swordfish

Someone is pocketing an extra buck a box......

Add in the occasional "identity neutral" crowd who have no idea which gender they are......I'm so glad my girls are adults now.......just as long as they don't change the cookies........4 bucks a box for those things ain't bad for what I consider "crack for old guys".....

OR - If Booker is the Democrat nominee for President, and picks Kamala Harris as a running mate, the ticket could actually be Booker/Hooker......😄

No surprise.......Add Cory Booker to the list...... https://wsbt.com/news/nation-world/new-jersey-democratic-sen-cory-booker-launches-2020-bid?fbclid=IwAR2AOR7GOAe_cVCF8GQBpyBBDDRywDFz7yrGL5sGzV4f2o4Xm90-voa3HZM

GID 2.0?

https://wsbt.com/news/local/south-bend-mayor-talks-possible-2020-presidential-bid-on-cbs-this-morning?fbclid=IwAR0bvoNbZcdX7V3gWBVlr1nG9xj9W38TUN2XrJlGUDXn-xp6YQURLq8a7UY Here is a transcript of the interview: NORAH O’DONNELL: The Iowa caucuses are 368 days away, and the potential field of democratic candidates is quickly growing. The mayor of South Bend, Indiana, Pete Buttigieg, launched a presidential exploratory committee last week. The 37-year-old has spent seven years in charge of the city he grew up in. He's a Harvard graduate, he’s a Rhodes Scholar. He’s known as Mayor Pete. He was also deployed to Afghanistan for seven months with the U.S. Navy Reserve. And he’s got a new book out called "Shortest Way Home: one mayor's challenge, and a model for America’s future." we have the interview you'll see first on "CBS This Morning." Mayor Buttigieg, welcome. MAYOR PETE BUTTIGIEG: Good morning thanks for having me. NORAH O’DONNELL: How's—how’s the great state of Indiana? MAYOR PETE BUTTIGIEG: A bit chilly, but other than that we are good. NORAH O’DONNELL: Very cold indeed. I also wanted to start by giving our condolences. I know your father passed away on Sunday. MAYOR PETE BUTTIGIEG: Thank you. Appreciate that. I know he would have been watching if he could. NORAH O’DONNELL: Thank you for being here, so you're 37. Uh your town-- you represent a town of 102,000 people. Did I get that right? MAYOR PETE BUTTIGIEG: That’s about right. Yeah. NORAH O’DONNELL: What qualifies you to be President of the United States? MAYOR PETE BUTTIGIEG: Well for starters, the experience. I know that I’m the youngest person in this conversation, but I think the experience of leading a city through a transformation is really relevant right now. Look, I’ve got more experience in government than the president of the United States. I’ve got more years of executive experience than the Vice President. I have more military experience than anybody who's arrived behind that desk since George H.W. Bush. I get that it's not a conventional background, but I don't think this is a time for conventional backgrounds in Washington right now. JOHN DICKERSON: Can you explain to people what that experience means when the rubber meets the road. What -- how's that going to help people in this country? MAYOR PETE BUTTIGIEG: See the instinct to do the job. So whether we're talking about the presidency or a job like governor or mayor, you know, there are three parts to it. It’s bringing people together, it's implementing good policies, and it's capably running an administration. All of those have been missing right now in Washington. And I think, you know, American mayors in cities of any size, I think represent one of the levels, maybe the only level of American government left that's generally working well. BIANNA GOLODRYGA: Well we all like to say that all politics are local. But the last time that a sitting mayor was nominated for President to a major party was 1812. MAYOR PETE BUTTIGIEG: Yeah. BIANNA GOLODRYGA: Why should you be different? Why should you be the outlier? MAYOR PETE BUTTIGIEG: I mean that’s doing better than the last time a reality TV star was elected president, right? Things are changing tectonically in our country. And we can't just keep doing what we've been doing. We can't nibble around the edges of the system that no longer works. The experience of the industrial Midwest is exactly the kind of experience that uh politics, forgive me, but here on the coast uh has been ignoring. And especially in my party, that's come at a terrible cost. BIANNA GOLODRYGA: Let's talk about something that you're familiar with and obviously that's time serving overseas in Afghanistan. You spent seven months there. What do you think of the president's potential plan now of moving troops back home? MAYOR PETE BUTTIGIEG: Well, we've got to get out of Afghanistan. I mean, there are people we are now old enough almost to be deployed who weren't even born when 9/11 took place. We’ve also got to make sure that the way we do it doesn't leave us vulnerable as some Intel assessments have said we would be, to being attacked again within two years if we allow terrorist networks to develop in a failed state. It’s a good sign that the Taliban is willing to talk, and if they're serious about putting their weapons aside, that could be a pathway to peace. But, I’m a little puzzled that we haven’t had the Afghan government itself that we recognize as a legitimate government at the table. We’ve got to make sure that they're involved because any peace we come up with could very quickly collapse if we don't have them as a party. NORAH O’DONNELL: Those peace talks have not included that? MAYOR PETE BUTTIGIEG: It's shuttle diplomacy, right? They go – they sit down with the Taliban in Doha, then you know, we’re told that Khalilzad was conferring with the Afghan government, giving them, I guess a heads-up. But, we’ve got to find a way to get them to the table. JOHN DICKERSON: When you talk about nibbling around the edges, if you look at the other Democrats who are running, they're not nibbling around the edges. They’re talking about Medicare for all. Some are talking about getting rid of private insurance. So, that’s the competition you have. So what is your idea that it is so big that it -- nobody would mistake it for nibbling around the edges? MAYOR PETE BUTTIGIEG: Well, first of all, we've got to repair our democracy. The Electoral College needs to go because it's made our society less and less democratic. Now we can talk about a lot of different policy ideas, and will on everything from security to health care. But you know, our party has this tendency to lead with the policies, go to the 14-point plan and give you the binders and the power points. First we've got to explain our values and explain why democrats are, are committed to freedom, to democracy, to security. That democracy piece has to be fixed before anything else will go well in this country. NORAH O’DONNELL: Just to, just to clarify what John was asking about -- do you support Medicare for all? MAYOR PETE BUTTIGIEG: I do. I also think that on the road to get there, there are a lot of things not being talked about enough. NORAH O’DONNELL: Mayor Bloomberg, who likely joined the race, says it would bankrupt the country. MAYOR PETE BUTTIGIEG: Well, it would bankrupt this country if we didn't pay for it. And right now in Washington, a lot of things are being done that aren't paid for. By the way, my generation's the one that's going to face the bill for that. So as somebody who's, god willing, planning to be here in 2054 when I reach the current age of the current president, I care a lot about making sure that anything we do is sustainable. But this is the norm in most developed countries. So the idea that it is radical or impossible to do something that the citizens of most western countries already enjoy, that just doesn't add up to me. If other people can have that, why can't Americans have that, too? BIANNA GOLODRYGA: That’s conversation that many in this country are currently having right now, including potential president hopefuls. Thank you so much. Again, our condolences on the loss of your father. MAYOR PETE BUTTIGIEG: Appreciate it, thank you. He doesn't mention Round-a-bouts and Limebikes for the entire country......But he does mention "the Electoral College" needs to go.......

