tape and cost without contributing in any way, shape of form to our security. Business as usual for Congress.

Read more: Link to source

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