General Discussion, Wednesday, February 17, 2016

Posted on February 17, 2016 by Stella

Winter-in-Istanbul-Turkey

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225 Responses to General Discussion, Wednesday, February 17, 2016

  1. MaryfromMarin's avatar MaryfromMarin says:
    February 17, 2016 at 12:09 am

    The lighting is so interesting in that one.

    Liked by 7 people

    Reply
    • Stella's avatar stella says:
      February 17, 2016 at 12:11 am

      Another photo from Istanbul.

      Liked by 7 people

      Reply
      • The Tundra PA's avatar The Tundra PA says:
        February 17, 2016 at 12:23 am

        So beautiful!

        Liked by 5 people

        Reply
        • Col.(R) Ken's avatar Col.(R) Ken says:
          February 17, 2016 at 5:50 am

          Great picture………did I miss a race update?

          Liked by 2 people

          Reply
          • The Tundra PA's avatar The Tundra PA says:
            February 17, 2016 at 1:42 pm

            Perhaps you did, Colonel; I posted the last update pretty late Monday night. Hugh Neff won the Quest and Allen came in third. There are still 16 teams on the trail, and the Red Lantern has just under 200 miles left to the finish line; should take him about 2 more days.

            Now the focus turns to the Iditarod, which is a much bigger race, with far more media coverage. It begins on March 5th. Aliy will be running the A Team to go for the win; Allen will run the B Team, the younger and less experienced dogs, at a pace that is comfortable for them to enjoy without the pressure of leading the race. I’ll also be following two other young mushers who are friends of mine, Pete Kaiser from Bethel and Mike Williams, Jr, from Akiak. Most of the well-known, big name mushers will be running, and any could win: Jeff King, Dee Dee Jonrowe, Mitch Seavey, Dallas Seavey, Paul Gebhardt, Martin Buser, Rick Swenson, Lance Mackey. There are 86 teams signed up. GO ALIY!

            Liked by 2 people

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      • lovely's avatar lovely says:
        February 17, 2016 at 9:37 am

        That is a beautiful picture. It almost looks like a fairy tale forest.

        Liked by 2 people

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    • auscitizenmom's avatar auscitizenmom says:
      February 17, 2016 at 8:36 am

      That is gorgeous.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  2. MaryfromMarin's avatar MaryfromMarin says:
    February 17, 2016 at 12:13 am

    Gosh, doesn’t ANYONE in DC know how to operate a computer properly? /major sarc…

    Reports Showing War Against ISIS Wasn’t Working Were Deleted

    http://counterjihadreport.com/2016/02/16/reports-showing-war-against-isis-wasnt-working-were-deleted/

    Liked by 6 people

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    • Col.(R) Ken's avatar Col.(R) Ken says:
      February 17, 2016 at 5:54 am

      Mary, it may have not been the first time for these traitors. When are “We the People” laying the blame for the creation of. iSIS at the feet of these people?

      Liked by 5 people

      Reply
  3. Jacqueline Taylor Robson's avatar Jacqueline Taylor Robson says:
    February 17, 2016 at 12:19 am

    Morning all! It seems like every day there is another thing to worry about. My knees hurt from so much praying! I just gotta hold on, it’s got to get better…

    Liked by 8 people

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  4. MaryfromMarin's avatar MaryfromMarin says:
    February 17, 2016 at 12:34 am

    “Tree House” [1982], by Jerry Uelsmann.

    Liked by 8 people

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  5. MaryfromMarin's avatar MaryfromMarin says:
    February 17, 2016 at 2:05 am

    “When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; but when the wicked rule, the people groan.”
    —[Proverbs 29:2]—

    Liked by 8 people

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  6. MaryfromMarin's avatar MaryfromMarin says:
    February 17, 2016 at 2:10 am

    God’s blessing on all, this new day. Will see you all later, at tea time!

    Liked by 6 people

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  7. WeeWeed's avatar WeeWeed says:
    February 17, 2016 at 7:02 am

    Mornin’ kids!

    Liked by 8 people

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  8. Menagerie's avatar Menagerie says:
    February 17, 2016 at 7:16 am

    Coffee. And more coffee. Good morning everyone.

