Tuesday Open Thread

Posted on July 31, 2018 by rikyrah

MIRACLE

Definition of miracle:

1 : an extraordinary event manifesting divine intervention in human affairs the healing miracles described in the Gospels
2 : an extremely outstanding or unusual event, thing, or accomplishment The bridge is a miracle of engineering.
3 Christian Science : a divinely natural phenomenon experienced humanly as the fulfillment of spiritual law

…Because It’s Gonna Take a Miracle…

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76 Responses to Tuesday Open Thread

  1. Liza says:
    August 1, 2018 at 9:20 pm

    My sheltie is 16 years old today (life expectancy is 12 -14 years). We almost lost her last year when she was having seizures, but she was diagnosed with an insulinoma (pancreatic tumor) and has done fairly well just being on medications. But for some reason, the seizures caused her to lose most of her vision and now it’s all gone.

    She was still going for walks until a couple of months ago, and now she just isn’t up for it. But her appetite is still really good and she doesn’t seem to be in any pain.

    She sleeps most of the time now and she’s increasingly detached from us. I’m praying that she passes peacefully one of these nights. She deserves an easy passing.

    I’m trying to let nature run its course as long as she’s not in pain. Sometimes its hard to tell with dogs because they are so stoic. But I really don’t think she’s in any pain.

    What I’m having difficulty with is the detachment. I didn’t know that dogs did that.

    But she made it to 16, and I’m happy about that.

    Reply
  5. SouthernGirl2 says:
    July 31, 2018 at 4:46 pm

    Hey Chicas.

    I was talking with daughter earlier on the phone today as she was on her mail route. She always talks to me on speaker phone. She told me to hold on as she delivered a package. I could hear a woman asking about mail that she hadn’t received. It was her bank statement. Daughter told her everything that comes in is delivered. The woman told daughter those people on the corner may have gotten her statement. I could hear daughter say…ma’am, are you speaking about those black people on the corner may have your mail? Daughter says ma’am, they don’t even check their own mail on a regular basis. They don’t have your mail.

    I stayed quiet and listened to the back and forth. Woman wanted to know daughter’s name and how to spell it. Daughter says…I’m not telling you how to spell my name. Call the office. Woman says, do you not know how to spell your name? Daughter says…I’m not going to tell you and I’m not going to let you accuse black people on the corner of taking your mail. They don’t even check their own mail regularly. Ma’am, call the office. We deliver everything that comes in. You need to call the office.
    ************
    White people always blaming black people. Like they want her bank statement. Call the damn bank. I swear they are emboldened.

    Reply
    • rikyrah says:
      July 31, 2018 at 5:19 pm

      Always trying to blame somebody Black😠

      Reply
    • vitaminlover says:
      July 31, 2018 at 5:27 pm

      I love this! She let her know quickly that she’s not special. So glad she put her in check.

      Reply
    • Ametia says:
      July 31, 2018 at 6:09 pm

      Ha! SG2, you didn’t raise no fools.

      “…I’m not going to tell you and I’m not going to let you accuse black people on the corner of taking your mail. ”

      SHORT

      Reply
    • majiir says:
      July 31, 2018 at 6:15 pm

      Even if by mistake the black family did get her bank statement, there is nothing they could do with it except deposit it in the nearest trash receptacle. I love how your daughter put her behind in her place. I’ve never understood why some white persons blame black persons for everything. She could have either called the bank or gone to her bank to find out about her ”missing/delayed” bank statement. Also, your daughter only delivers the mail the post office gives her to deliver, and if there was no bank statement for the woman in her mail allotment to deliver to her, she couldn’t deliver it. SMDH.

      Reply
      • SouthernGirl2 says:
        July 31, 2018 at 7:04 pm

        I know, Majiir. Like what are they going to do with her bank statement? Accusing folks just because they were black people. Take your butt to the bank and tell them about the missing bank statement. I was just waiting to hear the woman say she was going to call police. These folks are crazy as hell.

        Reply
      • Ametia says:
        July 31, 2018 at 7:34 pm

        These folks are living in an alternate universe.

        Reply
    • Liza says:
      July 31, 2018 at 10:07 pm

      The old bitch was looking to start something. Who knows why? Sometimes people are so mean they just want to ruin another person’s day. I don’t believe that her bank statement was missing.

      Reply
  6. rikyrah says:
    July 31, 2018 at 3:38 pm

    BREAKING: U.S. borrowing expected to hit $329 billion in the current quarter. This would be the largest July-September deficit in 8 years and would equate to a 74% rise over last year.

    In other words, Trump is bankrupting the Country like he did his businesses.

