Friday, February 21, 2020

EENY MEANY MINY MO

rollin stone tells uS.....j 

not  done.  not otused


ccopy from rollng stone
wht do Youthink what do I think, rolling stone sis commenting.




HOMEPOLITICSPOLITICS FEATURES

The RS Politics 2020 Democratic Primary Leaderboard

Ranking a crowded field of contenders jockeying to confront Trump

Shutterstock (6)
After emerging victorious in the popular vote in Iowa and New Hampshire, Bernie Sanders holds on to the top spot in our rankings. The Vermont senator is consolidating the progressive wing of the party, to the detriment of Elizabeth Warren, while the center-left-lane is just getting more crowded with plausible contenders. If moderate voters consolidate behind a single candidate, Sanders is beatable. But no candidate in that lane has yet shown the strength needed to knock out the competition — and nobody is volunteering to stand aside.
Pete Buttigieg’s strong showing in the first two contests actually gives him a delegate lead — for now. But as the nominating contest shifts to more diverse states, it’s hard to see where he wins next. A surging Amy Klobuchar is winning media attention after her third-place New Hampshire finish, but she’s hardly shown more resonance with voters of color than Mayor Pete. Joe Biden has been a disaster out of the gate, but he could still redeem his campaign with a big win in South Carolina, buoyed by African Americans who have backed him strongly in the polls. Waiting in the wings is Mike Bloomberg, who is spending hundreds of millions of dollars in the Super Tuesday states, has surged to third place national surveys, and appears ready to pick up centrist support if Biden can’t seal the deal in South Carolina.
As we assess the fallout from New Hampshire, we also bid farewell to Andrew Yang, whose viral #YangGang phenomenon didn’t translate into many actual votes. Launch-failures Michael Bennet and Deval Patrick have also dropped out. Below we rank the eight Democratic candidates still in the running.

1) Bernie Sanders

Website: BernieSanders.com
The 78-year-old Sanders is on a roll — riding a potent combination of people-power and cash. The campaign’s focus on grassroots organizing is peerless in the 2020 field, and he’s built his campaign with the help of more than 1.6 million individual donors, raising a whopping $34.5 million in the fourth quarter. Sanders does not have the left lane to himself as he did in 2016. But he is seen as the uncompromising champion of Medicare for All, and one-upped Warren’s income-based college debt relief by calling for a complete wipeout of the nation’s $1.6 trillion in student debt. He recently received a clean bill of health after an October heart attack.
Signature Policy: Sanders’ 2016 campaign set the table for 2020. He gets full credit for mainstreaming a $15 minimum wage and tuition-free college. Sanders recently introduced the “For the 99.8% Act” that would sharply increase the estate tax, including imposing a 77 percent tax on estates in excess of $1 billion, raising an estimated $315 billion over a decade. (Read more about Sanders’ platform.)Signature Apology: Sanders apologized to former female staffers for a 2016 campaign marred by pay disparities and allegations of sexual harassment by male staffers, promising to “do better” moving forward.Delegates: 21
RS Coverage: 
On the Trail With Bernie Sanders 2.0

2) Joe Biden

Website: JoeBiden.com
The former vice president offers America a seductive promise — a reboot from the Trump catastrophe and a return to the sanity of the Obama era. And rather than risk falling in love with a progressive New Hope, many rank-and-file Democrats, particularly older voters and voters of color, seem happy to fall in line behind Biden, 77. At his Philadelphia kickoff rally last May, Biden touted his record as a Mr. Fixit: “I know how to make government work.” But Biden’s terrible showing in Iowa and New Hampshire is eroding his electability narrative. If can score a big win in South Carolina, it could key a national comeback. If not, he’s likely toast.
Signature Policy: Biden has peerless foreign policy credentials and isn’t afraid to tout them: “I’m the most qualified person in the country to be president,” he’s said. “I know as much about American foreign policy [as] anyone around, including even maybe Kissinger.” (Read more about Biden’s platform.)Signature Apology: “I’m sorry I didn’t understand more,” Biden told reporters after being rebuked by multiple women for his space-invader style of politics. “I’m not sorry for any of my intentions. I’m not sorry for anything that I have ever done. I have never been disrespectful intentionally to a man or a woman. So that’s not the reputation I’ve had since I was in high school, for God’s sakes.”
Delegates: 6
RS Coverage: 
Joe Biden Is Not Helping

