By SJWNY, a Trail Mix Contributor
The title is a quote from the late, great Peter Cook, who skewered the establishment brilliantly all through the power of words. No shots fired, just barbs.
“Deep down, I happen to be very shallow.” – Pat Paulsen
Growing up during the late ’60s, ’70s meant two things: good music & Pat Paulsen running for President. Whether his candidacy was viewed as a protest against the powers that be or as a great long running skit, the man said things that were uncomfortable but true. Stuff the “King” & society needed to hear, though maybe didn’t want to. Where have all the Court Jesters gone today? It’s easy to spout a monologue or act out a cute sketch on the TV/Internet, to host a gala or contribute Big Bucks. But who is actually putting themselves out ….. there? We need humor personified. We need truthtellers with really long needles to pop very big balloons. Desperately.
To quote Mr. Paulsen: “I’ve upped my standards. Now, up yours.”
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from an essay by george orwell:
A thing is funny when — in some way that is not actually offensive or frightening — it upsets the established order. Every joke is a tiny revolution. If you had to define humour in a single phrase, you might define it as dignity sitting on a tin-tack. Whatever destroys dignity, and brings down the mighty from their seats, preferably with a bump, is funny. And the bigger they fall, the bigger the joke.
“Every joke is a tiny revolution.” love it.
remember how jokes took down (or at least weakened) some of our mighty… comics making hay about ford falling down, poppi throwing up and a rabbit scaring jimmy?
The numbers are lining up for Clinton: Column
Paul Brandus
“The ongoing Republican implosion, refueled by Donald Trump’s knockout primary win in New York, is doing nothing to help the party’s chances of reclaiming the White House this fall. But there’s a lot more to worry about than that.
“It’s the economy, stupid,” was Bill Clinton’s guiding principle in 1992, when the weak economy helped him defeat a sitting Republican president. It’s still the economy — but this time a strong economy could help the Democratic nominee, likely to be his wife, to succeed a fellow Democrat.
Gasoline prices are $2, unemployment’s 5%, and the so-called Misery Index (a combination of the unemployment and inflation rates) is close to its lowest level in six decades.”
What Is Sanders’s Endgame?
By Charles M Blow
“Sanders has to figure out how he lands this doomed plane — does he set it down easy so that everyone walks away relatively unscathed, or does he go out in a blaze of glory?
Whatever he chooses to do will say quite a bit about his allegiance to his adopted Democratic Party and about his character. At the end of the day, is his ethos greater than his ego?”
Trump team tells GOP he has been ‘projecting an image’
By Steve Peoples and Thomas Beaumont
The remaking of Trump by his new handlers continues..
Trump Backtracks on Pro-LGBT View
The Daily Beast
“Less than 24 hours after saying transgender individuals should be able to “use the bathroom they feel is appropriate,” Donald Trump backtracked from that pro-LGBT position. Speaking with Sean Hannity on Fox News Thursday evening, the Republican presidential frontrunner decided that while he still believes North Carolina’s law overturning local anti-discrimination ordinances is “causing a lot of problems,” he thinks “local communities and states should make the decision. The federal government should not be involved.” This comes despite the fact that there was never any questions over whether the feds should have a say in the matter.”
Lol, Trump, still the same old HATER!
Happy Earth Day!! Today’s colors are green and purple…the color of grapes. Savior the day!!
Of course the Trump turn to being “presidential” brings to mind the adage, “Once you learn to fake sincerity, you can fake anything.”
this one’s for c-bob
trevor noah daily show
Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean weighs in on Bernie Sanders’s uphill battle for the White House and explains why he is supporting Hillary Clinton’s presidential candidacy.
The platypus is what God made with her box of leftover giraffe & elephant parts so we would know she had a sense of humor.
Published on Nov 3, 2015
Speaking at a Democratic National Committee fund-raiser at the Richard Rodgers Theater in New York on Monday, President Obama made a series of jokes about the Republican candidates for president.
Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose
The most Important Takeover of Any Organization In History
Good article on what goes in to the Presidential transition.
