User-Supported News Commentary Hosted by Craig Crawford
Finally Some Good Midterm News
Author: craigcrawford
Trail Mix Host. Lapsed journalist, author & retired pundit happily promoting nothing but the truth for Social Security checks.
View all posts by craigcrawford
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) is selling what he declares is a “great way for proud, fearless conservatives to support” his campaign: a mug with an image of himself cheering on the mob preparing to storm the Capitol on Jan. 6.
“Liberals are so easily triggered, and this new mug is really whipping the left into a frenzy!” read a Monday campaign email advertising the $20 item. “Josh isn’t scared — he’s show-me strong! This Made in America mug is the perfect way to enjoy Coffee, Tea, or Liberal Tears!”
It’s unclear if Hawley licensed the viral image for use. The Associated Press told Rolling Stone in an email that they are “not seeing anything in our billing system with that usage,” and that they will be contacting their attorney regarding Hawley’s potentially unlicensed use of the image. Hawley’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
[…]
The fact that Hawley is now selling merch to promote the image of himself cheering on the rioters is yet another testament to the degree to which the Republican Party has embraced Capitol attack. It’s no longer a disgrace. It’s no longer something to rationalize. It’s no longer something to pin on liberals. It’s now something to proudly screen print onto a mug.
about certain gopers from flyover country, cleveland’s cartoonist darcy oped:
CLEVELAND, Ohio — Joining the Canada Dudley Do-Wrong truckers protest spewing exhaust, have been Fox News hosts, U.S. Senators Ted Cruz and Rand Paul. Paul has also endorsed Mike Gibbons in the Republican primary for Ohio’s open U.S. Senate seat. Gibbons is from Northeast, Ohio, that had its Avon Lake Ford plant shut down because of the protest.
The truckers have been protesting Covid restrictions under the false flag moniker of “Freedom Convoy.” Which actually turned out to be freedom to clog bridges, streets and free commerce, like Covid-19 clogs respiratory systems. The pandemic has killed nearly a million people Cruz and Paul are supposed to represent in the U.S. and Gibbons seeks too.
[…]
It used to be that true Conservative Republicans would never back actions that blocked free commerce and forced plants to close, like the Ford one in Avon Lake, Ohio, but Cruz and Paul have.
In the Ohio U.S. Senate Republican primary, Gibbons is now in second place behind Josh Mandel according to a Trafalger Group Survey. The Survey showed Mandel at 21% and Gibbons at 16.4% overtaking J.D. Vance, who had been in second place.
Gibbons is now promoting his endorsement from Paul in an ad campaign. He could do worse, Vance has been endorsed by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene from Georgia’s crackpot district.
The Kentucky senator Rand Paul, who has criticized the disruptive tactics of racial justice protesters in the US, is “all for” the disruption of a trucker convoy. “I hope the truckers do come to America. I hope they clog up cities,” Paul told the Daily Signal, a publication of the conservative thinktank the Heritage Foundation.
Paul said: “Civil disobedience is a time-honored tradition in our country, from slavery to civil rights, to you name it. Peaceful protest, clog things up, make people think about the mandates.”
With tensions already at their highest level since the Cold War, the Russian military announced that President Vladimir Putin will monitor a sweeping exercise of the country’s nuclear forces Saturday that will involve multiple practice missile launches — a stark reminder of the country’s nuclear might amid the showdown with the West.
US Vice President Kamala Harris is set to attend the Munich Security Conference, leading a US delegation to the event. At the event, Harris will also be meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the midst of tensions with Russia over the region.
Senior administration officials revealed Wednesday that Harris will be meeting with Zelensky at the conference. This would mark her first meeting with the Ukrainian leader amidst tensions in eastern Europe with the buildup of Russian troops at the border it shares with Ukraine. Harris’s meeting with Zelensky will be one of the high-profile meetings she will hold while at the conference.
[…]
According to officials, Harris will be discussing the key issues of unity among allies, and the economic sanctions that would be imposed on Russia should it make an invasion into Ukraine. The West has repeatedly warned that an invasion may be carried out at any time.
