By PatD, a Trail Mix Contributor
Trail Mixers, which of these friendship songs will be the Cabinet-to-be’s theme song since some, including the President-elect, consider themselves a friend of Putin aka FOP?
- “With a Little Help From My Friends” – Beatles – 1967
- “You’ve Got a Friend” – James Taylor – 1971
- “Thank You for Being a Friend” – Andrew Gold – 1978
- “Lean On Me” – Bill Withers – 1972
More Posts by PatD
oh yeah, and lest we forget “I’ll Be There for You” – The Rembrandts – 1995
my choice is this from the twit himself
Thank You For Being A Friend
by Andrew Gold
Thank you for being a friend
Traveled down the road and back again
Your heart is true, you’re a pal and a confidant
I’m not ashamed to say
I hope it always will stay this way
My hat is off, won’t you stand up and take a bow
And if you threw a party
Invited everyone you knew
You would see the biggest gift would be from me
And the card attached would say
Thank you for being a friend….
Clearly, Emperor Trump realizes to understand friendship, one must understand from whence the friend comes. Hence, over the holidays, all are instructed to study and memorize and understand this offering:
https://youtu.be/kVdVTVR-j0Q?list=PL88clHxlfzAY-zwk5W14fi4WdMez0tl7J
Given that all sides of the equations have nuclear weapons, let’s hope we can get to this stage in one piece.
“You Are My Special Angel” – Bobby Vinton – 1963
excerpt from politico: Libertarians emerging as Trump resistance
Some of the loudest and potentially most consequential libertarian dissent has come in response to Trump’s flirtation with Bolton for a plum job at the State Department, possibly as the No. 2 to ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson, whom Trump named as his secretary of state pick on Tuesday.
Bolton, the former United Nations ambassador and ultra-hawkish conservative who strongly supported the Iraq war, has particularly stoked the ire of Paul in the Senate.
“I am a no on John Bolton for ANY position in the State [Department] and will work to defeat his nomination to any post,” Paul tweeted on Sunday.
Paul sits on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and has the power to stop the committee from recommending Bolton, if Democrats unanimously join in to block him. Other prominent libertarian outlets, including leaders with Young Americans for Liberty, have been quick to back him up.
[….]
…he argued that nominating Bolton for a top slot at State would contradict a number of positions Trump took as a candidate, including opposition to the Iraq war, something Trump initially supported but made a point to paint as a bad idea during the race. Bolton—who himself is a longtime critic of Paul’s more hands-off approach to foreign policy– has also called for bombing Iran, has since been unapologetic about his support for the war in Iraq. That’s been a key sticking point with Paul.
Since we now have most of the Cabinet secretaries & Advisors appointed, who would you like to see the Senate reject of those that need confirmation (maximum 3) and why since we have to pick our battles. I’m going with:
Michael Flynn, Security Advisor because he’s nuts.
Scott Pruitt, EPA because I actually believe in science & he doesn’t
Ryan Zinke, Interior because I like national parks without oil wells.
“Baby You Can Drive My Car” – Beatles – 1965 (Poo putin put-put, Ya !)
“Everything I Have Is Yours” – Art Jarrett – 1933
I’ll go with Jamie on pruitt, but I’ll add sessions and mnuchin – not that zinke and flynn aren’t gawdawfully gawdawful.
yikes this won’t be a fun read for most here, but rings true with everything I was hearing at the time: “How Clinton lost Michigan — and blew the election” (Politico)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVFuTIGUhTk
XR, your song choices are brilliant, but Renee’s is positively INSPIRED.
Craig
I don’t believe anyone has made the argument that the Clinton campaign committed several errors. The problem was that they were all compounded by media spreading fake negatives that as it turns out may have been Russian created talking points. There were scads of mistakes or as I said before she was fighting the last war not the one in front of her.
Rachel Maddow pointed out a glaring one on the commentary about Hillary never mentioning jobs and then playing about eight clips in different locations before different groups where she talked about nothing else with the word “Jobs” being prominently mentioned. How often did we see the WORD CLOUD with “Untrustworthy” being the largest word. We don’t even need to mention emails, emails, emails followed by server server server with never a mention of Comey’s follow up question answer to the Salem witch trial (er investigation) of : Careless, but she did nothing wrong.
To then turn that around in the last days of the campaign to violate Dept of Justice standards about possible emails on an assistant’s husbands laptop from another case probably to quiet and insurrection in the FBI ranks. Even a last minute “nothing there either” couldn’t repair the damage done.
