BEST WISHES

Happy New Year, every one.

Stay Healthy…

Stay Wise…

Stay Happy…

and, Stay Engaged!

2018 will NOT be easy.

ONLY THE SHADOW KNOWS

Partisan divides…

With the ’18 Midterms looming as we are about to jump into the new year, meaning ALL House seats are going to be up for election/re-election, and a third of the senate seats, my advice is: PREPARE to REPEL ALL BOARDERS.

This is one prediction that most of us have little doubt about – 2018 will be simply out-of-control, from any logical perspectives.

Reason will NOT be part of the human condition in the United States of America during the twelve months of 2018.

But, fun, exciting, at times scary, depressing maybe, but, listen, rest assured, knowing that we’re ALL in this together – in one way and/or form each day.

As Congress is set to return from the holiday break, Monday, January 8th, sharp differences are really emerging between Republicans and Democrats over the next steps in the congressional investigations into whether Donald John Trump or any of his sycophants colluded with Russia during the 2016 elections, with Democrats pushing ! for more investigative work and Republicans seeking ! to bring the probes to an end.

The chairmen of the two Republican-run investigations – which are separately being conducted by the House and Senate intelligence committees – have expressed confidence in recent interviews that they are in the home stretch of the inquiries.

The House and Senate probes are being conducted for public-accountability [at time it certainly doesn’t seem so – behind closed-door sessions] purposes, while special counsel Bobby Mueller is leading a criminal investigation in the same matters.

The pace of the House probe accelerated dramatically, with two and sometimes three interviews scheduled a day in the final weeks of 2017, while Senate investigators have only a few dozen witnesses remaining ? on their list after conducting more than a hundred interviews over the past year.

While leaders in BOTH parties publicly say they are committed to writing a final report that has the support of BOTH ?! Republican and Democrats on the panel, multiple lawmakers say the reality of partisan differences on the Hill makes it difficult, and they are prepared to write separate reports if necessary.

It will be necessary for the writing of two reports, as any one who has followed these moments of insanity knows…

Regarding these hearings, let them continue for as long as possible. Forever, possibly.

These are the most entertaining events in the news. What day would be complete without replicant Congressman Adam Schiff [D-CA) popping off on CNN or MSNBC or BOTH at the same time?

What would people argue about in the comments sections? I can NOT wait for the interviews with Trump’s barber [hair-weaver], driver, dietician, and pilot – these episodes will NOT to be missed.

I believe Mark Twain had Congress in mind when he wrote this note to a newspaper editor:
My Dear Sir:
But you are proceeding upon the superstition that Moral Courage and a Hankering to Learn the Truth are ingredients in the human being’s makeup. Your premises being wild and foolish, you naturally and properly get wild and foolish results. If you will now reform, and in future proceed upon the sane and unchallengeable hypothesis that those two ingredients are on vacation in our race, and have been from the start, you will be able to account for some things which seem to puzzle you now.
Sincerely yours,
S. L. CLEMENS.

 

PARTY on the MOON

Got your tickets yet?

For the ninth year in a row, the cover band will be Party on the Moon.

Who?

Exactly.

I’m talking about The Weave‘s New Year’s Eve gala at Mar-a-Lago scheduled for this evening.

“…should old acquaintance be forgot…”

I wish!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Carrot Top is set to ring in the new year the same way he has for about two decades – at the lavish party he hosts at his private club in West Palm Beach.

With almost half of Puerto Rico still without sanitary and safe conditions of daily existence, our current president will ring in the new year – dancing and showing off his ill-fitted porcelain implants.

Feed them cake…

The security will be tighter. The crowds will probably be bigger. And, the tickets will run $750 a guest, a hike from last year, according to members.

Trump supporters said the extra hassle and cost will be worth it. Plus, it’s a write-off.

Membership applications at Mar-a-Lago surged after Trump was elected, leading the club to double its initiation fee ! to $200,000 this year.

As president, supposedly, Trump NO longer runs his real estate and hotel business [any one believing in this rubbish needs ! to be tested for rabies!], but he continues ! to own Mar-a-Lago and his other properties.

Look, the boost in prices for tonight’s party and Trump’s regular trips to Trump Organization properties – this is the president’s tenth visit to Mar-a-Lago this year – show how he is using his position to promote his brand.