    Liked by 7 people

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  9. nyetneetot's avatar nyetneetot says:
    February 17, 2016 at 7:45 am

    Mornin’ stella! (Smiter of those that ought to be smote) 😎 🍸
    Mornin’ WeeWeed! (Master Mixologist Extrodinare) 😛 😀 🍸 (Old Fashioned, no cherries)
    Mornin’ Menagerie! 😎 🍸 🍸 🍸 🍸
    Mornin’ Ad rem! (Queen Felis catus) 🐱 🍸
    Mornin’ ytz4mee! 🙂 🍸
    Mornin’ partyzantski! 🙂
    Mornin’ texan59! 🙂 |_|
    Mornin’ ZurichMike! 🙂 🌯 (It’s a bacon breakfast burrito)
    Mornin’ Col.(R) Ken! (hand salute) 🙂
    Mornin’ letjusticeprevail2014! 🙂
    Mornin’ ctdar! 🙂 🍸
    Mornin’ tessa50! 🙂 🍸
    Mornin’ waltzingmtilda! 🙂 🍸
    Mornin’ varsityward! 🙂
    Mornin’ MaryfromMarin! 😀 |_| (Mortlach)
    Mornin’ taqiyyologist! 🙂 |_| (Roy Rogers)
    Mornin’ Howie! 🙂
    Mornin’ Sha! 🙂
    Mornin’ BigMamaTEA! 🙂 🍸
    Mornin’ The Tundra PA! 🙂 🍸
    Mornin’ lovely! 🙂 🍸
    Mornin’ michellc! 🙂 🍸
    Mornin’ auscitizenmom! 🙂 🍸 (Lemon Drop)
    Mornin’ Auntie Lib! 🙂 🍸
    Mornin’ ImpeachEmAll 🙂
    Mornin’ Les! 🙂
    Mornin’ TexasRanger! 🙂
    Mornin’ Ziiggii! 🙂
    Mornin’ oldiadguy! 🙂
    Mornin’ smiley! (“stuck in spambucket”) 🙂 🍸 (Shirley Temple)
    Mornin’ derk! (“Stellars”) 🙂 🍸
    Mornin’ facebkwallflower! 🙂
    Mornin’ Ms. Cindy! (aka “Ms Cynlynn” aka “ms cynlynn”) 🙂 🍸
    Mornin’ whiners and complainers! ⭐
    Mornin’ to people posting that I missed. 😳
    Mornin’ to all you lurkers! 😕

    Breakfast!

    Cinnamon rolls for coffee!

    ⭐ = Unprintable phallic symbol

    Liked by 10 people

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  10. Menagerie's avatar Menagerie says:
    February 17, 2016 at 8:19 am

    Harper Collins halts the production process on a published author’s new book because one chapter contains the speculation than an advancing life form (apparently it’s a sci fi book about artificial intelligence) might see humans as a threat because they terminate their young. Just this reference, not a comment on abortion or even a prolonged discussion about it.

    The editor declared herself highly offended and cancelled the whole project, not even following the usual step of sending the manuscript back to the author with notes. Anyhow, the author self published on Amazon and may do quite well with the book. Sci fi is about the only genre I just can’t get into, or I would buy his book. Heck, maybe I’ll buy it to support him. I think I saw that it was only 99 cents.

    http://www.nickcolebooks.com/2016/02/09/banned-by-the-publisher/

    I hope the book is a huge success and Harper Collins lost a bunch of money.

    Liked by 4 people

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    • auscitizenmom's avatar auscitizenmom says:
      February 17, 2016 at 8:58 am

      I ordered the Kindle version……….”just for spite” as my mother used to say.

      Liked by 4 people

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    • Wooly Covfefe's avatar taqiyyologist says:
      February 17, 2016 at 9:00 am

      If you knew what I know about SF/F publishing, awards, and fandom, you would be revolted beyond belief.

      SJWs have taken over the industry and all of the above.

      Castalia House is a new publisher that is steadfast in barring SJW entryism. That’s the only upside to this takeover and no-platforming of anyone who doesn’t write what they want written. Gonna kick people off the stage, because it’s your stage? Fine. We’ll make our own stage.

      I cannot in good conscience read another book published by HarperCollins or TOR, knowing what I know about these sick, twisted people.

      Liked by 3 people

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      • Wooly Covfefe's avatar taqiyyologist says:
        February 17, 2016 at 9:18 am

        If you follow Vox Day’s site for a few years, you gain some insight into the story. It’s not just SF/F that has been taken by SJWs, it’s all industry. The main functions of companies have shifted from making a product that people want to buy — to making the companies diverse, and a “safe space” for deviancy.

        HarperCollins will fail, because their main goal is no longer making good books.

        ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, FOX and the rest will also fail, in the end, because their main goal has been superseded by this new set of SJW goals.

