Think about all the major moments in your life, times of splendid inspiration or utter meltdowns. Where were you when that moment occurred? Were you driving in a car? Most men are naturally gifted when it comes to processing a large volume of information while driving a car. Were you in the shower? Stunning how women come out of the shower with major pronouncements. For our family, it was “the couch”.
Inanimate objects have no special power. As rational people, we know better. Yet, many of us carry a lucky rabbit’s foot, a four-leafed clover, or, if we’re on a pitching streak in the Major League, we might even wear the same socks. Is it the object that has the power, or is the object a bit of a crutch which gives us an extra boost of courage? Well, our “couch” has special power.
For most of my life, I was a business and numbers person = pragmatic but quick decisions, rule with head over heart, cool and rational. It was difficult to empathize with the touchy-feely emotions of others as they wrestled endlessly with small decisions or perceived injustices. I had to work on that part of my character, and thus learn to stop, breath, and listen to what others said and felt. I am aware impatience with whiny people is my Achilles Heel.
When we bought the B&B, I was finishing a few more degrees at a local college. I knew renovating and decorating would be pricey, and thought I should take a senior level class on “period architecture and interiors”. In that way, I could, at least, talk to an interior designer and not sound like a fool. More importantly, with limited funds, I couldn’t afford to be taken advantage of by an interior designer who was working on HER “vision” which didn’t fit MY budget. Admittedly, I falsely presumed interior designers were fluff-queens, or those who could not excel in disciplines like business or biology. Of course, I was wrong about interior designers and worked my ass off to get a “C” in the class.
One class, taken on a lark, for ALL the wrong reasons, saved me hundreds of thousands of dollars over a lifetime and made me a better person. The class also allowed me to make faster decisions, fiscally prudent decisions, which were better decisions…. pragmatism returned. Strangely, one single class helped my family and friends with divine inspiration, and many tears. The class taught me about the power of spaces, big and small, and the power of …. the couch.
Practically speaking, the class taught me about color of floorcovering, first, upon which everything rotates around. Thus, all the furniture in our large home can be moved to any room, even the upholstered pieces, and even though all the rooms LOOK different. For instance, one room is red/Oriental trim, and another is an English chintz explosion, but the furniture works anywhere. It’s a masterful trick, and dozens, if not hundreds, of times we have moved furniture throughout the house for various needs. Yet, more importantly, the class taught me about small spaces versus large spaces — and how people respond, physically and emotionally, to those spaces.
To me, it was like discovering gravity. We always knew it was there, but now, I understood why it worked. We all have small spaces in our homes and people are instinctively drawn to them. The class explained the why.
Small spaces are intimate, lower ceilings, lamp-light versus overhead lights, quiet, not in a traffic pattern, a place where one “feels” safe sharing a secret. Large spaces are public spaces, big and grand, where we might be wearing a mask, more apt to hide our true feelings. Thus, if you might want to learn how someone really feels, listen to them closely, and do it in a small space. AND be particularly cognizant of big versus small spaces if you have children, because all spaces are perceived as bigger from a child’s point of view.
Our house is big and has tall ceilings. Therefore, creating small spaces presented a challenge. I started with “end of traffic pattern”, and then created everything else for small spaces, including a cozy couch, in a nook, with low light, in front of a fireplace. The result was surprising, unbelievable, but 100% proven and accurate. All kinds of people, especially children, would gravitate to our master bedroom couch, when they want to unburden themselves of  …. anything. From adults to little ones, the couch….worked.
We created another space, upstairs in my office, for a small space secret couch, underneath an enormous window. My son’s friends would divulge all their innermost fears, family problems, girl problems, school problems, even abuse…. while sitting on that couch. One Friday, as was typical, my son’s friends came home and invaded my office. After work hours, one by one, the friends drifted away until only one remained. He decided to spend the night. After dinner, the boys were talking about random things. I tried to leave a few times, until he told me, “I miss talking like this – like we did when we were little kids…”, never mind …. the boys were only in 7th grade at the time. The need to talk, be together, bond, is part of human nature. We all need it. The couch… makes it happen.
When I married my current husband, with four daughters, the legend of the couch grew. LOTS of tears and drama with girls, and I practiced my listening skills as the years flew by. Our children were good at spotting people whom they thought needed a little help, and they brought them home, to the couch. Over time, the family understood the couch, often joked about it, but always respected the strange power the couch had. “The couch” became analogous to an unburdening, truth telling, unconditional love, support, self-conscious, forgiveness, repenting, revelations, protection, bright ideas, and courage to move forward.
I was folding laundry one afternoon in the bedroom and a 14yr old Gunner and his buddy came sauntering in. “What’s up?”, I said. They were working on filing their first patent for an invention they cooked up… which actually, was pretty cool. “We need to think….”, they said, and plopped down on the couch. We hashed it out = patent filed.
Another time, my son became serious about a young woman, who was having family problems. He brought her home, weekend after weekend, until she softened. As Gunner said, “If I can just get her to the couch, she’ll be fine.” Another time, Gunner warned a friend who sat down on the couch, “Be careful when you sit there, all your deepest thoughts will be revealed.” A daughter called, having problems with her new husband. “He needs to spend some time on the couch”, she said. And then, many moons ago, we got a knock on the door at about 2:30am. It was a young man from down the street. He was terrified and burst into our home as soon as we opened the door. He was crying and ran from me – through the house – straight to the couch…. the safe place. He curled up in a ball, and cried for hours.
For about 5 years, we had a cottage on the shore. It was a tiny house, but had a big and oddly shaped master bedroom. Husband got it on a whim. When I got there and we finalized our plans, we put in another “couch” and chaise lounge in the extra master bedroom space. The girls and the one boy child, Gunner, and their friends, utilized the couch small space more than ever before. After a particularly rambunctious afternoon, husband and I were downstairs putting things away but the kids headed upstairs to shower. By the time I got there, I found 8 youngsters sprawled, sound asleep in various positions – all around and on top of the couch. Small space, cozy, safe, good light, comfy.
We created another small space, downstairs at the beach house, directly off of a large side porch. The kids found a couch in a garage sale for $1, and desperately wanted it. Had it recovered with $1/yd fabric and stuffed it into a corner, with an old TV, and an overstuffed chair and ottoman. The space was so small an adult could barely turn around. For the kids, it was everything. The kids begged to have their sleepovers THERE, instead of their bedrooms. It was the Saturday morning cartoon spot, the build a fort spot, far enough away from the kitchen to share secrets. With access to the side porch, that spot became the kid’s entrance, a pick up spot for play dates, or if another kid in the neighborhood was lonely, they could always find a friend… at that spot. Husband admitted, years later, when the kids and I were not at the house, he often fell asleep there. What is it about small safe spaces?
I’m looking at the couch in our bedroom right now. If it could only talk. It needs to be recovered again, fix a few springs. How many girlfriends, kids, a few policemen after a bad call, tears, infidelities, secrets, plans hatched, report cards, young men planning their engagements to the love of their life….. has that couch seen?
If we think back to our grandparents homes, when we were children, we found those couches and small spaces when we were young. Grandma never took an interior design class, they did on instinct.
Bigger is NOT always better. For comfort of the soul, create small spaces as well.