In any case, the American people were fed a line of utter BS stoked with murders, thievery, and perversions. 42% of them swallowed it hook line and sinker. She still came out almost 3 million votes ahead, but those campaign errors lost them in the wrong places for the rust belt workers who never really got to hear the true message.
As a result we are stuck with Trump. So yes I do blame the Nazis, KKK, Russians, Breitbart hate machine, and the campaign. Most of all I blame media that never actually told the truth about any of it.
Whether we say Tillerson is ‘friends’ with Putin or not, he has no other experience in his life beyond working for Exxon! Also, Russia is not the world! A SoS has to be able to negotiate with any country on a diplomatic and political level. Being able to talk to Putin about oil doesn’t make him qualified to be SoS!
My song selection applies double to trump:
…most people would turn you away
I don’t listen to a word they say
They don’t see you as I do
I wish they would try to
I’m sure they’d think again
If they had a friend like Putin
https://youtu.be/ZiYldR1Vue8
I get the feeling Bolton may get a laudatory graceful exit before assuming the position. Tillerson doesn’t want him and several movers & shakers who have Trump’s ear on a good day don’t want him either.
Speaking of Tillerson, good review on relationship to Shale Oil and Climate Change
“he has no other experience in his life beyond working for Exxon!”
granny, now now… he was president of the boy scouts for 2 years.
surely that and being from texas is enough.
I don’t recall where or when it was. But I do know it involved a visiting general whom I disliked intensely. He made some remarks of encouragement to those assembled then looked to me for a reinforcing nod. All I could muster was a look of utter disdain. The fact that he was crestfallen rather than angry made me do an attitude check and reevaluation of the man—and do an unsolicited apology.
Jamie, sessions! and as soon as possible before he does more damage than has already been done just by the mention of him becoming atty gen.
What about 75,000 ballots uncounted in Detroit vote because of bubbles ?
3-million votes–in the range of number of deaths caused through mandated mass starvations and purges in Stalin’s USSR during the 1930s. I wonder what the figures are for the Putin era
xr, picky picky picky… when the twit won by 10,704 in Michigan? what’s a few 75000 got to do with it.
similarly, how did the dems win goobership in north Carolina but not pres?
flatus, don’t forget Aleppo in putin’s “mass starvations” and murders count
Jamie, you might not have to worry about Flynn (ironically one of the “lock her up” cheerleaders)
from cnn: Military report: Trump pick Michael Flynn shared classified intel
Donald Trump’s incoming national security adviser “inappropriately shared” classified intelligence with foreign military personnel, according to a just-surfaced military summary of the inquiry.
Michael Flynn, the controversial head of intelligence for the coalition in Afghanistan at the time, unintentionally violated intelligence regulations when serving as the Army’s deputy chief of staff for intelligence, according to documents obtained by CNN from the Defense Department.
[….]
Flynn’s breach also comes after Trump’s vociferous criticism of Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton for her handling of sensitive information while serving as secretary of state.
CNN has reported that on at least two occasions, Flynn’s handling of classified information came under scrutiny by the US military.
Two former government officials with direct knowledge of the issue told CNN that while Flynn oversaw intelligence in Afghanistan, he shared classified information with Pakistan on terror networks responsible for killing American troops. The intelligence, the sources said, came from another agency and Flynn wasn’t supposed to share it. They said he was trying to convince Pakistan to stop sheltering terrorists.
In a separate incident, the two officials with whom CNN spoke said Flynn did not follow established security procedures when he shared classified intelligence with allies.
Flynn said he had permission to share the classified information. In both cases, sources said the retired general was informally reprimanded but never charged with wrongdoing.
Talk about sore losers: North Carolina stipping gubernatorial powers
North Carolina GOP Makes Brazen Attempt to Curb Power of Incoming Democratic Governor
also read at
slate: Michael “Lock Her Up” Flynn Mishandled Classified Material, 2010 Investigation Found
Michael Flynn is a retired lieutenant general who is going to be Donald Trump’s national security adviser. During the presidential campaign, Flynn hammered Hillary Clinton for keeping classified information on a private server, leading audiences in chants of “lock her up” and suggesting that he’d have been jailed if he had done what Clinton had done.
[….]