        This is why you complain about the products you buy, and note their faults. Why was this made??! Who approved this design!!?

        The companies that make the things you buy have also been taken by SJWs. The company that makes your computer, or your operating system, or your danged lawn mower, their main goal used to be making a dang good computer, operating system, or lawn mower.

        No more. Their main goal is diversity and community outreach and safe spaces.

        Do you want to change the world? Get into H.R.

        Liked by 4 people

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      • Wooly Covfefe's avatar taqiyyologist says:
        February 17, 2016 at 4:00 pm

        SJWs don’t seek to curtail abuses.

        The seek a monopoly on them.

        Which is why they abused the guy out of a job, who landed a remotely-controlled spacecraft on a comet. They abused him out of his life-long career because, at the ensuing press conference, he wore a shirt printed with pretty, scantily-clad anime women on it.

        These harpies, these Suzie rotten-crotches will never do what he did.

        Wearing a shirt with pretty girls on it means he must lose his job.

        Which involves landing spacecraft on comets.

        This is all these SJW can do. Infiltrate and destroy everything that works.

        Liked by 1 person

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  11. nyetneetot's avatar nyetneetot says:
    February 17, 2016 at 8:34 am

    So I go to the neighbor’s and read the tech posting. Other guests are so cute. “I only buy apple because of the security”. Apple is a logo, it’s the same hardware as anything else silly guests.
    If they really wanted it unlocked, they’d ask the Chinese.

    Liked by 5 people

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    • Stella's avatar stella says:
      February 17, 2016 at 8:43 am

      Thanks for saying that.

      Liked by 2 people

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    • Sha's avatar Sha says:
      February 17, 2016 at 8:46 am

      You know what gets me is….. I thought privacy is for the living not the dead .

      Liked by 3 people

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      • Stella's avatar stella says:
        February 17, 2016 at 8:47 am

        As I understand it, what the government is asking for is a universal key – meaning that they can unlock any iPhone, not just this particular one. If it were just asking Apple to unlock that phone and give the data to the FBI, that would be okay, but not a universal key, imo.

        Liked by 6 people

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        • michellc's avatar michellc says:
          February 17, 2016 at 9:01 am

          They only ask because they want to keep us “safe.”
          The Patriot Act was supposed to keep us safe, yet all it has done is allow us to be spied on while the government continues to allow terrorists in the country.

          I’m going to go out on a limb and guess we have more terrorists living in the U.S. today than pre-911. I don’t think the government has kept us safe, and I believe that about W as well. You can’t keep us safe and not only allow the bad guys to stay here, but keep a wide open door for others to follow through.

          Liked by 4 people

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        • michellc's avatar michellc says:
          February 17, 2016 at 9:18 am

          They are certainly using the excuse we can’t get the terrorists because of the phones.

          http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/feb/16/john-brennan-cia-chief-says-us-knew-isis-plot-days/

          CIA director John Brennan told CBS’s “60 Minutes” that the “system was blinking red” shortly before the terrorists launched a string of gun and bomb attacks in the French capital on Nov. 13.

          He said the CIA was aware of the impending attacks, but was unable to intercept messages the terrorists were using to plot the massacre because of new cellphone-encryption technology.

          “We knew the system was blinking red. We knew just in the days before that ISIL was trying to carry out something,” Mr. Brennan said, using an acronym for the Islamic State, The Daily Mail reported.

          “But the individuals involved have been able to take advantage of newly available means of communication that are walled off from law enforcement officials,” he added.

          Liked by 5 people

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          • Wooly Covfefe's avatar taqiyyologist says:
            February 17, 2016 at 9:40 am

            “…using an acronym for the Islamic State, The Daily Mail lied.”

            Why can’t you say the whole thing, DM? Are you afraid?

            LEVANT. Say it, Daily Mail. You can do it. Don’t be skeered.

            Liked by 3 people

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            • Wooly Covfefe's avatar taqiyyologist says:
              February 17, 2016 at 9:43 am

              The anti-Jew Daily Mail and our anti-Jew Presidentboy are the only people I ever hear calling ISIS “ISIL”.

              Makes one go “hmmm….” and stroke one’s chin with thumb and forefinger.

              Liked by 4 people

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        • derk's avatar derk says:
          February 17, 2016 at 12:30 pm

          All for shutting down terrorists, it’s just that I don’t trust the government, especially with an “Universal Key”, so I will back Apple’s statement at this point. There are other ways to stop terrorism here: Seal the border, more effective screening, stop the “refugees”,bomb the crap out of them, basically what Mr. Trump is saying.
          The “key” is probably already available, so agree with some others here, disinformation.