A few days ago, I started thinking about the motives for the Russian Hoax. Why did it happen? Yesterday, I wrote an article which, at least in my small feeble mind, attempts to explain the parallel interests of the MSM and the Dems. If “the enemy of my enemy is my friend”, then we have a perfect explanation for the love affair between the media and the Dems…., they both made money pushing Muh Russia, even AFTER they knew the Russian hoax was untrue.
Yet, even if we assume everything from yesterday’s article is true, it still doesn’t explain the reaction of the “Deep State” before and after the election. We’ve all worked in positions where “the new manager” comes in, is different or hated, but we keep our opinions to ourselves and muddle through. Why all the leaking from FBI/DOJ/C_A and State Dept? Leaks from the White House staff holdovers. Opposition from every department, Education, EPA, and for heaven’s sake, the Obama holdovers even went after Zinke at Dept of Interior, Price at Dept HHS, and Dr Ben Carson. Even the Ambassadors? Why?
It is statistically impossible for so many people, who were sane on November 7, 2016, to have a mental breakdown on November 9, 2016. Besides, Federal employees are known for doing what is necessary to keep their jobs. Rationally, new Trump Admin officials would need months to even learn their way around Washington, DC. A new Trump boss could have been sabotaged quietly, and easily. Why all the unprecedented public hatred which was actually self-defeating (for themselves and the country)?
No, the Dems were NOT acting like wounded animals, writhing in pain. They were NOT merely sore and dejected by a loss of an election. The Dems were lashing out, with venom and anger to destroy the Trump Admin. They were acting scared…., and as if they were at war……, particularly the intel community.
And then it hit me…… Mike Flynn. Mike Flynn was where it all started. After the election, they went after Flynn, first. And then ALL the light bulbs in my head started going off like a 1978 disco blaring Donna Summer tunes. Watch this 2 minute video of Mike Flynn, calling for a change in the agencies, rooting out corruption, as Martha McCallum was accusing the Trump campaign of Russian Collusion on November 6, 2016. Link here.
The two minutes is STUNNING, in light of the Mueller summary, and will make your jaw drop and your blood run cold.

1. Mike Flynn was lauded as the brightest military intel officer in a generation. He worked from 1981-2014, with our military, C_A, and as a National Security Advisor to Obama.
2. Flynn left the Obama team over the Iran Deal and Flynn was on the inside of the Obama team.
3. Video above, Flynn was on the campaign trail calling for Hillary to “step down”. Besides Trump, it was Flynn going after Hillary about her email problem….., a problem that was whitewashed by the intel community.
4. Again in video, it was Flynn speaking openly about corruption in the agencies, the need to change the behavior, even while Martha McCallum was pushing a “Muh Russia” narrative on November 6th, 2016.
5. Again, in the video, when Martha asks how Flynn would respond to the allegation of Russian collusion, Flynn responds by saying, “I would use my Irish on ya'” – meaning his first reaction was a curse word, “but I won’t do that.” Flynn KNEW the Russia story was BS.
6. Rerack it. Again, in the video, look CLOSELY at Flynn’s face when he speaks about the Russia allegation as “a vast amount of deception going on here”. Wild, eh? In the days before the election of 2016, we see Lt General Mike Flynn take center stage attacking Hillary. Flynn makes a stand and “asks Hillary to step down”.
7. From the day before, we have Flynn paying tribute to those lost at Ft Hood, CALLING it Radical Islamic terror. Must not have gone over too well at C_A. https://twitter.com/GenFlynn/status/795105595485523968

Another lightbulb, background and context. Remember President Trump telling stories about how he had not spent much time in DC? Trump did not have decades of bureaucrats who owed their position to him. On the other hand, Flynn knew exactly who to call and where the bodies were buried. FLYNN knew what to do when it came to unraveling the intel community.
More context. The primary reason for intel failure on 9/11 was because intel agencies didn’t communicate with each other. Has it changed? Don’t they still treat their own agencies and BUDGETS like fiefdoms? Except, strangely, Nellie Ohr, Brennan, Peter Strzok came out of C_A – not really FBI agents. Yet, Brennan pushed the opening of the investigation to Harry Reid and snookered Comey into placing the counter-intel investigation at the FBI, run by McCabe. If the investigation went badly, Comey would take the heat, not Brennan. Remember, Brennan covered his behind. Brennan went to Congress in August of 2016 and said, “Muh Russians are trying to interfere”. It was Comey who avoided Congress for 9 months and was only revealed by Congressman Elise Stefanik’s lucky questioning.
1A. Flynn had a running war with Andy McCabe, stemming from Robin Gritz, and probably other things as well. We remember Gritz was a seasoned veteran at FBI and up for promotion. Flynn and others wrote strong letters of recommendation on her behalf. She was a shoe-in for the job. McCabe drummed her out of the FBI and she filed what is an equivalent to an EEOC complaint against McCabe. Who can forget McCabe’s alleged rally cry in an FBI meeting, “First we fu$k Flynn, then we fu$k Trump!” Now, think about that statement for a minute. Does it make sense to ANYONE, that McCabe would feel so viscerally about Flynn, if McCabe was only resentful about someone getting promoted 3 years ago? Do ya’ think there might be something else there, to elicit such a strong reaction from McCabe? 
2A. Why was the Deep State so afraid of Flynn? Why was it so important to remove Flynn BEFORE going after President Trump? AND why so fast? Really? Sally Yates was in Doug McGann’s office about FLYNN posing a threat to national security only FOUR days after the inauguration……….. and all for a Logan Act violation? Does that make sense to anyone who was born after 1798 — or the last time a Logan Act Violation was prosecuted?  
3A. Remember how Peter Strzok blew off the legal counsel and OIG for the Intel Community when THEY CAME TO HIM at FBI with proof Hillary’s server had been hacked? Why did Flynn keep asking Hillary to step down, “for the sake of our children”. Given what we know, or think we know, why did Flynn keep talking about children and the danger of Hillary?

For the future of our children and grandchildren, join me in asking HRC to step down @Bohoover @KathyShelton_ pic.twitter.com/NhCG5klZEa

— General Mike Flynn (@GenFlynn) November 6, 2016

4A. Why was it so important to CLOSE Hillary’s investigation – to the point that McCabe practically hid the Weiner laptop from Comey? Notice this tweet from Flynn on November 6th. Note the top of the tweet, “IMPOSSIBLE”. Flynn knew Comey was lying about Hillary’s emails on the Weiner laptop.

IMPOSSIBLE:
There R 691,200 seconds in 8 days. DIR Comey has thoroughly reviewed 650,000 emails in 8 days? An email / second? IMPOSSIBLE RT