Sjwny, thanks for a chance to remember Pat, I was addicted to him on Smothers Brothers. Speaking of laughs, Will Durst has a good piece on his site. A sampling …
21ST ANNUAL POLITICAL ANIMAL AWARDS
http://linkis.com/blogs.wsj.com/washwi/vNcU7
Bernie Sanders continues attacks in Pennsylvania
Why do I find this piece, suggesting Trump’s primary persona was an act and that he can transform for the fall election to border on and cross into the abusrd?
Addressing about 100 committee members at the spring meeting here, many of them deeply skeptical about Mr. Trump’s candidacy, the campaign chief, Paul Manafort, bluntly suggested the candidate’s incendiary style amounted to an act.
“That’s what’s important for you to understand: That he gets it, and that the part he’s been playing is evolving,” Mr. Manafort said, suggesting that Mr. Trump was about to begin a more professional phase of his campaign.
“The negatives are going to come down, the image is going to change, but Clinton is still going to be crooked Hillary,” he added.
Mr. Manafort’s comments, which included a PowerPoint presentation, came during a happy-hour reception at the beachside hotel resort here. They were made behind closed doors, which were guarded by security. But a person in attendance taped the speech and shared the recording with The New York Times.
Manafort must have thought that if they’re liquored up they just might believe the BS he was putting out there .
I tell ya, Pogo, I never didn’t think it was an act. It’s one reason he got away with so much. Lots of people thought he was just play acting, usually to shock and annoy the media, which made him more popular.
So basically what Trump is saying is “I’ve been scamming you fools all this time, and don’t believe a word I’ve said. Thanks for the votes”.
why is the media so ho hum about drumpf’s man manafort saying in effect you’re not getting what you’re seeing, he’s faking it and he’s a phony?
“Fixing personality negatives is a lot easier than fixing character negatives,” said Mr. Manafort, claiming that Hillary Clinton suffered from negative. “You can’t change somebody’s character. But you can change the way somebody presents themselves.”
And that, Mr. Manafort said, was in the works.
and ap recorded him saying”When he’s out on the stage, when he’s talking about the kinds of things he’s talking about on the stump, he’s projecting an image that’s for that purpose…..You’ll start to see more depth of the person, the real person. You’ll see a real different guy “
even drumpf himself has the chutzpah to say this not just in a conversational sit down with matt lauer but shouts it proudly to his adoring mobs on the stump.
pardon the expression but WTF?
Poobah, I think we’re in good company on that “act” opinion. I have thought that from the beginning – and thought that he was doing this to put a little more shine on his brand. Now even his guys admit it. That is a Yuuge admission. I just thought that the position they had on the program – happy hour – was priceless. I’ve talked with folks at happy hours who were trying to promote themselves or their products, and the most I ever really came away from those conversations with was a really nice Maglight, a couple of decent coffee cups and a loaded thumb drive with info to review later when I wasn’t drinking free booze..
Tony,
The Graph at the bottom of that WSJ piece starts to tell the tale. Bernie hasn’t gained in PA at all in the past week either on a gross basis or as compared to Hillary. I guess that momentum from the prior 8 “contest” wins is done, and the “Wall Street”, speech proceeds and big money interest messages aren’t moving dem voters into his column from Hillary’s in the one large, diverse state on the slate for next week. And hjs numbers against trump versus Hillary’s are beginning to slide – in NY they have virtually the same numbers – excuse me, Hillary has better numbers against trump by 5 points in NY and they both beat trump nationally (Clinton by 9 points and Sanders by 15). Manafort’s argument for the superd’s to switch is less than compelling if the remaining contests go the way of the polling on them.
so pogo and craig, does this mean during the general drumpf and company won’t harangue about Hillary not being authentic or saying one thing and doing another as Bernie insinuates?
seems like we’re truly thru the looking glass world… smoke and mirrors…. now you see it now you don’t.
best defense for her imo would be to chuckle, smile sweetly, and maybe roll eyes at the most outrageous but stay on the issues… especially the pull-at-the-heart-strings human interest stories and issues.