          Liked by 3 people

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        • Sha's avatar Sha says:
          February 18, 2016 at 7:57 am

          I knew there was more to the story than I knew, Thank You . I couldn’t figure out what the big deal was about unlocking the phone if it could catch some bad guys but now that I know the whole story I agree with you . They are using this situation as a excuse to get the universal key. ( like they don’t already spy on us )

          Like

          Reply
      • auscitizenmom's avatar auscitizenmom says:
        February 17, 2016 at 9:06 am

        I just saw Mayor Giuliani speak about this on FOX and FRIENDS. He blames Rand Paul and Ted Cruz for scaring us. He said they made us think that the government was spying on us. 🙄 “The government is scrupulous with this information.”

        Liked by 4 people

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    • Stella's avatar stella says:
      February 17, 2016 at 8:58 am

      It’s obvious that at least half of the commenters haven’t read the Apple statement, or maybe even the post! Then there are the ones who must make it a political post about Trump. Sigh.

      Liked by 4 people

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      • nyetneetot's avatar nyetneetot says:
        February 17, 2016 at 9:01 am

        I didn’t get that far into the comments before I stopped reading. It was getting silly fast.

        Liked by 3 people

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      • michellc's avatar michellc says:
        February 17, 2016 at 9:03 am

        From the statement by apple, nothing even exists right now to do what they’re asking and the government is wanting them to make something that even hackers as well as the government would have access to that would allow them access to any phone.

        Liked by 4 people

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        • nyetneetot's avatar nyetneetot says:
          February 17, 2016 at 9:18 am

          The encryption backdoors have been in place since the late 90’s. The whole thing is silly. If anything it’s either someone at the FBI is unaware of what is available to them or it’s misinformation to give the illusion that people have privacy.

          Liked by 2 people

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          • Wooly Covfefe's avatar taqiyyologist says:
            February 17, 2016 at 9:28 am

            Disinformation. That’s the word you’re looking for.

            Robert Anton Wilson, to the rescue!

            Liked by 2 people

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            • nyetneetot's avatar nyetneetot says:
              February 17, 2016 at 9:38 am

              You are correct. I meant intentional, so “disinformation”. Thank you.
              I have to write root cause analysis reports and sometimes you don’t want to sick your finger in the eye of the customer staff that signs your pay check so I tend to soften it up a little.

              Liked by 3 people

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          • michellc's avatar michellc says:
            February 17, 2016 at 10:28 am

            From what I understand about the new I-phones is that it is new technology. Nothing like the old phones, including the older versions of I-phones.

            Liked by 3 people

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            • nyetneetot's avatar nyetneetot says:
              February 17, 2016 at 10:50 am

              Do we need a whole post on this? People this is rocket science! It should be very self-explanatory!

              Liked by 3 people

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            • nyetneetot's avatar nyetneetot says:
              February 17, 2016 at 11:36 am

              The modern cellular phone (regardless of brand) is actually easier to understand if you think of it as (at least) two devices glued together – the radio/transmitter you never directly interact with and the nice color touch screen mini computer that sometimes sends signals to the radio part.

              The radio/transmitter is for things that you do outside of your phone, like talk to people or send messages, and almost everything outside your phone involves connecting to another computer. That includes talking to people. About 1999 the cellular companies were changing to digital infrastructure from analog. So even back then your voice was converted to a digital signal played from a computer to your phone receiver.

              The mini computer part of your phone allows you to interact with your phone in a controlled fashion. You store data on your phone, but very little of your data is unique to your handset. Your call log, text messages, cloud backup, anything that passed to the radio/transmitter is duplicated somewhere else out of your control. The government has had warrantless access to that data for quite some time now, and still does.

              In 2014 trade press releases, Apple changed ‘what’ and ‘how’ data gets encrypted ON their iPhone, Apple did not design the iPhone to prevent law enforcement from executing legitimate warrants. It designed the iPhone to prevent anyone who might want your data — including hackers, malicious insiders, and even hostile foreign governments — from accessing your physical phone. Apple has no backdoor to decrypt the iPhone. Like everyone else, Apple would need to use a brut force attack to get the last little bit of data that somehow did not get sent to the cloud storage or copied to a computer somewhere else while charging via USB cable.

              In the case of this story, the device encryption is marketing. It does nothing for every bit of data that left your phone. Which is literally every bit of data on your phone.

