What is the Difference between a “very powerful hold” as opposed or compared to a “hold” when it comes to withholding funding ?The use of the adverbs and adjectives by this president cause me to sigh and shake my head. Mind you I am no William Jennings Bryan myself.
President Trump signaled Tuesday he may put a “very powerful hold” on funding to the World Health Organization as he lashed out at the United Nations specialized agency and accused it of “being very China-centric” amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Mind you, his handlers did get him to start reading the daily Pandemic updates. You do get some factual propaganda out of him rather than his wonderful and beautiful doltish commentary. I have had to get up and walk away from my “beautiful” Panasonic TV. He comes in too clear and defining. Others may differ with me.
I haven’t watched any of him live since the election. I simply cannot do it. And just reading his words is disgusting enough for me. At least then I can cut him off in the middle or beginning of his rant.
Two positive things to come out of this pandemic if it doesn’t destroy civilization (may depend on how the disease comes at us over the long run):
First, it shows the whole world just how close we all are to each other. I think US slavery became intolerable by the 1860s because of advancing technology. In 1789 — if you could afford a team of horses and wagon — it took two weeks to travel from New York to Washington. By 1860, you could be anyplace in this country within two days for the price of a train ticket — sitting on your seat; you could communicate anywhere instantly — at the speed of light. Slavery felt now right next door — intolerable.
Now, the world can look at each others like one big aspiring middle class — watching the same TV often enough; often enough in English: what I call the Rick Steves/Anthony Bourdain version of the earth.
What I’m really worried about after this is over is the better off neighborhoods becoming 1946 — neighborhood non-essential business all gone and the poorer neighborhoods becoming New Delhi — homeless children in the streets with bowls, begging for food. Don’t think it can’t (won’t) happen.
The latter may happen fairly quickly as absolutely nothing is being done at all for the bottom 40% — nothing that won’t quickly lead to them all being instantly evicted and starving. $1200, five months from now — half of them don’t even that that. We’ll have food lines stretching from town to town — until they run our of gas of can’t get repairs.
Are we going to wait for the riots or get serious about the 40% now?
“This used to be an occasional feature here at the shebeen. I am reviving it now because, Lord save us, we all need to lighten up a little and take a break in our self-imposed exile to remember the stuff that makes all our lights shine.
Self-quarantine, I have discovered, is a great environment for disappearing down YouTube rabbit holes. The other day, I ran into a terrific cover of a Leonard Cohen song by, of all people, Tom Jones. And it got me to remembering that, for all the surface Vegas overlay that came to surround him, Tom Jones had one motherfcker of a voice. And I also got to remembering that he once had a TV show on which just about every musician and/or band you’d ever heard of, from Ella Fitzgerald to The Who, came on as a guest star. So down into the rabbit hole I went and, let me tell you, the man could hold his own with anyone.
Joplin had enough energy for all of us. Saw a older Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis along tome ago. Some great singers and musicians. You are doing the same thing I am doing at night listening to music or watching a movie
What is the Difference between a “very powerful hold” as opposed or compared to a “hold” when it comes to withholding funding ?The use of the adverbs and adjectives by this president cause me to sigh and shake my head. Mind you I am no William Jennings Bryan myself.
President Trump signaled Tuesday he may put a “very powerful hold” on funding to the World Health Organization as he lashed out at the United Nations specialized agency and accused it of “being very China-centric” amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Mind you, his handlers did get him to start reading the daily Pandemic updates. You do get some factual propaganda out of him rather than his wonderful and beautiful doltish commentary. I have had to get up and walk away from my “beautiful” Panasonic TV. He comes in too clear and defining. Others may differ with me.
I haven’t watched any of him live since the election. I simply cannot do it. And just reading his words is disgusting enough for me. At least then I can cut him off in the middle or beginning of his rant.
Two positive things to come out of this pandemic if it doesn’t destroy civilization (may depend on how the disease comes at us over the long run):
First, it shows the whole world just how close we all are to each other. I think US slavery became intolerable by the 1860s because of advancing technology. In 1789 — if you could afford a team of horses and wagon — it took two weeks to travel from New York to Washington. By 1860, you could be anyplace in this country within two days for the price of a train ticket — sitting on your seat; you could communicate anywhere instantly — at the speed of light. Slavery felt now right next door — intolerable.
Now, the world can look at each others like one big aspiring middle class — watching the same TV often enough; often enough in English: what I call the Rick Steves/Anthony Bourdain version of the earth.
Second, what I call the lower 40% of earners in this country will watch the trillions being carelessly lobbed around — and realize that there is a lot, lot more there for them; the labor market scales will drop from their eyes. Get it right here, folks:
https://onlabor.org/why-not-hold-union-representation-elections-on-a-regular-schedule/
What I’m really worried about after this is over is the better off neighborhoods becoming 1946 — neighborhood non-essential business all gone and the poorer neighborhoods becoming New Delhi — homeless children in the streets with bowls, begging for food. Don’t think it can’t (won’t) happen.
The latter may happen fairly quickly as absolutely nothing is being done at all for the bottom 40% — nothing that won’t quickly lead to them all being instantly evicted and starving. $1200, five months from now — half of them don’t even that that. We’ll have food lines stretching from town to town — until they run our of gas of can’t get repairs.
Are we going to wait for the riots or get serious about the 40% now?
These are worth a listen. Joplin was amazing.
“This used to be an occasional feature here at the shebeen. I am reviving it now because, Lord save us, we all need to lighten up a little and take a break in our self-imposed exile to remember the stuff that makes all our lights shine.
Self-quarantine, I have discovered, is a great environment for disappearing down YouTube rabbit holes. The other day, I ran into a terrific cover of a Leonard Cohen song by, of all people, Tom Jones. And it got me to remembering that, for all the surface Vegas overlay that came to surround him, Tom Jones had one motherfcker of a voice. And I also got to remembering that he once had a TV show on which just about every musician and/or band you’d ever heard of, from Ella Fitzgerald to The Who, came on as a guest star. So down into the rabbit hole I went and, let me tell you, the man could hold his own with anyone.
Here he is with Janis Joplin.”
https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/a32098627/tom-jones-youtube-rabbit-hole-quarantine/
Joplin had enough energy for all of us. Saw a older Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis along tome ago. Some great singers and musicians. You are doing the same thing I am doing at night listening to music or watching a movie