tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-313611012024-03-18T00:00:33.895-05:00Thanks, Katrina<i>Blogging from Slidell, Louisiana about loving life on the Gulf Coast despite BP and Katrina</i>Judy Thornehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13871846865461659183noreply@blogger.comBlogger3910125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31361101.post-20877131063216357762024-03-18T00:00:00.003-05:002024-03-18T00:00:00.189-05:00Monday Morning Smile <p><br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzpZYJColUX39XswY0hkj087hVYak180uerFri0fNkU_Apzq_yE17iPR3wIAd4xhkahZ85wr3By9JA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p><br /></p>Judy Thornehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13871846865461659183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31361101.post-36822590199446796352024-03-17T17:12:00.001-05:002024-03-17T17:12:20.220-05:00A View on Aging<div class="teaser-content" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div class="wpds-c-PJLV article-body grid-center grid-body" data-qa="article-body" style="box-sizing: border-box; grid-column: 2 / 3; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 640px; width: 640px;"><p class="wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css overrideStyles font-copy" data-el="text" data-testid="drop-cap-letter" dir="null" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: var(--wpds-lineHeights-160); margin: 0px; padding-bottom: var(--wpds-space-150);"><span style="font-family: Franklin, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I was out today in the early morning walking with a close friend of 64 years named Shelley Adams. Despite some huge losses over time, she is always overtly positive. I don’t normally like this in a person. I make a rare exception for her. We hike several times a week beside our local creek, now a twisting, flowing stream that rushes over rocks, mint and twigs.</span></p><p class="wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css overrideStyles font-copy" data-el="text" data-testid="drop-cap-letter" dir="null" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: var(--wpds-lineHeights-160); margin: 0px; padding-bottom: var(--wpds-space-150);"><span style="font-family: Franklin, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css overrideStyles font-copy" data-el="text" data-testid="drop-cap-letter" dir="null" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: var(--wpds-lineHeights-160); margin: 0px; padding-bottom: var(--wpds-space-150);"><span style="font-family: Franklin, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Rainer Maria Rilke was only partially right when he wrote that “life holds you in its hands and will not let you fall,” because both Shelley and I, like all older people, have been dropped. But life also at some point pulls you back to your feet. What do you do in between, during times of loss or general dread? My friend Tom Weston, a Jesuit priest, always reminds me, “We do what’s possible.” I hate that.</span></p><p class="wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css overrideStyles font-copy" data-el="text" data-testid="drop-cap-letter" dir="null" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: var(--wpds-lineHeights-160); margin: 0px; padding-bottom: var(--wpds-space-150);"><span style="font-family: Franklin, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css overrideStyles font-copy" data-el="text" data-testid="drop-cap-letter" dir="null" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: var(--wpds-lineHeights-160); margin: 0px; padding-bottom: var(--wpds-space-150);"><span style="font-family: Franklin, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Okay, fine: What is possible? The practical, simple and kind. We work, love and help others as best we can, gawk at nature, rest. Is that it? Pretty much.</span></p><p class="wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css overrideStyles font-copy" data-el="text" data-testid="drop-cap-letter" dir="null" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: var(--wpds-lineHeights-160); margin: 0px; padding-bottom: var(--wpds-space-150);"><span style="font-family: Franklin, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css overrideStyles font-copy" data-el="text" data-testid="drop-cap-letter" dir="null" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: var(--wpds-lineHeights-160); margin: 0px; padding-bottom: var(--wpds-space-150);"><span style="font-family: Franklin, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css overrideStyles font-copy" data-el="text" data-testid="drop-cap-letter" dir="null" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: var(--wpds-lineHeights-160); margin: 0px; padding-bottom: var(--wpds-space-150);"><span style="font-family: Franklin, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">This is a little disappointing, but age teaches us that kind, simple and practical are enough, even in the face of the worst things we’ve lived through: suicides, mental illness, odious leaders, sudden death. My friend Don was called one day by an aging and suicidal friend. His friend asked, “What is the point of it all?” After a moment, Don replied gently, “Mornings are nice.” And, wildly, it was enough. His friend improved.</span></p><p class="wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css overrideStyles font-copy" data-el="text" data-testid="drop-cap-letter" dir="null" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: var(--wpds-lineHeights-160); margin: 0px; padding-bottom: var(--wpds-space-150);"><span style="font-family: Franklin, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css overrideStyles font-copy" data-el="text" data-testid="drop-cap-letter" dir="null" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: var(--wpds-lineHeights-160); margin: 0px; padding-bottom: var(--wpds-space-150);"><span style="font-family: Franklin, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I cannot hike the uphill trails here anymore because of my hip, so we do what’s possible: take four 10-minute laps back and forth along the creek. Everything that is true about aging appears to me on these walks.</span></p><p class="wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css overrideStyles font-copy" data-el="text" data-testid="drop-cap-letter" dir="null" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: var(--wpds-lineHeights-160); margin: 0px; padding-bottom: var(--wpds-space-150);"><span style="font-family: Franklin, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css overrideStyles font-copy" data-el="text" data-testid="drop-cap-letter" dir="null" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: var(--wpds-lineHeights-160); margin: 0px; padding-bottom: var(--wpds-space-150);"><span style="font-family: Franklin, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">On our first lap, Shelley and I catch up. We’ve always been talkers, readers, movie lovers. What was true about us at 6 years old is true about us now. We gossip, laugh a lot, quibble. We looked so similar as small kids, with green eyes and white-blonde hair. We still do. We’re built about the same. I’m a bit taller and smaller-boned, but otherwise we could be sisters. And like sisters, we can annoy each other, and weaponize silence. Families, sigh.</span></span></p><p class="wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css overrideStyles font-copy" data-el="text" data-testid="drop-cap-letter" dir="null" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: var(--wpds-lineHeights-160); margin: 0px; padding-bottom: var(--wpds-space-150);"><span style="font-family: Franklin, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css overrideStyles font-copy" data-el="text" data-testid="drop-cap-letter" dir="null" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: var(--wpds-lineHeights-160); margin: 0px; padding-bottom: var(--wpds-space-150);"><span style="font-family: Franklin, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css overrideStyles font-copy" data-el="text" data-testid="drop-cap-letter" dir="null" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: var(--wpds-lineHeights-160); margin: 0px; padding-bottom: var(--wpds-space-150);"><span style="font-family: Franklin, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I grew up at her house. Her mother was my other mother, who saw how amazing I was on the inside, not just how much better I could be doing. Shelley and I went through childhood and puberty together, played competitive tennis for years as partners and then didn’t see each other much for 40 years. We raised kids, buried parents; sad, scary things have happened to us both, as they have to everyone by a certain age. Now, we’re slower, less busy, a bit goofy.</span></p><p class="wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css overrideStyles font-copy" data-el="text" data-testid="drop-cap-letter" dir="null" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: var(--wpds-lineHeights-160); margin: 0px; padding-bottom: var(--wpds-space-150);"><span style="font-family: Franklin, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css overrideStyles font-copy" data-el="text" data-testid="drop-cap-letter" dir="null" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: var(--wpds-lineHeights-160); margin: 0px; padding-bottom: var(--wpds-space-150);"><span style="font-family: Franklin, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">For instance, this morning, while searching for the word “coaster,” the closest I could come up with was “coffee pad.” She laughs so hard when I say this, she has to cross her legs, and then almost loses her balance.</span></p><p class="wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css overrideStyles font-copy" data-el="text" data-testid="drop-cap-letter" dir="null" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: var(--wpds-lineHeights-160); margin: 0px; padding-bottom: var(--wpds-space-150);"><span style="font-family: Franklin, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css overrideStyles font-copy" data-el="text" data-testid="drop-cap-letter" dir="null" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: var(--wpds-lineHeights-160); margin: 0px; padding-bottom: var(--wpds-space-150);"><span style="font-family: Franklin, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">By the second lap, our bodies have loosened up, and we talk a bit less and look around a lot more, and listen. The creek is the place where the water and the land are in constant conversation. My vision is often blurred by dry eye, but there is a grace to myopia: I’m less fixated.</span></p><p class="wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css overrideStyles font-copy" data-el="text" data-testid="drop-cap-letter" dir="null" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: var(--wpds-lineHeights-160); margin: 0px; padding-bottom: var(--wpds-space-150);"><span style="font-family: Franklin, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css overrideStyles font-copy" data-el="text" data-testid="drop-cap-letter" dir="null" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: var(--wpds-lineHeights-160); margin: 0px; padding-bottom: var(--wpds-space-150);"><span style="font-family: Franklin, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css overrideStyles font-copy" data-el="text" data-testid="drop-cap-letter" dir="null" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: var(--wpds-lineHeights-160); margin: 0px; padding-bottom: var(--wpds-space-150);"><span style="font-family: Franklin, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We walked this morning in raincoats because it was drizzling off and on, even as the sun shone through faintly. In my family, we always announced during a sun shower that it must be a monkey’s birthday somewhere. In Akira Kurosawa’s “Dreams,” a mother tells her child, “The sun is shining through the rain. This is the time when foxes have their weddings.”</span></p><p class="wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css overrideStyles font-copy" data-el="text" data-testid="drop-cap-letter" dir="null" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: var(--wpds-lineHeights-160); margin: 0px; padding-bottom: var(--wpds-space-150);"><span style="font-family: Franklin, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css overrideStyles font-copy" data-el="text" data-testid="drop-cap-letter" dir="null" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: var(--wpds-lineHeights-160); margin: 0px; padding-bottom: var(--wpds-space-150);"><span style="font-family: Franklin, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Like most old friends, we can bobble along without talking for stretches. I listen for the soft orchestral music of the woods on either side of the path. After scanning the illuminated green scrim of trees ahead and far away, I pull closer in on individual trees, all arms and elbows and long legs. The trees just stand around, as is their wont. The drizzle plays them. What instruments are they? Mostly woodwinds, maybe oboes, some flutier, and then dark, dark trees, like kettle drums, like patches of life.</span></p><p class="wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css overrideStyles font-copy" data-el="text" data-testid="drop-cap-letter" dir="null" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: var(--wpds-lineHeights-160); margin: 0px; padding-bottom: var(--wpds-space-150);"><span style="font-family: Franklin, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css overrideStyles font-copy" data-el="text" data-testid="drop-cap-letter" dir="null" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: var(--wpds-lineHeights-160); margin: 0px; padding-bottom: var(--wpds-space-150);"><span style="font-family: Franklin, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Because we go back so far, Shelley and I know each other’s souls and shadows, and each other’s major screw-ups, and there is comfort in this. Also, we have made mistakes with each other that have felt like betrayals. This happens in families. We have gotten so mad that we have ditched each other on the trail and shouted to each other’s back, “Don’t you dare walk away from me.” Actually, that was only me. We take breaks, make up.</span></p><p class="wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css overrideStyles font-copy" data-el="text" data-testid="drop-cap-letter" dir="null" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: var(--wpds-lineHeights-160); margin: 0px; padding-bottom: var(--wpds-space-150);"><span style="font-family: Franklin, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css overrideStyles font-copy" data-el="text" data-testid="drop-cap-letter" dir="null" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: var(--wpds-lineHeights-160); margin: 0px; padding-bottom: var(--wpds-space-150);"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css overrideStyles font-copy" data-el="text" data-testid="drop-cap-letter" dir="null" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: var(--wpds-lineHeights-160); margin: 0px; padding-bottom: var(--wpds-space-150);"><span style="font-family: Franklin, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">By the third lap, my hip has begun coughing quietly to get my attention. It would like to go home now. My vision is even more blurry because of the drizzle and thin light, added to the dry eyes. This is part of what it means for me to be alive still, the blinky vision. Paradoxically, I see more. Now, instead of sharp focus, there’s an appreciation of shifts in light that reveal the mutability of the world. The light sometimes changes minute by minute, and with it we perceive changes in the energy around us, above us, inside us. It moves our attention outside our squinty, judgy little selves.</span></p><p class="wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css overrideStyles font-copy" data-el="text" data-testid="drop-cap-letter" dir="null" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: var(--wpds-lineHeights-160); margin: 0px; padding-bottom: var(--wpds-space-150);"><span style="font-family: Franklin, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css overrideStyles font-copy" data-el="text" data-testid="drop-cap-letter" dir="null" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: var(--wpds-lineHeights-160); margin: 0px; padding-bottom: var(--wpds-space-150);"><span style="font-family: Franklin, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We point out dark-eyed Oregon juncos to each other and finches, the males with their glorious red headdresses and chests, the females in their faded brown bathrobes. We talk about spiritual things and people we hate — as she puts it, “people we’re allergic to, bless their hearts.’” We talk about our scattered minds: This morning, I was struggling to read some tiny print in a book, and, without thinking, I touched the printed page to pinch it out and make it bigger. Eeesh, I thought: Scary! But I was gentle with myself about it.</span></p><p class="wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css overrideStyles font-copy" data-el="text" data-testid="drop-cap-letter" dir="null" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: var(--wpds-lineHeights-160); margin: 0px; padding-bottom: var(--wpds-space-150);"><span style="font-family: Franklin, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css overrideStyles font-copy" data-el="text" data-testid="drop-cap-letter" dir="null" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: var(--wpds-lineHeights-160); margin: 0px; padding-bottom: var(--wpds-space-150);"><span style="font-family: Franklin, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css overrideStyles font-copy" data-el="text" data-testid="drop-cap-letter" dir="null" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: var(--wpds-lineHeights-160); margin: 0px; padding-bottom: var(--wpds-space-150);"><span style="font-family: Franklin, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">My hip has really begun to ache by the final lap. We talk and limp along. Easily half of the people in our conversations have passed on, all four parents, both of her younger siblings, dearest friends. We know that death won’t be so hard. We’ve seen many people through the end of life. It’s never dramatic, like Snagglepuss staggering around onstage clutching his throat. It can be rough, and then one slips over gently to whatever awaits. My old pastor told me it is like going to bed on the living room floor and waking up in your own bed.</span></p><p class="wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css overrideStyles font-copy" data-el="text" data-testid="drop-cap-letter" dir="null" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: var(--wpds-lineHeights-160); margin: 0px; padding-bottom: var(--wpds-space-150);"><span style="font-family: Franklin, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css overrideStyles font-copy" data-el="text" data-testid="drop-cap-letter" dir="null" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: var(--wpds-lineHeights-160); margin: 0px; padding-bottom: var(--wpds-space-150);"><span style="font-family: Franklin, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Age is giving me the two best gifts: softness and illumination. It would have been nice if whoever is in charge of such things doled them out in our younger years, but that’s not how it works. Age ferries them across the water, and they will bring us through whatever comes.</span></p></div></div>Judy Thornehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13871846865461659183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31361101.post-47336135356390551442024-03-17T17:05:00.001-05:002024-03-17T17:05:14.505-05:00Tom on the Spring Primary Season and More<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p><div style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: large;">If this is spring, it must be the primary season. This week's crop includes the race to fill out the remainder of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy's term in California. The primary includes 9 candidates and the frontrunners are Tulare County Sheriff Mike Robidoux and State Assemblyman Vince Fong, both Republicans. The final election will take place in May. Bakersfield is part of Kern County which, in turn, is part of the Central Valley, and tends to vote conservative. </span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: large;">But the race that seems to be getting everyone's attention is the race to compete for the chance to take on incumbent Sen. Sherrod Brown in Ohio. The candidates are Bernie Moreno, a Cleveland area car dealer, Matt Dolan, whose family owns the Cleveland Guardians, (the MLB baseball team formerly known as the Cleveland Indians), and current Ohio Sec. of State Frank LaRose who bollixed last year's referendums on abortion, not once, but twice. Moreno has a bit of a "Gay" problem of sorts. Back in 2008, an account was created on a Gay dating website named "Adult Friend Finder'', and a personal ad seeking "...men for 1 on 1 sex..." and "Young guys to have fun with while travelling...". The email address was one used by Moreno, and the physical address was a Florida residence owned by his parents. This little tidbit only became public Thursday evening. While I wouldn't normally comment on a candidate's sexual orientation, the fact that Mr.Moreno is rabidly anti-gay makes him fair game. Moreno is carrying Donald Trump's endorsement into Tuesday's primary. I 'm guessing Dolan wins in a close one, only because voters generally have no use for hypocrites.</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: large;">While on the subject of Mr. Trump, it appears that his considerable legal expenses may be affecting his ability to raise money for the general election campaign. Mr. Biden has somewhere in the vicinity of 155 million dollars cash on hand, while Mr. Trump has but 40 million dollars, (that's not including the 10 million dollars that came in during the 24 hours following the State of the Union Address). The Democratic National Committee is hiring staffers and building out their ground game in the battleground states, while the Republican National Committee is rent with infighting, such as we see in Tuesday's GOP contest. I mentioned the 'October Surprise" that hit Ohio Senate candidate Bernie Moreno above, (NB: An 'October Surprise' is an end of campaign occurrence that unexpectedly appears and is damaging to an opponent's candidacy, such as the disturbing allegations that I noted earlier). It doesn't help Mr. Moreno that both Gov. Mike DeWine and former GOP Senator Rob Portman, a moderate Republican, have endorsed Mr. Dolan. </span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: large;">One of the issues that some GOP big donors face is whether the monies that they are being asked to contribute to the Trump cause will be used to mount a spirited campaign against Mr. Biden, or will be pissed away on his stupendous legal expenses which, over the past 2 years, have totalled 76 million dollars. These large donors didn't get where they are by being stupid, (although My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell might be the exception that proves the rule), and backing Trump's campaign is one thing, while paying his legal bills are quite another. </span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: large;">Ah well, it could be worse. I mean he's broke, he's under indictment all over the map, and it appears that his head is going to explode at any moment. He could be that guy who was bitten by a Gila Monster the other day. The Gila Monster was the pet of a 34 year old Lakewood, (Colorado), man and apparently the beast bit him on the hand, (for 4 minutes, no less). It took the guy a couple of hours to seek medical attention and he was just barely responsive when paramedics arrived. Despite the best efforts of the medical folks charged with treating him, he passed away from what I believe to be renal failure. The Gila Monster was brought to a facility that focuses on lizards at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley Colorado. The Gila Monster is a sluggish creature, although it is venomous. A veterinarian back in 1899 stated that anyone who was stupid enough to be bitten by the slow moving reptile probably deserved to die:)</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: large;">The very same day, I read the story of Albert the Alligator, a 14 foot, 750 pound blind 34 year old creature who was seized by authorities from his 64 year old owner the other day. The creature lives in a swimming pool on the property of his owner in Hamburg, New York, which is just south of Buffalo. Why anyone would want to have such creatures as pets is beyond me. Normal people who find themselves hankering for the company of a pet usually get themselves a dog or a cat; possibly a songbird or a Guinea Pig. But alligators and Gila monsters? No thank you...</span></div>Judy Thornehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13871846865461659183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31361101.post-40606982996701394002024-03-13T19:29:00.001-05:002024-03-13T19:34:57.306-05:00The Hur Hearing<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white;"></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Who is Robert Hur, you ask? According to Wikipedia: </span><span style="color: #202122;">Robert Kyoung Hur (born 1973) is an American lawyer appointed by then-U.S. President Donald Trump to serve as the United States Attorney for the District of Maryland from 2018 to 2021. He previously served as Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General with the U.S. Department of Justice. <br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; white-space-collapse: preserve;">
</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #363636;">Hur investigated President Biden’s possession of classified documents after Biden left the vice presidency. This investigation, started by Representative James Comer, </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156;">Chairman of the House Oversight Committee to </span><span style="color: #4d5156;"> look into unauthorized removal, retention, and disclosure of classified documents discovered at the President's home and other sites. <br /><br /></span></span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Hur did not recommend charges against the president, but claimed, among other things, that Biden suffered from severe memory problems while being questioned, and while he did not find sufficient evidence that the president intentionally retained classified information, he suggested that if he tried to make the case, Biden would be able to convince a jury that he is an "elderly man with a poor memory" incapable of doing such a thing.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156;">Comer and Gym Jordan also tried to investigate the President's son Hunter in February of this year, which blew up in their faces. (see </span><span style="color: #4d5156;"><a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/21/politics/fbi-informant-biden-impeachment-what-matters/index.html">https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/21/politics/fbi-informant-biden-impeachment-what-matters/index.html</a>) But I digress.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Google Sans", Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhwt-3ay4hhMFxGyZBKdgWwROhmh4tu7H8wjeeP6IRAoWY0DERVAOeC1gzPJEZzV2-9Ziq8cXD53u_qHYiFUDcfDHsBRDpndSybOVDrVAlhWU2Pno0NcWBLYEk0KM5ZnNRM1vD5Tf4qcrEAvrAZnhbgcvuOWteEUfG4dZ8kmzvWRfADHVDTpAc1vw" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="598" data-original-width="730" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhwt-3ay4hhMFxGyZBKdgWwROhmh4tu7H8wjeeP6IRAoWY0DERVAOeC1gzPJEZzV2-9Ziq8cXD53u_qHYiFUDcfDHsBRDpndSybOVDrVAlhWU2Pno0NcWBLYEk0KM5ZnNRM1vD5Tf4qcrEAvrAZnhbgcvuOWteEUfG4dZ8kmzvWRfADHVDTpAc1vw" width="293" /></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /><br /></span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #0f1419; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Before today's hearing, Mr. Hur resigned from the Justice Department. According to journalist </span></span></span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Andrew Feinberg. "Instead of appearing as a DOJ employee who is bound by the ethical guidelines which govern the behaviour of federal prosecutors, he will appear as a private citizen with no constraints on his testimony."</span><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large; white-space-collapse: preserve;">(</span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; font-family: verdana; white-space-collapse: preserve;">see </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; font-family: verdana;"><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;"><a href="https://www.rawstory.com/robert-hur-trump/">https://www.rawstory.com/robert-hur-trump/</a>)</span></span></span><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #0f1419; white-space-collapse: preserve;">
Today's hearing wasn't an easy one for Mr. Hur, as evidenced by the following links:
1 )</span>
<span style="color: #0f1419;"><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">MSNBC anchor Lawrence O'Donnell's masterful coverage of the epic takedown of Robert Hur, Trump stooge and Special Counsel investigating Biden's handling of classified documents.
</span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #0f1419;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzL1UTNcWGX_ihbSkJ7WaWcLSHPcg3YRPMTo2uSJgnwswZP-iuafYwd9OJP4jYYJv4oBveRFCTBYNY' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #0f1419;"><br /></span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">2 ) Representative Eric Swalwell had some questions for Hur, too.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwHJvQg2PwWh30ZmVWwmK2532UViAXR7lEuS5E_hqwvcZxFTGzcpzuvkCEkxU58TYf_80CZnHL0TB4' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">3 ) </span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"> And finally, here is Congressman Adam Schiff grilling Mr. Hur.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dx7cr4bfRJ634rqqeEf5AgZt_427i6Cj6Wh5gqBiQjK5XZM1x__M9LZIn18LdV0kByIp3e0vyCufgo' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div></div><p></p>Judy Thornehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13871846865461659183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31361101.post-74352409553682150222024-03-11T21:00:00.002-05:002024-03-11T21:00:53.837-05:00Tom on Super Tuesday<p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;"> <span>So after Super Tuesday, the General Election campaign has started. Mr. Trump, in his own inimitable style, kicked off the race by making fun of Joe Biden's stutter. But our expectations of Mr. Trump are so low at this point that nobody seems to notice anymore, certainly not his Kool-Aid drinking followers. Even moderate Republicans, (the few that are left), make excuses for him, saying that: "He didn't really mean it", or "He was just joking". It's funny how his "jokes" are not remotely amusing. They're cruel barbs designed to wound and hurt. It takes a real man to boast about sexually assaulting women, or to denigrate the sacrifices of those folks who served their country, be it in peace or war. He reserves a particular contempt for those who suffered wounds in the course of their service, calling these folks "suckers", and "losers''. And if you're a Gold Star parent, he minimizes the ultimate sacrifice made by your son or daughter, especially if you're a Democrat. And if you happen to be a Democratic Gold Star parent who happens to be of Indian descent, you're doubly damned. But I didn't go to my keyboard to rail against Mr. Trump. As the late Rep. Louise Day Hicks, (D-South Boston), once noted: "You know where I stand" </span></span></p><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">Let us instead talk about some of the emerging Republican "stars" who gained prominence on super Tuesday. Take Sen. Katie Britt, who gave the rebuttal to Mr.Biden's State of the Union Address this past Wednesday. She was a cheerleader in high school, (which should come as no big surprise, because she still cheers for the GOP, God's Own Party), and she was once Alabama's "Junior Miss':). Interestingly she was one of 19 valedictorians of her HS graduating class. Perhaps that signal honor was reserved for those lucky graduates who managed to learn to read during their 12 long years of schooling.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">Anyway, she showed her complete lack of personal integrity when she dedicated part of her rebuttal to a teary story of a woman who was the victim of sex trafficking from the time she was 12 until she was 16. Sen. Britt blamed this horrific story on the immigration policies and actions of the Biden Administration. Except she happened to leave out a few inconvenient facts. One was that the abuse referred to in Sen. Britt's rebuttal took place in the early 2000s, when Joe Biden was a Senator, not during the Biden Administration as Britt infers. The alleged exploitation actually took place during the George W. Bush administration, if we're keeping score. All of the purported abuse took place in Mexico, organized by Mexican human traffickers who provided underaged girls for the pleasure of visiting tourists, some of whom may have been Alabama constituents of Britt's. In a recent note, I made a comment about not letting the facts get in the way of a good story, and that holds here as well.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">Sen. Britt's delivery of her rebuttal was seriously weird. Sometimes her delivery was sort of breathy; the kind of thing that you might see in a Lifetime movie just before the heroine kisses her studly suitor and the director mercifully fades to a commercial.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">Sometimes she reminded me of a girl who's slightly tipsy, over pronouncing her wods just a bit. and on one occasion she gave the sort of sniff that any frequent cocaine user would recognize. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;"><span>But such rebuttals can be treacherous. When Florida Sen. Marco Rubio gave one, he stopped, mid-sentence, to take a glass of water from someone off-camera, and guzzle it as if he'd just returned from a trip to the Mojave Desert. (link: <a href="https://youtu.be/19ZxJVnM5Gs?si=IC9RP4DGjKCkC3i1">https://youtu.be/19ZxJVnM5Gs?si=IC9RP4DGjKCkC3i1</a>)</span><span> <br /><br />Then-Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal opened his rebuttal by wishing those tuned in a "Happy Mardi Gras'. (</span><span>link: </span><span><a href="https://youtu.be/QFK8aTpYAmg?si=dXUBakQ2hb4dvVSn">https://youtu.be/QFK8aTpYAmg?si=dXUBakQ2hb4dvVSn</a></span><span>) </span><span>Jindal was a notorious policy wonk who had an extraordinarily high 'Geek Quotient', so nobody shouldn't have been surprised when he blew his chance at political fame and fortune. <br /><br />Michell Bachman was clearly distracted by something occurring off camera during her rebuttal, and we never did find out whether it was some gyrating Chippendale dancer, or a newly discovered corpse. (link: </span><span><a href="https://youtu.be/1fRxO_Yx99I?si=bq4Lz8h8C1ZzJEji">https://youtu.be/1fRxO_Yx99I?si=bq4Lz8h8C1ZzJEji</a>)<br /></span><span><br />Massachusetts Rep. Joe Kennedy appeared to be on the verge of tears during his rebuttal. (link: </span><span>h<a href="ttps://youtu.be/5RKmiivRrBU?si=XtubwdhMCygbS0mw">ttps://youtu.be/5RKmiivRrBU?si=XtubwdhMCygbS0mw</a>)<br /></span><span><br /> To be fair, I should note that some managed to use their rebuttals to make political hay. Bill Clinton, Nikki Haley, Gretchen Whitmer, and Paul Ryan all acquitted themselves well. But the rebuttal is a poisoned chalice more often than not, and a savvy politician would do well to avoid this opportunity that has trapped many. </span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>Judy Thornehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13871846865461659183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31361101.post-44333511576974777212024-03-11T20:30:00.001-05:002024-03-11T21:12:12.454-05:00Monday Morning Smile<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxImE1dX7p7g7VDiPfrAdcFQb56p7ie2dOnSWzdditDS97SPTjkC1fkGLJCk5yFwRubstLQCWKb4lE' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /><p></p>Judy Thornehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13871846865461659183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31361101.post-13777806071832328102024-03-08T16:33:00.002-06:002024-03-08T16:33:07.553-06:00SOTU Highlights and Full Speech<p> Here are the highlights from Lincold Project. The full speech can be found here:</p><p><br />https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/31361101/4933989308550651810<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwjCcnUWDD1nY_1L5m8152wQ2Y73E3lWA5AoaSAr9--bw1r1P587e3_i2k1ZR-sJd-W8KsegOGsXdU' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /><p></p>Judy Thornehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13871846865461659183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31361101.post-49339893085506518102024-03-08T16:32:00.000-06:002024-03-08T16:32:21.517-06:00Full Speech: President Biden’s 2024 State of the Union address<iframe frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://youtube.com/embed/cplSUhU2avc?si=07iknYZGKvC0nezl" width="480"></iframe>Judy Thornehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13871846865461659183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31361101.post-29993392395924172162024-03-04T00:00:00.002-06:002024-03-04T00:00:00.142-06:00Monday Morning Smile<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='374' height='311' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyo5m_Wn4UDnEQzMXHikhSNCuD6q2QRRx1e-yw1W67lg8s52I9tvRbdMlJ8iSphhRw6AdwjUFlTjws' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /><p></p>Judy Thornehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13871846865461659183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31361101.post-68752217113804905172024-03-02T19:01:00.006-06:002024-03-13T19:36:32.423-05:00Tom on the Next Big TrumpTrial<p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> March, like February, promises to be an eventful month, for any number of reasons. There's the NCAA Men's and Women's intercollegiate basketball tournaments, which always seem to be full of dramatic storylines and athletic derring-do. <br /><br />Politics always offer its own dramatic storylines, from the upcoming "SuperTuesday '' primary, (March 5),to the continuing demonstrations of why Congressional Republicans are unfit to govern. (Biden impeachment farce as exhibit #1: GOP refusal to address the so-called 'Crisis on the Southern Border as exhibit # 2 because the addled Mr. Trump would rather use it as a wedge issue in the November election than take steps to solve it, with the inability of the House majority to pass any sort of budget, leaving the brave people of Ukraine to: "Twist, twist slowly in the wind...", [to steal a now forgotten line from former Nixon White House Counselor John Erlichman], as Exhibit # 3). But the event that I'm looking forward to is the Next big TrumpTrial, which begins on 23 March in Manhattan. It's the first of Mr. Trump's trials that are criminal, rather than civil. It's the oldest of the Trump indictments and many say that it's the weakest. It's the so-called "hush money" trial which, on the surface is about a payoff to a strippper, but upon closer inspection, involves the sort of cheap and tawdry tax fraud for which Mr. Trump has become notorious. This is the case brought by Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg, and is scheduled to be heard by Justice Jose Merchan, who has the reputation of not tolerating nonsense in his courtroom. Mr. Trump is a difficult client who is often his own worst enemy, and his new team of lawyers will be hard pressed to keep him in check. Smart people know what they don't know, while stupid people imagine that they know everything that there is to know. </span></p>Judy Thornehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13871846865461659183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31361101.post-11257938812243405392024-03-01T19:24:00.002-06:002024-03-01T19:24:21.738-06:00I LOVE Eric Swalwell<p> <span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; font-family: TwitterChirp, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; font-weight: 700; white-space-collapse: preserve;">BRILLIANT!</span></p><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; font-family: TwitterChirp, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; white-space-collapse: preserve;">
If you have not read Eric Swalwell's questions to Hunter Biden during his hearing, you have to.
</span><span class="r-b88u0q" style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; font-family: TwitterChirp, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; font-weight: 700; white-space-collapse: preserve;">SWALWELL:</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; font-family: TwitterChirp, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> Any time your father was in government, prior to the Presidency or before, did he ever operate a hotel?
</span><span class="r-b88u0q" style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; font-family: TwitterChirp, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; font-weight: 700; white-space-collapse: preserve;">BIDEN: </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; font-family: TwitterChirp, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; white-space-collapse: preserve;">No, he has never operated a hotel.
</span><span class="r-b88u0q" style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; font-family: TwitterChirp, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; font-weight: 700; white-space-collapse: preserve;">SWALWELL:</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; font-family: TwitterChirp, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> So he’s never operated a hotel where foreign nationals spent millions at that hotel while he was in office?
</span><span class="r-b88u0q" style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; font-family: TwitterChirp, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; font-weight: 700; white-space-collapse: preserve;">BIDEN: </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; font-family: TwitterChirp, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; white-space-collapse: preserve;">No, he has not.
</span><span class="r-b88u0q" style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; font-family: TwitterChirp, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; font-weight: 700; white-space-collapse: preserve;">SWALWELL:</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; font-family: TwitterChirp, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> Did your father ever employ in the Oval Office any direct family member to also work in the Oval Office?
</span><span class="r-b88u0q" style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; font-family: TwitterChirp, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; font-weight: 700; white-space-collapse: preserve;">BIDEN:</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; font-family: TwitterChirp, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> My father has never employed any direct family members, to my knowledge.
</span><span class="r-b88u0q" style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; font-family: TwitterChirp, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; font-weight: 700; white-space-collapse: preserve;">SWALWELL:</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; font-family: TwitterChirp, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> While your father was President, did anyone in the family receive 41 trademarks from China?
</span><span class="r-b88u0q" style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; font-family: TwitterChirp, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; font-weight: 700; white-space-collapse: preserve;">BIDEN:</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; font-family: TwitterChirp, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> No.
</span><span class="r-b88u0q" style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; font-family: TwitterChirp, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; font-weight: 700; white-space-collapse: preserve;">SWALWELL:</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; font-family: TwitterChirp, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> As President and the leader of the party, has your father ever tried to install as the chairperson of the party a daughter-in-law or anyone else in the family?
</span><span class="r-b88u0q" style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; font-family: TwitterChirp, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; font-weight: 700; white-space-collapse: preserve;">BIDEN:</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; font-family: TwitterChirp, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> No. And I don’t think that anyone in my family would be crazy enough to want to be the chairperson of the DNC.
</span><span class="r-b88u0q" style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; font-family: TwitterChirp, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; font-weight: 700; white-space-collapse: preserve;">SWALWELL:</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; font-family: TwitterChirp, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> Has your father ever in his time as an adult been fined $355 million by any State that he worked in?
</span><span class="r-b88u0q" style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; font-family: TwitterChirp, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; font-weight: 700; white-space-collapse: preserve;">BIDEN</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; font-family: TwitterChirp, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; white-space-collapse: preserve;">: No, he has not, thank God.
</span><span class="r-b88u0q" style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; font-family: TwitterChirp, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; font-weight: 700; white-space-collapse: preserve;">SWALWELL:</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; font-family: TwitterChirp, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> Anyone in your family ever strike a multibillion dollar deal with the Saudi Government while your father was in office?
</span><span class="r-b88u0q" style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; font-family: TwitterChirp, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; font-weight: 700; white-space-collapse: preserve;">BIDEN:</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; font-family: TwitterChirp, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> No.
</span><span class="r-b88u0q" style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; font-family: TwitterChirp, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; font-weight: 700; white-space-collapse: preserve;">SWALWELL:</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; font-family: TwitterChirp, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> That’s all I’ve got.</span>Judy Thornehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13871846865461659183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31361101.post-4107678222581002912024-02-26T00:00:00.001-06:002024-02-26T00:00:00.239-06:00Monday Morning Smile<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='410' height='341' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyRGfJch_-hZc0WOcD6GhgJkGFuQdvf7ITkvoV4rOtEk5p0uGrSPqCTJPvo_hOFwwkeQCtDoRAARH0' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /> <p></p>Judy Thornehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13871846865461659183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31361101.post-51902861680939721252024-02-25T15:55:00.001-06:002024-02-25T15:55:23.657-06:00Tom on Bird Behaviour<p><span style="font-size: large;"> <span style="font-family: Verdana;">I'm saddened to report the death of Flaco The Owl, an escapee from the Central Park Zoo last year who became a favorite of New Yorkers of all stripes. Reports indicate that this marvelous bird met his end when he collided with a building on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Reqiscat in Pachem, Flaco:) <br /><br />Here's a video on Flaco</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxJGamyVnB4XBPXZOWJMJ0IoK-Ry4XE3YIKYTe7gI9WO-m1f-hlN6-Ytw2veV1Yc9OMW6wir0orNCI' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /></span><p></p><div><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: large;">Birds have the capacity to inspire us because they often escape from captivity because they simply want to be free. One of the most famous birds ever to make his home in New York City was a red-tailed hawk named Pale Male, who lived to the ripe old age of 33, (1990-2023). He outlived at least 8 mates and any number of offspring over the course of his long life. Pale Male finally died from renal failure, essentially old age.</span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: large;">Here's a link to a story about Pale Male's passing: </span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: large; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/RUC1IDVpRhQ" width="320" youtube-src-id="RUC1IDVpRhQ"></iframe></div><br /><span style="font-size: 12px;"> </span></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: large;">Birds seem to enjoy being free to go about their business, whatever that business might be. Peregrine Falcons have established their nests on tall office buildings in every corner of the US where such buildings exist, and humans seem to enjoy watching them squabble over who is going to sit on the eggs produced by the lucky couple, (90% of all bird species mate for life but, as anyone who has ever been married knows all too well, spouses often disagree about any number of things). We know this because where large birds like falcons, hawks and eagles establish themselves in an urban setting, rather than some tall cliff in Alaska or in a similarly remote area, cameras that monitor the goings on in the nests of these avian superstars soon follow. We like to watch the gestation and birth of these birds and, once hatched, we follow their growth and development as avidly as if they were our own close relatives. Through the magic of remotely operated cameras, we can watch these creatures being fed pre-chewed and partially pre-digested food by their parents which, while disgusting on its surface, is little different from the way that human infants are fed, except that human parents use rubber nipples and tiny spoons to feed their young. Birds must deposit food in a form that is easily utilized by their fledgelings, so the deposit is made directly into the throats of their babies. who probably imagine that their food magically appears in their mouths. We watch them develop and grow. We exalt when they embark on their first flight, usually with mom or dad flying close support...just in case. Red Tailed hawks are fairly common hereabouts, and I used to see adults escorting kids as they wobbled across the afternoon sky.</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: large;">When I was working in Boston, there was an incident where a male falcon, (a tiercel), was stepping out on his mate, (known as a falcon), for, presumably a younger and cuter falcon. All of these birds lived high. up on the facades of tall buildings in Boston's Financial District, so when the two females began fighting over this tiercel who was "...torn between two lovers...", it was quite a spectacle. The two females went at each other in the skies over Boston for much of the afternoon. While the details are dim, I think that the interloper was driven off to points west. The winner was the original mate. The thing that stuck with me was the fact that the tiercel spent the time while the two falcons were fighting, killing pigeons and feeding the combatants. Apparently, he didn't seem to care who won, because he fed both combatants equally. </span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: large;">Some birds adapt well to urban environments. Parrots and parakeets find each other and establish colonies that thrive nicely. There was a colony of parrots that established themselves in the vicinity of Telegraph Hill in San Francisco, and a colony of parakeets set up housekeepim\ng in electrical transformers in the general vicinity of Kennedy Airport. The truth is that many birds are smarter than we once gave them credit for. Crows, in particular, can fashion rudimentary tools from bits of twigs, work in teams, and think strategically. The story I use to describe the intelligence of crows involves 2 crows, an otter, and a tasty fish. </span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: large;">The otter catches the fish and prepares to eat it. One of the crows lands in front of the otter and motions as if it's going to steal the otter's fish, whereupon the otter drops the fish and prepares to do battle with this greedy and opportunistic crow. Just as the battle is about to start, the second crow lands just behind the otter and gives the otter a vicious peck to its sleek bum. When the otter turns to face this new threat, the first crow grabs the fish and the two crows fly off into the great beyond, presumably to enjoy a well-earned fish dinner:) I know people who aren't able to game plan like that. </span></div>Judy Thornehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13871846865461659183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31361101.post-55195049261611860752024-02-21T19:58:00.000-06:002024-02-21T19:58:06.995-06:00Tom on This Week in drumpf<p><span style="font-size: large;"> I read an interesting story in the NY Times today that Trump branded properties are trading at a discount to other similarly situated properties, both in the codo and the rental markets. The studies were conducted by academics whose methodology seems sound. One of the studies went out of its way to be sure of comparing: "...apples to apples...'''. The example used in the article compared a 3 bedroom condo in a doorman building that bore the Trump name with a similar building that didn't have the Trump brand, but was similarly sized and appointed. The Trump branded dwellings traded at a significant discount to the unbranded buildings. In one study, the discount was 23%, and in another study, using slightly different methodology, the discounted value was 17%. I think that this comparison surprised most folks. It certainly surprised me... </span></p><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Trump unveiled a new line of gold "Never Surrender '' sneakers for $400 the pair at the Sneaker.com convention in Philadelphia the other day. According to the story in the 'Guardian", the room in which Mr. Trump's announcement took place stank of weed, and Mr. Trump was booed by many, who tended to skew younger than his usual audience. Also being touted on this new website are bottles of "Victory '47" cologne and perfume at $99 a bottle. God only knows what it smells like. I can only imagine that the perfume smells like a common nightwalker after a hard night's work, while the male cologne smells like an old man's testicles. If I'd read about this in 'The Onion', I'd think that it was a joke. But, alas...</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: large;">Mr. Trump may have inadvertently triggered another legal problem for himself, because if you examine the gaudy and overpriced high-top sneakers closely, you'll notice that the sneaker has a red sole, in keeping his 'Red, White and Blue' theme, (Don't forget the gold, for all things Trump must contain some gold). Red soles on footwear produced by the designer Christian Louboutin are a trademark that has been robustly defended by lawyers in the employ of Mr. Louboutin. Since anyone who has ever seen me in the flesh knows that I am no slave to fashion, I had to check one of my trusted websites, FashionLaw, for guidance. What I found was that the iconic red sole on Louboutin footwear is protected under the legal concept known as "Trade Dress' ', a concept that is based in design, rather than function. Put simply, you can't trademark a shoe, but you can trademark, (as is the case here), some unique aspect of the shoe that is an unmistakable identifier, such as Louboutin's red soles. Trade dress can be anything, from the characteristic appearance of children's clothing to the design of a tonic bottle, (While you can't chaim trade dress protection for the contents of a bottle of Coca-Cola, but you can't claim trade dress protection for the universally identifiable borrl that it comes in). Even such mundane products as insulation can be protected by trademark trade dress laws. Owens-Corning. one of the largest players in that. industrial segment, sought and received trademark protection for the characteristic pink color of its insulation products some years back, (you may recall seeing ads that featured the cartoon character, 'The Pink Panther' as the Owens-Corning product. Sad to say, I live for this sort of thing:) <br /></span><div style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div></div>Judy Thornehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13871846865461659183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31361101.post-57222738517627330132024-02-19T09:58:00.001-06:002024-02-19T09:58:46.276-06:00Monday Morning Smile<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='377' height='313' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxT1KavFkJ_hBWVZa9ibH8tgLQRsdjXRp7bTcRUfgU5UxE06go1SdqY12imqWv-JL27Pyxts2RzhUs' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /> <p></p>Judy Thornehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13871846865461659183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31361101.post-23979633222992504692024-02-16T19:52:00.001-06:002024-02-16T19:52:51.288-06:00Biden's Age<p> </p><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="email-body-container" style="font-family: Verdana; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="left" class="content" width="550"><div style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 550px; width: 550px;"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="right" style="height: 20px;"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="vertical-align: middle;"><span class="pencraft pc-reset frontend-pencraft-Text-module__reset--dW0zZ tw-font-body tw-text-ssm tw-text-substack-secondary" style="color: grey; font-size: 13px; list-style: none; margin: 0px;"><div class="pencraft pc-reset frontend-pencraft-Text-module__align-right--PcYkZ frontend-pencraft-Text-module__size-12--KorQF frontend-pencraft-Text-module__reset--dW0zZ" style="font-size: 12px; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: 16px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; text-align: right;"><span class="pencraft pc-reset frontend-pencraft-Text-module__reset--dW0zZ" style="list-style: none; margin: 0px;">Forwarded this email? <a class="pencraft pc-reset frontend-pencraft-Text-module__decoration-underline--sj8pE frontend-pencraft-Text-module__reset--dW0zZ" href="https://deref-mail.com/mail/client/op48qeIXmec/dereferrer/?redirectUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack.com%2Fredirect%2F2%2FeyJlIjoiaHR0cHM6Ly9hbWVyaWNhLnN1YnN0YWNrLmNvbS9zdWJzY3JpYmU_dXRtX3NvdXJjZT1lbWFpbCZ1dG1fY2FtcGFpZ249ZW1haWwtc3Vic2NyaWJlJnI9aGxwNmsmbmV4dD1odHRwcyUzQSUyRiUyRmFtZXJpY2Euc3Vic3RhY2suY29tJTJGcCUyRm5hdG8tYmlkZW5zLWFnZS1hbmQtdGhlLXdvcmxkLXdlIiwicCI6MTQxNTcwMTAyLCJzIjoyODM3NDUsImYiOnRydWUsInUiOjI5NTY1ODg0LCJpYXQiOjE3MDc3MzY5MzAsImV4cCI6MTcxMDMyODkzMCwiaXNzIjoicHViLTAiLCJzdWIiOiJsaW5rLXJlZGlyZWN0In0.8LOqMgepaLaVb-iRctJ_ts3tJLVtrwzAD_hr-Db5LkI%3F&lm" style="list-style: none; margin: 0px;" target="_blank">Subscribe here</a> for more</span></div></span></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table class="header graphic-header" style="border-spacing: 0px; padding: 16px 0px 32px; width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" style="padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://deref-mail.com/mail/client/WH8cNoeh4FQ/dereferrer/?redirectUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack.com%2Fredirect%2F2%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.bLgvgJ4WWD3KL_cvgyRJM_Jcks9NQm2whrcRbE-N02E%3F&lm" target="_blank"><img class="header-image" height="110" src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1100,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3587ce59-bdab-4e7d-9bde-323c1d522bc3_1100x220.png" style="border: none; display: block; height: auto; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 550px; vertical-align: middle; width: 550px;" width="550" /></a></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="typography" style="line-height: 26px;"><div class="preamble" style="line-height: 26px; margin-top: 16px;"><div class="body markup" style="line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 16px; width: 550px;"><p style="color: #404040; line-height: 26px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><em>Note the kind comment of Will, a new paid subscriber: “Mr. Beschloss is always interesting and relevant. 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text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">NATO, Biden's Age and the World We Want</a></h1><h3 class="subtitle" style="color: grey; font-size: 18px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 24px; margin: 12px 0px 0px;">Let's be clear about what's really at stake</h3><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="post-meta" style="height: 20px; margin: 1em 0px; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="vertical-align: middle;"><div class="pencraft pc-reset frontend-pencraft-Text-module__color-primary--ud4Z0 frontend-pencraft-Text-module__line-height-20--p0dP8 frontend-pencraft-Text-module__font-meta--U_nxy frontend-pencraft-Text-module__size-11--k1e8b frontend-pencraft-Text-module__weight-medium--x7khA frontend-pencraft-Text-module__transform-uppercase--IDkUL frontend-pencraft-Text-module__reset--dW0zZ frontend-pencraft-Text-module__meta--jzHdd custom-css-email-post-author" style="color: #404040; 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font-size: 11px; letter-spacing: 0.2px; line-height: 20px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; text-transform: uppercase;">FEB 12</div></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td><td align="right"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="vertical-align: middle;"><a href="https://deref-mail.com/mail/client/Da1afWKGWKA/dereferrer/?redirectUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack.com%2Fredirect%2Ff751af09-f8c1-4604-9920-666e93d1c7b8%3Fj%3DeyJ1IjoiaGxwNmsifQ.4XXh1tYbaq5Hhi-fh6jo76PmUxGODKcfM_g-8M8eQLw&lm" target="_blank"><img class="custom-css-email-avatar frontend-email-system-basics-module__avatar--eNC1i" height="40" src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F646cf271-8e92-4d9c-906b-88f34dc23fe1_1724x1929.jpeg" style="border: none; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline; height: 40px; margin: 0px; max-width: 550px; 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padding: 16px 0px 0px;"><div class="body markup" style="line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 16px; width: 550px;"><div class="captioned-image-container-static" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0px auto 32px;"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="image-wrapper" style="width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td align="left" class="content" style="text-align: center;" width="1024"><a class="image-link" href="https://deref-mail.com/mail/client/brKWjF8XRCQ/dereferrer/?redirectUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack.com%2Fredirect%2F3292aca8-6824-4ca7-b341-b10b12d0dcf3%3Fj%3DeyJ1IjoiaGxwNmsifQ.4XXh1tYbaq5Hhi-fh6jo76PmUxGODKcfM_g-8M8eQLw&lm" style="border: none; display: block; height: auto; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; text-decoration-line: none; width: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="" class="wide-image" height="366.845703125" src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_2048,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F122b3268-1577-42c6-9ecb-4f68b0522bd1_1024x683.jpeg" style="border: none; display: block; height: auto; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle; width: auto;" width="550" /></a></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td></tr></tbody></table>President Joe Biden pointing the way in May 2022 to the leaders of Finland and Sweden, whose countries became NATO’s newest members after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla via Getty Images)</div><p style="color: #404040; line-height: 26px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><strong>In recent days, the issue of </strong>Joe Biden’s age<strong> </strong>has taken center stage, activated by the special counsel Robert Hur and <a href="https://deref-mail.com/mail/client/M5XAvtGzasg/dereferrer/?redirectUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack.com%2Fredirect%2F876d1d5e-5487-4f40-84d5-f7da1db87fe8%3Fj%3DeyJ1IjoiaGxwNmsifQ.4XXh1tYbaq5Hhi-fh6jo76PmUxGODKcfM_g-8M8eQLw&lm" style="color: #1d3181; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">exploited by</a> a White House press corps itching for an easy line of attack. The press gave less attention to Hur’s real finding—that Biden did not illegally mishandle classified documents—than to the president’s memory and age. As if this is the central issue to decide the country’s fate, to be determined by a growing number of amateur neurologists.</p><p style="color: #404040; line-height: 26px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;">There are many critics who argue we should prioritize the matter of Biden’s memory (he said Mexico, not Egypt!), the stiffness of his gait (ignore that he rides a bicycle), his verbal gaffes (forget decades of gaffes and chronic stuttering) or his ultimate capacity to perform his duties (pay no attention to his achievements or the quality of his advisors). From this view, we are expected to believe Hur’s assertion that our empathic president and committed father <a href="https://deref-mail.com/mail/client/XcwY1TPsTTI/dereferrer/?redirectUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack.com%2Fredirect%2Ff326b363-8461-4052-b8b3-0c1e580c9087%3Fj%3DeyJ1IjoiaGxwNmsifQ.4XXh1tYbaq5Hhi-fh6jo76PmUxGODKcfM_g-8M8eQLw&lm" style="color: #1d3181; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">struggled to remember</a> the day when his son Beau died.</p><p style="color: #404040; line-height: 26px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;">Yes, he is 81. Yes, he will be 86 after a second term. It’s not unreasonable to raise the question.