Making his case even more like Clinton’s: Flynn was ultimately not disciplined or reprimanded because investigators determined that he did not “knowingly” expose the classified information and did not cause any actual harm to national security by doing so
Craig… that was an interesting read. It did mention that Comey’s shenanigans in the last week of campaigning did have an effect on the election. But when the campaign people in Michigan tried to tell the national Clinton headquarters in Brooklyn what they were seeing in internal polls it fell on deaf ears. That when people showed up to get election materials (signs and literature to hand out) they were told there wasn’t any and just sent home.
I agree that everything that Jamie said contributed to her loss… but the Democrats had better pay attention to what the Clinton campaign itself did wrong also.
No second agency has authority to compromise another’s sources because they feel like it. Hang the bastard.
renee, craig etc. what with taking months to do something re the fbi alert about the breakin to the dnc and other snafus on dnc regional part, sounds to me like there were some moles or dirty-tricksters involved along with folks who didn’t know what they were doing there.
drumpf’s folks by-passed their national setup at times… I wonder if that’s a system on both sides that’s atrophied and just a black hole sucking money without much return.
Just renewed my medical coverage for my employees. 18% across the board plus 12% increase in deductible.
All of them are healthy mid-20’s single men. The agent said that their rate keeps going up so high because they now have to carry a huge amount of female only and adolescent health care charges that are lumped onto them even though they don’t have a wife or kids.
Nothing frustrates me more than having to pay for something that you will never use.
business insider:
Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts promised on Thursday that she, along with four other Democratic senators, would introduce legislation to force President-elect Donald Trump to divest entirely from his business empire.
“Americans deserve to know that the president is doing what’s best for the country — not using his office to do what’s best for himself,” she tweeted. “The only way for @realDonaldTrump to eliminate conflicts-of-interest is to divest his financial interests and place them in a blind trust.”
The Massachusetts Democrat wrote that Sens. Ben Cardin of Maryland, Chris Coons of Delaware, Dick Durbin of Illinois, and Jeff Merkley of Oregon would introduce legislation next month seeking to define Trump’s obligations under the Emoluments Clause, a passage in the Constitution that forbids government officials from receiving gifts from foreign governments.
Jax
That’s one way to look at it. Another is you pay in while you are young and healthy and benefit later when you have a family and get old.
A lot of people the health insurance industry consigned to the high risk pools can now get insurance.
As a society it is to our benefit to have people insured and getting regular medical care. The number of medical bankruptcies has decreased and a lot of people are in better health.
Jaxtrader
It may be frustrating but a general policy for all that covers the basics is the only way to keep the costs down for everyone. Let’s face it, none of the ladies are going to be chugalugging Viagra, going in for prostate exams or visiting a specialist to see if their little swimmers are swimming in good numbers.
It may seem unfair right up to the point that one of those adventurous young men takes a nose dive off his Harley and I’m sure he will be glad he helped pay for the ladies IUDs
KGC,
The women’s and adolescent charges have nothing to do with age or high risk. It is purely a transfer of risk/cost from one group to another that has no relation to the risk or the cost.
There is absolutely no chance that any of these young male employees are going to incur adolescent dental or female reproductive issue charges. But somehow gov’t has mandated that they pay for them.
Jax, as a private insurance participant prior to this month, I was facing what would have been a 40% increase in premiums with probably a 5-10% jump in out of pockets with BC/BS, the only exchange participant in WV. The exchange/non-exchange programs and rates were identical. I finally will only be paying for my current insurance (Medicare) instead of private insurance plus Medicare. I don’t mind paying the medicare tax quite as much now. My Medicare tax is 11% of what I would have paid for coverage under BC/BS (I look at it as my Part A premium). Add the supplement and Part B costs in and it’s just around half what I would be paying. The benefit is that my out of pockets are way less than half what they were before. It’s a bargain relatively speaking, but still noticeable. (Luckily the Part B rate will drop in a few years when I scale back my time working and my income.)
jax, just think if we had medicare for all you nor any other employers would be worrying about such things. those who needed more than basic coverage could then choose for themselves supplemental insurance and not have to concern their bosses about it (unless the company opted to be a bulk purchaser of said supp in their own interest of course).
Jamie,
Even with including these charges for a young man a young female of the same age group with comparable health is 45% higher.
The main problem is that most employees don’t care what’s included in the costs of these plans because they aren’t paying. They just see it as a benefit. When they see the costs go up it just looks like to them that they are getting a bigger benefit.
This is one of the biggest hindrances to increasing jobs out there right now. Healthcare costs for an entry employee for me are now 287% higher than they were just 3 years ago.
Pogo,
I still use BC/BS HSA. I’m qualified for free medical (Tricare) as I’m retired Navy but I’ve never signed up. I may finally do it this year.
