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Thanks for starting out with the departure of Jen Psaki. I will miss her in that role but look forward to watching Karine take over. I sure hope Beto prevails and Abbott is left literally, out in the cold. And Kemp…well, he has a very formidable opponent in Stacey Abrams. I pray she kicks his ass to the curb.

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STACEY ABRAMS❤❤❤ Donate to her campaign

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And to Beto, Texas cannot survive under Abbott any longer!

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Done!

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Donating monthly!

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You don't stand with Ukraine, you stand with Raytheon and Lockheed Martin as your fellow citizens languish.

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I bet you feel so virtuous with your Ukraine flag profile picture! It's like you really have skin in the game now!

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Imo, Jen Psaki brought the exceptional talents needed to conduct democratic discourse under challenging conditions. While I expect that Karine Jean Pierre will be yet another great asset, I cannot help but mourn to loss of Jen Psaki and her unfailing competence. Thank heavens there were a few weeks of lead time to this development, as the news hit hard.

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Psaki was just wonderful. And a gigantic change from the clowns who were in there during Trump's reign.

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Thanks for the satire

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Wasn't meant to be satire. Not sure I understand your meaning. Seriously - during the Trump administration we had Sean Spicer, Sarah Sanders Huckabee, Sarah Grisham, and of course Kayleigh McEnany. They either could safely be characterized as clowns, or could be safely characterized as no-shows, or both. All seemed like children to me, compared to the adult in the room Psaki.

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Ah, I get it and I agree with you! Indeed she was a wonderful propagandist. She had to cover for perhaps the most disastrous presidency in modern history. One in which the US handled a pandemic worse than any nation on Earth and no, not because people didn't get vaccinated. We have one of the highest vaccination rates and the highest death rate. She also had to cover for our absolutely disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan whereby we shutdown the principle air base, Bagram, before evacuations were complete and instead relied on Kabul International. 2.5 TRILLION dollars later, our sole achievement was to turn the Taliban into a conventional military armed with Billions of Dollars of our weapons. Obama expanded that war, Trump signed the Doha Agreement to eventually end it and Biden absolutely whiffed on the execution. But I know Trump Bad, Anything not Trump Good! Everything Trump say and do Bad!

Now in the midst of Economic Collapse and skyrocketing inflation, not to mention millions imprisoned and homeless, Psaki has to sell the American people on yet another war and has succeeded for about 30% of them. Indeed, she is an absolutely wonderful propagandist. No wonder she’s about to make millions at MSNBC.

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Not going to get angry or rant, Charles. But I have to tell you, your response covers too much to address at one time (in debates it is called a Gish Gallop"). I will focus on one item - Covid. I agree that "the US handled a pandemic crisis worse than any nation on earth". But that is where my agreement ends. If you look at the nations who got on top of the pandemic quickly and permanently - nations like New Zealand, but there are more - they locked down very quickly and very completely. They took the virus very seriously, and were able to open up carefully with minimal impact, and minimal sickness and death. The US did the opposite - The Trump administration saw covid as a damper on its version of a booming economy, and simply tried to wish it away or to outright deny it. They cared not one iota about the well being of the people; only the stock market. It resisted any kind of a lock-down, mocked masks when they were and are very effective, and once locking down became a no brainer, it was too late. The virus won. The Trump administration, although it correctly authorized emergency work to develop vaccines, was slow to advocate them, and was quick to push for quack fixes like hydroxychloroquine, quick to knock down the experts like Fauci, and quick to point out that getting vaccinated was just a personal choice and nothing more. There is a reason why the US surpassed all other civilized nations in covid death rates and infections - and that distinction falls directly in Trump's lap. When Biden took office, he inherited an unmitigated covid disaster, thanks to the previous administration. And had to make it his priority number one emergency. Thanks to the efforts of his administration, the country gradually turned the corner, and most of us can now breath a sigh of relief and can see light at the end of the tunnel. I say most of us because there still a large segment of the population who want to own the libs and refuse to take the vaccinations. Wonder if you are in that group....

