Dear MAGA: Open Topic 20190113

This special Cozy Q Tree Sunday open thread is VERY OPEN – a place for everybody to post whatever they feel they would like to tell the White Hats, and the rest of the MAGA world.
Say what you want, comment on what other people said, comment on people’s comments. Keep it civil. Treehouse rules, but expect lots of QAnon.

Remember – your greatest gift to President Trump is FIVE WORDS:

I AM PRAYING FOR YOU.

See the January 1st daily thread for the rules of the road, which are few but important.
Wheatie’s Rules:

  1. No food fights.
  2. No running with scissors.
  3. If you bring snacks, bring enough for everyone.
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Wolf Moon | Threat to Demonocracy

No running with scissors is a good rule!!! 😀

Gudthots

A.W.E.S.O.M.E. tree banner you picked.

Gil

With a MAGA wiz inside!

GA/FL

I like the image – the use of light and dark. There is light from above, shining on the tree amid the dark world around it. There is light within the tree shining out. There is a sense of peace within the tree itself.
Very nice, Miss Wheatie!
(Southerners call ladies they respect Miss whatever their marital status)

GA/FL

Yes – respect is a good thing. Manners, etiquette, courtesy…. we need all that to make a comeback in Western culture.

judyw

GA/FL, your comment below about the need for a comeback of manners, etiquette, courtesy reminded me of this book by Joy Berry from the late 70’s “May I? Please? Thank You!: A Children’s Book About Manners” which would be a good starting point to dig our way out of the dialogue hole we exist in today…..

judyw

Well, I see below becomes above when posted and perfectly positioned! LOL

singularZoe

ga/fl, thank you for that nice description. Like it a lot, too.

singularZoe

Wheatie, wow, that is even more fantastic than I realized. Really amazing. Love old trees, anyway, and this one is so interesting. Had my pic taken in England once standing in an old yew tree–think that is what it was, with some other women. Please, Wheatie, hate for you to worry but always appreciate if you happen to think of it and have the time. If not, I know how it is sometimes.

SteveInCO · Thermonuclear MAGA

NIIIIICE tree!

Gudthots

So, it’s your turn tomorrow, Steve? Or how do you want to set up the rotation? I’m pretty flexible but perhaps you and Wheatie have preferred times? If not, we could just do a three day rotation. What do you think?

SteveInCO · Thermonuclear MAGA

I’m not sure what Wolf wants to do. He’s not leaving until the 17th. Maybe he wants to keep it until then.
Wolf??

Gudthots

Ah, there is that. Getting a little ahead of things it seems. Think I’ll call it a night. Play nice everybody!

Plain Jane

Food fight. Now. You cannot go to sleep yet TTT. Ok, guess you may. I’m getting tired also.
God bless and night night.

singularZoe

Wheatie, thought I thanked you somewhere but don’t seem to see it anywhere, so thank you for this lovely page. Have been having a lot of trouble with computer again so was not on here last evening or earlier today. Hope the computer holds up for a while longer.

singularZoe

Well, it’s nice to be missed and also very nice to be back. Computer on its last legs. Windows may have been trying to finish an update or something, and if I can’t see the screen to know what is going on when it freezes up, I can’t do anything but wait … and wait … and … well, you know. Lol.

judyw

Oh, and now there are 3 ….. thanks for being part of the expanded team and this is for all of you Eaglets making WM so proud!
http://eaglenest.blogs.wm.edu/files/2011/03/Three-Eaglets-61.jpg

Wolf Moon | Threat to Demonocracy

Awesome!

judyw

YW….Eagles are my favorites!

Tonawanda

My cousin has a state license to handle eagles (didn’t know you needed one until she told me!)
She said her best advice was to NEVER get on the wrong side of an eagle because they are so powerful and fierce.
Didn’t know that either, and will carefully avoid antagonizing eagles.

Sylvia Avery

LOL, I thought her best advice would be to stay the heck away from them! Magnificent creatures appreciated from a nice, safe distance!

Tonawanda

She is also a falconer, and owns an absolutely gigantic owl who lives in a “mew” in her backyard (I also thought mews were for horses, but apparently not only).
One look at the owl from about ten feet away and that was as close as I wanted to get. He looked at me like I was a mouse.
It was embarrassing to learn at my advanced age “the rest of the story” about why the eagle is our national symbol.
I always thought it was just magnificence and determination. Now I know it also means we will rip your throat out if you are not careful.

Tonawanda

So nice!

holley100

Tonawanda ~ I’m reading a wonderful book titled H is for Hawk about a woman who trains a Goshawk, the most prized of all falconry hawks back in medieval times. Perhaps your cousin would enjoy it.
https://groveatlantic.com/book/h-is-for-hawk/

Tonawanda

Wonderful, TY!
Never heard of the book but based on your post read some other reviews (glowing!).
Now I am going to read it myself, as well as get a copy for my cousin!