3) Michael Bloomberg

Website: MikeBloomberg.comThe 77-year-old former mayor of New York launched his campaign in late November, shocking and awing America with a wildly expensive national ad campaign that branded him as a: “Jobs Creator. Leader. Problem Solver.” Bloomberg has now spent more than $300 million on his campaign, vaulting him into third place in national polling. While the Bloomberg boomlet is real, we’re still finding it hard to imagine hard to imagine a centrist former Republican, who backed George W. Bush in 2004 and embraced racist police tactics as mayor, winning the nomination of today’s left-leaning Democratic Party.
Signature Policy: Bloomberg is fully in step with today’s Democrats on gun regulation. He has used some of his massive fortune to fund groups including “Everytown for Gun Safety,” which advocates for sensible gun regulations in a country that desperately needs them.
Signature Apology: When he decided not to run in the spring, Bloomberg mocked Joe Biden for launching with an “apology tour.” Bloomberg has now embarked on one of his own. A staffer apologized for sexist and demeaning jokes published in a 1990 pamphlet, Portable Bloomberg: The Wit and Wisdom of Michael Bloomberg, saying, “Mike has come to see that some of what he has said is disrespectful and wrong.” And Bloomberg recently visited a black church to apologize for his embrace of stop-and-frisk policing: “I can’t change history, however today I want you to know that I realize back then I was wrong and I’m sorry.”
RS Coverage: The Mike Bloomberg Black New Yorkers Know

4) Pete Buttigieg

Website: PeteForAmerica.com
He’s the unlikely phenom of 2020. But Buttigieg continues to be held back by what we’ll politely call a lack of resonance with voters of color — suggesting he could soon hit a wall in racially-diverse early-voting states like Nevada and particularly South Carolina. The 38-year-old former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, is making a play for the party’s moderate wing, with policies like Medicare for All (Who Want It) and free public college (for families earning less than $100,000). Steeped in the values of the Christian left, Buttigieg has wowed pundits, and his is fundraising is prodigious, including nearly $25 million in the fourth quarter.
Signature Policy: “The electoral college needs to go.” (Read more about Buttigieg’s platform.)
Signature Apology: After news reports revealed that Buttigieg declared “all lives matter” in 2015, Mayor Pete distanced himself from the comment, insisting he “did not understand” at the time that the slogan was “being used to devalue what the Black Lives Matter movement was telling us.”
Delegates: 22
RS Coverage: Is America Ready for Mayor Pete?; Pete Buttigieg’s True Privilege

5) Elizabeth Warren

Website: ElizabethWarren.comWarren soared to the top of the 2020 Democratic field last fall on the strength of bold, progressive policies. But Warren, 70, has fallen behind Sanders in the progressive lane and hasn’t been able to shore up support from moderates. She placed well in Iowa, but failed to rack up any delegates in New Hampshire. Relying on grassroots donors, Warren raised $21.2 million in the fourth quarter. She remains the most widely acceptable candidate in contention and could get a second wind if the field narrows quickly.Signature Policy: Warren wants to address American inequality with a wealth tax, imposed annually on “ultra-millionaires,” to pay for benefits, including universal free or low-cost childcare, for “yacht-less Americans.” Fortunes greater than $50 million would be taxed at 2 percent. Billionaires would pay 3 percent. The proposal has greater than 60 percent support and would raise $2.75 trillion over 10 years. (Read more about Warren’s platform.)
Signature Apology: Warren has apologized for conflating “family stories” about Cherokee heritage with native identity. At the Native American Presidential Forum in August, Warren underscored her regret. “Like anyone who’s being honest with themselves, I know that I have made mistakes,” she said. “I am sorry for the harm I have caused.”
Delegates: 8
RS Coverage: Elizabeth Warren: The Rolling Stone Interview

6) Amy Klobuchar

Website: Amy-Klobuchar.comThe Minnesota senator’s understated persona stands in contrast to Trump’s bluster and bravado, winning her a co-endorsement from the New York Times, which praised her as the “standard-bearer for the Democratic center.” With an impressive $11.4 fourth quarter fundraising haul, Klobuchar, 59, had a decent showing in Iowa and a surge in New Hampshire. Can the senator who launched her campaign in a blizzard capitalize on her media moment and make a stir in sunny Nevada?
Signature Policy: Known for a focus on reform of revolution, Klobuchar has emphasized her record of enacting practical laws that have reduced the backlog of rape kits and banned lead in toys. If Biden continues to decline, Klobuchar seems likely to corral some of his moderate-minded voters. (Read more about Klobuchar’s platform.)
Signature Apology: Klobuchar has been dogged by reports she abused and demeaned staff, including throwing a binder that “accidentally” hit a staffer. The senator has admitted she has pushed employees “too hard” at times and can be a “tough boss,” but added she just wants to hold her employees — and the country — to high standards.
Delegates: 7
RS Coverage: Amy Klobuchar on Al Franken, Brett Kavanaugh, and the Road Ahead