I’m just frustrated now that more and more of the hidden details of Obamacare are finally coming to fruition.
just in case you don’t hear from me and maybe others in the heartland for awhile, seems there have been some massive land line service outages. so those of us who bundle tv phones broadband may be in the dark now and then, off and on, this week. anyone know why? phone co I talked to said it wasn’t the weather but didn’t know anything more than that.
those pesky rooskies probably!
Jax must be going back thru his archives–we had these same conversations when the whole process was just getting off the ground.
I wonder why the dickens I should pay for the USCG beyond their law enforcement and Homeland Defense activities.
Jax
Those items are part of basic heathcare as Jaime pointed out there are plenty of male only items on the list as well. It’s part of the package of making health care insurance affordable for more people For a long time ED drugs were covered but not birth control.
Patd,
I’ve got a better idea. How about I pay for the healthcare that I use and you pay for what you use.
Let insurance just offer catastrophic coverage. The gov’t gets out of it completely.
Pat — Sun spots?
Jax, the agent is spouting Insco meme that is at variance with the concept of shared risk. What female care is he talking about? Maternity costs, pre-natal care, breast cancer? Or is he just whining about reproductive-related preventive care? Prior to ACA insurers often excluded certain coverage from “basic” policies and offered the “add ons” if at all as riders for high premiums. I never had to pay anything extra a la carte to have coverage for urinary and prostate related health care that was virtually or certainly never going to be used by women in the same risk pool I was in, so why should anyone expect that women should have to pay extra to get coverage for “female only” health care? (That urinary part covered reproductive preventive care, but I’ve never heard anyone complain that Mrs. P shouldn’t have had to pay for my utilization of that care). That was purely a transfer of risk/cost from one group to another that has no relation to the risk or the cost. I’ve never heard anyone carp about that. And dental? It’s not mandated, and as shitty as dental insurance coverage is, bless you for providing it, but recognize that is a choice you’ve made for your employees’ benefit. If your employees are healthy twenty-something males who won’t have to utilize that benefit, don’t make it available. My RW Republican dentist could tell them how to save money on that – god knows he gives me his opinion on it every time I go in for my 6 mo. cleanings.
I’m pretty sure Jamie’s on Medicare – kinda hard to get government out of medicare. And while healthcare may be more expensive for women of similar ages to men in younger groups, parsing it out on the basis of age and race is not how insurance works. The more parsing you do, the less it is insurance. And yes, buy catastrophic insurance if you want to cut your costs – here that’s referred to as the bronze plan – it’s great unless you need it for say, leukemia treatment (or multiple myeloma or any other of the numerous ailments with high cost, lengthy treatments that are out there.)
HSAs are great if you have high enough income to fund them and whatever underlying catastrophic coverage you elect. If you don’t, I think the word that is applicable is screwed. (But I admit that I know little about HSAs)
Jax
Basic disagreement here. You think everyone should fend for themselves – that resulted in deaths due to lack of basic care especially for seniors but across the board..crowded emergency rooms and medical bankruptices. As a public policy we have decided to make insurance available and that means a pool. It produces a fairer and more reliable system for everyone.
remember our discussion teachers and schools. probably won’t have them to kick around anymore….here’s the future
from new Yorker: Betsy DeVos and the Plan to Break Public Schools
Pogo,
I offer my employees a silver plan without dental.
Included this year is a charge for pediatric dental and pre-natal/post charges. These are now considered “essential health benefits” and part of the core health benefit that every plan must offer.
So even though you can’t afford dental coverage for yourself or your employees you still get to pay for someone else’s kid to have it. Isn’t that great….:)
The right wing argument that always entertains me is “why should nuns have to pay for birth control?”. Even avoiding the obvious of “they are female and not guarded by eunuchs”, it shows a basic ignorance about female anatomy. More than one virgin has been placed on birth control to regulate menstrual cycles and more than one lady of maturer years to assist with the side effects of fibroids. On the male side of things Viagra was discovered as a side effect of treating heart disease in males.
Politicians & Insurance Companies need to leave medical procedures to doctors and stop selling a bill of goods to those who don’t understand that the more people in a non profit system, the cheaper it is for all concerned. The countries in the above graphic seem to have figured it out.
Jaxtrader
Yes it is great. People with adequate dental care are less likely to develop heart disease which is a whole lot more expensive than regular brushing. You might consider at least an optional dental rider.