— General Mike Flynn (@GenFlynn) November 6, 2016

5A. In mid-February of 2017, why was Comey so “triggered” when President Trump said  “hope you can go easy on Flynn” or “put it all behind us”. Comey and President Trump had just finished dinner together. Presumably, Flynn had resigned only days prior. Flynn was done, threat removed. Comey should have felt safe. President Trump thought it was over with ……. but it wasn’t enough to merely let Flynn go. Flynn had to be destroyed and silenced. Why? Why was Flynn so dangerous? Why did the media keep asking President Trump if he had SPOKEN to Flynn since resigning?
6A. Same thing with Brennan, Comey, Clapper. Have we EVER seen former intel heads issue such wild and lascivious comments directed at a sitting President? When they knew it wasn’t true? Why all the excess venom? But don’t forget Schumer’s words, from January 3rd of 2017, BEFORE the dossier was released, BEFORE Comey and Clapper briefed President-Elect Trump on the dirty details, “Don’t mess with the intel community because they have six ways to Sunday to get back at you.”
Besides removing Brennan’s security clearance, what has President Trump done to these men to warrant such a wild reaction? Let’s think about it.
Let’s assume Comey/Brennan/Clapper really thought, for example, President Trump was wrong on the Iran Deal and a danger to the world. Okay, then they would be jumping up and down, telling the world why Iran needed a nuclear weapon, eventually. They would be relitigating their case for the Iran Deal, to convince all of us why their plan was better, …..why and where President Trump was wrong to reverse course. THAT would make sense. They wouldn’t be referring to the President in childish names or as the second coming of Hitler, ranting and raving like unhinged psychopaths, which is what they are doing. It doesn’t make sense. No, their behavior makes no sense at all, which can only lead to one conclusion….
…..There is something else going on. AND it was imperative to get retired Lt. General Mike Flynn out of the way, first. Flynn was the key to it all OR Flynn had the knowledge necessary to reveal it all.
One final subnote.
Manafort was almost as important. Manfort developed dossiers, straightforward background research to “soft blackmail”, on prominent people and had done so since the late 70’s. In The Ukraine and other hot spots around the world, Manafort did the same thing as the Podestas and the team of McCain and Rick Davis. They all played with the same various Russian Oligarchs and globalist bankers. Recall, part of Mueller’s investigation of Manafort included a subpoena to RAID Manafort’s hidden locker.
Again, for some unknown reason, it was necessary for the “Deep State” to silence Manafort, and they used an old and previously dismissed IRS charge to put him away. And don’t ever forget, a conscious decision was made, by someone, to go after Manafort. Silencing Manafort was MORE important than the obvious investigation delay/damage to an American President, the stability of our relationship with our Allies, our trade negotiations, and the potential harm to the American people.
WHAT could possibly be that important?

Folks, this is eerie weird. I was three hours into typing this mini-article and Don Jr.’s article with Politico was posted a few minutes ago. Same topic. Bizarre. Maybe we are onto something here. The Link to Don Jr.’s article and video is at the bottom of the article.
Here is my original post:
Manufactured outrage is good for business. Has American Mainstream Media helped to create or COLLUDE with Dems because it was good for business?
Are the Dems staying with the “Muh Russia” hoax because it is good for fundraising?
Stay with me for a minute. To establish mal-intent, we would need proof, right? Or maybe a circumstantial pattern of behavior?
Okay, let’s think back a few decades.
Desert Storm was credited for making CNN a competitive network. CNN’s wall to wall coverage of the war was an excellent service to the people, but it was also very good for CNN’s bottom line.
War is very good for the media business.
By the mid-90’s other cable news channels opened to compete with CNN.
Yet, the media model, of the coverage of Desert Storm, and the boost to business it brought to the network, was hard to duplicate. As media outlets were purchased and consolidated by companies who were more interested in stock price and return on investment, it would have been hard to resist the temptation to create a BUZZ for press coverage. We can imagine the zeal or search for the “golden” story that would drive coverage. Or……… How would a network get that kind of a boost in ratings, ad revenue, again, without another war?
Well…..
Election coverage naturally adds to a network or media’s bottom line. Many experts blame the revenue machine as the reason we see candidates starting their election campaigns earlier and earlier.
Now, think about CNN’s relentless coverage of missing Flight 370. The network covered the air disaster 24/7 to the point of mindless speculation of black holes and aliens from some pundits.
But……..
A missing plane is only good for a little while, maybe a few days.
A story like “Hands Up; Don’t Shoot” was good for 18 months…. even if it was fake. It was a golden story and too good to pass up. And the media descended into hell…. never again to arise and sitteth on a throne of integrity. Yes, the media, as a group, was questionable long before Ferguson, but we can admit, after Ferguson, the media became much worse.
CNN knew the truth of Michael Brown quickly, but pushed “Hands Up; Don’t Shoot” for over a year AFTER they knew it was false. Why? What was it worth to CNN/MSNBC and other outrage outlets? How lucrative? Endless panels, spent thousands of hours covering the “problem” of racism in America, when most Americans thought electing a black President proved America was PAST the point of racism. Some outlets even had a 1-800 hotlines for those who felt persecuted by racism = “Tell us your story”.
The burning of Baltimore and the death of Freddie Gray fed into the same narrative. Six officers were arrested, creating incredible friction between police departments and District Attorneys nationwide. Of course, the police were all exonerated. The fake story was pushed and did not represent the facts on the ground. The narrative of “Police = Bad” was pushed by media and the Dems…… to raise money. These false truths stoked racism instead of bring America together. By this point, the media was definitely NOT serving the interests of the people as a free press should.
Oh yes, racism is good for business in the media and for Dem fundraising.
The Charlottesville “fine people” hoax was a Christmas present for the media’s false narrative of racism. We know the President’s words have been misrepresented by the media, even the Wall Street Journal has written about the hoax.
Charlottesville’s “fine people” is a media hoax designed to make President Trump look like a racist and feed the money machine for the Dems and the Media. It’s completely inaccurate and the media knows it’s not true…. but the truth does not matter…. because the falsehood is good for business. Ever notice how many black reporters are White House correspondents?
“Trump mocking the disabled reporter” was also a hoax and the media knew it. Yet, it was one of the first times we see the media using Trump celebrity with a false narrative to make money for the media. The hoax was so convincing, many people in the USA still believe President Trump was intentionally cruel and insensitive to a disabled reporter. The personal discovery of the “disabled reporter” hoax led Brandon Straka to start the #WalkAway campaign.
