It Still Could Be A Wonderful Life

After a rollicking Hanukkah, we at The Daily Kibitz are placing a "hold" on the usual commentary and instead offer up a real hodge-podge of what The War On Christmas is all about.

Let's start out with experiencing a Christmas Party with our old friend Bob Dylan. It really looks like the sort of soiree that would have been great fun to attend. Bob is kind of a hybrid Jew-Christian anyway, so the Klezmer sound here fits. Bob Dylan sings "Must Be Santa" and it's pretty great!

OK, we will never know what happened to that drunk who was booted out of the party. But Bob and Santa seem to know. Speaking of Santa, here is the Holiday Classic Of The Ages - the SNL take on when Santa was too sick to deliver on Christmas Eve, so he makes an emergency call to his old friend, Hanukkah Harry. Word of warning: you will have to endure an ad to get to this truly golden video. It's well worth it:

http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/hanukkah-harry/n9852?snl=1

"Here are some nice slacks. They're a little big, but you'll grow into them." Oh, SNL, you were good.

For a glimpse into some really weird Christmas customs, check out this next link. Our favorite involves the newsworthy Spanish province of Catalonia. Their custom involves ceramic figures that are taking a poo, and then hiding them in Nativity Scenes for an odd game of Where's Waldo. The rest of Spain probably wants them to be independent:

http://www.sfgate.com/holidays/slideshow/16-strange-Christmas-traditions-from-around-the-53703.php

Speaking of odd, here is the entryway designed by Melania Trump for the White House Christmas. Not a jolly Ho Ho Ho, but definitely some Nightmare Before Christmas vibes:

Yikes! Let's bump the mood with a quick blast of Super Soul by the late, great Sharon Jones and The Dap Kings. Sharon passed last year and the world is so much worse because she was The Best! Here she is belting out "White Christmas" and there isn't a White Supremacist in sight:

Speaking of White, there is a goofy Christmas-time tradition in Gavle, a town in Sweden. Every year, a giant straw goat is constructed in the town square. It's nice and cute and serves as a tourist draw for the town:

http://www.visitgavle.se/en/gavle-goat

But the goat has a hard time staying safe. Since the town began erecting this straw statue back in 1966, it has been destroyed (usually by fire) far more times than it has survived. Here is a video of the Goat being attacked and burned from a previous Christmas - the footage is from the security video installed to help stop incidents like this - it doesn't work:

Please, for a good laugh, go to this link for the Wikipedia page on the Gavle Goat and scroll down to The Timeline portion. It is wonderful stuff!!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gävle_goat

Speaking of wonderful stuff, here is another dip into SNL's glory days. It's a terrific "lost ending" of "It's A Wonderful Life" and it fulfills everyone's wishes about what should have happened to Old Man Potter:

http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/its-a-wonderful-life-lost-ending/n9521?snl=1

The Daily Kibitz does not endorse any commercial ventures, but if you're stuck on getting a holiday gift for someone special, consider the tried and true sweater present:

Christmas music plays really well when it's performed in the style of The Devil's Music. Here is our old friend Chuck Berry, performing his stomping "Run Run Rudolph". Great fun for two minutes!

For many who live in Northern climes, Christmas-time is marked by short snowy days and long freezing nights. It seems inconvenient that Baby Jesus was born around the Winter Solstice, but of course no one really knows when that Holy Night occurred. Instead, we celebrate Christmas on the ancient Roman holiday of Saturnalia. This was a prolonged and often wildly debauched celebration of the Solstice and the God of Saturn. Things changed after Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity in 312 a.d. and the Council of Nicaea codified and streamlined the early Christian faith in 323 a.d. Since then, it's been The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year!

There are always sticklers and purists who just can't leave well enough alone. Saturnalia was a special time, no doubt. Thank you, The Onion, for spotlighting this Man-In-The-Street moment:

https://local.theonion.com/area-man-remembers-less-politically-correct-time-when-c-1821397284

There will be no time for such frivolity at the North Pole! Not when Santa hires a "Glengarry Glen Ross"-style motivator to get more production out of the elves. Here is Alec Baldwin reprising his iconic role as the intimidator from David Mamet's great play and movie... done up holiday style!

"Put that cocoa down! Cocoa's for closers..er, cobblers only!" Oh, that is so very good, particularly if one is familiar with the source material. "Glengarry Glen Ross" was about a corrupt real estate office trying to sell crappy properties to unsuspecting "marks".  Strip mall real estate is always a tough business, but somehow this holiday season may be different:

For our final musical selection, please enjoy the supremely silly "Santa Lost A Ho". Where'd the other "Ho" go? Santa's feeling mighty low...

On behalf of the entire staff here at The Daily Kibitz, we wish you a safe and happy holiday season! And, as always, thanks for reading!

A Hanukkah Miracle

Since November 9, 2016, a mighty firehose of BS and bad news has been blasting full force at us. It often seems improbable that Reason and the Age of Enlightenment's core moral values, so long the bedrock of our nation, have been abandoned by our Administration and Congress. It can be difficult to remain a cheerful optimist in these times.

But as dark as these days can be - and they are going to get worse - the center will eventually begin to hold again, as the poet W.B. Yeats might have said. His 'slouching rough beast' has been among us for a year. But he will not always hold sway.  In the meantime, we can all appreciate the glimmers of light that will occasionally pierce through the blanket of gloom that has covered the country.

Like what happened in Alabama! What a glorious upset!! Among the reddest of red states, Alabama seemed poised to elect Judge Roy Moore as their next senator. Moore has not been shy about his loathing of post-Civil War society. He had declared his belief that homosexuality should be criminalized. Women should not hold elective office. Heck, they shouldn't even vote - he wanted to negate the 19th Amendment. Oh, also the 14th Amendment... you know, the one that outlawed this:

Yes, a well-regarded Man of God, a budding Theocrat in fact, who called for an end to the Separation of Church and State. His refusal to remove a large monument honoring the Ten Commandments outside his courtroom got him into trouble, built his base, and presented the GOP with their Senate candidate. The GOP endorsed him, and so did an enthusiastic Trump... all despite the revealed scandal of his early days, in his 30's, when he would prowl retail malls for young teenage girls.