[continues]
“an invasion may be carried out at any time” — would you believe maybe saturday when Ukraine president is out of the country and our veep will look like a damsel in distress? vlad is such a devious devil.
International Olympic Committee (IOC) PresidentThomas Bachsaid that he was “disturbed” by the treatment of prominent, Russian figure skaterKamila Valievaby her coach after her performance on Thursday,NPR reports.
“You could see this chilling atmosphere, this distance” from Valieva’s coaches when she gets off the ice, Bach said, according to NPR. “I’m very concerned.”
Eteri Tutberidze, a coach of Valieva’s, could be heard after the performance, according to NPR, saying to Valieva in Russian, “Why did you stop fighting? Explain it to me, why? You let it go after that axel.”
The comments from her coach came after a disappointing performance from Valieva where she fell multiple times and was visibly distressed on the ice. After her performance, the teenager broke down in tears.
[…]
The IOC head said that he believes that Valieva’s positive drug test is likely because of her coaches and not Valieva’s own doing.
“Doping is very rarely done alone with the athletes,” Bach said.
[…]
The Kremlin pushed back on Bach’s comments, saying, “Of course we respect his opinion but we do not necessarily agree with him.”
“He doesn’t like the harshness of our coaches but everybody knows that the harshness of a coach in high-level sport is key for their athletes to achieve victories.
“And we are seeing that the athletes are achieving victories. So let’s be proud of our winners, congratulate our medallists. Valieva was fourth but in high-level sport, the strongest wins.”
not much of a reach to imagine the coaches slightly tampering with her skates without her knowledge since they most likely gave her certain meds without her knowledge. they had excellent backup skaters. a win-win situation: getting rid of the furor over her and winning gold & silver anyway
Johnny Weir and Tara Lipinski wrap up the women’s free skate, expressing praise for Anna Shcherbakova’s skate, joy for Kaori Sakamoto, and frustration with the ROC coaches who let their skaters down in multiple ways. #NBCOlympics#WinterOlympics2022#FigureSkating
and this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZzKR8jj0XfY NBC Olympics host Mike Tirico criticizes the Russian coaches and staff who failed to protect 15-year-old Kamila Valieva and implores the IOC to take action for the benefit of the entire sport. #NBCOlympics #WinterOlympics2022 #KamilaValieva
MOSCOW/KYIV, Feb 18 (Reuters) – Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine said on Friday they planned to evacuate their breakaway region’s residents to Russia, a shock turn in a conflict the West believes Moscow plans to use to justify an all-out invasion of its neighbour.
Announcing the move on social media, Denis Pushilin, head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, said Russia had agreed to provide accommodation for those who leave. Women, children and the elderly should be evacuated first. The other self-proclaimed region, Luhansk, made a similar announcement.
Millions of civilians are believed to live in the two rebel-held regions of eastern Ukraine; most are Russian speakers and many have already been granted Russian citizenship.
The eastern Ukraine conflict zone saw the most intense artillery bombardment for years on Friday, with the Kyiv government and the separatists trading blame. Western countries have said they think the shelling, which began on Thursday and intensified in its second day, is part of a pretext to invade.
[…]
Close to 600 explosions were recorded on Friday morning, 100 more than on Thursday, some involving 152 mm and 122 mm artillery and large mortars, the source said. At least four rounds had been fired from tanks.
“They are shooting – everyone and everything,” said the source. “There’s been nothing like this since 2014-15.”
Other officials have been more cautious, noting that there have been periods of deadly fighting during the ceasefire.
Shortly after the evacuation announcement in Donetsk on Friday, a Reuters witness said a loud warning siren sounded in the city centre.
People will start being bussed out of the Donetsk region at 8 pm (1700 GMT) on Friday, Russia’s Interfax news agency cited a source saying.
[continues]
I can no longer whistle nor snap my fingers.
I can still make fart noises, though.
It’s tough gettin’ old…..it ain’t child’s play.