GA/FL

There are bald eagles nesting on St. George Island, Florida where the fish are plentiful.
http://c1.staticflickr.com/6/5126/5361871789_fef17e4d04.jpg

GA/FL

I’m also fond of Red Tail Hawks. They are smaller than eagles, but majestic in their own way….and nurture their young in the same dedicated way:
http://www.inhf.org/webres/file/blog/Redtail_Nest04-small.jpg
When I’m on the road, I see them in the tree tops, like sentinels along my journey. Once, a red tail hawk swooped a stranger who approached me when I was walking along a secluded road by a lake.
http://www.grahamowengallery.com/fishing/brown-trout-2009/hawk-flight.jpg
I have a carved red tail hawk on a piece of driftwood hanging and keeping watch by the front door of my home.

judyw

GA/FL, what lovely pics! I have friends who tell stories of interactions with birds similar to the red tail hawk that swooped a stranger who approached you when walking along a secluded road by a lake. Warms my heart when birds appear to me “out of the blue” and I usually look up their meanings which I always find interesting.
Your interactions connect to this description in amazing ways…..”Red-tails adapt easily to life with and around humans and, in general, are more in service to humanity than other hawk species. There is a famous red-tailed hawk that has nested on the side of a skyscraper on the edge of New York City’s Central Park for over twenty years. The male hawk, known as “Pale Male”, has an entire film documentary about him, his various mates, and his young.”
https://www.wildgratitude.com/red-tailed-hawk-symbolism/

GA/FL

Thank you for the great story and link, Miss Judy! Very much appreciate it.

Wolf Moon | Threat to Demonocracy

I posted a video from Pere Marquette State Park up and across the river in Illinois about the eagles there on the open thread yesterday. Fascinating animals. They migrate down the rivers from up north and winter north of here where food for them is plentiful. Fish in the river are easy to see, there’s all kinds of small game, and roadkill. The thing is, you have to be careful driving up there or one might get hit. Happens.
Anyway, they are seen now quite a bit in the lower 48. So are golden eagles and hawks. I’m 10 blocks from the city line, and there are hawks everywhere keeping the rodent population in check. We have a lot of big owls, too. People with small dogs have to be careful letting them out.

Plain Jane

Wheatietoo, food fights are fun. Please, please. Especially if we can “take” the elites.

Wolf Moon | Threat to Demonocracy

LOL! I think I went to the wrong school.

Plain Jane

Me too. We never had that much fun, except at my Catholic HS when the guys started throwing butter pats against the wall to see whose would stick the longest and at the highest point of the wall.

Plain Jane

LOL. Bet it still makes you giggle at the stupidity of it all.

Wolf Moon | Threat to Demonocracy

The things I missed going to an all girls school. Although, my brothers tell stories.

Plain Jane

I never went away to school. I had to work and do night school at a Purdue and Indiana University satellite. Wish I could have. But life is good never the less.

Wolf Moon | Threat to Demonocracy

I actually went away to one of those schools for two years. Worked my way through the university seven blocks from home.
The all girls school was high school. It’s back on the nationally competitive list. YEA!

Plain Jane

Kind of makes the value of school sink in hard. Doesn’t it. All our kids were responsible for their tuition. We paid room and board and a beater car. Our daughter phoned us right after she dropped her tuition for her first semester. She was thinking about how many pots she scrubbed at the dinner club where she worked all through HS, for her tuition. Best thing we did.

Wolf Moon | Threat to Demonocracy

OMG, Animal House. The movie had just premiered and I wanted a toga party for my 16th birthday. My parents were in the midst of divorce. Dad would NOT allow liquor and mom would, thus the party was at mom’s house.
What a life lesson it was.
We made a trip “down to the bayou” to pick up homemade Everclear for the punch (that was an experience) and we mixed up a 55 gallon garbage can of screwdrivers and one of jungle juice.
I was terrified no one would come, and then EVERYONE came, including the police.
Jungle Juice stains do NOT come out of carpeting, and my paycheck, for months, went to replacing the family room and game room carpeting, plus one small broken window.
Yes, dad was right. It was a helluva party though………

Wolf Moon | Threat to Demonocracy

LOL!!! “Oh, my!” hahahahaha!

Gudthots

Jude
“In the last times there will be scoffers
who will follow their own ungodly desires.”
These are the people who divide you,
who follow mere natural instincts and
do not have the Spirit.
But you … by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ …

comment image

Wolf Moon | Threat to Demonocracy

Such a great picture!

Alison

Wheatie !!! Woo Hoo I knew you could do it 😊😊👏👏
Awesome picture of that tree. You totally ROCK 💖😍💖😍

Wolf Moon | Threat to Demonocracy

Love this “dirty” Acosta meme!

Gudthots

Oh man are you a rascal, Wolf.