School shootings are a boon to the Media and to Dem fundraising. Any wonder we saw the CNN Town Hall panel for Parkland students? Do you see the repetition? Do you see the repeat of strategy by the same media outlets, over and over. It’s clear. Again, with Parkland, we see lack of background emphasis of the actual facts. We barely heard the personal story of Nikolas Cruz, his family, his troubled life, the death of his mother, and an almost odd suppression of the problems in the Broward Sheriff’s Office. We also saw the Media and Dems intentionally hiding problems with Robert Runcie, Broward County Superintendent of Education. Was it because Runcie could be traced back to the Obama Administration? And of course, we saw the malicious suppression of the problems with “The Promise Program”, created by Runcie, for the Obama Administration —- which was the source of the problem which led to the Parkland Shooting….. and the root cause of the death of Trayvon Martin.
The Dems/Media collusion problem is the same with illegal immigration. How many times did we see the false narrative of “Children in Cages”. Mainstream media offered no explanation of the Obama era policy or the problems with the 9th Circuit Judge’s 20 day detention rule. Even the pictures of detention centers and chain link fencing were falsely portrayed. Yet, the story was the subject of endless hours of media coverage and a BOON to fundraising for the Dems who pushed the false story. Notice, our bad immigration laws still exist. The Dems have done nothing to solve the problem, and refuse there is an “emergency” – but they ALL made money…… talking about it.
The #MeToo movement allegedly carried the Dems to a House win in 2018. Yet, the movement has unraveled with various false charges, revelations of Dem lawmakers in Virginia, and the candidacy of Joe Biden. Have you noticed how the #MeToo movement has faded from view? Why? Why didn’t the same women advocate for real victims of domestic violence?
Did you notice how many Dem lawmakers pushed #MeToo and how much money they raised? Did you also notice NONE of those same lawmakers led protests at Hollywood studios, Cosmo Magazine, or during Fashion Week? Nothing to solve the problem —- only a boon for the Media and the coffers of Dem lawmakers.
Again and again, we see evidence of a circumstantial pattern of behavior. A false narrative is pushed by Media, Dems raise money, outrage is manufactured, Media receives boost in viewership, and the country is further divided…… but the Dems and the Media make money on the hate.
Nothing, and I mean NOTHING, has been as good for the Media as the “Muh Russia” hoax. Again, trading on President Trump’s natural celebrity, the Russian boogeyman narrative, potentially compromising an American Presidential Election has been a boon for network coverage and saved failing newspapers. THINK of the 500K+ articles written about the Russian hoax and thousands of hours of media time spent on this false conspiracy…….
And you know how we know it was a hoax? A false narrative intentionally pushed by the media? Follow the motive. Follow the money. If media outlets were pure in their intent, to inform the public and advocate for a free press, then it would be a natural course of business to examine, and YES, investigate of all aspects of Russian interference, right? But that is NOT what the media did. In fact, Zucker of CNN publicly claims it is not his duty to investigate, only report facts “as they know them”.
And, how is it possible for ALL Mainstream Media outlets to push the same false narrative? Why are ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, MSNBC, WaPost, NYTimes, AP, Reuters, all pushing the same false narrative…….., often using the same adjectives? Is it still “circumstantial” evidence?
Where were the interviews with “Russians” who wanted to influence our election? Are we to believe our intel agencies and all the news outlets could not produce a single bad Russian? If the Muh Russia story was real, if Russians really did try to influence our election in a serious way, why aren’t the media outlets relentless in their blame of the Obama Administration? No, instead, media outlets are hiring those responsible for the problem! Do we not see the hypocrisy here? CNN hiring Brennan or Clapper, would be akin to hiring a terrorist who might have taken down their Flight 370. Why hire the bad guy? The guys who were showed dereliction of duty.
No screaming? No real indignation? Where was the deep dive into CrowdStrike? Did anyone see Podesta on television, crying about the release and personal embarrassment of his emails being revealed? Where were the interviews of Facebook execs and their answers as to WHY they allowed Russians to influence Americans? Why aren’t the Dem Socialists protesting Facebook? Where were the interviews, and there should have been many, of Jack Dorsey? Why is no one protesting at Twitter corporate offices?
This is IMPORTANT:
And most of all, why isn’t Hillary Clinton blaming Facebook, Twitter, and the former Obama Admin officials who allowed her election to be “stolen”……….!!!!!
Again, we see the same pattern of behavior and collusion between Dems and Media. In fact, the media intentionally suppressed Muh Russia opposing viewpoints and attacked those who were investigating. The perpetuation of the fake story was necessary. Actual investigations into “Muh Russia” from Nunes and Republicans were attacked. Pundits like Glenn Greenwald and Alan Dershowitz, who held an opposing viewpoints, were shunned from their regular spots on CNN and MSNBC.
Oh yes, Muh Russia was very good for business in the media AND for Dem politicians.
Think about the recent practice, invented by Dem politicians but lately adopted by Republicans as well, of manufactured outrage during their committee questioning. Congressmen take the video to publish for fundraising. Within minutes of a Congressman questioning a witness, the video clip is loaded up to Youtube, pushed by a little but of ad spending, and the emails go out for fundraising. Money in the bank!
There are few absolutes in our world. Yet, like “death” and “taxes”, we know that “follow the money” is another absolute truth. “Muh Russia” was a cash cow for the Media and for Dem fundraising.
Adam Schiff knows damn well there was no collusion with Russia on behalf of the Trump campaign. Yet, that’s not Adam’s job = to find the truth. Adjust your thinking. Finding the truth is no longer the media’s job, is it? Adam’s job is to keep the narrative alive so the golden goose of fundraising is allowed to live on…. until the next hoax is manufactured.
Which leads us to wonder…….?
Have you noticed those in the media have known, for about a month, the Mueller report would be a dud. Gee, that was about the same time as the retread of the “Green New Deal” came out, right? Coincidence? Pushed by the cookie-cutter, attractive female, AOC? The “plan” is old. There’s nothing new about it. Do you see the media push and the Dem fundraising based on the Green New Deal? Does it begin to look familiar to you? Suppression of opposition, denial of real facts. We know the coroner in Puerto Rico only legally registered 56 deaths for Hurricane Maria and AOC’s 3000 number is pure fabrication. No protesting going on at the Chinese or India Embassy for their pollution? Again, not solving the problem, just raising money. It’s the same strategy, over and over.
The Democrats and the Media have parallel interests… it’s money, pure and simple…., and the circumstantial evidence is overwhelming. Do we really believe these individuals “like” each other. Who would choose to spend Sunday brunch with Elizabeth Warren? Or watch Beto talk about baby turds he fed to his wife? What young female reporter wants to get close to Joe Biden? Does anyone want to go shopping with Kamala or would a REAL journalist rather expose international espionage….. like we see with China? And Bernie is old news…..
No, the Dems and the media don’t want to solve any problems in America and they actively resist solving problems……, because NOT solving the problem is lucrative.
Apparently, Donald Trump, Jr., agrees. Here’s his article and video from Real Clear Politics: Link