              Liked by 2 people

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              • michellc's avatar michellc says:
                February 17, 2016 at 12:17 pm

                Which is what I was trying to say. I’m certainly no phone expert and hate cellphones with a passion, but people I know who make a living repairing phones have told me the new Iphones are secure if someone gets your phone unlike android phones.
                The phones in the 90’s I could unlock and I’m a dunce when it comes to technology.
                I don’t think they’d be going to court and whining on television if they could do what you say they can do. What would be the need?

                Liked by 3 people

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                • auscitizenmom's avatar auscitizenmom says:
                  February 17, 2016 at 12:30 pm

                  Politics!?

                  Liked by 3 people

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                • nyetneetot's avatar nyetneetot says:
                  February 17, 2016 at 12:38 pm

                  So if I provide you links to 20 years press releases and news stories, you’ll consider the possibly the government is misleading the public about the need for Apple build backdoors into future products. SMH.

                  Like

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                  • michellc's avatar michellc says:
                    February 17, 2016 at 2:05 pm

                    I am saying that technology today is way different than 20 years ago, even 10 years ago.
                    I would not say the government wouldn’t mislead, but I also do think the government is clearly wanting something they don’t have.

                    I do not trust cell phones, computers, on star and other devices on vehicles. Which is why there is nothing on them that I care for anyone knowing and is why I won’t have newer vehicles.

                    I do believe you’re arguing something, I’m just not real clear what that it is.

                    Why would it be hard to assume that Iphone has came up with a way to have a phone safe from hackers and others?

                    Liked by 2 people

                  • nyetneetot's avatar nyetneetot says:
                    February 17, 2016 at 2:23 pm

                    Bear with me. Technology has changed, yes. But what it is used for has not. Tube technology changed to transistor, but we still have radio’s, just smaller and more efficient. However, it is still designed to receive radio waves and process them into a recognizable thing that is of use to us. The method has changed for the processing of the signal but the purpose of the device remains the same. It also has some of the same issues as the original technology (i.e. clouds and buildings block the signal). Mt point is the advance of technology only makes the device smaller and more efficient, it does not change issues that have been with us from the beginning due to using much of the original infrastructure. Encrypting the user data on device does nothing for any data that left the device. Due to how the encryption process works, the data on a powered on phone is accessible once the phone is in an unlocked state and not just by the person holding the phone.

                    Like

              • Ziiggii's avatar Ziiggii says:
                February 17, 2016 at 1:21 pm

                what if, since it was a county owned phone, it used a mVPN connection for all data in and out of the phone?

                It could be that for all data transferred over either of the radio transmitters (wifi or cell) it was encrypted at least to the destination (ie back to the county network) since he more than likely needed a secured connection back to the county’s network for resources.

                It is technically possible to have a completely encrypted phone (data i/o and stored). Otherwise the DoD would have never approved use of the iPhones in the field while connected to the DoD network.

                Liked by 2 people

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                • nyetneetot's avatar nyetneetot says:
                  February 17, 2016 at 1:41 pm

                  “… Otherwise the DoD would have never approved use of the iPhones in the field while connected to the DoD network.

                  BAHAHAHAHAHAH!!! Oh, you meant that. Sorry. There were kickbacks upon kickbacks that got Microsoft allowed on DoD equipment back in the mid 90’s. Today, most of the consumer tech is hacked before it comes out of the box (cough Lenovo cough).
                  As far as the what if, the phone is essentially just a modem that streams a poor quality audio file. The cellular network carrier would have to offer data stream encryption (and some do or did), but then what happens with your voice call once it leaves your carrier’s equipment. Your data goes on the old phone company property and gets intercepted and copied under all the old laws. Anyway, that is just for an authentic network connection. If your phone connects to a fake cell tower then oh well.

                  Liked by 2 people

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            • nyetneetot's avatar nyetneetot says:
              February 17, 2016 at 11:47 am

              Also, they are talking about a device that is in a locked state. If you are walking through the airport, or riding a public bus and composing a tweet, your phone is unlocked, unencrypted, and being accessed by someone other than you.

              Liked by 1 person

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          • lovely's avatar lovely says:
            February 17, 2016 at 10:36 am

            Thanks Nyet, It looks like I’m not the only one who thought, “I’ll ask Nyet what is going on.” 🙂

            Liked by 5 people

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  12. michellc's avatar michellc says:
    February 17, 2016 at 9:08 am

    Jeb being Jeb again.

