Day: June 20, 2019
“Only by launching a ground invasion of the Islamic Republic could he ensure the thousands of U.S. troops who will perish in that ground invasion will not perish in vain.”
They also had a second great Bolton headline today: “John Bolton Urges War Against The Sun After Uncovering Evidence It Has Nuclear Capabilities”
A very pink Lady Gaga is larger than life
I don’t agree with the author about all five, but I am in his corner on The Last Action Hero. I really enjoy that movie. It is a lot of fun, and has a lot of heart.
Unfortunately for them, the show is not on Netflix!
Gaiman responded to the petition on Twitter, writing: “I love that they are going to write to Netflix to try and get #GoodOmens cancelled. Says it all really. This is so beautiful … Promise me you won’t tell them?”
Big game. After a slow start (by his lofty standard), Trout now leads the AL in HR, R, RBI, slugging average (by 80 points) and on-base percentage (by 50 points). That’s about all the categories worth mentioning, but he’s also leading in walks.
I’m an old fart and have seen a lot of great players, but Trout may be the best of the lot. He has no weakness in any facet of the game. In seven full seasons in the majors, he has two MVPs, and finished second four times. He finished fourth the other time, despite missing a quarter of the year.
And he is still only 27 years old.
In other news, CC Sabathia won his 250th game. We will not see many more of those
- Kershaw should do it if he stays healthy.
- I think Verlander might make it, since he seems to have returned to form, but he needs 37 more and he’s 36 years old, so the clock is ticking.
- Greinke is in about the same boat as Verlander. He’s a year younger, has 18 fewer wins, and is still pitching well.
I don’t think we will see another 300-game winner.
If this were just about anyone else, I’d be more interested, but Gaga is naked or nearly naked so often that I’ve become inured to it.
Trevor Noah’s theme was that Trump’s speech was exactly identical to his 2016 speeches
Colbert noted the same thing, but his most hilarious take was when he made fun of Trump’s brags about crowd size. (Contrary to what you might have heard, there was zero overflow, there were empty seats inside, and Colbert’s staffers were able to buy tickets at the last minute after their press credentials were denied.)
Not possible. Only a complete idiot would think that a President could use a war with Iran to get re-elected.
Kidding aside, Trump does not seem to want this war, but I don’t like the way things are going. Iran just shot down one of our naval drones, then followed that with some belligerent declarations.
I suppose it’s Aniston, but the quality is so poor that it might be anyone in Hollywood except Val Kilmer.
Kat Dennings in a low-cut blouse
She’s 33 and her breasts are enormous, so her expiration date for a nude scene is imminent, given the laws of aging and gravity, but if she did one, I would definitely be looking.
This is a scene from Monster’s Ball. That was back in 2001, when Halle topped our polls like nobody before or since by taking the top two spots!
Were they actually doing the deed? I don’t know. As my hero, Dalton, would say, “Opinions vary.” Thornton has said they were “simulating” sex, but if it is a simulation, it’s a brilliant one.
President Trump made two points on Twitter:
1. The Times is guilty of virtual treason for betraying our secrets.
2. Their story is not true.
He doesn’t seem to grasp that those two points are contradictory. If the Times gave Russia (and us) nothing more than false information, it can’t be guilty of betraying any secrets.
Trump is obviously wrong about point one, for two reasons: (1) Trump has demonstrated many times that he has no clue what treason actually is; (2) NY Times responded that the paper had described the content of the article to administration officials before the story’s publication, and the officials had no concerns.
I think Trump is probably right about point two. (Yes, I just typed “I think Trump is probably right.” Even a blind pig can scent truffles if he gets somewhere near them. Moreover, if one presents two contradictory arguments, there’s a decent chance that one of them will be correct.) I have a feeling that the pentagon may have gamed the NY Times into printing that story, and that there is no such cyber-plant.
- If it was a true story, the military would have nothing to gain and everything to lose by revealing it and allowing Russia to seek it out and develop a counter-strategy. In the intel game they say “publicity burns capability.”
- But if it was “disinformation” that the Pentagon wanted Russia to worry about, they knew the perfect way to get the Times to print it as a major story – by claiming that they had to keep it a secret from Trump. Hanging that idea in front of the Times is like hanging honey-soaked marshmallows near a cave in a bear preserve. This also explains exactly why Trump’s NSC said they had no problem with the story – they wanted Russia to read it.
Warfare capability, and especially warfare deterrence, can be physical or psychological. Countries may prevent an attack either by actually developing a new and terrifying capability, or by getting their rivals to think they have developed such a capability. I think this is the latter – a case of “Don’t screw with Ukraine or our elections, Vlad, or we’ll turn off your electricity and internet.” I think it’s probably a bluff.
“Finally, the long-anticipated Trump Middle East Peace Plan is taking shape. Under terms of the proposal, President Trump agrees that Israel gets whatever it wants. In exchange, Israel agrees to name a village after Trump.”
Well, not exactly …
“But it quickly emerged that the Israeli government had approved no such plan, had dedicated no funds to it and had established no specific location. The cabinet resolution says the place will be called Trump Heights ‘if it is founded.‘”
In the meantime, there is still this:
I hope to be taking my next vacation at “The Donald,” as we veteran campers call it. Here’s a sample of the deluxe facilities:
The whole bloody process was recorded on tape
The failing NY Times covered this in extreme detail.