from the guys at Go Around Back

Headline: Hate groups embrace Trump

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Our prayers

Here in the Valley of Virginia, apparently, we’re praying to Jesus for the reincarnation of Lee and Jackson that their sabers may slit the throats of anyone within a thousand miles that can write Arabic - they must be Mussulmen.

M is for mansplaining

balzac balloon, green
also available in red & yellow

M

mansplaining • ^lman-splā-nĭNG

     terminus derogatorius

     1. any argument I  – or Balzac or Shakespeare or any of them other high-falutin’ Greeks – might make that might be exceptionable to the womansplainer using the term.

ex.

The above definition; note especially its patronizing use of “womansplainer.”

Candidate Cruz opens Faith Gun Range in Katy, TX

14 more

"What the ef?" - Quote of the Day

Loretta Lynch, Attorney General of the United States, speaking at the White House earlier today: "Whatever the results of this investigation [into the San Bernardino shootings] . . . one thing is clear: Violence like this has no place in this country." One other thing is clear, she was not referring to gun violence, because violence like that has here a place like it has nowhere else.

S is for stump speech.

S

stump speech • bən(t)-SHə-^llīz

     nominal

     1. polemic with four pinnochios

as in:

Candidate (insert name here)’s stump speech paraded out to the Popejoy Elks last night was a nifty blend of flack and friction. With a nod to the Washington Post’s Glenn Kessler, we give it 

Platforms in brief - Ted Cruz

Damn those huddled masses yearning to be free

Republican candidates on Syrian refugees, closing down mosques, Christian terrorists

Ben Carson on Syrian refugees: “If there’s a rabid dog running around in your neighborhood, you’re probably not going to assume something good about that dog, and you’re probably going to put your children out of the way. Let me add that if the dog is a collie, to protect your children you’re probably going to want to shoot all collies.”

Donald Trump on closing down mosques: “We’re going to have to look at a lot of things very closely. We’re going to have to look at the mosques. We’re going to have to look at Episcopal churches. We’re going to have to look very, very carefully.” Trump went on to say that most of the Episcopalians he knew were Democrats and “very soft” on immigration issues.

Ted Cruz on who are terrorists: “There is no meaningful risk of Christians committing acts of terror.” When asked about Timothy McVeigh and Virginia Tech gunman Seung-Hui Cho, Cruz acknowledged that McVeigh was raised Roman Catholic and Cho in a Christian Church, “but both became agnostics. And yes, I would ban all agnostics . . . and Koreans,” Cruz said, “and Episcopalians.”

A is for alleged (falsely).

A

alleged falsely • sər-kŭm-lō-ˈkyo͞o-SH(ə)n

     periphrastic journalistic jargon

     1. lied

ex:

“Trump, later alleging — again falsely — that President Obama wanted to admit 250,000 Syrians . . . .” – Dana Milbank, “Republicans’xenophobic bidding war” – Washington Post online

"Verifiable Christians"

The supervisors in my crab-shaped county met in executive session last night. And the county administrator announced this morning that we will welcome Syrian refugees, but only if they are “verifiable Christians.” Their status will be “verified” by local Christians, who at the last judgment will be asking Jesus, “Just when did we see thee a stranger and did not welcome thee?”

Your local CEO's dollars at work.

But not for you.

Well - it works well, for the capitalists!

     “The beer industry underwent substantial consolidation in 2008, when Anheuser-Busch, the maker of Bud Light, was bought by InBev, a Belgian company. Around the same time, SABMiller of London and MolsonCoors of Denver merged their U.S. operations. Those two companies brewed other popular American beers, Miller and Coors. . . . Together, the two brewers [now] control 31 percent of the global market.”*  

     So, of course, more efficiency: and prices went down. See above graph!

_______________

*Max Ehrenfreund for WaPo online’s Wonkblog: Why you might be paying too much for your beer.

Whereas . . .

Part II. Another letter:

m ball's "my last marco"

Your State's Amex Gold: Don't leave home without it!

Whereas . . .

Shoo. Scat!

The New Republican Debates

So, we gather from various media, the RNC is responding to candidates’ campaigns’ complaints about how the party has been “managing” their TV debates: they haven’t been. The result has been a staff shake-up and the party’s management of primary debates.

     We’ll leave explanation of what’s happening with the staff to more savvy heads. Just know, Donald, Ted, Marco, Ben, Jeb, Carly, et al. that the new configuration is going to take care of you. So Katie Walsh’s email sent to the campaigns assured them. According to my sources (the flies and fliettes at Julio’s Bar), it must have looked something like this:

Saturday morning on Sunday afternoon.

Three

On this week’s Slate Political Gabfest, Emily Bazelon said, after watching Thursday evening’s Republican debate, that she could totally imagine President Marco Rubio behind a microphone lying to the American people. I agree. But after the Benghazi hearings, I imagined the same thing about Hillary Clinton. All the praise of her performance, keeping calm through eleven hours of Gowdy grilling: I'm not saying that only what my mother used to call ”a natural born liar” could do that, but . . .

Sessions (R-Al.)

Definition of a fiscal conservative: Jeff Sessions of Alabama, who is on record as saying that it is ”unacceptable that every dollar of increased defense spending should be matched with a dollar of increased non-defense spending.” After all, ”the people’s congress” has to be about wiping out the rest of the world, for God’s sake! not poverty at home.

According to the Washington Post online, “the 100 largest chief executive retirement” accounts “are worth $4.9 billion . . . . On average, these CEOs have enough assets salted away to each generate a monthly retirement check of over $277,000.” (What does that look like?) This is more than $165,000 more than the typical worker between the ages of 55 and 64 has in retirement savings.

en garde!

Nailed it!

I’ve been hearing and reading all morning how “Marco Rubio nailed it,” especially in his response to Jeb Bush, when Bush suggested if he weren’t going to do a United States Senator’s work, he resign. Rubio made two arguments:

(1) The only reason Bush was making the argument now was because he and Rubio were “running for the same position, and someone has convinced you that attacking me is going to help you.”

(2) And did he (Bush) know how many votes his campaign’s model, John McCain, missed when he was running for the nomination?

Nailed it!

     NOT. At least no one that took and passed Philo 101* could say so. Pay attention again, students of logic: both arguments are fallacies, ad hominem and, let’s call it, innocence by association. “You’re only saying this because . . .” doesn’t make what “you” says wrong any more than “Well, John did it” makes what “I” is doing right.
     (Nailed it.)

_______________
* apparently not required of journalism students

Pictionary - "jurisprudence"

C is for climate change.

C

climate change • 'CHärl-stən 'fləd-əd

     terminus politicus footballensis

     1. the Apocalypse

     2. a hoax

(formally global warming)

richard hanna (barbera)

  

Rep. Richard Hanna (R-NY) acknowledged yesterday in a radio interview that Hillary Clinton really was at least a target of the Benghazi committee. "Hey, what can you say?"