    — Brian Krassenstein (@krassenstein) July 31, 2018

    Reply
  8. rikyrah says:
    July 31, 2018 at 2:32 pm

    President Jimmy Carter slams Trump’s America as ‘an oligarchy with unlimited political bribery’ https://t.co/FIZpCjouiS

    — Dina Ellithorpe (@DinaEllithorpe) July 31, 2018

    Reply
  9. Liza says:
    July 31, 2018 at 2:29 pm

    My gosh, this is incredible.
    https://twitter.com/espn/status/1024355007406264320

    Reply
    • vitaminlover says:
      July 31, 2018 at 5:29 pm

      So proud of him!

      Reply
    • majiir says:
      July 31, 2018 at 6:20 pm

      I was talking to my youngest brother in Seattle about this just the other day. I remember mentioning to him the many prosperity preachers who have private jets and mansions and their failure to do what Lebron James is doing. ‘King James’ is sharing his wealth to improve the lives of others while the prosperity pimps are only looking out for themselves. Who is living the teachings of Jesus, him or the prosperity pimps? The answer is so obvious.

      Reply
  12. rikyrah says:
    July 31, 2018 at 1:56 pm

    They never intended to give back the children to their parents 😠😠

    https://twitter.com/jeanguerre/status/1024341961778622465

    Reply
  13. rikyrah says:
    July 31, 2018 at 12:47 pm

    Donald Trump Has Almost Cashed His Check
    by Martin Longman
    July 27, 2018

    History is more an art than a science which becomes clear when you realize that it rhymes without ever quite repeating itself. We can read some strikingly similar stanzas when we go back to a rough time period in Richard Nixon’s second term and compare it to what Donald Trump is currently careening through in his first.

    ……………………….

    Things are coming at Trump fast now, with emoluments reaching the charts for the first time yesterday, his former fixer looking to reprise John Dean’s role, his former campaign manager about to begin the first of two doomed trials, and the Southern District of New York hauling his finance chief before a grand jury. He’s getting caught in his big lies on an almost daily basis now, with his feigned ignorance of hush payments to ex-girlfriends and foreknowledge of collusion-rich meetings with Kremlin emissaries turning to ash in his mouth.

    At least when Nixon went to China he didn’t tell the world that all our differences were due to stupid Americans and that Mao Zedong was far more credible than CIA director Richard Helms and the rest of the Deep State goons working in our intelligence and law enforcement agencies. Tricky Dick was a paranoid thug but half the country wasn’t convinced with good reason that he was a helpless agent of a foreign power.

    Deep Throat aside, most of the establishment was reluctant to think the worst of Nixon. At this point, you can almost pick any former high-ranking intelligence officer you want and find them quoted as suspecting Trump of treason. Even Fox News generals are quitting while accusing the president of being “a slave to Putin.”

    So, no, things are not exactly the same as they were in 1973. Back then, the country was watching Congress hold hearings and steadily losing faith in the administration. If we have hearings this time, they’ll probably have to wait until next year. But in every other way, Trump is in a weaker position than Nixon was a year before he was forced to resign. Nixon had just won by one the biggest margins in American history, while Trump lost the popular vote and is still arguing about the size of his minuscule inaugural crowd. Nixon had showed competence and even excellence in several areas during his administration, while Trump stumbles from one self-inflicted disaster to another. Nixon had loyal soldiers lining up to take a bullet for him, but Trump is now virtually alone.

    What Trump has that Nixon did not is Republican majorities in Congress. That is the only thing propping him up. If he loses that advantage (and maybe even if he doesn’t), he’ll be cashing his check.

    His roots are thoroughly rotted out and all that should be required now is the strong breeze provided by Manafort’s trial, Cohen’s evidence, Mueller’s report, and some Democratic committee chairs to help make sense of it all.

    Reply
    • Liza says:
      July 31, 2018 at 2:06 pm

      Honestly, I don’t know how he’s lasted this long. The level of corruption is unprecedented.

      Reply
  14. rikyrah says:
    July 31, 2018 at 12:32 pm

    In key statewide race, Donald Trump finds his ‘mini-me’
    07/31/18 12:51 PM—UPDATED 07/31/18 01:00 PM
    By Steve Benen

    As he wraps up his second term, Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) has his eyes set on the U.S. Senate, creating an open gubernatorial race in the nation’s largest swing state. The conventional wisdom suggested state Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam, a former congressman, was the frontrunner for the Republican nomination.

    That’s no longer true. Rep. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) has very quickly risen to the top of GOP polls in Florida, thanks almost entirely to the endorsement he received from Donald Trump. The New York Times reports today on how the largely unknown congressman, once seen as a longshot, positioned himself as the odds-on favorite to win Florida’s Republican gubernatorial nomination.

    By going on [Fox News] as often as he could to rail against [Special Counsel Robert] Mueller’s investigation and defend Mr. Trump – he has appeared on Fox prime-time shows at least 41 times since Mr. Trump was inaugurated – Mr. DeSantis attracted the president’s attention and his favor.

    After watching a Fox segment on Air Force One last December that featured Mr. DeSantis, 39, Mr. Trump tweeted favorably about the three-term congressman’s campaign for governor but stopped short of a full-throated endorsement. Mr. Putnam’s allies – including his former House colleague, Vice President Mike Pence – scrambled to stop the president from formalizing his support.

    Reply
  15. rikyrah says:
    July 31, 2018 at 12:24 pm

    Trump Is Not a Simple-Minded Crowd Pleaser
    by Martin Longman
    July 30, 2018

    ………………………….

    There are many things that Trump remembers very well, and many ideas that he sticks to with an absurd doggedness. One thing he very clearly adheres to is a commitment to please Vladimir Putin. In fact, he is so thorough in this respect that he must be getting more routine help in understanding what Putin wants than he’s getting from his regularly scheduled private meetings with him. But even if someone is telling him what Russia would like to see in Syria, Macedonia, the Korean Peninsula, and the Baltics, it’s certainly never far from his mind that he should not do anything that might displease Russia. And, if he feels like he may have been cornered into giving some offense, he’s sure to find a way to compensate at the very next opportunity.

    Trump remembers things just fine, and when he lies he most often knows that he’s lying. It’s true that he has no conscience about this and that lying means so little to him that he has no real voice in his head alerting him to contradictions. He may very well sometimes be unaware that he’s saying the opposite of what he said just 15 minutes previously, but that doesn’t mean that he doesn’t realize that what he’s saying is bullshit. It means that one bullshit comment can’t really contradict another bullshit comment because, for him, truthfulness is a worthless practice.

    What Trump is most effective at in life is conning people. He’s never much concerned himself with making sure his cons stay secret. Contractors know they haven’t been paid. People who lay down twenty thousand dollars to take a course from Trump University know they have been duped. When the bill comes due, he brings in his lawyers, pays his fines and legal settlements if he must, and moves on to the next scam.

    Reply
  16. rikyrah says:
    July 31, 2018 at 11:57 am

    whatever.

    The Uneasy Relationship Between Trump and Wealthy Republicans
    by Nancy LeTourneau
    July 31, 2018

    Despite pushing for a huge corporate tax cut and implementing attempts to roll back government regulations, wealthy Republicans don’t seem particularly happy with Donald Trump.

    Top officials with the donor network affiliated with billionaire industrialist Charles Koch this weekend sought to distance the network from the Republican Party and President Trump, citing tariff and immigration policies and “divisive” rhetoric out of Washington.

    At a gathering of hundreds of donors at the Broadmoor resort here, officials reiterated their plans to spend as much as $400 million on policy issues and political campaigns during the 2018 cycle. Earlier this year, they announced heavy spending aimed at helping Republicans to hold the Senate. But in a warning shot at Trump and the GOP, network co-chair Brian Hooks lamented “tremendous lack of leadership” in Trump’s Washington and the “deterioration of the core institutions of society.”

    That comes from a room full of people who have traditionally donated big money to Republican candidates. They’re not ready to flip allegiances yet, but it’s clear that there are some things going on in their party that are causing concern. We can summarize those concerns with two words: Donald Trump.

    Reply
  17. rikyrah says:
    July 31, 2018 at 11:28 am

    Previously undisclosed evidence in the possession of Special Counsel Robert Mueller—including highly confidential White House records and testimony by some of President Trump’s own top aides—provides some of the strongest evidence to date implicating the president of the United States in an obstruction of justice. Several people who have reviewed a portion of this evidence say that, based on what they know, they believe it is now all but inevitable that the special counsel will complete a confidential report presenting evidence that President Trump violated the law. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who oversees the special counsel’s work, would then decide on turning over that report to Congress for the House of Representatives to consider whether to instigate impeachment proceedings.

    […]

    In an effort to convince Mueller that President Trump did not obstruct justice, the president’s attorneys have argued that the president could not have broken the law because the president did not know that Flynn was under criminal investigation when he pressured Comey to go easy on Flynn.

    […]

    I have learned that a confidential White House memorandum, which is in the special counsel’s possession, explicitly states that when Trump pressured Comey he had just been told by two of his top aides—his then chief of staff Reince Priebus and his White House counsel Don McGahn—that Flynn was under criminal investigation. This memo, the existence of which I first disclosed in December in Foreign Policy, was, as one source described it to me, “a timeline of events [in the White House] leading up to Flynn’s resignation.” It was dated February 15, 2017, and was prepared by McGahn two days after Flynn’s forced resignation and one day after Trump’s meeting with Comey. As I reported, research for the memo was “primarily conducted by John Eisenberg, the deputy counsel to the president and legal adviser to the National Security Council,” who, in turn, was “assisted by James Burnham, another White House counsel staff member.”

    During my reporting, I was allowed to read the memo in its entirety, as well as other, underlying White House records quoted in the memo, such as notes and memos written by McGahn and other senior administration officials. My reporting for this story is also based on interviews with a dozen former and current White House officials, attorneys who have interacted with Mueller’s team of investigators, and witnesses questioned by Mueller’s investigators.

    […]

    The memo’s own statement that Trump was indeed told that Flynn was under FBI investigation was, in turn, based in part on contemporaneous notes written by Reince Priebus after discussing the matter with the president, as well as McGahn’s recollections to his staff about what he personally had told Trump, according to other records I was able to review. Moreover, people familiar with the matter have told me that both Priebus and McGahn have confirmed in separate interviews with the special counsel that they had told Trump that Flynn was under investigation by the FBI before he met with Comey.

    Reply
  18. Liza says:
    July 31, 2018 at 11:16 am

    Kirsten Gillibrand’s head will explode.
    https://twitter.com/dumptrump33/status/1024294260353519616

    Reply
  20. Liza says:
    July 31, 2018 at 11:06 am

    This little guy is too adorable. Amazing how animals adapt…
    https://twitter.com/dodo/status/1024323299558342656

    Reply
  21. Liza says:
    July 31, 2018 at 10:07 am

    Did anyone watch the first episode of Trayvon?

    Reply
  23. rikyrah says:
    July 31, 2018 at 9:21 am

    Stefan Bondy (@SBondyNYDN) Tweeted:
    On CNN, LeBron James said Donald Trump created an environment where people are more comfortable being racist. Asked what he’d say to Trump if he were seated at the interview, LeBron answered, “I would never sit across from him.”

    https://twitter.com/SBondyNYDN/status/1024136171616706562?s=17

    Reply
  24. rikyrah says:
    July 31, 2018 at 9:19 am

    Dolt45 say that he doesn’t know what to think about 3D guns.

    Keith Boykin (@keithboykin) Tweeted:
    Why does the president of the United States have to check in with the NRA to decide what he thinks? https://t.co/TJ7ATwEAlQ https://twitter.com/keithboykin/status/1024274043539779585?s=17

    Reply
    • Ametia says:
      July 31, 2018 at 11:34 am

      That LEDE, folks.is the reason for 45 occupying our White House and destroying our country.

      they’d rather burn it down than witness BROWN & BLACK PEOPLES surviving and thriving.

      Reply
    • majiir says:
      July 31, 2018 at 7:19 pm

      If I worked at that plant, I’d befriend my co-workers and ask them to teach me their language(s) instead of whining about being in the ”minority” and thinking they’re less valuable persons than am I because I can’t understand what they’re saying to each other. One of my goals is to learn to speak Spanish. I’d also like to learn to speak Farsi.

      Reply
  26. rikyrah says:
    July 31, 2018 at 9:02 am

    Democrats: Abolishing ICE? *scratches head* Gee, are we sure? Seems drastic. Maybe we can cut funding? Reorganize the agency a bit? Have we focus grouped this?

    Republicans: We would like to do an illegal $100 billion capital gains tax cut for rich people.

    — Osita Nwanevu (@OsitaNwanevu) July 30, 2018

    Reply
  28. SouthernGirl2 says:
    July 31, 2018 at 8:20 am

    He rolled on the wrong one and got his ass kicked…..

    https://twitter.com/IndivisibleNet/status/1024072562039353344

    Reply
    • rikyrah says:
      July 31, 2018 at 9:20 am

      Wrong one, Dear.
      THE.WRONG.ONE.

      Reply
    • Liza says:
      July 31, 2018 at 10:11 am

      Well, white supremacists have never been known for superior intelligence or even common sense. Who in their right mind would roll up on a guy built like that and try to start something with him?

      Reply
    • Ametia says:
      July 31, 2018 at 11:09 am

      HA! What in the HELL did that MOFO thinks was going to happen?

      Reply
    • vitaminlover says:
      July 31, 2018 at 5:40 pm

      Yasssssss! The young black man had a 6-pack and the piece of trash was whale blubber. Yasssssss indeed!

      Reply
      • majiir says:
        July 31, 2018 at 7:29 pm

        Did you notice how cautious the other white guy was after the black guy began the beat down of his pal, the one that got in the black guy’s face? I guess some persons think their white supremacy is an asset until their buddies stand there and watch one of them get a major *ss whooping. I couldn’t help but laugh when other whites in the general area decided their best bet was to get as far away from the black guy as they could.

        Reply
  29. rikyrah says:
    July 31, 2018 at 8:14 am

    They are all in it together. Which is why if Dolt45 goes down, THEY ALL DO

    …………………………………………………………
    Found at TPV:

    The client list of uCampaign’s app, Conservative Campaigner, financed by ultra-Catholic Mercer ally Sean Fieler, and developed by a Soviet-trained Ukrainian programmer, provides a veritable road map for Mueller of Russia’s infiltration of the right and misuse of personal data. The GOP, NRA, Trump-Pence, Rand Paul, Vote Leave..

    https://ucampaignapp.com/#clients

    Reply
  33. rikyrah says:
    July 31, 2018 at 8:08 am

    The part I don’t get is why we even waste our time pretending Trump would ever fight “Russian interference” that HELPED HIM? https://t.co/k8b48Oy3BH

    — Schooley (@Rschooley) July 28, 2018

    It would be like a kid questioning Santa Claus. Why ruin a good thing?

    — Schooley (@Rschooley) July 28, 2018

    Reply
  34. rikyrah says:
    July 31, 2018 at 8:08 am

    At some point they decided not to say, e.g.: “He has resorted to lying *now* to save himself in an unrelated criminal case.”

    and instead they settled on: “He’s lied *all his life,* including all those years he worked for and defended Donald Trump.” https://t.co/mmQRC3qvzc

    — southpaw (@nycsouthpaw) July 29, 2018

    Reply
  35. rikyrah says:
    July 31, 2018 at 8:07 am

    White Privilege personified – when you get to decide what IS and IS NOT a crime

    ……………………

    Giuliani is calling into Fox News right now to clarify his collusion comments from this morning: “My client didn’t do it, and even if he did it, it’s not a crime.” pic.twitter.com/4Lem500Wuj

    — Aidan McLaughlin (@aidnmclaughlin) July 30, 2018

    Reply
  36. rikyrah says:
    July 31, 2018 at 7:59 am

    ❤️ The reaction when this little girl showed her school friends her new sports blade gives us all the feels. #InternationalFriendshipDay #FriendshipDay pic.twitter.com/YwTHR3cVqv

    — BBC (@BBC) July 30, 2018

    Reply
  37. rikyrah says:
    July 31, 2018 at 7:57 am

    @KingJames 3rd graders are reciting the #IPROMISE for the first time in their new home with Principal Davis! ❤️🖤 #WeAreFamily pic.twitter.com/Gitytnq31t

    — I PROMISE School (@IPROMISESchool) July 30, 2018

    Reply
  38. rikyrah says:
    July 31, 2018 at 7:57 am

    SPOTTED: Former President Obama and Vice President Biden surprised workers at Dog Tag Bakery in Georgetown and took some time to chat with their fellows. The bakery provides valuable work experience for veterans, military spouses and caregivers. pic.twitter.com/VTfp2bifGW

    — CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) July 30, 2018

    Reply
  39. rikyrah says:
    July 31, 2018 at 7:56 am

    Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour gave Beyoncé unprecedented control over the cover of the upcoming September issue, sources say, and the music icon hired the first black photographer to shoot a cover in the publication’s 126-year history. https://t.co/Jy0h5ycgqy

    — HuffPost (@HuffPost) July 30, 2018

    Reply
  41. rikyrah says:
    July 31, 2018 at 7:54 am

    Every Democrat needs the attitude of Ted Lieu, Maxine Waters or Senator Mazie from Hawaii.

    …………………………………………

    Your regular reminder that under @realDonaldTrump, the US gave up military readiness exercises but North Korea has NOT:

    -Eliminated any nukes

    -Eliminated any missiles

    -Eliminated any chem weapons

    Now it appears #NorthKorea is building NEW missiles.

    https://t.co/QfeLhMTqJ2— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) July 31, 2018

    ….

    Reply
  42. rikyrah says:
    July 31, 2018 at 7:31 am

    However bad your day is going.. it’s gotta be going better than Paul Manafort’s 😄😄 😄

    https://twitter.com/voxdotcom/status/1024252085192335360

    Reply
  43. rikyrah says:
    July 31, 2018 at 7:30 am

    Good Morning, Everyone 😄😄😄

    Reply

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