Sylvia Avery

I am absolutely helpless. All I have to see is Jim Acosta standing there like that I the giggles start bubbling up. This was AWESOME!

Wolf Moon | Threat to Demonocracy

He’s almost lovable in like one of those troll dolls from long ago. Icky and lovable and hilarious at the same time!

Wolf Moon | Threat to Demonocracy

What was really funny was how POTUS picked up on the internet meme regarding Acosta, “Dear Diary.”

Wolf Moon | Threat to Demonocracy

Yeah, that one’s for guys.

Plain Jane

I’m pretty sure most of you have read Atlas Shrugged, and probably have seen the them at the theater when the movies came out during the red reign of barack hussein.
I read the novel over twenty years ago, and wanted to read it again, but the print must have shrunk while the book lived on my shelf. Therefore, We decided to view the movies again at home. Just finished part 2. There are so many things that are completely relatable still today.
Ayn Rand escaped communism, and so must we.

Wolf Moon | Threat to Demonocracy

AMEN!!!

SteveInCO · Thermonuclear MAGA

Be aware that the movies are a very, very thin shadow of the book, and a lot of very good stuff from the books never made it into the movies. (It really needs to be done as a nine hour or more miniseries; the director of the movies was an IDIOT for trying to do each of the three parts as a SHORT movie.)

Plain Jane

I agree Steve, but, unless I can get an audio, I wouldn’t be able to contend with the fine print. If I could find large print, I probably wouldn’t be able to hold the book very long. 🙂
Wish it could be re-done as you say.

SteveInCO · Thermonuclear MAGA

The hardback has much larger type. So if you were struggling with the paperback, maybe it’s worth a try.
OTOH I don’t know just how bad your eyes are.

Plain Jane

I hit eye strain real fast.

SteveInCO · Thermonuclear MAGA

Actually, it’s funny you should say those exact words. I heard a story once that she joked that the paperback had been set in “5 pt. Eyestrain” as if there were a font named Eyestrain.

Plain Jane

LOL.

Linda

Most libraries have a copy in hardback. They might even have it in large print – but then, that’s already a very thick book, so maybe not.

Plain Jane

I have whole bibles that have larger font and are smaller books. 🙂

Tonawanda

Audible has the unabridged book in sound.

Plain Jane

Thanks Tona.

Steve in Lewes

FWIW, Amazon (I know Bezo/WaPo) has a Kindle version for $9.99. On my device I can enlarge the text and the device doesn’t get any heavier (he,he,he).

Wolf Moon | Threat to Demonocracy

That’s what I did for Nook.

Plain Jane

LOL. I have been resisting Kindle, but will probably have to go there in the future. My book shelves are at capacity. I had to give up about a hundred books about ten years ago.
I am quite adept at concentrating on several things at once. My lifestyle pretty much tells me that I need to go audio soon. One, so I can keep moving when my body needs to physically keep moving, and two, so I can sew and/or cook while hearing a good book.

Nor'easter

Check with your local library to see if they have an audio version.

Nor'easter

PS: If not, tried requesting one.

Wolf Moon | Threat to Demonocracy

Most people in directing anymore are idiots. Not many would have taken the time to understand what they were committing to film.

shebythesea

Have read this 3 times over the last 15 years but have never seen the movie..must look it up! Yes, definitely some recognisable actions and ideas which I wouldn’t have identified otherwise. Actually, I think it was the last book I read before this all started…woke me up ready 😁

Plain Jane

Good lessons in it.

redlegleader68

Speaking of movies, yesterday or the day before, someone posted a link with a movie poster about a movie on Amazon Prime recommending it to us all. Of course I didn’t bookmark it and now can’t find it via the search box. Anybody remember what the movie was? Help!

SteveInCO · Thermonuclear MAGA

…So as you might guess, I recommend borrowing a hardback copy (much larger type than the paperback) and reading it.
Ayn Rand did something I think we could do well to emulate, though. She condemned all forms of collectivism. Communism is just one species of collectivism, and technically, all of today’s left isn’t necessarily communist–communist is a very specific political theory–but some variant or other of collectivist.
That’s largely why I call them the left, rather than just calling them all “communists.”

Plain Jane

wish it were required reading.

SteveInCO · Thermonuclear MAGA

It should be noted that Ayn Rand was an atheist. She came up with an entire philosophy in large part to derive morality and ethics from the simple facts of earthly reality, thus without having to assume the existence of a deity giving them to us. Atlas Shrugged is based on that philosophy, as applied to life in a country that was (and still is) sliding into collectivism. She found the United States Of America to be the ONLY country ever founded on a rational basis.