    Liked by 4 people

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  13. WeeWeed's avatar WeeWeed says:
    February 17, 2016 at 9:44 am

    Trump be on in a bit – 3 or so rallies today.

    Liked by 3 people

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  14. Stella's avatar stella says:
    February 17, 2016 at 10:26 am

    I just got a Bluetooth mini speaker for my laptop, and I love it! Just thought I’d throw that in.

    Good day to everyone! Another day of politics; I’m afraid we have many ahead of us in this crazy season.

    Liked by 3 people

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  15. nyetneetot's avatar nyetneetot says:
    February 17, 2016 at 10:46 am

    I love the comments.

    Liked by 3 people

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  16. nyetneetot's avatar nyetneetot says:
    February 17, 2016 at 12:30 pm

    I came home early.

    Liked by 6 people

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  17. derk's avatar derk says:
    February 17, 2016 at 12:35 pm

    Lamecherry yesterday had an article defending the Treehouse, actually called CTH
    “THEE American Site”, on the internet. Nice.
    Was going to post link but a bit offensive, as is her style on occasion.

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply
  18. nyetneetot's avatar nyetneetot says:
    February 17, 2016 at 12:54 pm

    IT Term of the day: LART

    Luser Attitude Readjustment Tool

    1. n. In the collective mythos of scary devil monastery, this is an essential item in the toolkit of every BOFH. The LART classic is a 2×4 or other large billet of wood usable as a club, to be applied upside the head of spammers and other people who cause sysadmins more grief than just naturally goes with the job. Perennial debates rage on alt.sysadmin.recovery over what constitutes the truly effective LART; knobkerries, semiautomatic weapons, flamethrowers, and tactical nukes all have their partisans. Compare clue-by-four.
    2. v. To use a LART. Some would add “in malice”, but some sysadmins do prefer to gently lart their users as a first (and sometimes final) warning.
    3. interj. Calling for one’s LART, much as a surgeon might call “Scalpel!”.
    4. interj. rare Used in flames as a rebuke. “LART! LART! LART!”

    I shall LART you appropriately.

    Liked by 5 people

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  19. lovely's avatar lovely says:
    February 17, 2016 at 1:28 pm

    Ted Cruz held a press conference and stated that his campaign has received a cease-and-desist letter from Donald Trump concerning the airing of an ad which portrays Trump as pro abortion. I saw the ad somewhere but now I can’t find it, does anyone have a link to the Cruz ad?

    I didn’t hear all of Cruz’s presser but he in my opinion made a law student mistake, he said that the ad does not state that Trump is pro abortion rather that Donald says that he is pro abortion. The message of the ad cannot be argued; it is to show that Trump is pro abortion.

    Now Cruz the smartest attorney in the world has either lost his marbles or he is no longer on the ropes but has been knocked clear out of the ring and his head is rattling 1) Cruz just admitted that the ad makes it appear that Trump is currently pro abortion and in doing so Cruz 2) just admitted that Trump is not currently pro abortion. His ad is therefore defamation as Cruz will be held to the standard of a reasonable man, a reasonable man knows that Trump’s has repeatedly said that he has evolved on the issue of abortion and he is now pro life.

    The ad can’t be defamatory because it includes comments Trump himself made on national TV, Cruz said.

    Say what? The malicious intent of the ad is to portray Trump as pro abortion when Trump has said repeatedly that he is not. That Trump was once pro abortion is not a defense of the ad.

    The premise of Cruz’s argument simply isn’t isn’t sound IMO.

    Cruz went so far as to say he would like to depose Trump himself 🙄 I think Cruz is losing whatever good judgement he may have had before all of this started.

    http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/politics/Ted-Cruz-Responds-to-Trump–369129671.html

    Liked by 1 person

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  20. Stella's avatar stella says:
    February 17, 2016 at 1:52 pm

    Somebody at the neighbor’s house just insinuated that I’m a troll,

    I am afraid she has either mistaken the mole hill for Mount Everest OR her incessant nit picking is nothing more than a not so clever ruse to score cheap points against Trump disguised as “I am concerned for the truth”.

    Liked by 4 people

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  21. lovely's avatar lovely says:
    February 17, 2016 at 2:35 pm

    The ad

    Liked by 1 person

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    • Stella's avatar stella says:
      February 17, 2016 at 3:45 pm

      That is a very deceptive ad. The interesting thing about that interview is that he made the following statement, not long afterward:

      Source: The America We Deserve, by Donald Trump, p. 31-32 , Jul 2, 2000

      I support a woman’s right to choose, but I am uncomfortable with the procedures. When Tim Russert asked me on Meet the Press if I would ban partial-birth abortion, my pro-choice instincts led me to say no. After the show, I consulted two doctors I respect and, upon learning more about this procedure, I have concluded that I would support a ban.