This was actually from a left-wing website.......

Bruce Caitlyn Jenner's Uncle Buck.....

https://apnews.com/0a2b5a89587e44568481c133356f262c NEW YORK (AP) — Some of the most influential forces in Democratic politics revolted Monday against former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz’s prospective presidential bid, insisting that an independent run would unintentionally help President Donald Trump win another four years in office. The critics included the Democratic chairman of Schultz’s home state, another billionaire businessman who long flirted with an independent run of his own, former President Barack Obama’s chief strategist, and the most powerful super PAC in Democratic politics. “If Schultz entered the race as an independent, we would consider him a target. ... We would do everything we can to ensure that his candidacy is unsuccessful,” said Patrick McHugh, executive director of Priorities USA, which spent nearly $200 million in the 2016 presidential contest. Specifically, he seized on Schultz’s apparent willingness to cut entitlement programs such as Medicare and Social Security to narrow the federal deficit. “The bottom line,” McHugh said, “is that I don’t think Americans are looking for another selfish billionaire to enter the race.” The intense pushback in the early days of the 2020 campaign reflects the passion Democrats are bringing to the race to deny Trump a second term. Rank-and-file voters and party officials alike are anxious about any hurdle that would prevent them from seizing on Trump’s unpopularity. While no independent has won the presidency since George Washington, Democrats fear that Schultz would almost certainly split their vote and give Trump an easier path to re-election. Yet Democrats concede that they had few tools to dissuade Schultz from launching an independent campaign — as he told CBS’ “60 Minutes” on Sunday he was considering — though many were skeptical that he would actually follow through. Schultz felt the passion of the anti-Trump resistance moments after he took the stage Monday evening in New York City to promote his new book. “Don’t help elect Trump, you egotistical billionaire!” a protester shouted before being ejected by security. In an interview with The Associated Press after the appearance, he acknowledged that his prospective run might be “threatening” to some Democrats, but said, “my heart’s in the right place.” Wow - The backlash from the left is swift on this one.....Will there be anyone allowed by the left to run as an independent in 2020? If the dems are successful with their "boycott Starbucks" march, Starbucks may have to close......