Plain Jane

She expounded herphilosophy of Objectivism in The Fountainhead, which I also read over twenty years ago…with fiftyyear old eyes. 🙂

shebythesea

Maybe I should give that one another go now that I have ‘50 year old eyes’ , not so Plain Jane! (I really feel like a child here amongst the intelligence and world smarts represented here on Q Tree). Tried around 10 years ago…Altlas was difficult enough for this moderately educated working girl and to be honest, since I went through my cancer journey six years ago I have been on a voyage of discovery of thought ultimately leading me here! There you go.
I wonder if Atlas is available on an audio book? I find I fall asleep with audio but on iPad is good with enlarged font.
Have a great Sunday!

Plain Jane

You also Shebythesea. Glad you kicked the cancer. Happy you are here.
Going to make babyback ribs tomorrow in the instant pot…then in the oven just to carmelize. Never tried them in the Instant Pot before, but the recipe videos sure look worthy. Can’t wait to try them.

Gil
Wolf Moon | Threat to Demonocracy

I brought the sour grapes!comment image

Gil

Ive got my own grapes!comment image

Wolf Moon | Threat to Demonocracy

LOOOOOL

Sylvia Avery

Tee hee, I like it!

Sylvia Avery

Oooh, too pretty to eat!

Gil
SteveInCO · Thermonuclear MAGA

Are you trying to imply that Wolf is nuts?

Gil

No, but he might like to drink them!. It actually sounds tasty…

SteveInCO · Thermonuclear MAGA

I’ve heard of beer nuts but this is new.

Marica

Hiya Steve– There is NO implying! Everyone Here IS NUTS. I believe that has already been Factually reported from various outlets…;)

Wolf Moon | Threat to Demonocracy

I tray to maintain a high enough level of NUTS that I’m at least 0.1 Kanye units ahead of the crowd.

Gil

Exactly how to you measure a kanye unit? Just stay away from “fish sticks”. 😎

Wolf Moon | Threat to Demonocracy

LOL!
Arithmetic scale of unbelievability. The ratio of people who DON’T believe you to those who do.
One Kanye unit means HALF the people who know you think you’re WRONG or CRAZY, and the other half believes you or agrees. 0.1 Ku ahead of the crowd would mean slightly more unbelievable than average. It’s weak sauce, but sometimes high believability is needed for survival.
Truths at 100 Ku are difficult to share. Most will not believe them. Even from a highly credible source, people will look for alternative explanations. It’s an interesting phenomenon.

Plain Jane

Yes, with the exception of a few Q people even at TEA Party, solid Constitutionalists sit with quisical, astounded looks on their faces when we speak of the rot in our elite “leaders.”

Marica

Wolfie!! You da HEAD NUT! And we so thank you for it!! 0.1 Kanye units gives a quite a bit of leeway! Again ! Thank you for the Crazy! Would NOT be able to handle the so called Normies without you!!!

Plain Jane

Ooooh. I’d like to try that.

Plain Jane

Oh yes!

Marica

wheetie!! So glad I “stayed up”– went to bed then couldnt fall asleep! You found the perfect tree!!! It’s in the middle of the Swamp!!! However, It brings Light to the dark! It totally reminds me of Lord of the Rings!! ME and kids would watch the trilogy every year and make LOR food! Roasted chicken and Cheese and bread loaves– I really can’t remember exactly– but it was an ALL DAY/Nite affair!!
Cheers to your 1st POST!!

Marica

Hobbit Food INDEED!!!! LOL!!

Gil

So for about a year straight after the trilogy was over, mr gil would watch the extended versions, and without fail, 2 times a week, I would wake uo and the dvd was on while he was asleep on the couch. The music kept him asleep. No bose wave machine necessary.😃

Marica

Mr. Marica thought it was (still does) the worst story ever…SMH– #Doesntgetit

Wolf Moon | Threat to Demonocracy

WE love LOTR in our house. Whenever it’s on, we’ll watch it. Never tiring of it.

Wolf Moon | Threat to Demonocracy

One of the most fun live to projection movies to do for orchestra and chorus. I had “earplugs in,” “earplugs out” and “giant squid” written in my score. Really, we had a great time doing that one.

Linda

“People are going to be exposed that nobody ever thought possible.”
https://twitter.com/LisaMei62/status/1084289958494519296

Linda

And someone just made a meme out of it:
https://twitter.com/electricalmama/status/1084304483293847552

Marica

Linda!! Excellent!! you just gave me a possible Sleeping potion!!
Kinda Wired tonite–went to my brother’s for dinner tonite..Dinner and Euchre–we laughed alot–But right before we left–He went off on POTUS and the Shutdown–thinks 2 more weeks and the WORLD IS GOING TO END! US ECONOMY PLUNGES! POTUS TWEETS STUPID STUFF! ON AND ON..
Don’t tell Steve–But Marica was a bit Marose!

Linda

Glad that I could be of help! I know that interview really perked me up. I think he’s trying to tell all us deplorables that it’s going to happen, we just need to be patient a little bit longer.

Marica

US deplorables –so tired of fighting off our family and friends—BUT then–POTUS fighting off the Deep State and the entire WORLD– I need to put in perspective–
I was gonna # hashtag a smartass comment– But No.
We are in a WAR. and so very few people know this…

Sylvia Avery

Yes! That’s absolutely what I heard.

