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Fritz Walter

Fritz Walter's Journal
Fritz Walter's Journal
July 7, 2016

Yuge! 30 Years of Doonesbury on Trump

Garry Trudeau, creator of the Doonesbury comic strip, has been satirizing the mangled apricot hellbeast for three decades, and his book, "Yuge! 30 Years of Doonesbury on {Drumpf}," hit the shelves in bookstores -- and, of course, on Amazon -- Tuesday.

WaPo ran an opinion piece on the book, featuring an interview with Garry, and one quote nailed this particular cult of personality:

Here’s what the people who love Trump don’t understand: He doesn’t love them back. I figured they’d be on to him by now. These are folks who feel anxious and left behind by the new economy. Many are struggling. Trump has a word for such people: losers. And he’s never had time for losers. He doesn’t have time to sit in their kitchens and go to their barbecues and listen to their problems. True, losers in the aggregate — say 12,000 at a time — get him to where he wants to be. But he’s always one squirt of Purell away from getting back on his plane so he can sleep in his penthouse. Never has an electorate been held in more contempt by its putative champion.


As much as I despise and abhor the aforementioned hellbeast, I might add this book to my collection, or at least check it out from my public library.
June 28, 2016

Drumpf blasts Will -- suffers major burn in response

Donald Trump blasted Pulitzer Prize winning conservative columnist, Dr. George Will, for leaving the Republican Party. Will's Response Is PERFECT: Will, with biting wit, responded in the best way possible. "He (Trump) has an advantage on me, because he can say everything he knows about any subject in 140 characters and I can't."

OK, this is an apocryphal quote I found on FB, but even if Will didn't say/write it, its entirety true.

June 23, 2016

Responsible Gun Owner of the Day

Kills his father.

Runs off to Daytona Beach with his wife/girlfriend, carrying a massive arsenal of weapons including assault rifles.

When confronted by law enforcement, commits murder/suicide or "double suicide."

http://www.news4jax.com/news/florida/st-johns-county/st-johns-deputies-seek-adult-son-of-victim

After several unsuccessful attempts to make contact with the occupants inside, police fired two cans of CS gas into the room and the robot entered the room about 10 a.m., police said.

Reddock and a woman, believed to be his wife, Samantha, were found dead in the hotel room, along with an arsenal of weapons, including four assault rifles, four handguns and ammunition, investigators said. She has not yet been positively identified.

"It was basically an armory," Capri said. "By the grace of God, we dodged a bullet today."

Capri said it appears they each took their own life.


But here's the best bit:

Domestic violence history of Joe Reddock Jr.

2000: Arrested for assaulting his father
2001: Father gets injunction against him that’s in effect for more than a year
2002: Arrested for violating the injunction; Reddock grabbed his father’s wrist after the father called 911 on him for making threats
2004: Arrested for assaulting father
2005: Father gets second temporary injunction
2010: Arrested for assaulting his mother, who told deputies Reddock was bipolar and depressed
2015: Father gets third temporary injunction
2015: Arrested for assaulting Samantha Reddock

NOTE: Most of these charges were dropped


Meanwhile, the right wing express their shock and dismay at a sit-in in the US Capitol.

Beam me up Scotty!
May 15, 2016

Danish PM toasts Pres. Obama: "You're the best President..."

At the Nordic State Dinner last night, Danish Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen paid our current President a wonderful compliment: "You're the best President that Europe never got."

The comment harvested both laughter and applause from the 300+ attendees, including leaders from Denmark, Iceland, Sweden and Norway as well as the USA.


From the Danish coverage of the event (via Google Translate):

"It is easy to see the importance and value of your leadership, Mr. President. So, without wanting to meddle in American politics, I can undoubtedly say that you are the best president that Europe never got," said Statsminister Rasmussen.

But immediately after, there was silence when Lars Løkke Rasmussen said that he supported the "Donald" as President.

"He is clever, the talented leadership skills, and he is a visionary... And I'm talking of course about the EU president, Donald Tusk, who in absence of you is the best president the EU could ask for," and laughter broke out among the guests.

The prime minister also praised a number of Obama's political results that are controversial in American politics: healthcare reform Obamacare, climate agreement in Paris, and the decision to celebrate the authorization of homosexual marriages through the United States by leaving the White House... in rainbow colors."


The loudest applause came from this comment:
"As the first country in the world to allow civil partnerships between same-sex (couples), we admire and support your struggle for equal rights."


http://politiken.dk/udland/internationalt620px/ECE3205903/loekke-i-skaaltale-til-obama-du-er-den-bedste-praesident-europa-aldrig-faar/

From the Washington Post:

The prime minister of Denmark, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, got the biggest laughs of the evening at the Nordic state dinner Friday, prompting President Obama to declare that they’d found the host of next year’s White House correspondents’ dinner.

“The first time you invited me into the Oval Office, Mr. President, you said that Denmark is punching above our weight. It made me proud,” Rasmussen said. “Now some six years later I understand that not only Denmark, but all the Nordic countries are punching above their weight? Nevertheless, I’m still proud.”

Rasmussen ran though a list of celebrities of Nordic descent, including Scarlett Johansson, Julia Roberts and Uma Thurman. “And the Norweigans? Well, they gave you Karl Rove.”


Jeg elskar Danmark! (I love Denmark)!
May 12, 2016

Bush-appointed federal judge rules against ACA subsidies

Various news outlets reporting that the judge ruled in favor of the House of Representatives challenge to the Affordable Care Act subsidies for low-income policy holders.

http://www.politico.com/story/2016/05/house-gop-wins-obamacare-lawsuit-223121

Vote the bastards out of office come November!

May 5, 2016

Tow Truck Driver: God told me not to help disabled Sanders supporter

http://abc11.com/news/tow-truck-driver-refuses-to-tow-bernie-sanders-supporter/1324539/

A tow truck driver refused to a help a customer stranded on Interstate 26 in Asheville on Monday.

"Something came over me, I think the Lord came to me, and he just said get in the truck and leave," said Ken Shupe of Shupee Max Towing in Traveler's Rest, S.C. "And when I got in my truck, you know, I was so proud, because I felt like I finally drew a line in the sand and stood up for what I believed."


The driver, Cassie McWade, 25, has psoriatic arthritis, fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and early-stage Crohns, which she said made sitting on the side of the road without a restroom nearby was "terrifying." She is legally disabled and says the handicapped placard was hanging on her mirror when Shupe arrived.

She also says the family mechanic informed Shupe that she was disabled.

After waiting more than an hour and a half, McWade was towed by another company.


How despicable!
May 1, 2016

Conclusive proof: Rick Scott is an asshole!

Attacking a constituent through a PAC's web video is bad enough.

Now Florida's governor Rick Scott's loading of state commissions with cronies whose conflicts of interest are glaringly obvious. For instance, take a look at what the Orlando Sentinel wrote about John Miklos, chairman of the St Johns Water Management District.

He's the chairman of the St. Johns River Water Management District, the environmental agency that does everything from determine how much of Central Florida's dwindling water supply companies can use to who can turn wetlands into housing developments in 18 counties in central and northeast Florida.

His agency also tells you how often you can water your lawn and levies taxes on your home — about $45 a year if you have a $200,000 home.

Here's something else you should know about Miklos: He makes money — $155 an hour in one case — representing businesses and companies that need things from the district.

Yes, Miklos owns a private business. And part of his business is offering clients the chance to pay him to help them get things from the very government agency he helps run.


Most recently, the Daytona Beach News-Journal discovered that the city of DeBary is paying Miklos' firm, Bio-Tech Consulting Inc., $38,600 — with Miklos personally making $155 an hour — to help the city get things like a "permit modification" from the district … which Miklos chairs.

That stinks.

It may also sound familiar. This is how it all started with the expressway authority.

Gov. Scott appointed a consultant who did business with the toll-road agency to help run the toll-road agency. It was an obvious conflict.

I said so. Local watchdogs said so.

But that consultant wanted to stay. And the governor vowed to "keep an eye" on him.

Three years later, the consultant was indicted and sentenced to prison. The entire expressway authority was then disbanded.

Past certainly isn't always prologue. For one thing, Miklos says he scrupulously adheres to ethics rules. For another, Florida's ethics laws are weaker than a virgin daiquiri.


Fresh water is going to be the next natural resource over which wars will be fought. And Gov. Voldemort is making sure that his corporate buddies rape, pillage and plunder the environment to their shriveled, blackened heart's content.

If Scott is an asshole, his political appointees are the hemorrhoids that surround that orifice.

April 21, 2016

Faux Noise's Stossel: "I have lung cancer... Customer service stinks!"

Yeah, John, Karma can be a real bitch sometimes.

From today's WaPo:

“But as a consumer reporter, I have to say, the hospital’s customer service stinks. Doctors keep me waiting for hours, and no one bothers to call or email to say, ‘I’m running late.’ Few doctors give out their email address. Patients can’t communicate using modern technology.


Get well soon, John! So that the hospital staff won't have to put up with your sorry ass much longer.
April 11, 2016

GEN. Mattis for President?

As the GOTP leadership -- and I use that term very loosely -- grapple with the prospect of a convention squabble over Drumpf vs. Cruz-missile, a small but wealthy group of donors are trying to encourage a retired USMC general to step up.

The Daily Beast reports that these unnamed donors are trying to woo one GEN James Mattis, USMC (Ret.) to join the battle between the current Repuke candidates for the highest office in the USA.

So who is GEN. Mattis? A simple Google search on DU revealed the following post:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x3072841

I'm not sure whether we should encourage this movement, in the interest of further fractioning and diluting the reich-wingers' effect in this campaign, rather than hoping for a more sober and rational opponent to go up against the Democratic candidate.

Should we risk the prospect of this particular career military officer assuming the role of Commander-in-Chief, with his finger on the button of our entire arsenal of weaponry?

Or should we just watch the GOTP circle the electoral drain for this election cycle?

If so, how do you like your popcorn? I like to sprinkle a little Tabasco sauce into the microwave bag, shake well and serve. But then someone told me that Old Bay seasoning works well, too.

Your thoughts, please?

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