HOMEPOLITICSPOLITICS FEATURES

The RS Politics 2020 Democratic Primary Leaderboard

Ranking a crowded field of contenders jockeying to confront Trump

Shutterstock (6)
After emerging victorious in the popular vote in Iowa and New Hampshire, Bernie Sanders holds on to the top spot in our rankings. The Vermont senator is consolidating the progressive wing of the party, to the detriment of Elizabeth Warren, while the center-left-lane is just getting more crowded with plausible contenders. If moderate voters consolidate behind a single candidate, Sanders is beatable. But no candidate in that lane has yet shown the strength needed to knock out the competition — and nobody is volunteering to stand aside.
Pete Buttigieg’s strong showing in the first two contests actually gives him a delegate lead — for now. But as the nominating contest shifts to more diverse states, it’s hard to see where he wins next. A surging Amy Klobuchar is winning media attention after her third-place New Hampshire finish, but she’s hardly shown more resonance with voters of color than Mayor Pete. Joe Biden has been a disaster out of the gate, but he could still redeem his campaign with a big win in South Carolina, buoyed by African Americans who have backed him strongly in the polls. Waiting in the wings is Mike Bloomberg, who is spending hundreds of millions of dollars in the Super Tuesday states, has surged to third place national surveys, and appears ready to pick up centrist support if Biden can’t seal the deal in South Carolina.
As we assess the fallout from New Hampshire, we also bid farewell to Andrew Yang, whose viral #YangGang phenomenon didn’t translate into many actual votes. Launch-failures Michael Bennet and Deval Patrick have also dropped out. Below we rank the eight Democratic candidates still in the running.

1) Bernie Sanders

Website: BernieSanders.com
The 78-year-old Sanders is on a roll — riding a potent combination of people-power and cash. The campaign’s focus on grassroots organizing is peerless in the 2020 field, and he’s built his campaign with the help of more than 1.6 million individual donors, raising a whopping $34.5 million in the fourth quarter. Sanders does not have the left lane to himself as he did in 2016. But he is seen as the uncompromising champion of Medicare for All, and one-upped Warren’s income-based college debt relief by calling for a complete wipeout of the nation’s $1.6 trillion in student debt. He recently received a clean bill of health after an October heart attack.
Signature Policy: Sanders’ 2016 campaign set the table for 2020. He gets full credit for mainstreaming a $15 minimum wage and tuition-free college. Sanders recently introduced the “For the 99.8% Act” that would sharply increase the estate tax, including imposing a 77 percent tax on estates in excess of $1 billion, raising an estimated $315 billion over a decade. (Read more about Sanders’ platform.)Signature Apology: Sanders apologized to former female staffers for a 2016 campaign marred by pay disparities and allegations of sexual harassment by male staffers, promising to “do better” moving forward.Delegates: 21
RS Coverage: 
On the Trail With Bernie Sanders 2.0

2) Joe Biden

Website: JoeBiden.com
The former vice president offers America a seductive promise — a reboot from the Trump catastrophe and a return to the sanity of the Obama era. And rather than risk falling in love with a progressive New Hope, many rank-and-file Democrats, particularly older voters and voters of color, seem happy to fall in line behind Biden, 77. At his Philadelphia kickoff rally last May, Biden touted his record as a Mr. Fixit: “I know how to make government work.” But Biden’s terrible showing in Iowa and New Hampshire is eroding his electability narrative. If HE can score a big win in South Carolina, it could key a national comeback. If not, he’s likely toast.
Signature Policy: Biden has peerless foreign policy credentials and isn’t afraid to tout them: “I’m the most qualified person in the country to be president,” he’s said. “I know as much about American foreign policy [as] anyone around, including even maybe Kissinger.” (Read more about Biden’s platform.)Signature Apology: “I’m sorry I didn’t understand more,” Biden told reporters after being rebuked by multiple women for his space-invader style of politics. “I’m not sorry for any of my intentions. I’m not sorry for anything that I have ever done. I have never been disrespectful intentionally to a man or a woman. So that’s not the reputation I’ve had since I was in high school, for God’s sakes.”
Delegates: 6
RS Coverage: 
Joe Biden Is Not Helping