SteveInCO · Thermonuclear MAGA

Don’t tell Steve–But Marica was a bit Marose!

The all-seeing eye spotted you.
CHEER UP, DANGIT! HITLARY ROTTEN KLINTON is NACHO PRESIDENT!!

Wolf Moon | Threat to Demonocracy

Top two on my list of “never thought possible” were Brennan and Obama. AND JARRETT. Oh, would THAT be sweet!

Marica

Wolfie– POTUS said he would Never FORGIVE OBAMA for “that and other things that will come out”…

Wolf Moon | Threat to Demonocracy

Yup. Bet there’s some stuff there.

rayzorbak

Unseal the school records…..
Expose AND Validate that BOTH Birth Certificate are FAKE.
Name(s) used….. Citizenship
Mooch…. I mean Mike?
rearend Wright?
Bill Ayers connection(s)?
Rezco connection(s)?
I’m sure there’s moar.

michaelh

A LOT of RINOs too… part of the reason IMO he hasn’t done it yet. He needs his own “party” support.

Wolf Moon | Threat to Demonocracy

Good thinking. Yup. Gonna be some jaw-droppers, I’ll bet.

Steve in Lewes

Possibly why Graham has had an epiphany of sorts. Kinda, sorta when he criticized POTUS regarding Syria, then came out after his meeting with PDJT that he was told things he was not aware of. And quite possible his few ‘golf’ outings may have set LG straight also.

Marica

Steve–Ya think LG was scared straight? 😉

rayzorbak

C_A is the key to MOST of this mess. JB Must get it in the end.

Gudthots

All three! Messrs. B-O-Jarrett

Sylvia Avery

I. CAN’T. WAIT!!!!!!
PDJT was very reassuring, wasn’t he?

Wolf Moon | Threat to Demonocracy

The Jeanine/Trump interview is already getting a buzz on-line. We need to go over it.

Wolf Moon | Threat to Demonocracy

Brazilians on Gab have great memes! MASSIVE RED PILL BUNCH.comment image

judyw

Google Translate detected Portuguese
1st Pic – Your House In Socialism
2nd Pic – House Of YOUR Politico In Socialism

Marica
Linda

Very interesting. And we know from Q that Comey uses Twitter to send coded messages.

TheseTruths

Comey’s tweets are strange, probably because they are coded.
Here is an article about RBG’s daughter that mentions “To Kill a Mockingbird”:
What’s Jane Ginsburg Doing In 2019? RBG’s Daughter Followed Her Mother’s Footsteps
https://www.bustle.com/p/whats-jane-ginsburg-doing-in-2019-rbgs-daughter-followed-her-mothers-footsteps-15551183
“Ginsburg might not be as big of a name as her mom, but she’s certainly following her mom’s footsteps. In the film, we get to see how passionate she is about law, engaging in debate about her views on To Kill a Mockingbird’s Atticus Finch’s actions…”
Whether that’s related, I don’t know. But I don’t like Comey tweeting anything with the word “kill” in it because I don’t think his tweets are ever about their purported subject. And “All rise” as the message of “To Kill a Mockingbird” is clearly some kind of signal. It’s creepy.

michaelh

Coding coded codes causes coded codes to be coded, if you can code the code.

TheseTruths

Covert cOmmunications recorDed surrEptitiously…. 😎

michaelh
RAC

Is he asking the mockingbird fake news to turn up the volume, “all rise” (to the occasion) .
Occasion being the present wall impasse or maybe something else he sees further down the road that’s scaring him.

Marica

Excellent point RAC! And considering my Normie Brother and his screaming response regardiing the shutdown..it seems to be the case…

Marica

Agree T! I don’t like it either! not one bit..PRAY EVERYONE!

