There's battle lines being drawn.
Nobody's right if everybody's wrong.
Young people speaking their minds
getting so much resistance from behind

Monday, January 27, 2020

Linkee-poo Monday

Kobe Bryant, and so it goes.

And then there were five. "A fifth person in the US is confirmed to have been infected with the Wuhan coronavirus."

"With the number of confirmed cases in the country approaching three thousand, and at least 80 deaths, China has placed almost 60 million people on lockdown, with full or partial travel restrictions on 15 cities across Hubei, the central Chinese province of which Wuhan is the capital." A quarantine of 60 million people.

"Of the estimated 1.3 million people sent to Auschwitz, some 1.1 million died at the camp, including 960,000 Jews. It was the largest extermination camp run by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland during World War II. The Soviet Army liberated Auschwitz 75 years ago, on Jan. 27, 1945." We remember.

"The majority of Americans have health insurance that includes coverage for prescription drugs. But unfortunately that doesn't ensure that they can afford the specific drugs their doctors prescribe for them."

"SpaceX has asked the U.S. District Court of the Central District of California to hold a hearing on March 2 to consider the company’s eight-months-long protest against the U.S. Air Force."

"Three rockets struck the US Embassy compound in Baghdad on Sunday, leaving one person injured, a US official told CNN initial reports indicate… The official said the injury was minor and the individual had since returned to duty."

"A key interest rate is moving to levels last seen in the fall when markets were worried about the trade war, and that falling yield may be a warning signal."

"A few moments later, an aide asked Kelly to follow her into Pompeo's private living room at the State Department without a recorder. The aide did not say the ensuing exchange would be off the record." Sloppy, sloppy, sloppy. While this may play well with the president's base, but he's misjudged the general populace.

"Transcript: NPR's (Mary Louise Kelly's) Full Interview With Secretary Of State Mike Pompeo." So, other than "Obama bad, we're good" even though Iran was winding their atomic program down under the agreement Obama helped broker, and they've gone back to full production since the president pulled out of the agreement. While much of the brouhaha centers around Mary Loused Kelly's questioning Sec. Pompeo on his lack of support for Ambassador Yovanovitch, but things weren't going so well with the Iran questions either. Pompeo was embarrassed at his lack of preparation and his inability to steer the conversation. There are reports that Pompeo cornered Kelly in his private room and berated her, demanded she point out Ukraine on an unmarked map (she did), and then said "people will hear about this." They most certainly have, Mr. Secretary. It's time for you to write your memoirs. (Grokked from Laura J Mixon)

"One day after a contentious interview that was followed by an expletive-filled verbal lashing of NPR host Mary Louise Kelly, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is publicly accusing her of lying to him — 'twice.'" Petty, small people in positions of power. It's time for Mike Pompeo to write his memoirs.

"Donald Trump’s plan to address the Republican National Committee’s winter meeting at Trump National Doral next to the Miami airport has been in the works since mid-January, about the same time that the resort raised the nightly rate for its least expensive rooms from $254 to $539." Dear RNC, he's not just robbing us, he's robbing you. The president is ripping you off and pocketing that money. You're being had. (Grokked from Jim Wright)

"But Trump isn’t Nixon and the Republicans of today aren’t the Republicans of 1974." Jim Wright on the impeachment trial. It should have never come to this.

"A recording reviewed by ABC News appears to capture President Donald Trump telling associates he wanted the then-U.S. ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch fired while speaking at a small gathering that included Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman -- two former business associates of Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani who have since been indicted in New York." Oh look, a smoking gun. (Grokked from Kathryn Cramer)

"President Trump told his national security adviser in August that he wanted to continue freezing $391 million in security assistance to Ukraine until officials there helped with investigations into Democrats including the Bidens, according to an unpublished manuscript by the former adviser, John R. Bolton." And another one. And now you know why the GOP lead Senate is going to fight calling witnesses tooth and nail.

"'Shifty Adam Schiff is a CORRUPT POLITICIAN, and probably a very sick man,' Trump tweeted. 'He has not paid the price, yet, for what he has done to our Country!'" And then the White House spokesperson tried to walk it all back.

"Lead House impeachment manager Rep. Adam Schiff on Sunday called President Donald Trump 'wrathful and vindictive,' adding that he thought a morning tweet by the President was intended to intimidate him." It's what you do when you're a pretend mob-boss.

"Donald Trump’s legal team on Saturday argued that Donald Trump broke no laws and Democrats’ move to impeach him was simply an attempt to delegitimize Trump’s presidency." Uh, sure, Bob. Look, the president doesn't need any help in delegitimizing his tenure. He does it all by himself. Also, on the "overturning the election" canard, if the Senate somehow votes to remove the president we don't suddenly have President Clinton (2), we have President Pence. Which actually was an argument for not going forward with impeachment before this.

"The state of play: Republican sources tell Axios that party leaders and the White House will still try to resist witnesses because, as one top aide put it, 'there is a sense in the Senate that if one witness is allowed, the floodgates are open.'" Well, yes. But they mean that the Senate will have to call all the witnesses, not that the truth will come rushing out. (Grokked from Laura J Mixon)

"Laying out their impeachment defense, President Donald Trump’s lawyers perpetuated a baseless claim that Ukraine interfered in the 2016 election as they argued that Trump had good reason to withhold military aid to the country… It was one of several statements surrounding Week 1 of the impeachment trial where truth came up short."

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