Here’s who should be headlining tonight…

 

Nas can tell a story…

DAY 3

Most of us are preparing for the new year – completing lists of bogus resolutions for ’18; lying through our teeth about how successful we ALL were about meeting said goals in ’17; looking for reasons on why we ALL put on eleven extra pounds in ’17; concentrating on today’s Week 17 NFL games to see how seeding and home field advantage will play itself out prior to the playoffs next week; and, lastly, preparing for the two semi-final NCAA games that will be played on New Year’s day – Oklahoma v. Georgia and Clemson v. Alabama.

Thinking about IRAN on any your lists?

Absolutely NOT! would be my guess…

Well, something very interesting is taking place in Iran as I post this – protests.

There has been very little coverage, so far, about this story, anywhere.

For the third day in a row, Iran’s leaders were confronted by unauthorized protests in major cities yesterday, with crowds aiming their anger at the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and some demanding that he step down.

Last night, according to the BBC, the protests turned violent, with at least two demonstrators shot in the western town of Dorud.

The protests, which erupted over declining economic conditions, corruption and a lack of personal freedoms, presented a serious challenge to the government of President Hassan Rouhani, who won re-election on promises to revitalize the economy.

On Saturday, the angry crowds turned out on the same day that an annual pro-government rally took place in Tehran to commemorate counter-demonstrations against those who had challenged the re-election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as president in 2009.

But the pro-government rallies, planned for 1,200 cities and towns, according to the state media, were overshadowed in intensity !!! by Iranians in Tehran shouting, “Death to the dictator” and “Clerics should get lost,” witnesses told the BBC.

Overtly political demonstrations are rare in Iran, where security services are omnipresent, and officials called on the crowds to halt them.

The Revolutionary Guards, which along with its Basij militia spearheaded a crackdown against protesters in 2009, said in a statement carried by state news media yesterday that efforts were underway [meaning matters will be dealt with through a heavy hand!!!] to replicate that unrest, and that Iran “will not allow the country to be hurt.”

Trump tweeted [such an infant of disguise] support for the protesters, saying the government should respect the people’s right to express themselves.

“The world is watching!” our 45th president said.

The protests were the first major demonstrations since the 2009 demonstrations, and they appeared to be steered by reformist politicians who had challenged the re-election of Ahmadinejad.

The results of the vote set off more than six months of protests, with three million people protesting in the early days. Pro-reform groups, including the grass-roots Green Movement, said the vote had been rigged.

Rouhani’s re-election has emboldened Iranians seeking reforms. But, his pledges to improve the economy have been hampered by the cumulative effect of sanctions and decades of government mismanagement.

Worth paying attention to, aunts and uncles.

You know where/how/why those sanctions stem from…

BLACKLISTING SHIPS

First, why would anyone be surprised at the intransigence of China!

They are NOT a friend nor ally of the US – I would say they are one step away from being an overt enemy.

Beijing and Washington clashed over a US push to blacklist cargo ships for violating !international sanctions against North Korea, including one vessel South Korea said it seized after an illegal transfer of oil.

The confrontation, playing out in the jockeying at the United Nations, comes amid an escalating war of words between Trump and Xi over China’s willingness ? to tightly enforce sanctions following Pyongyang’s nuclear and long-range missile tests.

China’s critics say it has agreed to tough-sounding Security Council resolutions, while modulating ! how strictly the sanctions are actually enforced.

China denies it violates sanctions.

The Trump administration has been arguing for a campaign of “maximum pressure” on Pyongyang, but some US officials say they have mounting concerns that China is leaving room for a partial evasion of the sanctions, depriving Trump of some of the leverage he seeks.

Earlier this month, American officials shared with the UN declassified intelligence reports that they said supported ! Washington’s position that 10 vessels be formally designated as sanctions violators.

South Korea disclosed yesterday that it had seized one of the listed ships.

Crowded shipping lanes and air space. Five languages [Russian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, and English]. Two unstable / unpredictable leaders [Donnie and Kimmie] and two opportunistic ones [Putin and Xi]. Maybe, …some bad technology [NK] or reckless seamanship [unfortunately, our Navy]. Itchy trigger fingers. Red lines put down.

The need for face saving…

Just think of the endless scenarios: a Chinese airliner shot down by the US. Or, US airliner, or military plane, knocked out by NK. An accidental artillery attack on SK. A collision between a US naval ship and a Chinese ship. An interdiction in the Sea of Japan gone bad.