michaelh

Another day of crazy activists weaponizing law enforcement…
My Little Visit from the FBI
https://dougwils.com/books-and-culture/s7-engaging-the-culture/my-little-visit-from-the-fbi.html
So one small postscript from my “No Quarter November” remains necessary. I did want to share with you all that my month-long adventure in blogging without brakes did garner me a visit from the FBI. It was not as exciting as it sounds, but it was noteworthy, and worthy of a few follow-up observations.
What happened was this. A few weeks ago, I got a call from an FBI agent (apparently on the road) to see if I would be in my office later that afternoon. I acknowledged that I would be, and we arranged a time. At that arranged time, two field agents showed up, very personable, professional and polite. As far as I knew, it could be anything from running a security check on someone who had me down as a reference to hauling me off for thought crimes against our Brand New Republic. …
So what are my take-away observations from all of this? I have just a couple.
The first is that we can see yet another example of the ongoing weaponization of our intelligence and law enforcement agencies. What is happening all the time in Washington these days—hugger mugger stuff under both definitions—is spreading. What is happening in Washington—can you say Russia, Russia, Russia?—is extending out to the hinterlands. What used to be mere political differences, or perhaps differences over appropriate rhetorical voltages, are in the process of being criminalized.
Low-budget adversaries can make a complaint to an agency with considerably more resources than they have, and if the allegation is sensitive or lurid enough, that agency feels compelled to protect itself by “making sure” there is nothing to it. This kind of thing has happened to me before—I was the subject of a six-month investigation by the Attorney-General’s office here in Idaho, and all on the basis of a complaint from an aggrieved and singularly ill-informed citizen. …
A second point is worth making about all of this. There are two kinds of Christian leaders in the world, dividing them broadly into two camps. Mention that someone has gotten a visit from the FBI on the basis of something he said in a sermon, on a podcast, on his blog, or in the church newsletter, and Christian leaders will sort themselves out accordingly. One group shakes the head disapprovingly, worried about the testimony, and what does this do to the good reputation among outsiders (1 Tim. 3:7Open in Logos Bible Software (if available))? The second kind of Christian leader hears of something like this, and his heart sinks. “Why can’t something like that ever happen to me?” And his wife says, “Honey, don’t . . .”
One kind of Christian leader thinks that it is an honor to be honored. The other believes that it is an honor to be dishonored, a grace to be disgraced. There is obviously more to it, but that basic division explains a lot of other things too.

Gudthots

“Low-budget adversaries can make a complaint to an agency with considerably more resources than they have, and if the allegation is sensitive or lurid enough, that agency feels compelled to protect itself by “making sure” there is nothing to it. “

Another form of “SWATing” someone you want to hinder in their efforts in life. Grrr. Abuse and misuse of tax dollars at the very least.

michaelh

The new “SWATing” is “FIBbing” – you’re right! Totally makes sense!

judyw

Oh Wheatietoo, I remember that well! Here’s info on the lawsuit that has been settled with the details:
Joan Rivers died Sept. 4, 2014, at age 81. The comedian’s death came days after she stopped breathing after undergoing a routine endoscopy at Yorkville Endoscopy in Manhattan.
Melissa Rivers filed the suit in 2015 in State Supreme Court in Manhattan, alleging that the doctors performed unauthorized medical procedures, as they were caught taking a selfie with the Fashion Police star while she was under anesthesia.
Melissa Rivers’ attorneys Ben Rubinowitz and Jeff Bloom did not disclose the amount of the settlement, but said they wanted to “make certain that the focus of this horrific incident remains on improved patient care and the legacy of Joan Rivers,” according to the Associated Press.
The lawsuit alleged that doctors at the clinic mishandled Rivers’ procedure by performing a laryngoscopy on her vocal cords without consent, instead of an endoscopy. According to the AP, the suit claimed that when an anesthesiologist expressed concern over what the procedure would do to her ability to breathe, she was told that she was being “paranoid.”
The autopsy revealed that Rivers’ official cause of death was due to brain damage from lack of oxygen.
Read More:
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/joan-rivers-death-medical-malpractice-893559

michaelh

I don’t have a drafted prayer tonight. It has been a long but exceptionally good day. My morning was very engaged. I am physically tired but my spirit is refreshed and quickened. I am encouraged as force multipliers come together by God’s providence. Our army grows stronger.
Continue to pray. Remember, this is spiritual warfare. Like any hybrid war-fighting domain, use the tools that are most effective in that domain. In the spiritual domain, the proper weapon is prayer.
So pray for your fellow treepers, protection against spiritual warfare, and for the rest that they need for the fight.

Gudthots

Amen Michael. Each day has it’s team of heroes.

Sylvia Avery

EEEEKKK! I’m SO late to the party! Sorry Wheatie, had some IRL stuff to do, but for sure I wanted to be here for your maiden voyage! Whoo hoo!
And I just love the tree. It makes me want to be a Hobbit for sure and live in that tree!
Congrats, Wheatie, and my heartfelt thanks for pitching in to give us this terrific tree.

Sylvia Avery

VERY homey. A nice fluffy blanket and that bottle of pecan whiskey or whatever that was upthread and I’d be asleep in no time.

Sylvia Avery

Mmmm…..a nice, warm fresh from the oven chocolate chunk cookie with walnuts, chocolate chunks slightly melted….Oh, bliss.

