Nothing to see here, just a president confusing the White House with a reality show.

“We’ll see you in the boardroom,” President Trump tells reporters ahead of Cabinet meeting https://t.co/GB6xsijuGK

— NBC Politics (@NBCPolitics) July 31, 2017

Um...since when does the White House have a board room?

Oh wait, THAT was where Trump fired contestants on the crappy reality show of his.

Let the mocking begin.

Trump just now, repeating one of his lines from "The Apprentice": "We'll see you in the boardroom." (For a cabinet meeting)

— Steve Kopack (@SteveKopack) July 31, 2017

As Trump goes to cabinet mtg, he says he's headed to "boardroom"... Geez, he really does think this is The Apprentice: West Wing Addition.

— Kendell Walters (@KendellWalters1) July 31, 2017

Trump thinks he is back on his Apprentice Show if he is saying "boardroom".
Alzheimer's like his dad. His verbal levels are deteriorating.

— Helen Ehrenhofer (@helenehrenhofer) July 31, 2017

The problem of course is that this is by no means the first time we have seen this president dazed and confused.

It is already pretty clear that he has mental health issues, but if his mind is also deteriorating due to old age, THAT is almost too terrifying to consider.

(H/T to Raw Story.)

I think this lady is my new spirit animal.

So now that we have had the Trump presidency inflicted upon us I am just hoping that he will remain the worst in my lifetime, and that there is not somebody even worse waiting down the line. 

This 90 yr old stood up, Obama told him he didn't have to stand. He said, "No Sir, you're the President."

Source

Now that is how you show respect to your President.

I wonder if he could give lessons to the Republicans. 

Militia members who took over the bird sanctuary in Oregon are engaged in harassment and intimidation of locals.

Courtesy of NBC News: 

Local law enforcement is accusing armed protesters who seized an Oregon wildlife refuge of harassment and intimidation. 

In a statement Monday, Harney County Sheriff Dave Ward described an "uptick" in reports of "law enforcement officers and community members being followed home; of people sitting in cars outside their homes, observing their movements and those of their families; and of people following them and their families as they move around the community." 

Ward added, "While not direct physical threats, these activities are clearly designed to try to intimidate." 

Federal employees of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, the site occupied by the protestors, also reported "a number of uncomfortable instances" of "unknown" outsiders idling outside their homes, watching them and initiating debates about their employment. 

"Many of these confrontations are taking place as their employees are grocery shopping, running errands with their families and trying to lead their day-to day lives," Ward said.

Gee what tough guys.

Bunch of overweight bullies is what they are.

In other news a judge has said that the county will charge Bundy and his associates up to $70,000 a day for the increased security.

So yes this little occupation is working out perfectly.

P.S. Well it looks like I got fooled by a parody site as well. In an earlier version I shared a story that came from  a site that seemed legit, but turned out to be having a laugh.

Oh well that kind of thing is bound to happen eventually.

The 2nd Amendment keeps gun owners so safe that two of them were robbed leaving two different gun ranges.

Courtesy of NBC Philadelphia:

Police are asking for the public's help tracking down the second suspect responsible for robbing gun range customers of at least nine weapons and shooting a 67-year-old man. 

Authorities identified the missing robber as 27-year-old Jeffrey Chandler. 

Officials say Chandler, who stands 5-feet 10-inches tall and weighs about 200 pounds, has numerous tattoos on both arms. The most distinctive tattoo is the word - "Stretch" - located on his right hand, they say. 

Investigators say Chandler fired the shot that wounded one of the victims.

Chandler's female accomplice surrendered to authorities after seeing that her face showed up on video surveillance tapes. However Chandler remains on the run, and is considered now heavily armed and dangerous. 

Besides the 67 year old, they also robbed a second man as he left a second gun range:

They robbed a 68-year-old man at gunpoint outside Yury's at 544 N. Percy St. around 6:40 p.m. June 11, emptying the victim's pockets and taking off with his backpack, which contained two .22 caliber handguns, according to authorities.

So to be clear these two managed to steal nine weapons from two different armed citizens that they can now use to murder or rob anybody whom they choose.

Yep thank goodness that 2nd Amendment exists to keep people safe from crime, right?

P.S. That kind of reminds me of a conversation I had years ago with a local cop who told me that many burglaries were targeted toward homes that were known to have a large number of weapons on the premises, because guns are incredibly easy to sell once stolen.

Which means instead of an arsenal protecting a homeowner from crime, it actually made them a more desirable target.

New study shows that Social Security pumps $2 into the economy for every $1 paid out in benefits.

Courtesy of AARP:  

A new report by the AARP Public Policy Institute, "Social Security's Impact on the National Economy," found that Social Security adds more than $1 trillion to the U.S. economy each year. People who receive Social Security benefits are not saving that money for a rainy day. They're spending it on goods and services — pumping it back into the economy. We have to remember that the typical older American has an income of about $22,000 a year, and Social Security accounts for about half of a typical older family's income. 

Businesses use the income to purchase more goods and services, to realize profits and to hire more employees. Those employees, in turn, spend their wages on more goods and services, which creates more spending and income for more people. This creates a powerful multiplier effect that benefits the economy, businesses and workers. In fact, our report found that every dollar in Social Security benefits paid out generates about $2 of total output for the U.S. economy. 

In 2012, spending by Social Security beneficiaries, combined with the added spending by businesses, generated roughly $1.5 trillion in total economic output. 

This spending in turn supported more than 9 million jobs in the national economy. About 4 million of these jobs were created in just 10 industries. The largest impact was seen in the food services, real estate, health care and retail industries. 

Thanks to the benefits provided by Social Security, nearly 21.4 million Americans avoided poverty: 1.1 million children, 5.8 million adults under 65, and 14.5 million adults 65-plus.

 Of course despite this the Republicans party has been attempting to undermine Social Security since its very inception. And just like Medicare, and now the Affordable Care Act, these are programs that ultimately benefit not just the individual but also the country at large.

I look forward to the day when a report comes out detailing the incredibly positive benefits that Obamacare has had on the nation. Because eventually you KNOW it's coming.

An elderly gentleman writes a song of love to his deceased wife. You are going to need tissues. Trust me.

Courtesy of Hyper Vocal:  

When a man pines for his deceased beloved wife, it usually has the power to punch you right in the feels. But when it’s a 96-year-old man remembering through song the life and love he shared with the same woman for 75 years, you can’t help but feel his sincere pain. 

This gentleman is Fred Stobaugh, a Peoria, Illinois, man who had recently lost his everything: Lorraine. When Fred heard about a contest run by Green Shoe Studio to upload a finished song to YouTube, he knew he wasn’t especially musical, but he sent in the lyrics to a song for his life’s partner. Green Shoe took it from there, producing the song and playing it back for Fred, whose reaction is heartbreakingly awesome.

God what I would not do to feel a love that strong.

So beautiful. And touching. And sad.

It finally happened. Seniors are starting to turn away from the Republican party.

Okay this one almost completely slipped by me, but take a look at what the folks over at the National Memo are reporting:

There’s something going on with seniors: It is now strikingly clear that they have turned sharply against the GOP. This is apparent in seniors’ party affiliation and vote intention, in their views on the Republican Party and its leaders, and in their surprising positions on jobs, health care, retirement security, investment economics, and the other big issues that will likely define the 2014 midterm elections. 

We first noticed a shift among seniors early in the summer of 2011, as Paul Ryan’s plan to privatize Medicare became widely known (and despised) among those at or nearing retirement. Since then, the Republican Party has come to be defined by much more than its desire to dismantle Medicare. To voters from the center right to the far left, the GOP is now defined by resistance, intolerance, intransigence, and economics that would make even the Robber Barons blush. We have seen other voters pull back from the GOP, but among no group has this shift been as sharp as it is among senior citizens: 

—In 2010, seniors voted for Republicans by a 21 point margin (38 percent to 59 percent). Among seniors likely to vote in 2014, the Republican candidate leads by just 5 points (41 percent to 46 percent.) 

—When Republicans took control of the House of Representatives at the beginning of 2011, 43 percent of seniors gave the Republican Party a favorable rating. Last month, just 28 percent of seniors rated the GOP favorably. This is not an equal-opportunity rejection of parties or government 

— over the same period, the Democratic Party’s favorable rating among seniors has increased 3 points, from 37 percent favorable to 40 percent favorable. 

—When the Republican congress took office in early 2011, 45 percent of seniors approved of their job performance. That number has dropped to just 22 percent

 — with 71 percent disapproving. 

—Seniors are now much less likely to identify with the Republican Party. On Election Day in 2010, the Republican Party enjoyed a net 10 point party identification advantage among seniors (29 percent identified as Democrats, 39 percent as Republicans). As of last month, Democrats now had a net 6 point advantage in party identification among seniors (39 percent to 33 percent). 

—More than half (55 percent) of seniors say the Republican Party is too extreme, half (52 percent) say it is out of touch, and half (52 percent) say the GOP is dividing the country. Just 10 percent of seniors believe that the Republican Party does not put special interests ahead of ordinary voters. 

—On almost every issue we tested — including gay rights, aid to the poor, immigration, and gun control — more than half of seniors believe that the Republican Party is too extreme.

So not only is the GOP base dying off, there are many of them who are simply fed up and leaving on their own, with few younger voters to replace them. Damn, do I love this!

This is why Rand Paul is working so hard to reinforce his Libertarian credentials. Because he believes that the younger voters, who simply don't want anybody to tell them what to do, and who are disillusioned with Obama, will support him.

But the facts are that Paul is too far Right even for the base, and once his screwy ideas see the harsh light of media examination, they will frighten most voters away. Especially the older voters.

And if, by some miracle, he DOES manage to get the nomination he will look like a mental patient standing next to the well coiffed and carefully prepared Hillary Clinton in a debate. Who, by the way, would be a VERY attractive candidate for those elderly voters who had just walked away from the GOP.

Wow, wouldn't THAT be must see TV?

Best gay pride participant ever!

Apparently spotted in Brighton, UK.

CBS News interviews sweet little old lady after Oklahoma tornado destroys her home, and then everything gets awesome.

Watch until the 1:39 mark. I promise you will not be disappointed.

Anti-voter suppression video from Michael Moore. Better label this one NSFW.

Okay those old people scared me a little.

But I do admire the message, and I agree that if we let the Republicans steal this election we deserve to be haunted by angry grandparents.

So remember, VOTE! Vote like your life depends on it!

Or simply vote like you're afraid your granny is going to watch you have sex. That certainly motivates me!

Mitt Romney continues to underwhelm America, one voter at a time.

Okay that's probably unfair, right?

I mean we all can't be as smooth as President Obama now can we?

The new face of the Occupy movement? Update.

Courtesy of The Star:

Photos of 84-year-old Dorli Rainey being helped by fellow activists after Seattle police blasted a crowd of Occupy protesters with pepper spray Tuesday have popped up on news websites and blogs around the world. 

Occupy Seattle condemned the force, posting a statement on its website shortly after the incident saying “we offer our sympathies to the many protesting patriots that were indiscriminately pepper sprayed including a 4’10” 84 year old woman, a priest and a pregnant woman who as of this writing is still in the hospital.”

Seattle police spokesman Jeff Kappel told the Associated Press he didn't have the details on the Rainey confrontation, but he said pepper spray is “is not age specific. No more dangerous to someone who is 10 or someone who is 80.” 

It is images like this which are going to inspire more and more people to support this movement, and to start believing that the police of this nation are nothing more than jack booted thugs doing the bidding of the 1% instead of fighting alongside their fellow 99% for a better future for them and for their children.

And it is incidents like this that which me wonder if the police are actually getting the proper training they need to understand how dangerous pepper spray can be to certain individuals, such as the elderly, the sickly, or pregnant women?

This device was created to be a non-lethal alternative to drawing a gun in response to a dangerous altercation, it was NOT designed to be indiscriminately sprayed into a crowd of peaceful protesters.

And on that topic here is a statement from the priest who was also sprayed during this incident.

Update: Keith Olbermann interviews Dorli Rainey. This is a MUST SEE! Could the police have chosen a sweeter person to abuse? Like I said, this is going to really bite them in the ass.

Fox News has decided to explain what is happening in Wisconsin by hinting that Barack Obama is the Anti-Christ. No, I am NOT kidding!

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

You know I got slammed awhile back by saying that perhaps not EVERYBODY should enjoy the freedoms provided by the First Amendment.  Yes I know that taking the right to scare elderly people, and simpletons away from Fox News might result in someday losing the ability to tell real factual information on the Rachel Maddow show.  I get that.

But dammit, these assholes are telling their audience of elderly people, whose median age is 65, and who are probably thinking about religion and the afterlife far more than your average television viewer, that Barack Obama is about to usher in the Apocalypse.

That is unconscionable and, in my opinion, there should be a serious consequence for that kind of reckless and abusive behavior. Am I wrong?

And even though I try not to advocate any violence, if I were in a room alone with Glenn Beck I....I..would...well I guess I would not do anything because it is against my personal guidelines to physically injure a soft, doughy, little pantie-waist like him. But if he were an actual man, I am afraid I might have to serve a little jail time and possible take an anger management class.

You know, again.

Though I have little doubt that it would be worth it.

(Hat tip tp Politicususa.)

Republicans frighten elderly in effort to halt health care reform. Surprisingly the GOP has discovered a new low.

A campaign on conservative talk radio, fueled by President Obama's calls to control exorbitant medical bills, has sparked fear among senior citizens that the health-care bill moving through Congress will lead to end-of-life "rationing" and even "euthanasia."

The controversy stems from a proposal to pay physicians who counsel elderly or terminally ill patients about what medical interventions they would prefer near the end of life and how to prepare instructions such as living wills. Under the plan, Medicare would reimburse doctors for one session every five years to confer with a patient about his or her wishes and how to ensure those preferences are followed. The counseling sessions would be voluntary.

But on right-leaning radio programs, religious e-mail lists and Internet blogs, the proposal has been described as "guiding you in how to die," "an ORDER from the Government to end your life," promoting "death care" and, in the words of antiabortion leader Randall Terry, an attempt to "kill Granny."

Though the counseling provision is a tiny part of a behemoth bill, the skirmish over end-of-life care, like arguments about abortion coverage, has become a distraction and provided an opening for opponents of the president's broader health-care agenda.

I believe it is way past time for somebody to call the GOP out on these sleazy tactics.

How criminal it is to frighten people about their deaths? How inhuman is it to pay millions of dollars to buy commercials that are purposefully created to misrepresent a bill in order to make it appear that it injures our most fragile citizens?


Just take a look at this commercial designed SPECIFICALLY for that purpose.



They have pulled this shit before.

Remember how the inheritance tax suddenly became the death tax?

How pro -choice became pro-abortion?

How we had to "fight them over there, so that we would not have to fight them here"? And of course risk death.

This is how the GOP always frightens people into compliance. By threatening their lives, or the lives of their loved ones.

These are the tactics of cowards and the morally bankrupt. I cannot imagine how anybody can feel proud of a party that resorts to this sort of manipulation.

Health care reform is necessary and has been put off for too long by a group of people who have access to the best health care available in this country.

Too bad hypocrisy is not a life threatening condition.