      Also, in 2011, he came out solidly Pro-Life:

      USA Today report on 2011 Conservative Political Action Conf. , Feb 10, 2011

      In his CPAC speech, Trump sounded many themes popular with Republican conservatives. “I am pro-life,” he said. “I am against gun control.”

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      • Wooly Covfefe's avatar taqiyyologist says:
        February 17, 2016 at 4:24 pm

        Stella, I don’t know what to believe, or which, if any, candidate to support any more.

        I really don’t. I like the truths that Donald has made our nation think about, but those shocks are dwindling.

        http://www.politico.com/story/2016/02/donald-trump-bush-impeach-iraq-george-219279

        I like Trump, don’t get me wrong. Even the Ronaldus Magnus was Hollywood once.

        But there were definitely times in Trump’s life that we can clearly identify that he was on the same page, as flagrantly openly and verbally as he is wont to do, as MTV, Green Day, RATM, and OWS.

        He hated Bush 2. Because it was cool to hate Bush 2.

        I just don’t know any more, politically.

        I like his truth, and his I Don’t Give a Fk panache in delivery, though.

        I like that he’s not Establishment. Even though he’s quite established.

        Reagan was established by the time Bedtime for Bonzo came out.

        I just don’t know. But I also don’t worry. God will give us who we deserve.

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        • Stella's avatar stella says:
          February 17, 2016 at 4:46 pm

          To tell you the truth, I support Donald Trump because I believe he can beat the Democrat candidate in 2016, and that is very important. Rush talked about it yesterday:

          http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2016/02/16/the_mister_big_of_the_vast_right_wing_conspiracy_explains_what_s_going_on_perfection_is_not_an_option_folks

          The biggest and most destructive force in this country today is the Democrat Party. They’ve got to be beaten. They’ve got to be stopped. This Democrat Party that we’re up against today is not the Democrat Party of 20 years ago or further, 25, 30, 40. The Democrat Party today has been totally taken over by ultra left-wing radicals, international left-wing radicals for whom the United States of America is an obstacle, for whom the United States of America is a problem, for whom the United States of America is largely disliked. And they have power now. And you see what they’re doing with the power.

          They are chopping this country down to size every which way they can, some of it very publicly, much of it you don’t see until it’s too late to stop, but nevertheless that’s the objective, and that to me, speaking personally, my overriding desire is for them to be stopped. My overriding desire is for that party to lose. Now, you get into an argument, well, what’s the best way to make that happen. I realize that some people say the only way that can happen is with conservatives dominating and so forth. And that’d be great if it was the case.

          But my point to you, I’m not going to not vote. I’m not going to stay home or get my nose out of joint or get twisted in a bunch of anger if my preferred person doesn’t win but there’s still somebody out there I think can snooker and smack around and beat the Democrats. And that shouldn’t surprise anybody. People can say I’ve been leading conservatism these 27 years. I’ve also been doing everything I can to inform and educate people about who and what the Democrat Party is as well.

          ….

          RUSH: It’s really simple, my friends: I don’t want to destroy anybody who could defeat Hillary Clinton. I don’t want to damage anybody who could defeat the Democrat Party. It’s no more complicated than that. The establishment still thinks all this anger here is a bunch of spoiled brat, little children-type anger. They don’t get it yet. They need to be awakened fully.

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    • Stella's avatar stella says:
      February 17, 2016 at 4:26 pm

      Jessica Taylor is a reporter for NPR.

      Liked by 2 people

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  22. Wooly Covfefe's avatar taqiyyologist says:
    February 17, 2016 at 4:06 pm

    A Conversation With a Cabbie and What It Tells Us About The Next Several Minutes of My Life

    by Tom Friedman
    Special Guest Columnist for Ace of Spades HQ

    I was talking to my cabbie in Cairo, making idle chit-chat as we threaded our way through a colorful and boisterous bazaar, what the locals call a souk, when I pointed out how the world is becoming more interconnected every second.

    Then, he stabbed me.

    As the blade slipped between my ribs, it occurred to me the rubber of the knife’s handle was made in Brazil, and the steel crafted in Japan. Much like the gaudy wares on display at the souk outside the red-flecked windows, my backseat butchering was a glorious melange of the intersection of ideas at the great crossroads of the world.