Maybe capitalize on the Donald being an entertainer–it’s in his blood. It’s how he seduced investors into some of his harebrained schemes–to their dismay. Do we want him doing that with us? With the people in our military? With our allies? With our environment? etc… We don’t need an entertainer’s fantasies.
Want a leaner federal government? Hire more federal workers.
This should be required reading for all dem pols facing pugns who claim they will cut the size of government.
Patd, one might think that, but one would likely be wrong. I will believe that only when I see Trump or Cruz utter an honest mea culpa about their own shape shifting.
Pogo,
Thanks for that link. That should be required reading for ANYone that can read imo………also should be translated in all languages…
Solar, I agree – and it stands to reason. Private enterprise’s goal is profit. Medicare versus private health insurance is the best example of what the expected result of privatization will be. Even putting profit aside, services provided through Medicare are provided as a much lower administrative cost than are those through private health insurers.
According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, administrative costs in Medicare are only about 2 percent of operating expenditures. Defenders of the insurance industry estimate administrative costs as 17 percent of revenue.
sjwny… I too miss all the humor of our baby boom generation. I LOVED the Smothers Brothers, George Carlin, Lenny Bruce, Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In… etc., etc. And what was great about it was that we all watched at the same time as a shared experience. Nowadays, everyone watches tv at their own pleasure and as individuals. IMO, it means we’ve lost something.
My next shot of scarves will be purple in nature… I’ve decided to name them “Purple Rain” in honor of Prince.
military outsourcing (a big eliminator of fed jobs) never seemed right to me… it didn’t save money and not so sure it was the best way to protect and serve the troops.
a 2010 article at economist’s view titled “The Cost of Military Outsourcing” begins with
Reversing the outsourcing of military services will save billions ….
and points out further along refuting certain arguments:
But was it really about saving money? Or was it a way to ramp up the effective size of the fighting force without having to institute a draft or some other means of increase the size of the military (e.g. increasing pay substantially)? And perhaps sending a few, more than a few actually, bucks in certain directions?
Instituting a draft would not have been popular, at all, and would have undermined support for the war the Bush administration wanted to carry out. And increasing pay as much as would have been required was far too costly and had its own political problems. So while outsourcing was sold to the public as a means of saving money, the real intent was to use the private contractors for support services thereby freeing all of the military personnel previously involved in services to be used on the front lines. This effectively increased the size of the fighting force without increasing the size of the military (in terms of personnel). It wasn’t about saving money. If the Bush administration wanted to avoid a substantial public backlash from using a draft or other means to increase personnel levels as much as planned, they had little choice but to obscure the expansion from the public by outsourcing many services previously carried out by military personnel.
flatus, solar & other trail former military, what has your experience told you about the efficacy of military outsourcing?
the brassy trumpster’s new song:
You give your hearts to me
And you say “hell let’s go”
And I can hardly speak
My heart is beating so
And anyone can tell
You think you know me well
But you don’t know me (no you don’t know me)
No you don’t know the one
Who sits up all night
And looks for ways to scam
And longs to pitch a fight
Oh I am just a fiend That’s all I’ve ever been
Cause you don’t know me (no you don’t know me
my apologies to ray. here are the real words as he sings them so well
https://youtu.be/zxaReDep8QY
politico
Delegates face death threats from Trump supporters
At the Republican National Committee’s spring meeting, delegates describe vicious missives demanding they support the GOP front-runner.
Well, there was the Stewart/Colbert “Rally To Restore Sanity.” Perhaps, we need a refresher course every other year.
“I’m with reasonable.??”
Will Durst is on-point, as always. We have John Oliver and Borowitz; we had (sort of) Michael Moore.
The Smothers Brothers were amazing, as was Pat P.
Happy Earth Day & Good Passover.
speaking of passover
BlueinD… the people you mentioned are very funny… but, IMO, the people I mentioned were a bit more edgy in their political humor. Especially considering the times back then. Could you imagine the Smothers Brothers or George Carlin being asked to speak at a WH correspondents dinner back then the way Colbert did in 2006…
“We don’t need an entertainer’s fantasies.”