3) Michael Bloomberg

Website: MikeBloomberg.comThe 77-year-old former mayor of New York launched his campaign in late November, shocking and awing America with a wildly expensive national ad campaign that branded him as a: “Jobs Creator. Leader. Problem Solver.” Bloomberg has now spent more than $300 million on his campaign, vaulting him into third place in national polling. While the Bloomberg boomlet is real, we’re still finding it hard to imagine hard to imagine a centrist former Republican, who backed George W. Bush in 2004 and embraced racist police tactics as mayor, winning the nomination of today’s left-leaning Democratic Party.
Signature Policy: Bloomberg is fully in step with today’s Democrats on gun regulation. He has used some of his massive fortune to fund groups including “Everytown for Gun Safety,” which advocates for sensible gun regulations in a country that desperately needs them.
Signature Apology: When he decided not to run in the spring, Bloomberg mocked Joe Biden for launching with an “apology tour.” Bloomberg has now embarked on one of his own. A staffer apologized for sexist and demeaning jokes published in a 1990 pamphlet, Portable Bloomberg: The Wit and Wisdom of Michael Bloomberg, saying, “Mike has come to see that some of what he has said is disrespectful and wrong.” And Bloomberg recently visited a black church to apologize for his embrace of stop-and-frisk policing: “I can’t change history, however today I want you to know that I realize back then I was wrong and I’m sorry.”
RS Coverage: The Mike Bloomberg Black New Yorkers Know

4) Pete Buttigieg

Website: PeteForAmerica.com
He’s the unlikely phenom of 2020. But Buttigieg continues to be held back by what we’ll politely call a lack of resonance with voters of color — suggesting he could soon hit a wall in racially-diverse early-voting states like Nevada and particularly South Carolina. The 38-year-old former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, is making a play for the party’s moderate wing, with policies like Medicare for All (Who Want It) and free public college (for families earning less than $100,000). Steeped in the values of the Christian left, Buttigieg has wowed pundits, and his is fundraising is prodigious, including nearly $25 million in the fourth quarter.
Signature Policy: “The electoral college needs to go.” (Read more about Buttigieg’s platform.)
Signature Apology: After news reports revealed that Buttigieg declared “all lives matter” in 2015, Mayor Pete distanced himself from the comment, insisting he “did not understand” at the time that the slogan was “being used to devalue what the Black Lives Matter movement was telling us.”
Delegates: 22
RS Coverage: Is America Ready for Mayor Pete?; Pete Buttigieg’s True Privilege

5) Elizabeth Warren

Website: ElizabethWarren.comWarren soared to the top of the 2020 Democratic field last fall on the strength of bold, progressive policies. But Warren, 70, has fallen behind Sanders in the progressive lane and hasn’t been able to shore up support from moderates. She placed well in Iowa, but failed to rack up any delegates in New Hampshire. Relying on grassroots donors, Warren raised $21.2 million in the fourth quarter. She remains the most widely acceptable candidate in contention and could get a second wind if the field narrows quickly.Signature Policy: Warren wants to address American inequality with a wealth tax, imposed annually on “ultra-millionaires,” to pay for benefits, including universal free or low-cost childcare, for “yacht-less Americans.” Fortunes greater than $50 million would be taxed at 2 percent. Billionaires would pay 3 percent. The proposal has greater than 60 percent support and would raise $2.75 trillion over 10 years. (Read more about Warren’s platform.)
Signature Apology: Warren has apologized for conflating “family stories” about Cherokee heritage with native identity. At the Native American Presidential Forum in August, Warren underscored her regret. “Like anyone who’s being honest with themselves, I know that I have made mistakes,” she said. “I am sorry for the harm I have caused.”
Delegates: 8
RS Coverage: Elizabeth Warren: The Rolling Stone Interview