It didn't seem like his opponent, Doug Jones, had much of a chance. He had a checklist of Democratic Party positions, including abortion rights - a huge issue in religious Alabama. Plus, he had done what many said could never be done: successfully prosecuted the KKK perpetrators of the 1963 Birmingham church bombing that killed four young black girls at their Sunday School.

In the end, it was close. But Jones carried the night, by a razor-thin 21,000 votes. And this graph really says it all:

So let's consider... Black voters, who comprised nearly 30% of the vote (and who had to jump through multiple hoops to get registered and then to vote) delivered a 96% pro-Jones bloc. Wowzers. They showed up in numbers that exceeded totals in the 2008/2012 Obama elections! They must really hate Roy Moore.

And it worked. It put Jones up. What remains disheartening is that the White People vote polled so low for Jones. 65% of White Women voted for Roy Moore. 65%!! To give us a little insight into the hive mind of the Moore World, let's follow the Tweet thread of an ACLU lawyer who attended the final campaign rally, the night before the election. It is quite a spectacle as he follows along:

https://twitter.com/briantashman/status/940382978701701120

Whew. That is quite a concentration of Oddballs. But the real prize belongs to Moore Spokesman Ted Crockett. After a repugnant conversation on why Moore would outlaw homosexuals, Crockett claims that Muslims shouldn't serve in public office because they can't be sworn in on a Bible. Watch how Crockett is crushed into speechless astonishment when Jake Tapper tells him that this is simply not true. Hilarious:

That interview is simply Comedy Gold! This sets us up for the usual terrific Onion satire piece, and it doesn't disappoint:

https://politics.theonion.com/roy-moore-retires-from-politics-to-spend-more-quality-t-1821235915

God Bless The Onion. For another look into the mindset of how White Evangelical voters can side with one such as Moore, follow this short Tweet thread from Elaina Plott, an actual White Evangelical who is not conservative. She reacts to Roy Moore's refusal to concede the election:

https://twitter.com/elainaplott/status/940936284213841920

It is kinda strange that days after the election, Moore is still calling for a recount (which the State of Alabama won't do automatically because the vote margin isn't close enough). He is currently soliciting/grifting his base for money so he can pay for one himself. And he won't concede; instead, he is waiting for God to speak to him, because "God is always in control". To which noted bullroar-caller, J.K. Rowling, tweeted:

J.K. Rowling‏Verified account @jk_rowling

J.K. Rowling Retweeted CNN

Narrator's voice: Roy was right. God was in control. What he didn't realise was, She's black.

Oh, ho ho. That's why Rowling is Empress of all she surveys...

Then there was the immense brouhaha when three of Trump's sexual impropriety accusers appeared again on television this week, prompting Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-New York) to call for his resignation. In typical fashion, Trump doubled-down, going for the crotch punch against Gillibrand. She was told of the tweet during her bipartisan Bible study group session:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2017/12/12/trump-sends-sexually-suggestive-and-demeaning-tweet-about-gillibrand/?utm_term=.dc850149f856

She'd do anything! Well, Press Secretary Sarah H. Sanders suggested that anyone who thought that Trump imbued that text with sexual meaning "must have their minds in the gutter." Yes, everyone must necessarily have their minds in the gutter when reading texts from our Sleazebag-in-Chief President. What was quite unusual about all this umbrage was how USA Today, the national newspaper, reacted. Customarily, their editorial board does not weigh in on sensitive matters. They prefer to react to things like floods, or norovirus, or not enough sunshine.

But Oh Boy did they react to Trump's tweet about Gillibrand! "President Trump has shown he is not fit for office," it says:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2017/12/12/trump-lows-ever-hit-rock-bottom-editorials-debates/945947001/

"A president who all but calls a senator a whore is unfit to clean toilets at Obama's Presidential Library or to shine George W. Bush's shoes." What do they really think?

If Trump is unfit, does that make "only the best people" that he'd hire unfit as well? The awkward question and answer session this week during a Federal Judgeship Nomination Hearing in the Senate makes one wonder. One of Trump's early selections, Brian Talley - he of the Paranormal Investigator background - had been yanked for being stupid. But Stupid is not a rare element in Trump World. Check out Matthew Peterson's responses to a Republican senator's questions. It boggles the mind:

Maybe he will learn how to be a Federal Judge on the job. Another example of "the best people" is found with Kathleen Hartnett White, nominee to be Chair of the Environmental Quality Council:

Obtuse mind-thought must be the primary qualification for Trump Administration folk, which makes sense when considering the following: the four Trump family absentee ballots for the recent New York City elections were messed up. Here is how:

https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2017/12/trump-family-reportedly-botched-ballots-for-mayoral-election

It is amazing that President Trump forgot his birthdate. And Ivanka didn't send the ballot in on time. And Melania forgot to sign her ballot. And Jared decided, Fuck It - I'm not going to vote. The best and the brightest, on full display.

Speaking of best and brightest, Virginia Thomas, the political activist wife of accused sexual harrasser Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, presented a conservative group's award to James O'Keefe. "Defending Liberty" is an interesting take on O'Keefe's actions, which include being criminally convicted. And he was recently caught Red-Handed by the Washington Post for trying to plant a false "scoop", fraudulently presenting a "witness" to the Post with a juicy-but-untrue storyline.
But that doesn't matter when one is defending Liberty. Yay!

http://www.businessinsider.com/virginia-thomas-gives-james-okeefe-award-defending-liberty-2017-12

This week also marked the fifth anniversary of the horrible Sandy Hook elementary school massacre. Of all the mass shootings, this one was the worst. 20 first-graders blown to bits, and six teachers. President Obama honored the date each year by hosting grieving parents and gun control groups. This year, of course, was different. Trump ignored the Sandy Hook anniversary entirely, no tweets, no notices. But he did host the NRA:

https://shareblue.com/trump-hosted-the-nra-at-the-white-house-on-the-anniversary-of-sandy-hook-massacre/

Well, according to one of his favorite news sources, InfoWars, Sandy Hook was a false-flag hoax designed by the government to bamboozle the nation into supporting gun controls. Simply amazing that there are people who believe this shite.