Flatus,
Agreed. We tried that with Reagan.
alexandra petri:
Keep yetis out of public restrooms
Ya know, I’m an idiot and look at things like RCP pretty frequently. Is it just me or has anyone else noticed that as the pugn candidates have turned their fire toward Obama and Clinton as their race has gone on, Obama’s job approval ratings have improved and have been right side up for a while now? For the first time in 3 years he’s had 2 months of positive numbers (mildly albeit) with negative poll numbers beginning to trend positive in February and becoming more positive with time since then.
patd, Petri shoots, Petri SCORES. And another solution for a problem that doesn’t exist, brought to you by the Repugnican party. As for those problems that actually do exist, well, they are too busy to try and address those.
With all Due Respect is a horrible show
Mark Halprin ack ack ack spends the show blowing hot air up Trump’s butt
Well, Obama just ticked off the Brits. It’s “the back of the queue” if they leave the EU.
The mayor of London looks a lot like Trump, but even more like Darrell Hammond.
Chinese Proverb: The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The second best time is today.
Greek Proverb: A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in.
PatD, contracting-out was originally started so that individual soldiers wouldn’t miss training in their State-side units. Things like KP, base ‘police’, and other overhead tasks that low-cost workers were willing/eager to fill. The benefits in continuity in training over-weighed the cost.
But, clearly, war-after-war, NCOs and Generals were aware that troops had to be given respite from the battle if they were to maintain their effectiveness (sanity).
Nowhere was it envisioned that a rogue SecDef and Veep be able to establish a non-Constitutional military force nor did we ever plan to keep our troops on-line for such protracted periods as they have been during the past 15-years.
I’ll say it one more time–re-institute the draft. It is the only way that we can afford to maintain a right-sized military. And where do we stand on defense spending, according to the Economist’s 2016 Pocket world in figures, we rank 23d as a pct of GDP at 3.3pct. Afghanistan is at the top with 14.6-pct and Israel is 7th at 6.6-pct. Why is our figure so low? Because we are not replacing hopelessly obsolete hardware. Or, we are choosing to retire aircraft that are needed such as the A-10 that provides support to our troops at the forward edge of the battle area. Phase-in the draft.
Happy Birthday to Glen Campbell ( & a big shout out to Jimmy Webb.) Speaking of Pat Paulsen & The Smothers Brothers…. the Good Time Hour featured amazingly talented musicians. My first genuine crush was John Hartford. Rise up out of your seat, John.
Listen to the original cut of Wichita Lineman on a foggy, rainy night & I defy your heart not to ache.
And I need you more than want you.
And I want you for all time ….
And Steve Martin.
Let Californians have a meaningful primary –have all 17 goopers come back!
Main stream media is determined to make Strumpette into a serious candidate most likely to cover up their earler failure to accurately cover him
kgc, from what he said tonight on pbs newshour I don’t think brooks would agree with you… he’s thoughly disgusted with the drumpf and the rnc as you can see in the following:
JUDY WOODRUFF: So let’s move too the presidential contest and surprise — David, I want to ask you about Donald Trump.
The Republicans are meeting in Florida, the RNC, the Republican National Committee. Yesterday — or I guess last night, Trump’s campaign manager, Paul Manafort, in a closed-door session, said — and we — some of this was recorded, so we know that he said it — that, in effect, that what Donald Trump has been doing has been acting, play-acting, and he’s going to be changing his tune, and you’re going to see a different Donald Trump, and he’s going to raise money for Republicans.
What do you make of this?
DAVID BROOKS: Well, first, the RNC gathering, from what one can tell, it’s like the gathering of the Russian royal family in 1916.
(LAUGHTER)
DAVID BROOKS: They seem to have no spine, no argument. All they want is, they don’t want the show in Cleveland to be bad. And so as long as the show is good, we can have a disastrous royal candidate who will destroy the party.