The ACA actually slowed the rise in insurance costs. Some of the many causes for the increases are contained here:
https://www.thebalance.com/causes-of-rising-healthcare-costs-4064878
Twenty something males get married all the time, have wives and kids who need healthcare. So sure they may not need it today, but could easily need it next week. Marriages and families can happen fast.
then there is the problem of those young men thinking bad health is for other people so they never save for the future when health costs over shoot income, these days even basic healthcare.
And JAX, not every 50 year old is as lucky as you are to have an insurance pool with the average 30 to draw their health care from, makes a difference.
As to what is really driving the cost. medicine and medical devices. imo It is scary what I pay for diabetic supplies and insulin. A good thing most folks don’t know thee cost or I would need an armed guard just to get my insulin. It shocks the young cashier every time she rings it up.
Jack,
Jamie,
It’s great to have to pay for someone else to have care that you can’t afford yourself?
How is that great?
Jack,
In the end I guess I’m just getting older and I’m seeing fewer and fewer contributors and more and more with their hands out…….
At some point I guess I’m just going to say that I’m done and stop giving a sh…
Jax
No Offense but that is pile of poop. If you want to be angry and frustrated talk to the Republicans in Congress who wouldn’t allow the government to negotiate on drug prices. This has nothing to do with people with their hands out. And if they do – you might find a lot of them are employed at companies that don’t want to pay their fair share and you end up picking up their corporate welfare. This is not about people trying to scam the system….well except for Walmart who has more employees on some sort of assistance then any other employer
If you truly believe everyone should pay their own expenses then why not set up medical savings accounts I think properly funded they meet the insurance requirement.
HSA’s can only be used with “High Deductible Health Plans” that count as “Minimum Essential Coverage (MEC).” Not every plan with a high deductible is HSA compatible, so make sure to double check the specifics before signing your annual health insurance contact.
HSA’s can reduce AGI / MAGI to increase cost assistance eligibility levels and lower taxable income. If you invest money in an HSA, that money grows tax-free as well. HSA’s can be withdrawn from for non-medical use at a penalty, and investment portions of HSAs can involve the same risks as any other investment account. sounds right up your alley
The pediatric dental coverage was news to me – but I haven’t studied the essential services required by the ACA. I’m guessing you are buying small group coverage. FWIW, ACA didn’t change anything that was covered under my insurance (except pediatric dentistry) as compared to the coverage I had before ACA. All that women stuff was covered.
Finally getting a chance to sit down and catch up.
19th Nervous Breakdown – Stones
One of the nice things about working all day in the cube farm is that I usually miss “news”. So far today the only “news” I am hearing is that one of the crooked Maryland politicians has been released from Cumberland Prison to a halfway house. eh. Fine. Have fun.
Tonight is a special dinner. Chili cheese dogs with onions and fries. I am celebrating finally getting a job application accepted in USAJobs. Now I wait. But, I can wait very well with heartburn and the happiness of wonderful taste sensations.
Why isn’t Syrian president Bashar al-Assad already classified as a war criminal?
Assad and allies commit war crimes in Aleppo, while US stands idly by. The Obama administration is watching as the Russian-Syrian-Iranian axis commits an unprecedented massacre, even by Mideast standards. The UN has already proven that the Assad regime dropped chemical bombs on civilians.
He’s Donald Trump’s new third best friend
Jaxtrader
You have read Ayn Rand once too often and even she didn’t turn down her many illicit lovers or Social Security. Libertarianism is fallacious in any population above about 10,000 people. Even then in pioneer societies they raised barns and delivered babies as a group simply because that is what decent people do. Do go read “Time Enough For Love” Robert Heinlein … Past as future from 40 years ago.
We live in the world we live in. We are approaching 350 million people in the US. We either divide into 50 fiefdoms or we are all in this together. Try to catch up.
I can’t wait to see tillersonavich hug assad,
and hear him swear that basher is
our best friend in the Middle East.
Uhhh . . . . I guess I can wait.
This display is from Jamie, but it lacks Vatican City, Malta, and Cuba.
Check out lettertoelectors.org
Is there a Damascus trump tower or an Antakya trump golf course ?
“Back in the U.S.S.R.” should experience a revival. You can’t go wrong with the Beatles.
Unless your name is Trump.
I anticipate everything going wrong, and with gusto.
How about that Trump Tweetfit over Vanity Fair’s review of the Trump Tower restaurant? It would be delicious if Graydon Carter initiated a post-Spy Magazine feud with the Orange Menace.