Before we leave, take a peek at the latest on the Center for Disease Control. Their employees have been told to NOT USE certain words in preparing presentations for their upcoming budget:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/cdc-gets-list-of-forbidden-words-fetus-transgender-diversity/2017/12/15/f503837a-e1cf-11e7-89e8-edec16379010_story.html?utm_term=.c243adb09472

Words like "science-based", "evidence-based", "diversity" and "gender". It all reminds of the classic George Orwell work, 1984. Recall this bit from the book when Winston was listening to a colleague speak on Oldspeak versus Newspeak:

"In your heart you’d prefer to stick to Oldspeak, with all its vagueness and its useless shades of meaning. You don’t grasp the beauty of the destruction of words. Do you know that Newspeak is the only language in the world whose vocabulary gets smaller every year?

"Don’t you see that the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought? In the end we shall make thoughtcrime literally impossible, because there will be no words in which to express it. Every concept that can ever be needed, will be expressed by exactly one word, with its meaning rigidly defined and all its subsidiary meanings rubbed out and forgotten... Every year fewer and fewer words, and the range of consciousness always a little smaller." 

OK. Finally, for a good laugh, check out the customer reviews for the pricey "Make America Great Again" Christmas ornament.

https://www.elitedaily.com/p/comments-about-this-donald-trump-christmas-tree-ornament-are-straight-roasting-it-7509461

And to send you off with appropriate Christmahanzakkwaah Spirit, here is the Wynton Marsalis-directed Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra performing the Overture to Duke Ellington's "Nutcracker Suite". What a swinging way to rock through the holidays!!

Happy Holidays!

Defending the Indefensible

Today, Senator Al Franken, D-Minnesota, told the Senate he would resign in the coming weeks. This was not unexpected, given the number of accusations against him that have accumulated like mold on  cheese.

This follows the "retirement" of Representative John Conyers, D-Michigan, the longest tenured member of Congress. He had been accused of sexual impropriety by several of his staffers. Moreover,  his name was discovered on the recently revealed list of Members of Congress who have had private  settlements made to complainants. These "hush payments" were designed to gag accusers by having them sign off on agreements to not blab about transgressors. It is a shameful practice that has been in place for over 20 years:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/politics/wp/2017/11/17/over-the-past-20-years-congress-has-paid-17-2-million-in-settlements/?utm_term=.db2189eaf0b8

Yuck. Especially when one considers that such payments are supplied by ... YOU. Yes, taxpayer money is the source for these payments. Franken never made the list - most of his accusers go back to his pre-Senate days. Conyers was responsible for a $27,000 payment.

But wait, there seems to be something wrong with this picture. These Democrats remove themselves from the scene (willingly or not), but no Republicans? Does "The Party of No" mean No Shenanigans? Is the GOP truly God's Own Party?

Say "hello" to Representative Blake Farenthold, R-Texas. This sugar bear was on the list, too. He's worth over $5 Million dollars. But $84,000 of your  taxpayer money went out to shut up his sexual misconduct accuser. But Farenthold has not resigned, is not planning and is under no real pressure to do so. It's Tribe over Morals in the GOP.

Speaking of Tribal, consider the case of probable incoming Senator Roy Moore, R-Alabama. He has been accused of sexual assault by at least 9 women. But they weren't women when these incidents occurred. They were early-to-mid-teens. And he was in his early 30's, and a District Attorney who apparently enjoyed prowling a nearby mall to pick up young 'uns. He developed enough of a sketchy local reputation to be banned at the mall.

But when this info was revealed, he denied it all, despite the 30 sources corroborating the story. Instead, he accuses his accusers of being godless sluts who are out to get him. And he brings up the usual rage points in Alabama of Gays, Socialists and Liberals as being behind these false allegations.
And how his opponent, Doug Jones, a former US prosecuting attorney, wants to free murderers and allow abortions for full term babies, and prolly wants to eat them, too.

Moore will probably win this special election. Because the GOP backs him. And Doug Jones was responsible for this terrible stain on Alabama justice:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/retropolis/wp/2017/11/09/an-alabama-senate-race-conjures-the-awful-1963-church-bombing-that-killed-4-black-girls/?utm_term=.016915d1bfca

Yep, Doug Jones, "soft on crime",  is the prosecutor who fought the KKK and put away the flower of Alabama's White Supremacists into prison for killing those four girls. That's not something that White Alabamians forget. They can claim to not believe Moore's many accusers, and that Moore is a strong Christian man... but deep down, it's about how Doug Jones embarrassed Alabama by finally catching the culprits. Oh, the Deep South really is like a crazed William Faulkner novel.

And then there is our President, who strongly backs Moore and has ridiculed Jones (of course). President "I Moved On Her Like A Bitch" Trump. Leading up to Franken's announcement, Trump had tweeted a series of thoughts about the Minnesota senator, reveling in his opponent's situation.

The upside-down in all this is a President who has been credibly accused of sexual misconduct by 19 women, giving political cover to a guy who is a pedophile! Really, Al Franken should just turn around and declare himself as a Republican, because they don't care about such things; they only care about their Tribe. The Tribe and The Power. Nothing else matters.

Time Magazine disappointed our President this week by not naming him Person Of The Year. He really wanted it again. Instead, it went to the women who are standing up to testify against the creeps who have been preying on them. The #metoo movement has been a long time coming. We at the Daily Kibitz hope that this swell turns into a permanent sea change.