    As my cabbie continued to stab at my torso, I pondered that this moment was made possible by what I call “the pollenization of possibility.”

    Consider: It required the melding of three cultures, Brazilian, Japanese, and Egyptian, to produce the perforation in my Minnesota-made kidney. It was as if the grand viziers of thought and the great moguls of trade had conspired for years to come together into the red-tipped point of my itinerant assassin’s dagger.

    You can see this everywhere in the world, in “American” cars with parts made in Japan and largely assembled in Mexico, or in the latest “killer” app, conceived in Silicon Valley but coded in Seoul.

    The pace of cross-pollenization and adaptation is unstoppable and ever-increasing, much like the crazed murder-tempo of my assailant’s unexpected blood-frenzy.

    I hold up my hands in defense, like those “left behind” in the New Economy, trying to protect themselves from the incoming sharp edge of disruptive change. Though, in my case, I was actually trying to protect myself from the incoming the sharp edge of stabbing.

    But, just as ideas from far-away cultures penetrate our society, the blade cuts into me like a viral meme, or perhaps a catchy Bollywood song.

    But one of those songs that plunges deeply into the meat of your palm and severs the nerves to your fingers.

    I cry out to passers-by for help, but just like those left behind by globalization, they are heedless of the changes happening all around them.

    Finally, I catch their attention. Then they begin stabbing me too.

    As the crowd gathers around me with knives and antiquated farm implements, some scratch-made, some from the nuevas factorias of Veracruz, it strikes to me that I am witnessing what I call the “sudden inevitable.”

    In my book The Sudden Inevitable, I trace how events that overtake us have percolated in the collective unconscious for decades, even centuries.

    This guy just cut off my foot with a shovel.

    Ideas are pregnant in the ether before any human speaks them aloud, much like the idea of stabbing me to death has long percolated (I suspect) in the collective mind of my closest confreres.

    And thus, as I lie wet and wriggling upon the ground, this conclave of multicultural avatars pulling off my pants and leaving me naked to the waist for God knows what reason, I think about the quickening pulse of international concourse, and how it matches my own quickening pulse, as my heartbeat becomes fast, weak, and thready due to rapid exsanguination. Something of the world has been lost, and it will not be returning any time soon.

    Rather like my foot, which I see now has been placed upon a table in the souk and is now being offered for sale at the price of one pound, sixty piastres. I’m rather proud that the foot of a simple man from the farms of Minnesota should command such a lofty price in this place, this chattering beehive of a bazaar where the locals come to haggle over bolts of cotton and baskets of taro, and where Westerners come to be butchered and stripped down for their organs.

    And their foot.

    I cannot speak any longer. My microrecorder (made in the Netherlands) is almost full. Oh bugger, they just took that too

    Posted by Ace at 03:15 PM Comments

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  23. Stella's avatar stella says:
    February 17, 2016 at 4:31 pm

    Obama to skip Scalia funeral, will pay respects Friday at court

    http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/269712-obamas-to-pay-respects-to-scalia-friday-at-court

    President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama will travel to the Supreme Court Friday to pay their respects to the late Justice Antonin Scalia, but they will not attend his funeral Saturday.

    Scalia’s body will lie in repose in the Great Hall of the court Friday, and the building will be open to the public to allow visitors to honor the justice, who died last Saturday at 79.

    White House press secretary Josh Earnest said the Obamas will not attend Scalia’s Saturday funeral at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington. Vice President Biden and his wife, Jill, will be present instead.

    Earnest would not say whether anything was on the president’s schedule that prevented him from going to the funeral.

    Liked by 2 people

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  24. Stella's avatar stella says:
    February 17, 2016 at 7:11 pm

    Just saw the funniest comment on Facebook. It is regarding the new national MSNBC poll, showing Cruz up 2 over Trump. The other national polls – Quinipiac and and USA Today – show Trump up 20 points and 15 points, respectively. Back to the comment:

    Must be the Glenn Beck-Hale Bop Comet waiting list poll.

    Liked by 4 people

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  25. MaryfromMarin's avatar MaryfromMarin says:
    February 17, 2016 at 10:26 pm

    This is BEYOND appalling:

    Glenn Beck: God Brought About Scalia’s Death So America Would Vote For Ted Cruz

    http://dailycaller.com/2016/02/17/glenn-beck-god-brought-about-scalias-death-so-america-would-vote-for-ted-cruz/

    [article at CTH also]

    Liked by 1 person

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