</p><p style="color: #404040; line-height: 26px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;">Then again, a comment during a South Carolina campaign event on Saturday from the all-but-certain Republican nominee throws into stark relief how wrong the question of age is as the principal determinant for making a choice in our binary political system. (Yes, Donald Trump is currently 77 and would be 82 in January 2029.)</p><p style="color: #404040; line-height: 26px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;">In what sounded like one of Trump’s fabricated stories, he described an unnamed foreign leader from “a big country” that didn’t spend enough on defense; this leader asked, if his NATO country were attacked by Russia, “will you protect us?” Trump’s response: “I said, 'You didn't pay, you're delinquent. No, I would not protect you. In fact, I would encourage them to do whatever the hell they want.”</p><p style="color: #404040; line-height: 26px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;">Really? That’s the world this man—this pro-Putin, anti-democratic, authoritarian-loving criminal defendant—wants to further. A world where America abandons its allies, dismantles the western alliance at a time when Putin’s Russia is on the march and will not stop if it succeeds at ending Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.</p><p style="color: #404040; line-height: 26px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;">Goodbye to the fundamental commitment of NATO that an attack against one member is “an attack against all.” Hello to an America in which its leader cheers on Russian aggression toward democratic nations.</p><p style="color: #404040; line-height: 26px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;">"Encouraging invasions of our closest allies by murderous regimes is appalling and unhinged,” White House spokesperson Andrew Bates responded in a statement, “and it endangers American national security, global stability and our economy at home.”</p><p style="color: #404040; line-height: 26px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><strong>This is not a surprise.</strong> Trump sought to undermine the then 29-member NATO when he occupied the White House. One of the key successes of the Biden administration has been rebuilding and strengthening America’s commitment to international alliances, particularly NATO. Ask Ukraine about the need for a clear counterpoint to Russia. Ask Finland, which shares an 830-mile border with Russia and understood the necessity of joining NATO as a bulwark against its dangerous neighbor—a move that historically the Finns resisted.</p><p style="color: #404040; line-height: 26px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;">Spurred by Trump and Fox News, plenty of elected Republicans are now showing they’ll side with Putin and Russia over America and democracy in their determination to end support for Ukraine. In December, <a href="https://deref-mail.com/mail/client/vm0XQ5mRK6A/dereferrer/?redirectUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack.com%2Fredirect%2F1974220a-8114-4a34-a7b4-33c8f042a6fb%3Fj%3DeyJ1IjoiaGxwNmsifQ.4XXh1tYbaq5Hhi-fh6jo76PmUxGODKcfM_g-8M8eQLw&lm" style="color: #1d3181; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Pew Research found</a> in December that about half of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents say the U.S. is providing too much support to Ukraine, even as it struggles to fend off Russian advances. <a href="https://deref-mail.com/mail/client/50nzBhlaPUA/dereferrer/?redirectUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack.com%2Fredirect%2Ff3427200-c736-4d8c-ad45-9fdc0e51959d%3Fj%3DeyJ1IjoiaGxwNmsifQ.4XXh1tYbaq5Hhi-fh6jo76PmUxGODKcfM_g-8M8eQLw&lm" style="color: #1d3181; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">On Thursday</a>, 31 Republican senators opposed a motion to begin working on a $95.3 billion military aid package for Ukraine and Israel. (It passed 67-32.)</p><p style="color: #404040; line-height: 26px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;">You can be sure many of these same elected officials will tell you the problem with Joe Biden is he’s too old, too feeble, too stiff, too incompetent, to provide the necessary American leadership. But don’t doubt that much of this is cover for their backing of the further rise of authoritarian leadership, in America and globally.</p><p style="color: #404040; line-height: 26px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;">When I hear them say Joe Biden is too old, I can hear them really saying they want a world where America has abandoned international leadership and the rule of law to accelerate strongman rule with Donald Trump as the all-powerful boss deciding our fate.</p><p style="color: #404040; line-height: 26px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><strong>That sounds like a grim outcome</strong> to me, superseding any issue about Biden’s age. This election remains an existential contest about the kind of country America is and will be. And while it’s fair to question the health of a president—god knows, the mental health of the previous president needed to be more squarely addressed—let’s not lose sight of what’s at stake.</p><p style="color: #404040; line-height: 26px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;">In recent days, I’ve been hearing from trolls that sticking with an elderly Biden is an act of fanaticism. I’ve also heard from progressives saying they’d stick with Biden over Trump even if he were dead. Well, count me among those who look forward to a new generation of leadership taking over in 2029—in a democratic country. That’s why the guy who’s conducted a successful presidency and has once beaten the likely GOP nominee remains the reliable choice to get us there.</p><p style="color: #404040; line-height: 26px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;">==</p><p style="color: #404040; line-height: 26px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><strong>One other note:</strong> Finland chose a new president yesterday to follow the 12 years and two terms of the popular Sauli Niinistö. The winner was Alexander Stubb, a center- right politician who previously served as prime minister, in a runoff vote with Pekka Haavisto, a progressive in the Green party who previously served as a foreign minister.</p><p style="color: #404040; line-height: 26px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;">After the first round two weeks ago, Stubb described the kind of campaign he planned on. “The contest really starts now,” he said. “In the next 13 days, we’ll work like crazy, we’ll work humbly, and we’ll respect and honor our rival.”</p><p style="color: #404040; line-height: 26px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;">Imagine a democratic election like that.</p><p style="color: #404040; line-height: 26px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;">And by the way, in <a href="https://deref-mail.com/mail/client/kyWLUe2AXl0/dereferrer/?redirectUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack.com%2Fredirect%2F6158b774-3858-4b85-9a2c-78ddc0a58bdb%3Fj%3DeyJ1IjoiaGxwNmsifQ.4XXh1tYbaq5Hhi-fh6jo76PmUxGODKcfM_g-8M8eQLw&lm" style="color: #1d3181; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">an interview</a> with Reuters last month, Stubb described his stance on Russia: "Politically, there will be no relations with the president of Russia or with the Russian political leadership until they stop the war in Ukraine."</p><p style="color: #404040; line-height: 26px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;">Let’s ensure America—like Finland—votes for leaders in November who understand the danger of Russia’s success and the further spread of authoritarianism around the world.</p><p class="button-wrapper" style="color: #404040; line-height: 26px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: center;"><a class="button primary" href="https://deref-mail.com/mail/client/aRtj1A5-4gk/dereferrer/?redirectUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack.com%2Fapp-link%2Fpost%3Fpublication_id%3D283745%26post_id%3D141570102%26utm_source%3Dsubstack%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_content%3Dshare%26utm_campaign%3Demail-share%26action%3Dshare%26triggerShare%3Dtrue%26isFreemail%3Dtrue%26r%3Dhlp6k%26token%3DeyJ1c2VyX2lkIjoyOTU2NTg4NCwicG9zdF9pZCI6MTQxNTcwMTAyLCJpYXQiOjE3MDc3MzY5MzAsImV4cCI6MTcxMDMyODkzMCwiaXNzIjoicHViLTI4Mzc0NSIsInN1YiI6InBvc3QtcmVhY3Rpb24ifQ.D-vPEIypgRkd8kAeXfcgzFRiq34bo3S-gJEsmu3Rf80&lm" style="background-color: #1d3181; border: none; box-sizing: border-box; color: white; cursor: pointer; display: inline-block; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 600; height: auto; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 12px 20px; text-decoration-line: none; text-wrap: nowrap;" target="_blank">Share</a></p><p style="color: #404040; line-height: 26px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><em>If you’re not already, please consider becoming a paid subscriber for just $5 a month or $50 a year. 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line-height: 26px; padding: 24px 0px; text-align: center;"><div style="line-height: 26px; padding-bottom: 24px;"></div></div></div></td></tr></tbody></table>Judy Thornehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13871846865461659183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31361101.post-88638821040019170652024-02-16T15:37:00.001-06:002024-02-16T15:37:53.906-06:00Happy Friday<p> A little good news for today: <br /><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><b><span class="r-b88u0q" style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; white-space-collapse: preserve;">$364,000,000.00 Judgment Against Trump!</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; white-space-collapse: preserve;">
Judge Engoron has just announced the total fine in the Trump New York Fraud case to be a staggering $364 Million and a </span><span class="r-b88u0q" style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; white-space-collapse: preserve;">3 Year ban on Real Estate in New York.