One thing that needs to be addressed for this to happen is the role of White Conservative Women. Never let it be forgotten that 53% of White Women voted for Trump. 62% of non-college-educated White Women voted for him. There are plenty of reasons for this, like abortion and, well, tribal allegiances. And misogyny towards their own kind. There's also the role of White Evangelism, which offers up an upside-down version of Christianity. There's a very large overlap with Republicans and White Evangelicals. And what they think is kinda shocking:

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/14/opinion/trump-republicans.html

Wowzers: "White evangelicals went from being the least likely to the most likely group to agree that a candidate's personal immorality has no bearing on his performance in public office." And why was there such a sudden and drastic change -- the cult candidacy of Donald Trump. He could have them line up to drink the kool-aid and they would guzzle away.

Until conservative white women break from their way of thinking - and voting - it will be harder to change that which needs changing. At present, they appear as opportunists who benefit from the actions and achievements made over the decades by feminists. The GOP as a party is hostile towards the rights of women. It represents Patriarchy. They can continue to prop up this misogynist, sexist model... or change.

And that goes double for the men, too!!

A boring lull during a slow news week...

Oh, ha ha! What a slow news day to cap off a slow news week here in sleepy DC! The White House Press Office must be fighting off the urge for a late-morning power nap - they need to get things ready for this afternoon's big "White House Press Holiday Party", which won't include not-invited woman-of-color WH correspondent April Ryan, and CNN (natch).

And it might not include the President and First Lady. Customarily, the POTUS and FLOTUS attend this event, helping to hand out punch and cookies to the Fourth Estate while posing for smile-time pictures with WH correspondents. But something happened earlier this morning which might have created a change in their scheduling...

So, let's see here. Trump Campaign Chair Paul Manafort, Rick Gates, George Papadopoulos and now former National Security Advisor, General Michael Flynn. MAGA: Many Are Getting Arrested. POTUS lawyer, Ty Cobb, describes Flynn as a "former Obama official". Yep, he was, until he got fired for incompetence, insubordination and recklessness! Then Obama told Trump to not hire Flynn because of the deep doo-doo he was up to with Russia and Turkey. But did Trump listen? Well, no... because he was in deep doo-doo himself! So, so deep is this Deep State of Treason we witness. Also, have a laugh, courtesy of snarky prankster "Frederick Douglass":

https://twitter.com/gettinnoticedmo/status/936650190169059328

Anyway, nearly all legal experts now point to Jared Kushner as the next domino to fall, according to the really good investigative reporter, Natasha Bertrand:

http://www.businessinsider.com/michael-flynn-mueller-trump-russia-jared-kushner-2017-12

And because Flynn was thisclose to Mike Pence during the campaign/transition/early days of the administration, it's being presumed that the Vice President is going to receive more attention from Special Counsel Mueller. And let us not forget that Pence was brought into the Trump fold by his old friend, recently-indicted Paul Manafort. It's all a giant hot mess. There is even scuttlebutt that Flynn is going to implicate President Trump himself:

https://www.thedailybeast.com/abc-flynn-to-testify-trump-ordered-him-to-talk-to-russians

Why is this all happening? Money. Big Massive Money. Russia wanted to have its economic sanctions lifted. Trump was in hock to Russian "loans". Also, Flynn was poised to make millions off of a hare-brained scheme to kidnap a Pennsylvania-residing Turkish cleric and deliver him to Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Erdogan! Ya can't make this stuff up! It was going to be a major payday for everyone... and it still might, for Putin, because Trump is not implementing the additional sanctions that the Republican Congress passed this summer!!

But hold your horses here! The Daily Kibitz is determined to not go down the rabbit hole any further with this. Nope. Nopitty-nope. Instead, let's take a fun look at some of the other High Ridiculousness that has happened over the last few days...

The President suggested that a Fake News Trophy be awarded to a deserving media outlet, suggesting CNN as a favorite. He also tweeted that Fox News should not be considered, because they are the best, very fair and beautiful to him. This all lead to some funny stuff:

http://mashable.com/2017/11/27/donald-trump-fake-news-trophy-jokes/#08RkUTJcdgqR

In previous tweets, the President has indicated his media preferences for sycophants like Fox, Breitbart News and some really strange outfits such as:

InfoWars. "The single most important voice in the alternative conservative media," says Roger Stone, the Nixon-era political trickster who orchestrated Trump's appearance on it... It promoted the insane Hillary Clinton Comet Pizza child sex slave traffic story. On a related note, it has pushed one about NASA having a child labor colony on Mars.

MAGApill. Yes, it is certifiably BatShit Crazy. That's why our President reads it, I guess.

The Gateway Pundit. Called "the stupidest man on the Internet", Jim Hoft somehow managed to get a White House Correspondent status through the Trump Administration. Incredibly dumb and deranged.

Oh, for some brain bleach. Take a quick break for a One Minute Mic Drop Special, here is the amazing Sarah Kendzior rebutting a Breitbart editor back in January on the real-world dangers of crazy political rhetoric. It's only 1 minute, but I guarantee you will wish it were longer:

OK, back to nuttiness! Our President's mental rampage this week included a few real head-scratchers. Speaking in St. Louis, he confessed that he had no idea that the Lewis and Clark expedition had begun there. Maybe he didn't know who they were?

He suggested that former Member of Congress and morning network TV news host Joe Scarborough had murdered an intern.

He sent a series of retweets of really vile anti-Muslim videos from a tiny far-fringe extremist right wing group from the United Kingdom called "Britain First". Naturally, these have been debunked and earned Trump a stern rebuke from British Prime Minister Theresa May. Of course that set off our President, who fired off a nasty tweet reply... except he sent it to the wrong Theresa May. His angry words were received by Theresa May Scrivener, who has six Twitter followers. She was kinda flabbergasted and didn't know what to do (sounds like an Onion story).

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2017/11/30/donald-trump-blasted-theresa-may-on-twitter-unfortunately-he-got-the-wrong-woman/?utm_term=.1bcf36f46497

Once he figured things out, Trump sent the same Tweet to the Prime Minister, saying basically "mind your own beeswax, and your country sucks and we are great again!" No mention of the eight deaths from the Terror Truck in New York City, because we are doing just fine!