6) Amy Klobuchar

Website: Amy-Klobuchar.comThe Minnesota senator’s understated persona stands in contrast to Trump’s bluster and bravado, winning her a co-endorsement from the New York Times, which praised her as the “standard-bearer for the Democratic center.” With an impressive $11.4 fourth quarter fundraising haul, Klobuchar, 59, had a decent showing in Iowa and a surge in New Hampshire. Can the senator who launched her campaign in a blizzard capitalize on her media moment and make a stir in sunny Nevada?
Signature Policy: Known for a focus on reform of revolution, Klobuchar has emphasized her record of enacting practical laws that have reduced the backlog of rape kits and banned lead in toys. If Biden continues to decline, Klobuchar seems likely to corral some of his moderate-minded voters. (Read more about Klobuchar’s platform.)
Signature Apology: Klobuchar has been dogged by reports she abused and demeaned staff, including throwing a binder that “accidentally” hit a staffer. The senator has admitted she has pushed employees “too hard” at times and can be a “tough boss,” but added she just wants to hold her employees — and the country — to high standards.
Delegates: 7
RS Coverage: Amy Klobuchar on Al Franken, Brett Kavanaugh, and the Road Ahead

Saturday, February 1, 2020

WILL THE CULLUMS BE WATCHING DONALD TRUMP'S "HAPPY DAY" CELEBRATION?


NO DOUBT ABOUT IT --Trump was impeached and as of today. The Senate trial is officially ended  after countless hours, educated opinions, labors of the eloquent Adam Schiff, chair of the House Intelligence Committee. There have been provable headlines for two months, and 9 days.

The senate trial was a very big big deal. Will you be watching the acquittal?

Donald will probably be wearing his best blue suit, a long brilliant red tie. His fluffy hair won't have a hair out of place.  In a few years, that he was acquitted will come back, but it might haunt some of us
--that we're deleting the untrue truth. 

Donald won. He didn't lose. Crime often pays.  

Yep,  I'll watch TV tomorrow with a beer in hand. Although I need a much stronger alocholic content  to adjust to this wonderful happy great news for Donald trump.



Wednesday, January 29, 2020

IMPEACHMENTITIS...

With  all the  daily, hourly, impeach him talk, my blogger-writer-self keeps remembering November 7, 2016 when there was still BIG HOPE that the next next president would be Hillary.

She was in a spotlight in Philadelphia, confident, beautifully, graciously, hearing the cheers and applause from the huge crowd gathered at Independence Hall--they were celebrating the woman who'd be America's first female president tomorrow.


When we heard Obama making an announcement we were sure it was a mistake. It couldn't be what we heard. Donald Trump was where? Undoubtedly wearing his red cap--working the crowd to make America great again. We were sure we hadn't heard what we heard--heard again--then heard it again. It couldn't be--it had to be what--a colossal horrific joke?

We stayed up late, eating Chinese food and chocolate ice cream, changing the station--didn't want to hear any more rumors, or any more numbers--even so, went to bed but left the TV set on. A voice woke us. Told us that Hillary had conceded. 

Yes, we saw Donald Trump's inaugeration. It was painful to watch.  

Yes, we keep hearing the latest news about the impeachment trial that isn't a trial in the Senate hoping....not daringto hope for what?  


Friday, January 17, 2020

VANITY VERSUS PRIDE--PAY YOUR MONEY TAKE YOUR CHOICE--OPEN YOUR EYES, OR CLOSE YOUR EYES.

Contemplate this topic in a relaxed  mood -- when you are out for a walk, do you glance at yourself -- check out yourself in the glass of various store windows?

Are you good-looking, sort of everage? Passable? Have you ever said to yourself, "I look rather good. Or, "I look quite beautiful?"  Or "I AM BEAUTIFUL!" 

Does your blurting out self-praise sort of spookify you?

Perhaps it does. Vanity may inhibit you from doing what you yearn to do. Also, vanity keeps you working  competitively to make yourself look better, be prettier, more handsome, or noticeable -- it can inspire you to buy wrong things, and be compelled to head back to the store instantly and return it.

Take a second. Think of the things you haven't done, didn't dare do, or didn't want to do--did NOT do  because of VANITY.

Mirror mirror: 

                                     
Glance a window. or pick up a handmirror and it will reflect reality back to you.

Do it right now! Be brave! Come on ....

Just take a good look at yourself.

Yes, that's you.

Grab pride. Pride in you, that you are YOU.

Who and whatever is you -- WHAMO. THERE YOU ARE. See that you look okay, pretty, even prettier than you expected, and more, more everything.

You can't sit there forever staring  at yourself, you 'll look again maybe tomorrow with pride. The feeling of pride grows and grows on its own -- doesn't need to be tended or watered like grass. Even as you grow older, and even older, pride grows and grows and is there -- with or without any whamo, it's within you and part of what you are.

Practice pride. Whether you take the time to practice or not -- it is there and growing even as you get to be older and older ...... Even very old.