Q !!mG7VJxZNCI
I was away the last few days coordinating the final phases of The Plan.
Trust The Plan.
You don’t believe me?
You say, I’ve been a Q skeptic and an atheist and neither one is consistent with being Q?
Bwahahahah!  What better cover?  Really, what better cover?
But now the time has come to unmask and deliver justice and finally restore our Republic.
I told you you’d be surprised when you found out who Q was!!
 

Here is the link to the interview on Ricochet: Byron York interviews John Dowd
https://ricochet.com/podcast/byron-york-show/the-man-who-defended-trump/
The interview is over an hour long, thus most people will not listen to the full length of the conversation. I went ahead and listened to the whole thing, twice, and tried to type up “Crib Notes”, getting the quotations as accurate as possible. The information revealed is important for us all. In normal times, this would have been a 60 Minutes level interview, not hidden on a podcast. Here we go….
Notes:
Dowd speaks well of Barr. Believes the summary is accurate as he is familiar. “You’re going to see more of Attorney General Barr.” Of course, everyone wants to see the whole thing (Mueller report) but it is complicated. “Difficult job to thread the needle.”
York and Dowd go through no collusion part of the summary and Dems objections, denial. From Dowd: “I know all the evidence, no collusion, conspiracy, with the Russians…” From Dowd: “Apparently, they tried like blazes to penetrate the organization but were never able to do so.” (the Russians tried). No one in the campaign, “took any bait”. Just “watch how the President conducted the campaign”, inferring he deserved to win. “The FBI had nothing when they started the investigation….. and it did interfere with his ability to do his job”.
From Dowd: “Probably the greatest fraud ever committed against the people of the United States.”
York talks about the news cycle, example of the Trump Tower meeting or Roger Stone and Wikileaks, York asked Dowd if he KNEW of all these accusations or if he was surprised as the investigation went on —- did his client (the President) try to hide anything? – is what York is really asking. Dowd says no, the Trump Organization was beautifully organized to provide documents, etc. No surprises. As to the media, Dowd says, “I’ve never seen anything like the hysteria.” and “Sometimes you would tell them something wasn’t true, but it didn’t matter, they printed it anyway.”
From Dowd: “One of the sorriest chapters I’ve witnessed in this country.”
Dowd explains the Mueller team was finished with all witnesses and expected conclusion by end of November or early December. Dowd and York can’t understand why it took Mueller until the end of March.
This part is important. Dowd explains the President’s legal team turned over notes between the President and his legal team which were typed up at the conclusion of every meeting. Normally, notes like these would be considered Exec Privilege. Yet, the Special Counsel was under the Exec Branch, so Dowd and the team shared these documents to be transparent.
From Dowd: Paraphrasing but as close as possible. “The overwhelming amount of personal notes, turned over to the SC, of conversations between the President and his personal attorneys, may provide a precedent for future Presidents. Because it was Exec privilege, the Atty Gen has to come back to the President before releasing anything. And Don McGahn talked to Mueller for a long time, many times. Trump was very consciously to respect the historical aspect for future Presidents.”
Dowd only had 3-4 meetings with Mueller. From Dowd, “first and second were animated, because Dowd was trying to get the SC team to wind it up and stop it…. “no crime”.” and as Dowd told Mueller, “Can’t get to first base, can’t go any further.” Dowd then discusses the SC repeated, “16 areas and 49 questions, but repetitive.” Dowd finishes with Mueller, “What is the question that you need answered?”, which has not already been answered somewhere else?
From MUELLER to DOWD: Dowd relates that MUELLER admitted, “Every witness was full, complete, and truthful….,” From Dowd, “has to be a first for any administration.”
Mueller was pushing for an interview with the President, hard. Many discussions about Espy and Nixon, “Can’t hamstring a future President in 20 yrs from now.” Mueller pushed, Sekelow and Dowd, said. “Go ahead.” and subpoena the President. Dowd and legal team were confident, “There was no way they (Mueller team) would win it in court.” “They had nothing”. From Byron York, “….Media promoted it.” Dowd completely agreed but countered, “Gotta follow the law.”, and “…..Don’t know why so many people want to break the law to hurt this President but they do.” “There was no law broken.” “Had to establish the law broken.” and as to why he needed the President specifically, “Had to establish the President was the only one who could answer a question….not answered previously.” Dowd admits the Mueller team gave up on the idea of the subpoena to the President.
From Dowd relating his conversations with Mueller and Quarles (? spelling): I was …”not going to put him (Trump) in a position where he could get in a trap.”, “….without an extraordinary amount of preparation and time.”, “….It would have taken weeks of the Presidents time.” and they don’t have a right to the President’s time, “and Andrew McCarthy has written extensively on this.”….
Dowd continuing: “It hurt this president . An enormous amount of damage, ….maybe not the right word….. Making his life difficult. He was worried about the area of foreign affairs.”
From Dowd, relaying the personal conversations with President Trump, as to what the President would say to Dowd: Tell them I respect what they are doing but I need them to get it done. And he would share an anecdote from a foreign leader, Abe of Japan, G7, Egypt, Russia, about times he was working on trade or trying to get a hostage released, and the foreign leader would say, well yeah, Donald, but are you going to be around….. because of this investigation.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ THIS^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ My emphasis added!!!!
From Dowd, in summary about the DOJ and FBI, “Barr has to rescue the criminal justice system”, “…… (the justice system is) “crumpled”. Dowd continuing, “The President is worried about it.”
Dowd didn’t deal with Weissman but he “…watched Weissman deal with Manafort.”, “One of the great injustices.”, “…Weissman was the author of it (the Manafort personal destruction).”, “….Cases that he got were already declined.”, mocking laughter between Dowd and York about the DC judge, “….favorable judge in DC.”, “put him in solitary to get him to cooperate.” One can almost see Dowd shaking his head in disgust at the treatment of Manafort.
Dowd continues about Flynn – “I don’t understand the Flynn case.”, “… didn’t lie”, “no one thought he lied”, “I don’t know what happened when it got to Mueller shop, very troubling.” Quarles was pleasant, completely open. (Jim), saw him once a week. very cooperative. Dowd continues, “…..which circles back to “How can you possibly think he (Trump)obstructed, …..He (Trump) totally cooperated?”
Page three, Dowd refers to Barr and Rosenstein, no crime, didn’t obstruct. It was an easy call. “Trump had a right to scold him (Mueller), (Mueller) “Wasn’t doing his job.”, “Get it done.”, “Getting in the way for his (Trump) ability to do his job (as President).”, “Shame on him (Mueller) for not deciding on obstruction.” Barr and Rosenstein, very easily decided on no obstruction. “Nothing here.”
No actions, many of which took place in public, constitute obstruction. Was it Trump’s public comments, tweets, public scolding? All Dowd can do is speculate as to why Mueller didn’t decide on obstruction. Dowd also guesses there may have been an internal split on the Mueller team.
Dowd: Under the rules of the department, they’re (Dems) are not entitled to know (everything because the Pres gave him so much exec privilege info)
Dowd raised the question about such a partisan team in a conversation with Bob Mueller. Mueller said the rules of the department say I cannot question their political leanings. From Dowd, “That’s bullshit, Bob”. Dowd continues, “They wanted the President so badly….”. Because Bob assembled that team left a scar on the results. Dowd further intimates Rosenstein also had a problem with it (the partisanship).
York brings up the Lester Holt interview and asks Dowd about it, “Dems say the President admitted he fired Comey to stop the Russia investigation.” From Dowd, “Well, the President could fire him if he didn’t like his eyebrows.” “Have to read the whole Holtz interview, carefully, in context, and it is clear.”, “The media was parsing (the interview).” It was clear the President was not firing Comey to stop the investigation and not a big problem with the Mueller team. York interrupts and asks about the media reaction to the Lester Holt interview. Dowd responds, the media was breathless about it but it was not a big deal with Mueller.
President was never going to fire Mueller, at any time, Dowd was there. President was ambushed by Rosenstein when the investigation started. NO ONE had a heads up that Rosenstein was going to appoint a Special Counsel. Sessions immediately offered his resignation. Rosey was hunkered down behind his desk, “Are they going to fire me?” Trump did not hire Mueller as FBI director because Trump had a conflict with him – prior case. Trump, “How could Sessions not know?” No one could ever understand why Rosey started the Special Counsel. No motive. Only one talking about a Special Counsel was Comey. Trump confused as to why the heck it started in the first place.
Dowd: Trump’s (public) frustration was justified. Why is it taking so long? Nonsensical investigations. Not the way you treat the President. All Clintonites, they don’t care. Eat up his time (Trump’s time). Trump’s time, every day, making sure people cooperated. Making sure they had good counsel. MOVE IT ALONG. No hold up getting the information from Trump Admin.
From Dowd: On obstruction, “There was never a “NO” to Mueller, for any information.”,  “True from the White House, Trump’s family, or Trump Organization” – (previously) who did a LOT of preliminary homework to provide info to Mueller. Must have been super expensive for Trump Org.
President Trump and his legal team wanted Comey investigated, for lying to Congress and as to his motivation. Dowd agreed and admitted Comey showed, “strange conduct”, “Never seen anything like conduct between Comey and Yates.” “Didn’t look like the Dept of Justice to me.” Dowd continues, “Not getting anything from Dept of Justice which looks like they are investigating Comey.” Mueller not investigating Comey. Dowd complained about Comey, and Rosey blew him off. Dowd was surprised. Dowd doesn’t understand Rosey at all. Dowd reiterates, it would be part of a normal course of any investigation to take a look at the accuser and see what their motives are – at the beginning of any investigation.
York asked Dowd about Cohen and if he presented a problem for the President, and/or if Cohen questions were part of the investigation. Dowd knew about Cohen but unaware of Cohen for his part of dealing with SC team. Dowd refers to Cohen as, “strange duck”, but overall not something that Dowd got involved in.
York moves the conversation along to talk about Manafort, which, clearly upsets Dowd. Manfort, State of NY jumped to file charges against Manafort. Pardons have not been discussed at any time to Dowd’s knowledge. Dowd says it was, “Not appropriate” to discuss any potential pardons with the President. From Dowd – The NY (state) thing against Manafort “one of the grossest abuses of prosecution”…. I’ve ever seen, they (the acting lawyers in NY are “Outlaws”, (it’s a problem with our) “polarization of justice system”, “They want to do it to hurt Paul Manafort and his family”,  “No one would trust the system in NY after this” (speaking about the bias), “Not sure the indictment will stand up there” (because the NY State Atty is so off track, mention of “double jeopardy” because the State of NY is basically filing the same charges as the Feds, so Manafort will remain in jail, even if the President pardons Manafort. Dowd, very serious and with sadness in his voice, “They just want to hurt him when he’s down and not sure how much more you can”. To break the tension, York makes a joke about the NY State Attorney wanting to change the LAW of double jeopardy to go after Manafort and Dowd laughs…, the implication is they (NY) are SO lawless, they would or they would try.
York asks about Roger Stone, which Dowd effectively dismisses as nonconsequential in the investigation. According to Dowd, Roger Stone never popped up in the work on the investigation, “Never a factor”.
From Byron York to Dowd, paraphrasing, ‘Did you ever get the idea that Mueller had something, a crime, on the President, or was he always just looking for something?” Dowd, “Witness” “he had no exposure” “I knew they had nothing” from March 5th. (2018)
End