While leaders in Britain and Europe took great umbrage to Trump's tweets, his hard-core base of Deplorables here did not. Foremost among them was the response by former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard David Duke, fresh from his appearance at the Charlottesville, Virginia nazi rally:

"Thanks God for Trump! That's why we love him!"

Oy vey iz mir! Again, let it be said, Thank Goodness For The Onion:

https://politics.theonion.com/trump-retweets-video-from-anti-muslim-hate-group-1820885422

Yes, the White House Ceremonial Lighting of the Cross is the new traditional start of the Christmas season.

We could go on, but we won't. But yesterday's appointment of the Trump Administration's version of the Third Reich's Leni Riefenstahl, Kelly Ann Conway, to become the Opioid Crisis Czar is really too much. Displaying her usual lack of empathy and warmth, Conway suggested that the problem of those millions who are addicted is that they lack the will power to rehab themselves. So she is going to instill a Triumph of the Will into them. This position was once designed for Boy Wonder Jared Kushner, but apparently he's going to be too busy solving his own problems.

That's it for now. Next time, better fun! In the meantime, check out the short video from a couple of weeks ago when The Daily Kibitz family traveled to Baltimore for a performance by Rodrigo y Gabriela. Here it is! We were standing about six feet from this videographer:

The amount of sound they generate from two acoustic guitars is simply amazing! Truly World-Class!!

Repeal and Replace Reality

Every day it seems we are experiencing life through the looking glass. And this week was no different. Here's a quick and random lighthearted romping roundup on some of the High Ridiculousness that holds our nation in its thrall.

The fate of the Trump Administration may end up depending on the testimony of this guy.

A Democratic Senator got called out by a nation for his stupid "joke" and boorish behavior on a USO tour. The President decided to ride herd by shooting off a couple of tweets as if to lecture Sen. Franken on moral propriety. What was once the kiss of political death - the disrobing and sexual fondling of a 14-year-old - is now a rallying point for God-fearing Republicans. Of course, there's no mention by Trump of Roy Moore's Major Serial Sex Problems in Alabama, or even his own 12+ sexual harassment and assault accusers. And everyone is still waiting for Trump to launch his year-long-promised lawsuits against these accusers!

Lying lies by lying liars who lie! Who are you going to believe - Trump, or everyone else who he says are lying.

Everyone is lying about Trump! Lies! Lies! But of course it's the inverse that is true. Check out Michael Gerson's take on the "spectacular accumulation of lies" that Trump & Co. have amassed. Gerson is no bleeding heart - he was George W. Bush's speechwriter and came up with the "Axis of Evil" catchphrase, something he now regrets. He's been around the block a few times, and what he sees happening is so flippy-flop unreal that he can hardly believe it. "This is, with a few exceptions, a group of people for whom truth, political honor, ethics and integrity mean nothing." Believe it:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-russia-investigations-spectacular-accumulation-of-lies/2017/11/16/741024bc-cb0e-11e7-8321-481fd63f174d_story.html?utm_term=.cbc164b09831

It's a constant - all Presidents lie at some point or other. Usually, it's for National Security reasons. Sometimes it's for Political Expediency. But most Presidents have honored their positions by, at the very least,  purveying a pretense towards truthful discourse. However, this President does not. This week, and every week, he keeps the firehose of Falsehoods flowing at full blast. Also, remember that Trump really doesn't think he lies: whatever he says he 1) Believes it is true, or 2) Believes it should be true. 

Here is one of our favorites - The Washington Post has an ongoing chart of the number of lies, the type of lies, and the categories of lies that emanate from the White House. It's a lot of fun - try it:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/politics/trump-claims-database/?utm_term=.15dc5fd7d1fd

Why it's enough to make a man holler, throw up both his hands, as Marvin Gaye once sang. Perhaps it was enough to drive this Navy jet pilot to create a Phallic Sky Art piece over the Washington DC area the other day:

Yup, ya don't see that up in the clouds every day. A gigantic FU over our seat of government. Maybe the pilot was expressing his dismay over Trump's insistence that 3 to 5 million illegal voters did not vote for him.

Each Secretary of the Treasury gets to sign off on US money. It's a perk of the job to see your signature on all the new ones/fives/tens/twenties/etc. that roll off the Money Printing Press. This week was Steve Mnuchin's chance to shine, and he didn't disappoint. Neither did his amazing wife. In a first, the Treasury Secretary's signature was not in cursive. It wasn't in Mayan hieroglyph, either, just block style print. Now why this traditional photo op for the head of Treasury should include his avaricious wife is one for others to contemplate - but it's another first!!

"This wallpaper will be perfect for the servants' bathroom!"

Speaking of dollar bills, it was revealed this week that the Trump Administration's Department of Justice has 10 lawyers and staff working against various lawsuits filed against Trump. "... the taxpayer-funded lawyers are making the case that it is not unconstitutional for the president's private companies to earn profits from foreign governments and officials while he's in office."

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2017/11/15/taxpayers-pay-legal-bill-protect-trump-business-profits/848354001/

Holy Emoluments Clause, Batman! It's just another first - a President defending his ability to profit from being President, with his legal team being government lawyers, paid for by you.

In other week's news, it was announced (shortly after a military coup in Zimbabwe), that the US Department of Interior is abandoning its Obama-era ban on African wildlife trophies, such as lions and elephants. It really is a classic in upside-down rhetoric:

"Killing elephants will enhance their survival"

"We had to destroy the village in order to save it" was once said in Vietnam. As one who has spent time in Zimbabwe, The Daily Kibitz can assure that the rate of poaching these magnificent creatures will now skyrocket. Poverty-stricken villagers will expand their cooperation with the new wave of wealthy trophy-seekers and ivory collectors.