Somebody else always had to sing that one—that high note on the bridge was a bridge too far.
Johnny Weir said the coach was not happy, based on what he heard being said to the girl.
She did not accidentally take her grandpa’s heart pills, as they tried to claim.
Maybe she threw the performance to teach them a lesson?
The IOC should never shave let her perform. White privilege.
Also, I think the skater from Japan should’ve won silver instead of bronze. She did a beautiful job. Really, she was better than the gold medalist, too. Jumpy McJumps-A-Lot was not fun to watch, except for the tricks, but it got her the gold.
BiD… I well remember Tara Lipinski’s gold medal performance… she was only 15. I’ve always called it the “jack rabbit” performance. At that age… they can jump like jack rabbits… but the elegant artistry is lacking. Unfortunately, the judges care mostly about the jumps.
Olympic skating judges have become a joke. I mostly watch the ski and skating races now… can’t argue with a stop watch.
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration is concerned about Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s plans to leave his country this weekend to attend the Munich Security Conference, where he’s scheduled to meet in person with Vice President Kamala Harris, according to four people familiar with the matter.
Administration officials are worried that it’s too risky right now for Zelenskyy to leave the country given the potential for conflict, and that Russian President Vladimir Putin could somehow exploit his absence, they said.
Amid those concerns, and on the eve of Zelenskyy’s scheduled departure for Germany, a spokesperson said the Ukrainian president was monitoring the situation and a final decision would be made in the coming hours.
Tara and her parents built a huge house down on the beach. I put a bunch of the cabinets in there but never got to meet her. Her parents were there all the time, but any time Tara was coming to see the house there was like a town crier who came walking thru all 4 floors of house yelling, “Ms Lipinsky is coming, please clear the house,” and all the common workmen and ladies had to scurry off the premises until the visit was over.
In another part of the economic pain the Dems absolutely have to find a way to tame are fuel costs. We have reached the magic numbers in the D.C. region, over four dollars per gallon of gasoline and diesel. It should be time to start talking about breaking up the hydrocarbon monster companies.
“Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said Friday that he will push to end professor tenure for all new hires at Texas public universities and colleges in an effort to combat faculty members who he says “indoctrinate” students with teachings about critical race theory.”
So Patrick wants to eliminate any professors who want to teach an essential legal framework at that level in law schools? You don’t have to agree with that framework, but a juris doctor is expected to know the material. It might be a little difficult to pass the bar without it.
“If Russia invades, that means tanks or troops crossing the border of Ukraine again, then there will be – there will be no longer a Nord Stream 2,” Biden said at a news conference Monday. “We will bring an end to it.”
If the world could go green in an instant, it would pull the plug on this stuff. We could be a lot greener if those in power weren’t so beholden to gas/oil-mongers.
no wonder with opponents like this
Josh Hawley Is Selling Mugs of Himself Cheering on Jan. 6 Rioters – Rolling Stone
Seek help, Joshy. Seek help.
You are only showing yourself to be an un-American asshat. Traitor.
about certain gopers from flyover country, cleveland’s cartoonist darcy oped:
the guardian:
dr strangelove is back
Russia to stage nuclear drills with Ukraine tensions high | AP News
Kamala Harris to meet Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky at Munich Security Conference – EconoTimes
“an invasion may be carried out at any time” — would you believe maybe saturday when Ukraine president is out of the country and our veep will look like a damsel in distress? vlad is such a devious devil.
speaking of russia and damsels in distress
TheHill
not much of a reach to imagine the coaches slightly tampering with her skates without her knowledge since they most likely gave her certain meds without her knowledge. they had excellent backup skaters. a win-win situation: getting rid of the furor over her and winning gold & silver anyway
She should move to California and become an international star of stage and screen. Or something else…..in California.