GA/FL helped us wit some links this morning (Thank you!): President Donald Trump is in Michigan today. – What to know: http://s.mlive.com/I8mYpla  – How to go: https://bit.ly/2W1fjtD  – How to park: http://s.mlive.com/W3IImrO 

 
Our President is up early this morning, 5:05am, tweeting, and looking forward to addressing supporters in the great state of Michigan. Here is his morning greeting! The President has jobs, jobs, jobs, on his mind.

Will be heading to Grand Rapids, Michigan, tonight for a Big Rally. Will be talking about the many exciting things that are happening to our Country, but also the car companies, & others, that are pouring back into Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, North & South Carolina & all over!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 28, 2019

Doors open in Grand Rapids at 4:00pm, and the rally is scheduled to start at 7:00pm. If you need a ticket, you can still sign up Get your ticket to MAGA in Michigan!
According to the Detroit News this is President Trump’s SIXTH trip to Grand Rapids since announcing his bid for the Presidency in June of 2015, and his 18th trip to Michigan as candidate or President. From the article: “Like the president, Trump’s supporters “feel vindicated” by U.S. Attorney General William Barr’s summary of the Mueller report, said GOP strategist John Sellek. ‘It’s given them a huge boost of energy moving forward. So certainly, you’d expect the president to celebrate while he’s here in a state he needs to win again in 2020.”
The Detroit News article, above, is long and detailed in analysis of various counties – even though the bias is evident.
Who among us could ever forget the election eve campaign rally in Grand Rapids, MI? He was there at midnight, hours late, but NO ONE left. Parents brought their kids, on a school night, to witness the historic event…. and then, President Trump left and flew to Virginia for the final rally of the campaign. It was stirring, patriots, waiting until 2:00am to see the man they wanted to lead our country. And we won!! Remember that night? Remember how nervous we were? Here is a link for the 4 hours of RSBN coverage from Grand Rapids, MI, on November 7th, 2016. Relive the win = here Look towards the end of the link, where there is a time in the chirron at the bottom. At 12:53am, he was still speaking in Michigan!
In this link: Labor stats we see the US Bureau of Labor Statistics for the state of Michigan. For the last 6 months, unemployment has hovered between 3.9-4%, and in just the last 6 months, another 31K Michiganders have found a job. Michigan now employs 4,926,200 people, on the books.
But let’s talk about the auto industry in Michigan.
A few days ago, March 20, 2019, Ford Motor Company announced a new plant in Michigan for autonomous vehicles, and a plan to go to a 2nd shift at their Ash Flat factory. It’s part of a 900 MILLION dollar expansion by Ford, as they “reposition their assets to Michigan”, a reported by CNBC See link here
Fiat Chrysler, January 2018, announced they were moving a plant from Saltillo, Mexico, back to Warren, Michigan, where they will make the RAM Heavy Duty Truck. Also, because of Trump Tax Cuts, Fiat Chrysler gave $2,000 bonuses to 60K employees.  From the article in the NYPost    “FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne says the company should adjust its manufacturing footprint to reflect “improvement in the US business environment.” He says employees should also share in the tax savings.”
General Motors, and Obama era CEO, Mary Barra is still a problem, however, which persists. At Thanksgiving of 2018, Barra announced the slash of 15% of salaried employees, and our President didn’t like it. The Lordstown, Ohio plant closure hurt. Another plant in Michigan will be closed, as GM moves away from passenger cars. I did notice, strangely, GM LOVES to purchase ‘wind energy” for their plants, 300K megawatt hours……… they’re so special at GM, 8000 less executives but they are feeling green Link here
In Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, Detroit, and other cities throughout Michigan, leaders and investors are embracing the Trump Economic Opportunity Zones. I’ve personally noticed activity in our state based on the new law. According to the article, The opportunity funds are available to developers interested in working in the opportunity zones. “It’s a win-win,” Santer said. “The community needs the investment, and the investor needs a way to extinguish their tax liability.” Ann Arbor SPARK is planning to work with economic groups in Detroit to compile a list of available opportunity funds and development opportunities across southeast Michigan, Santer said.
If you just can’t get enough, check out the RSBN coverage from Grand Rapids, on “Rally Eve”. We love the students from Auburn and their persistence. Link here 

This is our filler story to peruse while we are waiting on President Trump’s MAGA Rally in Michigan. We’ll put up another thread, just for the rally, at about noon. We’ll include links and maybe some Michigan info, and we can drop comments there. Marica had  good idea to live blog the rally, but we know, she has a grandbaby she is taking care of tomorrow night. Great idea, Marica. I will live feed it, and HOPEFULLY have a whole lot of help from other treepers. Are we set for the party? I made 12lbs of BBQ and scratch sweet coleslaw today. I’m betting I have enough rolls for everyone here. MAGA in Michigan! OR —- should we say KAG in Michigan, cuz we might get a glimpse for 2020 and the campaign for our POTUS tomorrow night!

A friend of mine showed up today to borrow a few item for her daughter who is entering a beauty pageant. I started thinking about pageants…….

Let me start this story by making a broad and definitive claim: There is no woman in the state of Mississippi who would EVER want to be a man. While we worship, adore, and fuss over our men, our kings, we know, the power of being a southern woman is far too great, to ever willingly give it up. Oh no, no southern woman would ever give up her crown. And I dare say, not one woman on this forum, from north/west/ Germany/ Aussie/NZ/UK or our new girlfriend KSwiss in Switzerland would ever give up their crowns……..either. Special attribution to our ladies in Nebraska and Iowa, suffering through floodwaters and decimated communities.

My family was from the midwest. I didn’t understand beauty queens at all. My mother had been a model for local department stores and in Chicago, but I only knew her as a “mom”. Sure, she pulled my long hair, and Grandma made beautiful clothes for me, but fussing over appearance was seen as vainglorious. Knowledge of makeup and eyelash curlers escaped me. In my “land”, women chased the virtues of intelligence, pragmatism, and learned to be thrifty with money. When we moved to the south, my learning curve for “beauty queen” was steep. But when in Rome……

The first summer, going into 6th grade, my parents sent me to a camp at a local private school. My counselor was a former Miss Louisiana. She was nice, okay fine, but I was surprised at how other people reacted to her, especially the young boys in our group, AND the adults. They hung on her every word. True, her voice was like velvet and as comfortable as a grandma’s chicken casserole. Yes, she was a natural on a tennis court. It was my first glimpse at anything like “womanhood” other than family members. I thought, gee whiz, there might be something to the idea of a “pretty and genteel woman”. I was curious, but miles away from being a beauty queen. I was a tomboy, thus handicapped, an un-blond, and known as “the smart and quirky redhead”.