On left, a dead rare leopard with Trumps. On right, Donald Jr. is holding a severed elephant tail

Meanwhile, the tax "reform" bill advanced.  Among other high blood pressure howlers, it allows Corporations to deduct unending expenses, like a Private Jet Deduction, but won't allow teachers to deduct expenses for buying their own classroom supplies.  It demolishes the Estate Tax ("the Death Tax"), which plays well for H.L. Mencken's "boobouisee" (Trump Base) who think it affects them - when it really affects 0.2% of the population. Oh, and that percent is the wealthiest in the US. Of course! Within a few years, nearly all tax cut benefits will have trickled up to the 1%. Yep, "trickle down economics" is really "trickle up". For more, here's the great Dana Milbank presenting the Alternative Facts Reality we live in:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/forget-alternative-facts-were-now-in-an-alternate-reality/2017/11/17/52e53a56-cba0-11e7-8321-481fd63f174d_story.html?utm_term=.611414034076

"Ignore the rules and disqualify the referees who were put in place to enforce standards of integrity." Yes, that's our new socio-political reality as evidenced by those actions from the Republican Congress and White House. Standards for lifetime-term Federal judges? Ha ha! Behold the latest Trump nominee for the Federal bench - Brian Talley. He is the 4th Trump nominee to receive a unanimous "Not Qualified" judgment from the American Bar Association. In fact, since 1989 there have been four judges placed on the bench who received this unanimous "Not Qualified" status. Two of them have been put there by Trump.

Talley has been a lawyer for three years. Never tried a court case in his life. But he is a Paranormal Investigator and has written fiction and non-fiction about his work in this field. Oh! And he is married to the White House Counsel's Chief of Staff, who has been interviewed by Robert Mueller in the ongoing Russia investigation.  Is this what Trump meant when he said he was going to Drain The Swamp?
Forget it, Jake... it's Americatown:

http://www.businessinsider.com/brett-talley-trump-judge-ghost-hunter-wife-2017-11

On a slightly more serious note, the fantastic Sarah Kendzior weighs in on this week's amazing testimony by Attorney General Jeffrey Beauregard Sessions. Noting the changes in memory and evasions that Sessions employed, Kendzior determines that,

"Eroding the law may well be the point... dilute the value of truth - both to sooth Trump's ego, but also because the value of truth is closely linked to the integrity of law... (it's) part of a purposeful dissolution of legal norms. When truth erodes, and the law crumbles, an independent judiciary loses its rigor. In this formulation, Trump does not serve the law; Trump is the law, and Sessions is Trump's willing servant." Please read her whole article, it's that good:

https://www.nbcnews.com/think/amp/ncna821141

Finally, as we struggle through this morass of upside-down alternate reality, let's take a good look at the whole of what's been happening. It ain't pretty at all, but Mother Jones has been quite excellent at documenting all the nonsense and long-lasting damage inflicted by the Trump Administration onto our country. Read it weep:

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2017/03/creeping-authoritarianism-trump-trumpocracy-300/#

Oh, for cry-yi. Our President is a Bullshit Artist and his Administration is filled with folks who seek to grift for themselves, and/or to dismantle institutions and demolish social and political norms for their own extreme ideological purposes. It's quicker to destroy a building than it is to build it up. With the powerful help of State TV Fox News and Radio Hot Breaths like Rush and Mark Levin, nearly half of the country has been "gaslighted" over the last generation. Our upside down world may seem like a new experience, but it has been a long time in the making. Gaslighted? Why, yes. Here is the piece from Teen Vogue (of all places) that got the ball rolling on this idea last year:

https://www.teenvogue.com/story/donald-trump-is-gaslighting-america

We've gone through the looking glass and have tumbled down the rabbit hole. Remember, though, in our inverted world, everything that falls down comes back up. Let's take a quick musical moment to remember another time when America had fallen down a rabbit hole. Our old friend Grace Slick is here to give testimony:

Yes, feed your head. With facts. Verifiable facts.

The NRA will always keep your gun safe.

Thoughts and prayers certainly did not help the victims at Sutherland Springs Baptist Church. And they won't help future massacre victims, as our Congress and its enabler, the National Rifle Association, continue to spin the fairy tale that guns aren't the problem here.

Mental Health. It's a Mental Health issue, the NRA says. Newtown. Orlando. Virginia Tech. Las Vegas. Sutherland Springs and Killeen and Austin, Texas. San Ysidro and San Bernardino, CA. Edmond, OK. Fort Hood. Certainly nearly all of these "Top 10" shooters seem to have had significant mental health issues. Deranged, one might say. Maybe they were taking the wrong psychotropic drugs that accelerated their murderous zeal for slaughter. Or not being treated at all.

Earlier this year President Egg Nog revoked the Newtown-inspired regulation that prevented severely mentally ill people from purchasing guns. Yet he, too, claims that mental health issues are at the core of these slaughters. Huh. Just another shoulder shrug moment? "What ya gonna do?"

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/trump-signs-bill-revoking-obama-era-gun-checks-people-mental-n727221

That one didn't age well. The fact remains, though, that the use of semiautomatic military style rifles compounded the body count in these events and caused grievous life long wounds for the survivors.

The Daily Kibitz has friends and family who are gun owners. We're comfortable hanging with them, even though at times some possess gun zealousness that enters into the realm of the fantastical.

And guns aren't going away. The government is not going to go door to door and confiscate them. Nobody needs to bury them in the backyard - it's just not going to happen, no matter what our NRA buddies may say - Second Amendment, and all. Heck, even Mrs. Kibitz enjoyed a day at the shooting range with a high-powered semiautomatic. Guns are fun to shoot.

But we do need to be a helluva lot smarter about how and what kinds of guns are sold to the public. And why it's so vital for current gun control laws to be stringently enforced. So, let's take a look at Guns in America, and how the NRA evolved from a gun marksmanship and safety group to a gun manufacturer advocacy lobby.