On and on…

The possibilities for an outright catastrophe are truly endless!

I just do NOT trust Donald John Trump to handle such a crisis.

NO ONE is PAYING any ATTENTION

Edward Scott Pruitt.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

From ALL appearances, a very volatile mix.

Earlier this month, ironically on December 7th, Pruitt, the EPA’s Administer, issued a powerful memo that single-handedly reversed ! the agency’s positions. NO longer would the EPA be “second-guessing” DTE Energy’s emission projections.

Rather, it would accept the firm’s “intent” to manage its pollution without requiring ! an enforceable agreement – part of the current president’s broader push to reduce the “burden” on companies.

The little-noticed memo offers a glimpse into how Pruitt has spent his first year running the EPA. In legal maneuvers and executive actions, in public speeches and closed-door meetings with industry groups, he has moved to shrink !!! the agency’s reach, alter its focus and pause or reverse ! numerous environmental rules [similar to his approach as the Attorney General of Oklahoma]. The effect has been to steer the EPA in the direction sought by those being regulated.

Pruitt has begun to dismantle former president Obama’s environmental legacy, halting ! the agency’s efforts to combat climate change and shift the nation away from its reliance on fossil fuels.

Such aggressiveness on issues from coal waste to vehicle emissions has made Pruitt one of Trump’s most high-profile and consequential Cabinet members. It also has made him one of the most controversial.

Critics describe his short tenure as an assault on the agency’s mission, its science and its employees.

Yet, allies praise Pruitt for returning more power to individual states while scaling back what they see as the previous administration’s regulatory excesses.

Such change is NOTHING if NOT stark…

UP 12.5%

I’m finding the longer we live on the Prairie, the smarter our rancher and cattlemen friends become.

The latest example being that about a year ago this time, they, to a person, said that oil prices would climb into the double digits by end-end 2017.

Guess what? They were right on the mark!

US oil prices rose above $60 a barrel on the final trading day of the year and hit their highest since mid-2015, as an unexpected fall in American output and a decline in commercial crude inventories stoked buying ! in generally thin trading.

International benchmark Brent crude futures also rose, supported by ongoing supply cuts by top producers OPEC and Russia as well as strong demand from China.

Oil prices closed 2017 with strong gains on signs the global glut that has dogged the market since 2014 is shrinking. Brent is up more than 17 percent since the beginning of the year and US West Texas Intermediate is 12.5 percent higher.

 

VASTLY UNDER-REPORTED!

Puerto Rico!

Nearly half of power customers in Puerto Rico lack electricity ! more than three months after Hurricane Maria.

Where is the outrage?

Remember what happened to W. Bush with Katrina?!?!

Why NOT with The Weave?

Trump has made one visit ! to the island since Maria. One!!!

Officials said 55% of the nearly 1.5 million customers have power, marking the first time the government has provided that statistic since the Category 4 storm hit on September 20th…there are many that question its validity.

Governor Ricardo Rossello had pledged 95% power generation by December 15th, while the US Army Corps of Engineers has said the entire island will NOT have power until May 2018.

Time for you to toss some more toilet tissue, Donnie Boy…

The media needs to be relentless on this troubling matter with the Trump administration!

People are dying!!

 

 

THE HOLIDAYS with JOHN McCLANE

Yippee-ki-yay!

You just can’t mix an office Christmas party in a Los Angeles skyscraper, with a bunch of cold-hearted German terrorists.

Within minutes of the start of this movie, a group of these terrorists show up, planning to steal $6 million in bonds. The terrorists have to break a tricky computer code before getting into the vault, so there is plenty of time for Bruce Willis [McClane] to play hero.

The villains in the film are very good, particularly the late great Alan Rickman with his performance as Hans Gruber…

 

Definitely add this film to your holiday list.

Die Hard, [’88].

TURN YOUR HEAD to the RIGHT, cough please

The current president will finally have his physical in January.

The White House says Trump will undergo the customary presidential physical on January 12th.

Spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders confirmed the date, and said it would take place at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.

The 71-year-old president [oldest ever elected] has released ! limited information about his health. During the campaign, his gastroenterologist [remember that fiasco?] released a four-paragraph letter saying he would be “the healthiest individual ever elected.”

Like his taxes, will his physical be audited as well?

Dr. Oz and Dr. Phil, please report to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue…