Why does this not surprise me any more?

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/20/us/politics/donald-trump-in-triage-mode-after-shocking-conservatives-with-health-care-comments.html

Tell me again how Trump is a Conservative?  Or is it another word that begins with a C?

Wow.  This could easily be an outlier, or it could be the start of a trend.

Either way, watch for Trump to become even more unhinged, angry, and dangerous, like an injured dog.

I wonder if he'll sue NBC and the WSJ for issuing LIES! that he is behind Cruz in this poll.

http://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/surprise-trump-falls-behind-cruz-national-nbc-wsj-poll-n520296

Anyone want to bet that Obama treats his death with greater respect and reverence than he did with Scalia's death? 

And here I thought riding in the aluminum tubes was mindlessly boring.

Not on this flight:

http://www.avweb.com/avwebflash/news/Crew-Fist-Fight-Diverts-Flight-Report-225610-1.html

I was going to place this in Jaybird's "Modern Day racism looks like your friendly neighborhood banker" thread, because it is directly related to that story.  However, I think it deserves it's own thread, and would get lost in his "everyone is racist" theme.

From the article:

"Newly uncovered internal memos reveal the Obama administration knowingly exaggerated charges of racial discrimination in probes of Ally Bank and other defendants in the $900 billion car-lending business as part of a “racial justice” campaign that’s looking more like a massive government extortion and shakedown operation.

"So far, Obama’s Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has reached more than $220 million in settlements with several auto lenders since the agency launched its anti-discrimination crusade against the industry in 2013. Several other banks are under active investigation.

"That’s despite the fact that the CFPB had no actual complaints of racial discrimination — it was all just based on half-baked statistics."

http://nypost.com/2016/02/07/obama-bullied-bank-to-pay-racial-settlement-without-proof-report/

I have been friends with a guy since 1978. We were college roommates, fraternity brothers, and I was best man in his wedding.  He stood up in my wedding as well. We also fought about politics even back then - we had shouting matches on Reagan vs Carter 35 years ago.

Over time, life and geography has intervened, and at most we email each other a couple times a year.  I probably last saw him 10 years ago, and things were awkward, in part because of his rabid political positions. I'm sure he thinks he same of me. We also have little in common any more. He married late in his 30's, he "retired" in his 40's to be a stay at home dad for their son (who is now in college) as his wife has a career at a large bank.  He does church trips to Haiti, does other volunteer work, and apparently has done some local "summer-stock" type acting in local plays.  He's kind of a "metro" guy living in a wealthy Chicago suburb. Oh, and the final straw is that he's a Packers fan.

So he recently sent me an email on my birthday, and he asked who I was supporting. I in turn asked him if he still supports Sanders.  His response is below.

I'm not quite sure how to respond, or if to respond at all. My wife endorses the latter.

Here is is email:

---------

I am definitely a Bernie supporter and will surely vote for him when the Illinois primary rolls along next month. However, as I said in an earlier message, I will be just as happy to vote for Hillary in the general if she is the nominee. I think her biggest challenge will be to keep Bernie's supporters engaged so that they turn out for her in the general. A Republican in the White House in Jan 2017 would be bad for the country and a disaster for every priority that Bernie and his supporters, like me, hold dear.

Tho I do agree that it has been curious to see an old Jew from Brooklyn become such a rock star with today's young people, I'm not surprised because of his message and his almost singleminded devotion to it (democracy not oligarchy) resonates with people from all walks of life. People of all shapes ages and colors know that our planet is in danger due to fossil fuels and they know that Rs are only interested in protecting their future contributions from the fossil fuel industry. They know that our country's infrastructure is falling apart, they know that investments in such infrastructure protect them and their kids health and safety (thanks Rs for poisoning almost an entire city!), improve the economy and provide good paying jobs and they know that Rs are only interested in protecting the wallets and lowering the tax bills of their fat-cat Super PAC contributors. They know that a higher minimum wage will help vulnerable people who live on the edge of economic catastrophe and they know that Rs just want to maintain control over their cheap sources of labor. They know that never ending war is a prescription for more violence at home and abroad and they know that Rs want to send more kids that look like them off to intervene in places we don't need to be. So, I'm not very impressed with the diversity of the R crowd. Your Rs might look diverse but it's not the superficial diversity I want our country to aspire to. You gotta walk the walk, not just talk the talk or look the part. Progressives like me want progress not protection of the status quo.

Sorry... got carried away a little.

I presume you will be wearing Carolina blue on Sunday? Nancy and I leave Saturday for Punta Cana for a week with several other couples from our single and early married days in Lincoln Park. I've been told the resort will have a big screen on the beach for the Super Bowl. I don't have a dog in this fight so I'll just hope for a good game, better than Peyton Manning's last Super Bowl effort!

Be well.....

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Could rational thought have returned to the Pentagon? 

http://www.cnn.com/2016/01/21/politics/air-force-a-10-isis/index.html