First, there is the role of money. Gun Business is Big Dough in our economy: 50+ Billion dollars last year, when it's all accounted. It provides some 300,000 jobs. Check out the not-liberal-at-all National Shooting Sports Foundation 2017 report on Firearms and Ammunition economic impact:

https://www.nssf.org/government-relations/impact/

Then there is the bird's-eye view of how gun violence affect our society:

Naturally, with stats like these it shouldn't surprise that the USA leads all developed countries in gun violence - the "competition" can't even be seen over the horizon. We're Number One!

The NRA - the gun lobby - is a highly politicized group that counts 5 million members in its fold. It ensures that Nothing advances in Congress or state legislatures that will impede the ability to purchase nearly any kind of gun. There are 50 billion reasons for this. What once was an organization that was more concerned with gun safety training than anything else has over time evolved into a Big Business advocate, while keeping its membership radicalized with agitprop. For a fascinating look at how the NRA changed, check out this masterful look by The Washington Post from a few years ago:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/how-nras-true-believers-converted-a-marksmanship-group-into-a-mighty-gun-lobby/2013/01/12/51c62288-59b9-11e2-88d0-c4cf65c3ad15_story.html?utm_term=.18d948b81953

"I have never believed in the general practice of carrying weapons. I seldom carry one... I do not believe in the general promiscuous toting of guns. I think it should be sharply restricted and only under licenses... I believe in regulatory methods." said Karl Frederick, NRA president during the 1930s. An Olympic target shooter, Frederick would not know his organization today:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/retropolis/wp/2017/10/05/the-forgotten-nra-leader-who-despised-the-promiscuous-toting-of-guns/?utm_term=.da37061f9d31

In fact, until the late 1970's, the NRA worked with Congress to help regulate gun control and safety. Then it was taken over by hard-liners and gained rivers of lobbying money. Read this terrific overview of how the NRA changed into the raging behemoth it is today. It explains the transformation far more succinctly than the Kibitz can:

https://www.npr.org/2017/10/10/556578593/the-nra-wasnt-always-against-gun-restrictions

And to help with its lobbying efforts in Congress and state capitols across the country, the NRA pushes a mind control agenda with its membership that would make George Orwell's Big Brother proud. Fear is a big factor. Fear of The Other. Fear of having guns taken away. Fear of being made helpless. Fear of uncontrolled change, and of a undetermined future. It galvanizes, creating a monolithic body that marches lockstep to whatever NRA leadership decides.

From an advertising perspective, here is how the NRA keeps its flock active, engaged and enraged:

https://www.fastcompany.com/40477572/how-nra-advertising-changed-the-second-amendment-and-american-gun-culture

The NRA's long-time president, Wayne LaPierre, is an expert in gaslighting his membership. Here he addresses a conservative political action group about the need for more guns:

http://www.businessinsider.com/nra-wayne-lapierre-cpac-2017-2

Following this speech, the NRA released a bizarre ad that seems to advocate a civil war-style violent advocacy against "the opposition." Again, it's American Taliban agitprop all the way. If it doesn't give you the "willies",  nothing will. Also, it's interesting that the use of "They" is left ambiguous, so as to fill in whatever grievance the NRA viewer may have:

http://www.businessinsider.com/national-rifle-association-ad-call-to-violence-2017-6

Where does all this lead? To places like Sutherland Springs, Texas. If you can bear it, read the whole tale of how the church slayings unfolded, because it is worth the awful heartbreak:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/the-sound-of-hymns-drifted-from-the-country-church-then-came-gunfire/2017/11/08/4bd191b4-c4b7-11e7-aae0-cb18a8c29c65_story.html?hpid=hp_rhp-top-table-main_texastictock-937pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&utm_term=.9934c8f7bab5

So... how do we change things for the better? Maybe if gun advocates could see the horrifying results of such high-powered gun mayhem, a chance for moderation might ensue. There was a video recording of the shootings. Should we have a mandatory viewing of the church video? Should we review the insane and grisly details of the Newtown Sandy Hook massacre? Both involved upclose mass murders that reveal the terrible shooting power of the semiautomatic rifle and the special bullets used. The Newtown guy lined up the first-grader kids and blew them into little pieces. The Sutherland Springs nut did the same, pew by pew.

Today the NRA remains on the side of the gun, not with the victim. And if you own guns and think that the NRA is watching out for your interests, think again about the 50 billion reasons they have other interests in mind.

Before jumping off, here again is the finest piece of satire produced since Jonathan Swift's "A Modest Proposal." God Bless The Onion:

https://www.theonion.com/it-s-an-honor-to-continue-being-valued-over-countless-h-1819585030

And let's close this set out with the sultry sounds of Nancy Sinatra, singing the Sonny Bono classic, "Bang Bang":

Do Fossil Fuels Prevent Rape?

This is what happens when our President hires "the best people": we get the very best whoppers. The  gaffes roll down like water, and the inoperative statements like a mighty stream. Not sure what this all means? Well, the Trump Swamp is over-the-head deep with examples, so... let's go!

Our first example is the excellent Secretary of Energy, Rick Perry. During his appearance at an American Petroleum Institute-sponsored event, Perry was interrupted by protestors who suggested that fossil fuels are accelerating climate change, which will cause global food shortages, resources collapsing, wide-scale massive and uncontrolled refugee/immigration, and wars - things that our own military is preparing for. The nonplussed Perry responded:
Huh. So... sexual assaults go away when the lights are on? And expensive-to-import-and-refine fossil fuels are the best bet for developing poor African countries' infrastructure development? Why not solar? Far cheaper, and no need for creating costly pipelines, grids and polluting power plants. Oh, that's right - this is the former Governor of Texas Rick Perry, Mr. Oil and Gas. The same guy who ran for president and famously stumbled during a debate when he declared he'd eliminate three federal agencies - but couldn't name the third.