Wolf Moon | Threat to Demonocracy

Hmm. This one is interesting. No mention of any of this in the MSM. That’s when you know it’s worth the time to consider.

michaelh

From the other thread…
President Trump could:
* Cure Cancer
* End Poverty
* End World Hunger
* Bring Peace in the Middle East
* End Global Warming
* Cure AIDS
* End Abortion
* Balance the Budget
* Close the Gender Wage Gap
* End all Illegal Immigration
* Get the Israelis and Palestinians to accept a Two-State Solution
* End Homelessness
* Pay off the National Debt
* Eliminate Crime Nationwide
* Get NINE conservative appointments to the Supreme Court
* Put America back on the Moon and on Mars
* Permanently Fix Social Security
* Walk on Water
Never-Trumps would still say:
* He’s not a man of character
* He doesn’t stand by his principles
* He’s mean and a bully
* BUT WHAT ABOUT HIS TWEETS?!?!?
I seriously need a series of these Jim Acosta memes for Never-Trumpers:
* News Flash: President Trump Cures Cancer!
* Overwrought Never-Trump says: “…but, but… WHAT ABOUT HIS TWEETS?!?!”

Cuppa Covfefe

I like where VSGPDJT said of the wall, “you can call it peaches…”.
I wonder if he was pinging Mad Maxine with that one?
(Peach foty-five, peach foty-five, etc.)…

gingersmom2009

Peach Foaty Fy

rayzorbak

Trump Walks on water…….
Media says:….
Trump Can’t swim!

SteveInCO · Thermonuclear MAGA

The best thread EVER for comments was the daily from December 4…779.
Let’s beat that mark.

Gudthots

Can you see “Views” on the author back-end? The numbers are really up there!

SteveInCO · Thermonuclear MAGA

Yes I can. You’re right! We’ve got lots of lurkers, methinks. It took me quite some time to get comment statistics.

SteveInCO · Thermonuclear MAGA

Because it’s eagles….

SteveInCO · Thermonuclear MAGA

A long time ago, say about 2003, a friend of mine posed the question…he noted that people in our generation wouldn’t have been caught DEAD listening to our parents’ music, yet by then, teens were actually listening to stuff 20 years old. He wanted an explanation and said “don’t try to tell me it’s because today’s music is crap.”
I told him that today’s (2003’s) music was crap, and I explained why: Rap is distinctly deficient in melody.

SteveInCO · Thermonuclear MAGA

The thing is, there are a lot of artists producing music that conforms to the older norms, but they just don’t get air time, and I tend to discover them by sheer accident.
One good thing about the internet is it gives people an avenue to get around the “industry” and “labels”

Wolf Moon | Threat to Demonocracy

Hence why live festivals would be a great thing to bring back. Or the small venues where the underground bands used to play. The Mr. Bigs of the world put them out of business, at least around here.

SteveInCO · Thermonuclear MAGA

Entertainment in general (and this includes sports) has reached the point where it consists of people who are either starving to death (or need a day job) OR are phenomenally popular and end up in a ten million dollar mansion. That has a lot to do with media being able to make someone known to millions, instead of just thousands, then exacerbated by leagues, record labels, etc who want to maximize bang for their promotional buck. Before cable/the internet there was only so much broadcast time that could be used, so you were either the lucky artist/athlete on the air generating revenue from millions, or you were nothing.
At least with the internet, if there are ten thousand people out there somewhere who like your stuff, they can find you, instead of being diluted in an audience of millions. Unfortunately, half of that ten thousand will simply pirate your work.

Wolf Moon | Threat to Demonocracy

Yeah, but money is still scarce. Finding a paying gig is not as easy as it sounds.

SteveInCO · Thermonuclear MAGA

Indeed.
That’s largely because you’ve got to appeal to a large enough percentage of the people in your area to make it pay off.
The people who can reliably do that probably can have nationwide appeal, if they can get nationwide exposure, and that’s what the “labels” and “studios” gave them. There are probably more people like that than nationwide slots, so you end up with people being favored by the packagers getting nationwide exposure, and the rest not doing so well, because the audience itself only has so much time to devote–and that goes to what’s on the TV and Radio.
In essence once we had a nationwide media, most very good, and all good, musicians became doomed to a lower standard of living.
I think something similar is going to happen to teaching as well, as online learning becomes more and more of a thing. A merely average teacher isn’t going to succeed on video and on the internet, a very good one will be able to reach millions as a lecturer. In this case, though, it will be a huge benefit to most students.

Wolf Moon | Threat to Demonocracy

I meant to respond last night, but just didn’t get this far.
The situation is more simple than that: publishers are making decisions on what they want the masses to hear and are continually dumbing down the product. Even in opera, the pop singers, if you’ve got a good manager and publicist, make more than the people who actually trained (and know how to center a high pitch).
Bread and butter for those not at the top of the food chain always was church jobs, and those can be hard to find. The cathedrals generally have a handful of paid positions, and there are always weddings and funerals if you can get a gig with stiff competition, but it is not a living. Not even organists and musically speaking they are in a class of their own.
And then there’s the ears that aren’t trained to know what they are hearing. And that includes clergy.
But, ultimately, this culture never had the tradition in an overall sense. That’s part of the problem. Music, good music, was considered a luxury. Classical was denigrated for a long time.
It’s just a mess.