Throughout middle and high school, my parents focused on my education, which was most important. No beauty pageants for me. It wasn’t even on my radar and thought of as somewhat demeaning for a woman. Dad raised me to “think like a man” with “logic and rationale” and “numbers not emotion”. Still, highly polished southern women had a strange power which eluded me. Part of me desperately wanted to be a cheerleader, but I was definitely more of a Student Council President. Besides, my mirror was more than kind, and I never lacked for a boyfriend. I just took my pick from those who showed interest. Easy-peasy, right?

For the second half of college, I transferred to my grandparent’s home and the “land of Mississippi”, and Ole Miss, which is known for “red-shirting Miss Americas”. It’s true, the women at Ole Miss are spectacularly beautiful and their reputation is alive and well today. Yet, I was commuting and working full time, so the overwhelming quest for beauty, as an ultimate goal, didn’t really hit me. I was 19 and working at the biggest employer in our region. Grandpa was a VP of Operations, and I worked as a credit analyst, handling customers east of the Mississippi river. I liked my job, and I thrived. Money and negotiation came easily to me. Everything was fine, when beauty pageant season began…… and I was reluctantly….. drafted as a walk-on.

Beauty pageants have a season, I learned, and the competition is fierce. Little girls and their mothers plan for that one magical year, full of hope, to wear the sash of Miss Mississippi. The competitions start at the local level and then progress through state to nationals. At the last minute, the company/factory wanted “one of their own” to represent them, a directive issued from a new CEO. My grandmother, for decades, was on the sponsoring committee for our region, and she was in charge of counselling the chosen regional rep, on matters of grace, and how to walk, talk, and eat properly. It was a big deal in town. I had noooooooo clue. Yet, everyone around me agreed, I was supposed to be “the one”. I was cast into a pit of snakes and expected to return to work, the following Monday, with a crown. The office cheered; I was forlorn.

Other girls in the competition had moms who were well prepared. A few of them even had teams, for hair and makeup. Not me. Girls planned their wardrobes for years, some even made their costumes. I wore a couple of old prom dresses, a business suit, and last year’s bikini. I wasn’t going to spend additional funds on a lark. Other girls had cue cards, and they were practicing their answers, I had no answer planned nor anything rehearsed. Other girls traveled to Florida the week prior – to work on their tans – while I was dunning clients and pale as a ghost. And yes, the other girls were spectacularly beautiful. Yep, they were the cheerleaders. I didn’t stand a chance and was feeling rather dejected….. until the interviews started.

The judges were locals, Pres of a small college, Pres of Rotary, an older woman who was head of a local garden club and a fine southern woman who sounded like “Glenda the Good Witch”, plus the new CEO of our big company. He had just moved to town, still living in a hotel, and no one had seen him. He was from “land” of upstate New York. The girls were terrified of the interview process and unduly nervous. One girl threw up and no one moved to help her. She never came back – Darwin’s Theory of Natural Selection? Normally, I wasn’t scared to talk to anyone, but admittedly their nervousness was rubbing off on me.

The interviews were conducted off-site, in a private home, posh formal living room, at the Country Club. I remember it being warm and happy my old prom dress was off one shoulder. I was the last girl to be interviewed. Girls came out of that room, visibly shaking and wide-eyed. Under my breath, I cursed my office mates for getting me into such a predicament.

When I walked into the room, it looked like an inquisition. Four people sitting opposite and one chair in the middle of the room, for me. I took my seat, after shaking hands with the judges. I knew all of them, they had all been in our home before – except the new CEO, who was obviously in charge of the room.

Beginning questions were primarily background. “Are you a student in college, what are you studying and why? or “Are you working and why did you chose such a field?”, was fairly normal stuff. Then, I got the stupid questions, like, “What’s your favorite color and how does that color reflect your personality?” Huh? What the heck does that mean? I got another question about sports, where I did well – after all, I was raised by men who loved sports. Each judge asked a series of questions and we were obviously working our way up to the CEO’s questions. Finally, it was the CEO’s turn, and you could feel the room pivot towards him. His questions were very different from the other judges.

He asked me why I chose to live in this state, why my state was better than others, what my state offered that others did not. He asked me about agriculture, business, education, weather, and flowers. It was an onslaught of questions in rapid fire. He reminded me of my Dad and the way Dad would cross examine me at a dinner table when debating a hotly contested issue. I responded back, firing to match his tempo. He had my full attention. We were dancing, almost, back and forth, like a tango, and I was following along with no problems. I was enjoying our conversation. I liked him.

Finally, the new CEO dropped a bomb, “How would you recruit new business to the state of Mississippi?” My eyes lit up like a Christmas tree. My wheelhouse. Grandpa was one of the original three who moved the factory to this state. Economic development ran through my blood and was the subject of many dinner table conversations. I started a long-winded diatribe of how to recruit companies. The CEO challenged me, and interrupted me MANY times, on how I would handle particular objections. I seem to recall, at one point I stood up, for emphasis, making my pitch. And yes, when stumped, I said, “Well, if the statute does not work, then you have to lobby the legislature, in person, at the Capitol, to get it changed!” I thought I was convincing and made my case. I gave a couple of examples of how to push legislation. I had seen Grandpa do it, so it was not foreign to me… just part of doing business…..

I came in second place and lost to the well-tanned daughter of a prominent judge. I never expected to win, anything, and was glad it was over. Yes, I returned to work on Monday, with a miniature version of a crown, as “Runner up”. One woman in the office commented, “Well, maybe ‘she’ will break her leg…. and then you could go to state competition…..”, which was astonishing…. but they were serious! I survived throughout the morning with my pic in the local paper. People dropped by my office for congratulations and/or condolences. Was I dead? Should I have taken the week off to go to Florida for a perfect tan? Really? I went to lunch, annoyed. That afternoon everything changed……..

It was the CEO’s first day at work and we heard the gossip/rumble in our office, but he had not addressed the ‘troops’ as yet. Understand, the company was so big, employing thousands, and the new CEO would affect not only the workplace of many people in the town but also the social and cultural hierarchy of the town…. who was “in” and who was “out”. We were all a little apprehensive, including my own grandfather.

Out of the blue, mid-afternoon, the phone rang in my boss’ office. A phone call was unusual for him, he was the pent-up-in-an-office-guy-who-reads-charts-all-day kind of a boss. He nodded, got up, came to my desk, and told me, LOUDLY, the CEO requested to see me about a possible promotion. Could have heard a pin drop…. 14 women in my office section went silent.

No big deal, I assumed. The job I was doing in the credit dept was replacing a woman who was on an extended maternity leave. We knew she was having a problem with her infant daughter, and we were all worried about her baby. I thought, probably, it might be a call to replace her permanently. Sad for her but happy for me. I was torn and did not want to be seen as the winner, or benefitting from another’s misfortune.