"Senator Kruse once again".....Should tell you what you need to know. This bill will go nowhere. If it pushes beyond committee, I will join Muda's drumbeat......Who keeps electing this religious zealot?

Did anyone listen to the speech in the Rose Garden? The President opened the Government for 3 weeks. He literally said you have 3 weeks to fund the wall. If not - it's an emergency. Pelosi already said she wouldn't negotiate until the shutdown was over......It's over, workers are being paid, the SOTU will take place. If in 3 weeks, there is no resolution, this President will finish this in his way. He and every President since Reagan has promised a solution, he is determined to deliver a real fix. I would bet if the House and Senate cannot come up with something, the DACA olive branch he was dangling will disappear.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/politics/84-year-old-ex-san-francisco-mayor-so-what-if-i-dated-kamala-harris The 84-year-old former Mayor of San Francisco also claimed a role in boosting Harris’ political career in a piece published in the San Francisco Chronicle over the weekend titled, “Sure, I dated Kamala Harris. So what?” “Yes, we dated,” Brown wrote in the piece. “Yes, I may have influenced her career by appointing her to two state commissions when I was Assembly speaker. And I certainly helped with her first race for district attorney in San Francisco.” Brown engaged in an extramarital affair with Harris when she was a 30-year-old prosecutor and he was in his 60s and serving as speaker of the California Assembly. In 2003, the San Francisco Weekly reported that Brown had appointed Harris to two highly paid patronage positions in California’s state government and also appointed her to the California Medical Assistance Commission, where she attended two meetings a month for a $150,000 salary, in inflation-adjusted terms. After their relationship ended, Brown continued to boost Harris’ career by supporting her run for district attorney and later clearing the field for Harris to become a U.S. senator when he called on former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to stay out of the Senate race. Harris, 54, launched her 2020 Democratic bid for president last week and is one of the more high-profile lawmakers to join the race, which is expected to be crowded. Brown said in his piece that he helped multiple lawmakers' careers, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.; Gov. Gavin Newsom; Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.; among others. “The difference is that Harris is the only one who, after I helped her, sent word that I would be indicted if I 'so much as jaywalked' while she was D.A.,” Brown wrote. “That’s politics for ya.” OMG - I could understand this guy sleeping with Harris, he should be proud of that, but I am having a hard time with the other 2 listed, hoping for a different story there...... Interesting - Harris is leading in the early polls, so it looks like the mud has started slinging on the Dem side.......

None of this matters anymore....TRUMP CAVED!!! (Newest talking point/headline as of Friday)

Production is already called off up here on the IN/MI border for Wednesday and Thursday. Suppliers aren't even delivering on those days.

21 days. Congress and the senate will have to have a plausible border protection solution passed or (a) shutdown, (b) emergency declaration. Watch and see which one happens.

It would not be like Trump to simply give up.

Actually this entire line of "was he or wasn't he" started because foxbat challenged when I posted a humorous (IMHO) meme showing Blumenthal and Phillips in a "So there we were in Vietnam" meme. And I took the bait. FTR - I still chuckle at it. Bottomline - This proud Native American who served in the military, and may or may not be a Vietnam Vet shouldn't be the center of this discussion. These people should be in this case yet are being ignored......

Not SF's words....... https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2019/01/23/tribal-elder-in-viral-standoff-video-was-not-a-vietnam-veteran-military-records-show/ Tribal elder in viral standoff video was not a Vietnam veteran, military records show