Naturally, he is now the head of that hard-to-recall agency. But he didn't even know what the Energy Department really does! He was surprised to discover it mostly did things he thought it did not:

https://newrepublic.com/minutes/139961/rick-perry-didnt-know-energy-department-month-ago

Sheesh, what an utter doofus! Recall that his predecessor was a Nobel Prize winning physicist. At least he's bringing back some dignity to Washington, DC after that Obama guy stunk it up for eight years... yes, this guy:

"The perfect Energy Secretary for a nation that requires a "Do Not Eat" warning on a box of nails," said one commenter. Okay, you might say, like Donny Osmond, "one bad apple don't spoil the whole bunch, girl." But that's where you and Donny would be wrong. The whole barrel is rotten! It's a comprehensive collection of Idiots, Sycophants, Grifters and Creationists. Exaggeration? Not hardly:

The Cabinet represents the best and brightest of an Administration. We have Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, a gentleman with no diplomacy experience but spent decades with Exxon.  Rex called his current boss "a fucking moron." He has hollowed out the State Department, is fond of napping, and is overseeing the diplomatic diminishment of our country. Also, good to note that during this whole North Korea kerfluffle, we still have no Ambassador to South Korea.

Another great catch is Secretary of the Treasury, Steve Mnuchin. As a never-before public servant, Mnuchin was a hedge-fund major domo in Goldman Sachs, a reviled place for Trump supporters. Then he became chief of OneWest, a mortgage lender renowned for its aggressive foreclosing practices on folks like Trump supporters. He has done lots of murky stuff. And he married a modern-day Marie Antoinette.

Other Cabinet question marks include:

Dr. Ben Carson, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. The good doctor has no experience with anything that his agency oversees. Except he lived near a housing project when he was young. And he believes the pyramids were built by the Bible's Joseph to store grain.

Ryan Zinke, Secretary of the Interior. "Fracking is proof that God's got a great sense of humor and He loves us," Mr. Zinke claims. He spends too much on his own special transportation, he cuts back on Interior's budget/workforce, and he wants more fossil fuel companies to work public lands. He also doled out a $300 million contract for Puerto Rico power restoration to a two-man outfit from his hometown in Montana. A neighbor. Where his son had worked. The best, though, is this:

Wherever/whenever Zinke travels, the Interior Department building that he happens to be in must fly a special flag that indicates he is inside. Salute the elite!

Scott Pruitt, Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA protects our air and water. Under Pruitt's watch, we have coal power plant wastewater re-introduced into nearby lakes and rivers. This should not be a shock for Pruitt-watchers - as Oklahoma Attorney General, he launched numerous lawsuits against... the EPA.  He's bringing on a new advisor who believes... that the air is too clean. He also has decided to reorganize the department, citing the Bible's Book of Joshua to explain things (it also opens the door for more Big Business influence).

Betsy DeVos, Secretary of Education. DeVos went to private Christian schools, as have her children. As did her creepy brother Erik Prince, the head of what used to be the infamous Blackwater Security (of Iraq War notoriety). Now she runs the department that manages public school direction and funding on the federal level. And as a wealthy religious zealot, it is her calling to make public schools build "God's Kingdom" here in the US. She also made news during her confirmation hearing when she expressed concern that bears present a problem to schoolchildren, so guns should be kept in schools. She is a visionary, of sorts.

But enough of the Cabinet, as this examination would drag on beyond our tolerance for pain. Although it is worth mentioning that there are nine Fundamentalists in the Cabinet... not that there's anything wrong with that, unless one takes in the in-house "Spiritual Advisor" for them, the influential Ralph Drollinger. He shepards them and numerous other sheep in the GOP Congressional Caucus. He advises them that the  US Government is "an avenger of wrath," that Trump is "an adjudicator of wrongdoing," that "women can't teach men" and won't be in a room alone with another woman not his wife. Yes, he's a Mike Pence guy and a Creationist! He seems nice.

Well, you might say, these are bad, crooked and inept people... but surely they can't ALL be like this? That's true! But it does seem like most are:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-other-huge-scandal-mueller-brought-to-light-this-week/2017/11/01/5e05a458-bf4c-11e7-959c-fe2b598d8c00_story.html?utm_term=.20d90c6834d0

and this:

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/vote-controversial-trump-epa-nominee-delayed-n811836

and this:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2017/11/02/trump-nominates-some-club-members-plum-government-jobs/823231001/

and this:

https://www.thedailybeast.com/donald-trump-pledged-to-drain-the-swamp-instead-he-filled-it-with-industry-sharks

and this:

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-41655117

Oh, and this, too:

https://www.politico.com/story/2017/11/01/jim-bridenstine-nasa-confirmation-hearing-244416

Hoo boy! Nominating high level folks with experience like being a member of Mar-a-Lago, a Meineke muffler shop manager, a bartender, and a wedding consultant. And, of course, the grifters and unbridled nutty zealots. Looks like we can't keep winning for losing.

For what it's worth, our most favored of all ridiculousness exhibited by this Administration has to be that of White House Counsel, Don McGahn. This position is the primary legal counsel for the White House. It's among the most important jobs, especially for this particular president. But according to recently departed Director of the Office of Government Ethics, Walter Shaub (who couldn't stand it anymore), Mr. McGahn was, well, kinda incompetent:

McGahn displays his ignorance

Wow, what a howler!! For more on how the competent fled and what their views are on what remains behind, check this out:

http://highline.huffingtonpost.com/articles/en/trump-quitters/

"That set the tone for, Oh boy, this is really bad." Yes, indeed. It did, does and will continue. And it is reflective of the partisan base that sent Trump to do his good work. Here is our final link, from the highly respected Annenberg Public Policy Center, regarding a study made of how Americans don't know squat about their government. This is frightening and revealing how someone like Trump could get elected:

https://www.annenbergpublicpolicycenter.org/americans-are-poorly-informed-about-basic-constitutional-provisions/

"I love the poorly educated!" exulted candidate Trump. Little did we know that he spoke about most Americans. Betsy DeVos, bring on the Kingdom of God!

Finally, to end on a high note, consider the ongoing efforts to ridicule and satirize this government. On Halloween night, someone put a Jack-o-Lantern in front of the residence of recently indicted former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort. The visage, of course, is that of Special Counsel Robert Mueller. Got him! And the pipeline is ready to flow...