I stood up and straightened myself to go and see the big boss. I was wearing a navy blue skirt, crisp white shirt, and a madras printed blazer which was too expensive for my budget. Remember it like yesterday. One of the older women was already on her feet and straightened my collar. She patted me on the back. Was it an “atta girl” or a “goodbye – nice to know you”, like I was going into the lion’s den for a sacrifice?

At the CEO’s office suite, I saw Lois. She was the Secretary to the President and a well known friend of my family. Grandma made Christmas stockings for her grandchildren. She got up, hugged me hard, and said, “They’re asking for YOU! Are you ready?” Her hug was weird and her emphasis was odd. Suddenly it occurred to me, replacing a woman on maternity leave would be a simple task done by Human Resources secretary, and definitely did not rise to the level of a CEO decision. Lois knocked lightly, opened the door, and I walked in……. to my future.

There were four men in the room and my grandfather was one of them, although he NEVER spoke, the entire time I was there. The others were the VP of Sales, who always looked at me in a lecherous way, even in church, and the VP of Human Resources, whom I did NOT like but could not put my finger on a specific reason as to why. Plus, the new CEO, from the beauty contest.

Only a single step into the room and the CEO got up to greet me and shake my hand, vigorously,  like he had known me for years. He smiled and his eyes lit up when he saw me. He surprised me with his welcome and familiarity. In retrospect, I guess I was one of the first people he met in our town and he latched onto me. It was strange, he was older and savvy, and I was one so young but we got along beautifully…. for the next 35+years. I surveyed the room and it was WAY different from the last CEO, the man who was my godfather. The “new” guy had definitely moved in. In one corner was a whore-red-velvet upholstered antique barber chair. Where the couches were, a new sleek couch had been moved in, along with a custom pool table (which is in my home now, a gift when he retired). I swear, his office looked like the movie set from the series Madmen. It was swank.

There was only one seat left in the room and before I took a breath, the CEO blurted out they wanted to offer me a territory sales position…. Bombshell! Crossing the room to sit, I was running numbers in my head. I knew the position averaged about $60K a year with commission and came with a company car. Apparently, our state territory rep was retiring and the slot was open. Poe was retiring? News to me….. I looked at my grandfather, who was sitting in the corner. He nodded at me but did not speak. I grabbed the arm of the chair to take my seat. I was fumbling and almost bracing myself with the news of the job offer to replace Poe, who was a legend in the company. Our state territory was smaller than other salesmen, but I would be making, perhaps, more money than my grandfather. How would that work in our family? By the time I crossed my legs, I had a full blown hurricane whirling through my mind.

“So, what do you think?”, asked the CEO, now ensconced behind his desk, “You’re perfect for the job!” He was answering his own questions, “And from what I understand, in the past several months, you already know the customers, right?” He had decided. I was his new project.

Understand, there was never any question in my mind. Of course, I wanted the job. I was already down the road, again in my mind, of working out family ‘feelings’ and other details of training, dropping out of college, packing and traveling.

Before I could say a word, the VP of HR spoke up. He pilloried the idea, “She’s not ready. She will never be taken seriously. She can’t do it. How will she travel. She’ll get lost. She will embarrass us as a company” He went on and on, talking about me in third person like I wasn’t in the room. I glared back at my grandfather, who nodded again but never said a word. Finally, Grandpa motioned toward me and gave me permission to fight and go after the VP of HR, which I did.

“Embarrass the company?”, I was livid, “Like you do?” The man had gorilla eyebrows, and arms so long it looked like they touched the floor. He was so big, he was awkward. “You’re a horrible dancer, a bad dresser, and a sloppy eater. LOOK at you, you have crap on your tie right NOW!”, I was pointing, and, sure enough, he was wearing his lunch. The idea that I would ever embarrass the company was absurd. I would rather die. He fought back and pushed me hard. The CEO and the VP of Sales watched us trade insults like they were watching a tennis match. It was tense.

The VP of HR, unknown to me at the time, really does hate women in business. I’ve only known about 2-3 people like that in my entire life, and he was one of them, but again, I didn’t know it at the time. I was young and naive. Finally, the VP of HR was exasperated and said, “She doesn’t even know the product line!” It was the final straw, and I blew up. The company displayed at the Merchandise Mart in Chicago. For years, I was there, with Grandpa, talking about “Autumn Fog” my favorite color of company upholstery, when this idiot VP was still in college! I played with company upholstery samples in my dollhouses! I remembered the process of chrome plating and how it changed the entire industry – it was my grandfather’s prize baby, he developed it. I knew our products. Oh yeah, I knew our product, stone cold. And my final salvo, “Who the HELL are YOU to tell me about our products?!?”

I had cursed at him. It was 1981, and I was about 19-20 years old and in my last year of college. I was a baby. I was in a CEO’s office, with people who ran a large regional employer, and had my grandfather in the room. I had cursed, which was way out of line and might have cost me my job. He could have fired me on the spot. It got quiet in a hurry. Of course, those guys cursed when they were among themselves, but I was a girl. Cursing was a cardinal sin for a woman – but I was rightfully insulted and pi$$$$$$ed. My red hair was on fire.

From the heretofore silent VP of Sales, “Yep, that’s our girl. She’s ready”

I got the job, the car, and was their first female territory rep, the first female executive in the company, the only girl in the big meetings, and the youngest one by far. Through my re-education as a “southern woman”, I learned how to reorient the room in my favor. Gone was Momma’s Avon and Estee Lauder became my new friend. I actually studied old movie icons and how they moved their eyes, then their heads. What incredible presence and power. What woman would ever give THAT up? So much easier to be a rose amongst the thorns.

It was a major turning point for me and for other women in the same office, all led by our new CEO. Before that day, I hoped to be one of the women in the office, working among friends, other women, raising our kids, growing old together. In a flash, I was different. Getting the job gave me a springboard to the boardrooms of Manhattan and Miami. I was comfortable in the role and frankly, ignorant of my “skirt”. It changed everything for me……, the world was new, big, and a little scary, but I liked it.

Yeah, a person, who happened to be an “older white male” (in today’s divisive identity politics jargon), gave me an enormous opportunity, and I ran with it. Yes, others in the company had doubts about me. Yet, I knew what kind of pressure I was under and quickly out-performed other salesmen. I worked my ass off – to prove them wrong.

Thinking back on those few magical moments in the CEO’s office, my entire life would have been dramatically different if he had not plucked me from obscurity in the credit department….., if he had not given me the opportunity and shown me what my life could be. He opened the doors and made me want more, or more precisely, showed me that I was capable of doing more. That’s true inspiration and real mentorship. He assumed I could do it before I ever had an inkling. Yes, he changed everything about who I became. What an enormous gift he gave me….. forever grateful.

All from what I thought was a silly beauty contest. “A lark”, I thought it was. Wow, was I ever wrong and completely misjudged that battlefield. Guess we will never know when opportunity comes knocking, will we? Maybe we should listen more carefully, look more keenly, not prejudge, to see the hidden chances which come our way…., and maybe I should follow my own advice.

Years later, someone asked me to run for Mrs. Mississippi, which is equally as complicated. I passed. My girlfriend Gail, won, which is another fabulous story.

Never did buy an eyelash curler, but I won my own crown, and I’m still exploring that big, scary world.

So, here’s my question to you all. Who inspired YOU? Who gave you your firest real break? What was YOUR major turning point? Did you take the chance or not? Any regrets? Any missed opportunity? What did you learn?

And finally, what do YOU want to do……. NEXT?

Figured you all might need a report thread!
Here is the PDF link for the Barr Summary, H/T to Roberta: LINK
Have at it!