And so they’re fine as long as there is no bad drama. And so they’re laying down. And Reince Priebus will go down as one of the worst RNC heads for what he — how he’s behaved this year.
Second, as for Donald Trump and what Paul Manafort said, A, it’s not credible. Donald Trump has been Donald Trump for a long, long time. He is not going to stop being himself. And that a voluble, large, loud, and sometimes obnoxious and sometimes appalling campaigner.
He’s not going to turn presidential, because he lacks the gravitas, he lacks the knowledge base and he lacks the core. And yet now he has hired this guy Paul Manafort who’s saying, oh, don’t worry, he’s not some kind of blowhard, he just a rank opportunist who’s been putting on a show all this time.
So, I don’t — I don’t — A, don’t think it’s going to work, and I don’t think it’s particularly attractive either.
wonder if this has any bearing
Thirty-two cases of commercial grade fireworks were reported missing and are believed to be stolen from a train shipment that originated in Chicago and ended in Detroit, a senior law enforcement official told ABC News Friday.
The train transited through Ohio, where officials believe the fireworks may have been stolen. The discovery that the fireworks were missing was made Thursday and was reported to authorities.
The cases include 2.5-inch and 5-inch aerial commercial grade fireworks, which is the kind used in public fireworks displays, officials said.
These commercial grade fireworks could be very dangerous in the wrong hands, the source said.
with this
Grisly murder scene in Ohio
5:05pm EDT – 01:48
At least eight people believed to be members of the same family were found shot to death execution-style in four homes in Pike County, Ohio.
sounds like the beginning of a suspense novel
Hey, Berniacs: I Learned to Love Hillary and So Can You
By Jon Favreau
“I know, I know—I’m supporting Hillary Clinton. But there was also a time when I couldn’t imagine myself liking or voting for her. Maybe you don’t believe that she’s different from the caricature we’ve all helped perpetuate. But she is running a campaign with a policy platform that’s more progressive than her husband’s administration, her 2008 campaign, and—in a few cases—Barack Obama’s administration.
Guess what? Bernie Sanders helped make that happen. He helped push Hillary Clinton to the left. And he should keep pushing her if she becomes president.”
Patd,
First of all, i agree with with Flatus about re-instituting the draft…but i would not phase it in….i would start it yesterday….and Obamas kids would be the first to go…..Obama and his military machine has just put a number of acceptable civilian casualties….now they can kill them as openly…not that they haven’t done it all along.
Out sourcing inmo…allows the military complex what they always wanted…..for years their goal has been independence from control by civilians. It has been achieved.
It is so very complex….but it also allows (outsourcing) us to employ a minimum of our citizens in the armed forces….only about 1-2 % are in service to our country…..the rest are mercenaries…..making a lot of money…..another reason that they dont want a draft…..we are fighting wars unrelated to the defense of the country, empire building, etc, etc……making outsourcing an absolute necessity……probably a lot more reasons……
And what we desperately need……are pictures of innocents being killed by those that we out source to….we need a counting of bodies every day….both of our soldiers and of all others…….an accounting of where all our monies go to, for and for what….
Acceptable civilian casualties when we bomb and area that we think hides terrorists………………………….nice huh…..wide open permission to bomb anywhere anytime…..so much for
That is Obama is going to allow dropping bombs anywhere anytime that terrorist are suspected of hiding in…….nice huh……so if someones says that there are a shit load of terrorist hiding im my farm……then a number of acceptable innocent deaths, babies, women, children….are ok to bomb…….
Sorry Pat,
…….got a little side tracked……but its frustrating to me that neither party even talks about any of this…..let alone the press……im so disappointed in all of the trump talk, feel the bern, hillary, and all the endless debates that are designed just ot distract us from the real issues………Had a great earth day….even did some earthing….walking on camp grounds without shoes…..xox
Love the playoffs. CLE about to go up 3-0 over DEtroit.
Great comeuppance for Jackson. Gets blocked and freight trained into the crowd on the last play of the game by James after dissing him after game 2. Lesson here: don’t f*ck with the king if you can’t back it up.
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