Enjoy this during your celebration
</span></b></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><b><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='377' height='313' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwktVvAIdvJ34XX3Xojus1mzNpTEpy8rWrMcoizp_0wGdizTVuyKjDttTCMfpHoe2ygjcd0xk4YR-s' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></b></span></div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><b><br />
</b></span><p></p>Judy Thornehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13871846865461659183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31361101.post-44615784964920170632024-02-16T14:56:00.003-06:002024-02-16T14:56:57.257-06:00Godspeed, Mr. Navalny (Tom on Navalny)<p><span style="font-size: large;"> <span style="font-family: Verdana;">Activist and anti-corruption crusader Alexi Navalny, a long-time thorn in the side of Vladimir Putin and the thieving oligarchs who have looted that sad nation until just gnawed bones and regurgitated gristle remain. Details of his death are scant and whether he was killed by a fellow 'Zek', or he fell out a window, as Mr. Putin's opponents are wont to do, doesn't really matter. Mr. Navalny was brave in a way that is difficult for westerners to understand. <br /><br />He loved his family and his Rodina in equal measure, and returned to Russia even in the face of repeated asassination attempts. <br /><br />He made the fatal mistake of speaking truth to power, for one thing autocrats like Mr. Putin fear most is the cleansing effects of sunshine. <br /><br />Like cockroaches and earwigs, autocrats like Mr. Putin flourish best in the dark. The people over whom they rule suffer, both spiritually and economically. The longer that the autocrats dominate the economy, the worse that the common people fare, for instead of functioning as a Commonwealth, wherein the resources of the state are devoted to the needs of her people, an autocratic government functions as a 'kleptocracy', essentially a government by and for thieves. And people doomed to live under the yoke of the 'Big Man' often suffer a crisis of the spirit; a learned helplessness that cripples the soul.</span></span></p><div style="font-family: Verdana;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: large;">As I was writing this small appreciation of Mr. Navalny, a line from 'Julius Caesar', probably my favorite of all of Shakespeare's plays:</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><h1 style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-weight: normal; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">“A coward dies a thousand times before his death, but the valiant taste of death but once. It seems to me most strange that men should fear, seeing that death, a necessary end, will come when it will come.”</span></h1><div style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: large;">Godspeed, Mr. Navalny<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjeTnDGi5voyXZ6UFjs-83Ebi1YMLZ9XHsW4bGGUZBCsCYufkx03VTxTYXFzdB1WqEJxycp10nu35F8gin4_sax5QPRafIntsbtMZZEvaFD0wvZlzgDGdMP4JVh2pAESbjRWZ2NEgbS2zfGoIgtyn-bbcr7RdmjTyvvMUhexOdDzfUJXtN-ai7bDg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="172" data-original-width="316" height="174" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjeTnDGi5voyXZ6UFjs-83Ebi1YMLZ9XHsW4bGGUZBCsCYufkx03VTxTYXFzdB1WqEJxycp10nu35F8gin4_sax5QPRafIntsbtMZZEvaFD0wvZlzgDGdMP4JVh2pAESbjRWZ2NEgbS2zfGoIgtyn-bbcr7RdmjTyvvMUhexOdDzfUJXtN-ai7bDg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /></span></div>Judy Thornehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13871846865461659183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31361101.post-19630647210001488972024-02-15T20:02:00.002-06:002024-02-15T20:02:19.050-06:00Tom on the GOP History<p> <span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">While Mr. Trump's MAGA shock troops carry with them the air of inevitability, Mr. Trump appears increasingly unhinged, to use Nikki Haley's apt characterization. A conventional candidate for high office would honor the sacrifices of veterans and their families, especially those who have been injured and killed in the service of their country, but Mr. Trump calls them 'suckers' and 'losers'. Rather than championing the ideals that America has always stood for, he embraces authoritarian thugs like Viktor Orban, Vladimir Putin , Kim Jong-un and Xi Jinping, whie constantly criticizing Joe Biden, but if you look at these respective economies, the US is the only one doing well. And when the do-nothing House were offered most of the concessions that they sought to alleviate the situation along the southern border, they said NO, because their lord and master wanted to use it as a campaign issue. These are not serious people.</span></p><div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">Today's Republicans remind me of the pre-WWII GOP, who were isolationists who were willing to tolerate the depredations of Germany and Japan, contending that such matters were none of our business. In order to give aid and comfort to Great Britain, which was facing daily bombardment by the Luftwaffen, President Roosevelt and certain of his aides, notably came up with the "Lend-Lease" program, which allowed the US to give material aid to allied nations under threat from Germany, Italy, and Japan. We actually provided significant assistance to Britain, France, China and other allied nations, and most of it was repaid or written off. The 'America Firsters', (as they were known, then as now), Included such luminaries as Michigan Sen. Arthur Vandenburg, (who later saw the error of his ways and was instrumental in developing the postwar order, including the founding of the NATO alliance), Joe Kennedy, (Father of Jack and Bobby and a fan of Adolf Hitler), pioneering aviator Charles Lindberg, ("Lucky Lindy", who also has a soft spot for Chancellor Hitler), and Ohio Sen. Robert Taft, the scion of a prominent Ohio political dynasty who was known as Mr. Republican". These folk allied themselves with America's enemies of the day, just as today's GOP prefers to bury their heads into the sand and pretend that we live in some panglossian. fairyland where the wolves lie down with the lambs, insead of the real world where the wolves eat the lambs...</span></div>Judy Thornehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13871846865461659183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31361101.post-46334369838676233352024-02-13T20:06:00.006-06:002024-02-13T20:08:35.519-06:00Consequences ForTrump<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='403' height='335' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxDC84yoQcbq2jRnUdsN6rlxyK6hq0UnbaQ4QHu0MiqUKYIFAH4lG2ntopSFxl40iggTUASiZsaGqk' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /> <p></p>Judy Thornehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13871846865461659183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31361101.post-51578657789471661002024-02-12T10:39:00.000-06:002024-02-12T10:39:23.058-06:00AI Debate: Biden vs drumpf<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='416' height='346' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwHJ1HcX-PC9YgkPJ2joVbtKKaJ7FODTj1q7ZKxARkiloTpefEnQJaCzom8VTu2mU8BOGC--8xdtZQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /> <p></p>Judy Thornehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13871846865461659183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31361101.post-52751008067547600632024-02-12T10:18:00.003-06:002024-02-12T10:18:44.201-06:00Tom on Disturbing Magats<p> <span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: large;">I read a very troubling story this morning about a fellow who decapitated his own father in the family home, and then posted a video of him, holding dad's severed head aloft, (it was in a clear plastic bag), while going on a YouTube rant about how this action was justified because dear old dad was a traitor to his country. His crime? He was a longtime employee of the Army Corps of Engineers. </span></p><div style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> Justin Mohn, 32, was apparently motivated by a hatred of the Biden Administration, the current situation on the southern border with the US and, interestingly, declared himself "Acting President of the United States", under Martial Law. He was arrested at a National Guard armory armed with a handgun, but did not resist arrest and is currently being held without bond pending arraignment. He left the bloody machete and the kitchen knife that he used to take his father's head in the bathtub for his mother to find.</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">This is where the overheated and increasingly violent rhetoric of Mr. Trump and his followers takes you. To a dystopia where disputes are settled with threats of violence and other forms of intimidation and, in the case of already mentally ill folks, to actual violence. Mr. Mohn is an extreme example of this tendency, but he's not alone. The Anti-DefamationLeague, (ADL), estimates that the majority of 'terroristic events' are perpetrated by those from the right side of the political spectrum. And while some violence does come from the left, it seems to be directed less at individuals and more toward institutions. In the past couple of years there have been assaults on peace officers that resulted in the death of the perpetrators. Ricky Shiffer, a 42 year old Navy veteran from Columcus, Ohio, attempted to storm an FBI office in Kenwood, Ohio, where the agency's Cincinnati office is located. The assault took place in the wake of the FBI's service of a search warrant on Donald Trump's residence at Mar-A-Lago that attempted to recover certain documents to the National Archive that Mr. Trump had repeatedly refused to return. Three days later, Mr. Shiffer showed up at Kenwood, armed with an AR-15 and a nail gun, and wearing body armor. From what I've read, the nail gun was supposed to be Mr. Shiffer's 'secret weapon' that would take care of the bulletproof class in the field office. It didn't work. After a high speed chase and an armed standoff during which shots were fired at the police, Mr. Shiffer was killed. For what it's worth, Mr. Shiffer was also part of the assault on the US Capital on 1/06/21.</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In another incident, a man named Craig Robertson. was shot and killed by FBI agents attempting to serve a arrest warrant on the very angry Mr. Robertson, then a resident of Provo, Utah, who had made what the Secret Service believed to be credible threats against the life of President Biden, who was scheduled to make a trip to Utah a few hours before the incident in question. Mr. Robertson was a self-described "MAGA Trumper", who had exhibited violent tendencies in the past.</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I've said before in these notes that the current political climate reminds me of the 1850's and the runup to the American Civil War. If you recall, over 700,000 Americans perished in that war. I wouldn't necessarily predict a 21st century civil war, but I wouldn't be terribly surprised if such a thing came to pass. For me, this political climate reminds me of the 1960s, when asassination was a reality, rather than something that one read about in a history book. If I were a betting man, I'd bet that someone will be assassinated during this year's election, simply because there are too many guns in the hands of too many angry and mentally ill people. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>Judy Thornehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13871846865461659183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31361101.post-88782949618391873032024-02-12T10:15:00.000-06:002024-02-12T10:15:48.291-06:00Monday Morning Smile<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='435' height='362' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwH9C69FCpsRkCAz_92DiSFgtvSRHWQEl-NBywHmJ6vVttSCkedUENh-amrJkHtjJx411W3RWiwlPs' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /><p></p>Judy Thornehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13871846865461659183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31361101.post-46549260606359902022024-02-07T12:00:00.004-06:002024-02-07T15:16:08.444-06:00#NeverAgain<p><br /></p><div style="text-align: center;"> <iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzxmAoou_oMomwDXwpEu2KH-HB8xYHqwROid7ooKcQ_BK-iqaBUiCRYO81kxmYPAa_dnbTXUSRxCJk' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><p></p>Judy Thornehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13871846865461659183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31361101.post-15298853186538639212024-02-05T00:00:00.001-06:002024-02-05T00:00:00.152-06:00Monday Morning Smile<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='422' height='351' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyjG9DhOuWm4fjsN8DBor7ugLSPMJRtCsZH5TouNLwqLKFglOYqGe3mfuDocXXOaybXTOc8Zg7iyhQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /><p></p>Judy Thornehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13871846865461659183noreply@blogger.com0