https://youtu.be/Pgiuo4lHFt4
The drama starts to unfold following the intense women’s free skate event and the shocking results. #NBCOlympics #WinterOlympics2022 #FigureSkating
and this Johnny and Tara: ROC failed to protect its young skaters | Winter Olympics 2022 | NBC Sports – YouTube
Johnny Weir and Tara Lipinski wrap up the women’s free skate, expressing praise for Anna Shcherbakova’s skate, joy for Kaori Sakamoto, and frustration with the ROC coaches who let their skaters down in multiple ways. #NBCOlympics #WinterOlympics2022 #FigureSkating
and this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZzKR8jj0XfY
NBC Olympics host Mike Tirico criticizes the Russian coaches and staff who failed to protect 15-year-old Kamila Valieva and implores the IOC to take action for the benefit of the entire sport. #NBCOlympics #WinterOlympics2022 #KamilaValieva
Rebels announce evacuation from east Ukraine | Reuters
One thing has always puzzled me. What exactly is a “Dock of the Bay”?
Sturg… the real question is… can you whistle like that?
I can no longer whistle nor snap my fingers.
I can still make fart noises, though.
It’s tough gettin’ old…..it ain’t child’s play.
Somebody else always had to sing that one—that high note on the bridge was a bridge too far.
Johnny Weir said the coach was not happy, based on what he heard being said to the girl.
She did not accidentally take her grandpa’s heart pills, as they tried to claim.
Maybe she threw the performance to teach them a lesson?
The IOC should never shave let her perform. White privilege.
Also, I think the skater from Japan should’ve won silver instead of bronze. She did a beautiful job. Really, she was better than the gold medalist, too. Jumpy McJumps-A-Lot was not fun to watch, except for the tricks, but it got her the gold.
BiD… I well remember Tara Lipinski’s gold medal performance… she was only 15. I’ve always called it the “jack rabbit” performance. At that age… they can jump like jack rabbits… but the elegant artistry is lacking. Unfortunately, the judges care mostly about the jumps.
Olympic skating judges have become a joke. I mostly watch the ski and skating races now… can’t argue with a stop watch.
US Banks, Defense Companies Warned to Prepare for Russian Cyber Attacks https://www.defenseone.com/technology/2022/02/us-companies-warned-prepare-russian-cyber-attacks/362172/
U.S. concerned about Zelenskyy’s trip to Munich (nbcnews.com)
Maybe he has a stand-up gig in Munch he can’t get out of
”Take my country… please!” 🥁
Tara and her parents built a huge house down on the beach. I put a bunch of the cabinets in there but never got to meet her. Her parents were there all the time, but any time Tara was coming to see the house there was like a town crier who came walking thru all 4 floors of house yelling, “Ms Lipinsky is coming, please clear the house,” and all the common workmen and ladies had to scurry off the premises until the visit was over.
In another part of the economic pain the Dems absolutely have to find a way to tame are fuel costs. We have reached the magic numbers in the D.C. region, over four dollars per gallon of gasoline and diesel. It should be time to start talking about breaking up the hydrocarbon monster companies.
Biden just said Putin has “made a decision” to invade
Kudos to Biden for being forthright and not sugar-coating the situation throughout the past few weeks
https://www.texastribune.org/2022/02/18/dan-patrick-texas-tenure-critical-race-theory/
“Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said Friday that he will push to end professor tenure for all new hires at Texas public universities and colleges in an effort to combat faculty members who he says “indoctrinate” students with teachings about critical race theory.”
BB, maybe allowing Exxon & Mobil to merge wasn’t a great idea? Who could have predicted that?
Blue
So Patrick wants to eliminate any professors who want to teach an essential legal framework at that level in law schools? You don’t have to agree with that framework, but a juris doctor is expected to know the material. It might be a little difficult to pass the bar without it.
https://www.cnn.com/europe/live-news/russia-ukraine-biden-scholz-news-02-07-22/index.html
“If Russia invades, that means tanks or troops crossing the border of Ukraine again, then there will be – there will be no longer a Nord Stream 2,” Biden said at a news conference Monday. “We will bring an end to it.”
If the world could go green in an instant, it would pull the plug on this stuff. We could be a lot greener if those in power weren’t so beholden to gas/oil-mongers.
NEW THREAD