SteveInCO · Thermonuclear MAGA

I’ve had the sense we’ve been talking past each other a bit in this conversation.
I was trying to make the point that once millions of people can hear one sing, then only a few singers will dominate the marketplace and others will struggle and be unable to make a living on it. It’s the same phenomenon as millions of people chasing a very very few pro slots in sports.
Your point, also a good one, is that the marketers have been steering the market to boot. They got that power, of course, because they controlled those few slots.
This can be illuminated further by looking at it from the audience point of view. I as a listener can only spend so much time listening to music. About 30 years ago that would consist entirely of the radio and TV, and those were very low-choice venues. Marketers had total control; the most that could happen is the audience drifts off and the marketers have to think of a new gimmick OR maybe once in a blue moon decide to try to reverse the dumb down, though there’s no recorded history of that happening.
I understand your disgruntlement about the specific training you went through finding no home today, but a lot of people just don’t care about that. I doubt that operatic singing has EVER been that popular compared to (now forgotten) popular music of whatever era. SOme get the training…then move into popular music and their ability can get recognition (“she’s got pipes!”) if and once they get past the marketing barrier.
Main points: 1) Once technology evolves to the point where millions of people can be served by one person, that’s what’s going to happen. 2) If some marker puke controls the channels of distribution, it’ll be turned into trash. 3) Because of this live music in general will suffer.

Wolf Moon | Threat to Demonocracy

Well…in the symphony halls, what has been discovered is what we call “live to projection.” The orchestra, and chorus if one is required, perform the score live under a big screen with the movie playing. Performances SELL OUT at a rate not seen for anything other than “Carmina Burana.” People who have never been to a symphony concert before will drive 100 miles for these performances. Even with the royalties paid, we’re talking a lot of profit. And it’s fun stuff, too.
So, all is not lost. Audiences are getting the full impact of live music and seeing what goes into pulling off a score like that. The one pitfall, especially with John Williams scores for the brass, is that 3 hours is long. Not as bad as the Beethoven Missa Solemnis, but tiring.

SteveInCO · Thermonuclear MAGA

Good!
I DID at one point go to Denver’s orchestral concerts…when they weren’t playing something atonal and obscure. (Then traffic–there was always a damn accident–became a net stressor.) They noticed that their seats would fill and be jam packed when it was Beethoven or Rachmaninov, I’ll bet. (Of course, only a little bit of vocal in that mix.)

Wolf Moon | Threat to Demonocracy

Oh, yeah. When I was in the chorus, word came down that we were going to see a regular rotation of Carmina, Requiems of Mozart, Brahms, and they added Verdi after it sold out, Beethoven 9, return of the annual Messiah, and a handful of other things strictly for the ticket sales.

SteveInCO · Thermonuclear MAGA

“modern classical” seems to be beloved by the performers because it’s challenging to play and they like displaying their abilities.
Unfortunately, it seems the motto is that if it is hard to play, or hard to write, it should be hard to listen to, too.

Wolf Moon | Threat to Demonocracy

Oh, you’re talking about John Adams, Philip Glass and the other doofuses who think they can be Poulanc just because he wasn’t trained. Yeah, no.

SteveInCO · Thermonuclear MAGA

I admit my classical exposure is almost totally instrumental, with some choral, and very, very little opera. Something about those long arias strikes me as over the top.

Wolf Moon | Threat to Demonocracy

The airs in Oratorios are worse.

shebythesea

Having worked 10 years in the band scene mostly full time (5-6 nights a week) in the 90’s I found the venues dried up as pubs were converted into taverns (now just a guy with a guitar), nightclubs went dj only and if you were lucky enough to be chosen for a support gig with a prominent act you were privileged therefore not requiring much payment (token $100 per person). It was hard slog (with plenty of fun moments) surviving by adapting. We worked as a duo, trio and band as required and if you wanted to go up a level you were owned by agents who had their interests, not yours, put first. I got a real job and mortgage late in life due to said career as the internet side of things started taking off.
DP, thanks for sharing tidbits of what you get up to. I snuck into rehearsals and ultimately got to perform Verdi’s Requiem -300 strong choir when I was told I couldn’t go to University . my dream job as a child was working in the Disney orchestra (classically trained) but was required by parents to enter the workforce as soon as school was done…took a few years to fall into the rock scene but yeah, I had fun!

Wolf Moon | Threat to Demonocracy

Verdi’s Requiem…I ended up on the second soprano part with all the chromatics. That one is a romp even if it is supposed to be sacred.

rayzorbak

Rap music = Poetry to a beat
(Zero “Music”)

SteveInCO · Thermonuclear MAGA

Precisely.
Hip hop at least tries to inject some musical element to it, but to me still sounds awful.

Plain Jane

I determined that I abhored rap back when I first saw The Music Man when I was young. There is a scene with salesmen on a train doing what amounts to rap.

rayzorbak

Actually…. I call it SeeRap…………………… (CRAP)