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After 4 years of the would-be emperor, I can't imagine anyone whose first year in office would appear as a shining jewel. It started with a pair of coveralls and a broom, while the slob who vacated the place was still bellowing bulls**t at high volume. The US failure in Afganistan started when we failed to learn the lesson directly in front of us as the Soviet Union turned tail and ran after a decade trying to pacify Afganistan. They just couldn't see the compassion in our eyes behind the tactical gear, the armored vehicles, the anti-opium raids and failure to grasp the power of conservative Islamic traditions.

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Plop

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The White House Press briefing has become a regular feature of my day. Psaki did a terrific job! The contrast with the former admin is night and day.

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Thanks for the satire

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Kudos to Jen Psaki and her most admirable work🌼🌿

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Thanks for the satire

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Are you that "reporter" from Fox News? You sure seem to have a problem with the justifiable praise being given to Psaki.

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Marlene, I don't remember a W.H. press secretary that I appreciated more than Psaki. Her replacement, Karine Jean-Pierre, in addition to more than 20 years of political experience, brings a very different personal background to the job. I wonder whether the yellow jacket (you know who I mean) will try to sting her. Today is her first day. My comment is about Jean-Pierre, actually, she does a superb job of it herself.

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Yes, Fern, Karine brings many years of experience and I look forward to hearing her command the room. No one wants to go back to the years of 2016-2020 with the absolute worst press secretaries we have ever had! Psaki was a diamond; quick-witted, honest but never brutal, brilliant and resilient. Karine is controversial and I kinda like that she will be dealing with the likes of the Faux News folks as they try to tear her down. She is also the first black woman and a lesbian to have this role. I call that progression!

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Marlene, I saw Karine quite a few times on MSNBC. She is polite, succinct and has a beautiful smile. You have pointed to one of the connections that I most want to see -- how will she deal with the provocateurs? Psaki was an Ace of Diamonds in so many ways, one of which was how to use their jabs in the interest of a message the administration wanted to send. We feel the same about Jen; she came with a full deck and knew how to deal. I lived in Queens, NY for much of my childhood - so did the 'yellow jacket' and Karine. All three of us have stingers. Eager to share notes with you.

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Where in Queens? I spent a couple of decades in an apartment in Kew Gardens, a block from Forest Park.

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Bayside.

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And the GA GOP is divided and angry lowering their vote

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My gut feeling at present is that the GA GOP will eventually rally together around Kemp. Sad to say, their hatred of Abrams is SO strong it will serve as the glue to unite them. Perdue is so far out of the race it really is no contest. I also expect T***p will distance himself from Perdue because Perdue is losing, and T***p hates being associated with losers. Kemp has thus far refrained from attacking T***p directly and has very deftly skated around the lack of a T***p endorsement. He's obviously not doing anything to antagonize the T***p base so they will not feel so bad ending up voting for him in November. At this point the numbers show Kemp ahead of Abrams and I don't think there will be a serious enough rift within the GA GOP to adversely affect Kemp's numbers. Kemp's ads are already attacking Abrams--she's a "socialist" and leading the "woke mob", two of the terms Republicans are all using in lock-step. The right-wing is already REALLY mobilised and fired up about this election, so the only way to fight this is with a huge turn-out among Democrats.

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Yes well, the “numbers” were not in Warnock’s or Ossoff’s favor either, at first, as I recall. Hope Stacey comes out swinging, like she normally does, and hits the Pro-Rape party between the eyes.

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But, if memory serves, the numbers for Warnock vs Loeffler and Ossoff vs Perdue by the election (which was in January) were much closer than the most recent numbers I've seen for a hypothetical match-up of Kemp vs Abrams right now. That could easily change. Abrams certainly has her work cut out for her.

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Yes she does but she’s in it to win it!

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🤞🏻🙏🏻

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Let's hope that the currently-lethargic Dems here in Georgia have been energized by the leaked Alito draft. In the primaries that are currently underway, the turnout has been record-breaking, even compared to 2020, so fingers crossed.

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Nancy, I live in Columbia County and voted a few days ago. My fingers are crossed, too. I’ve never seen so many women on a ballot before.

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Camilla, that's great news. I voted last Sunday, and it was slow, but I'm guessing that many people didn't get the word that Sunday voting has been initiated. We're in Gwinnett, which is usually proactive. We had many women on our ballot, too. Hoping!

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🤞

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That covers a big piece for today, Marlene. I’m keeping Stacey Abrams in mind today and active, young black women today as I attend power gatherings. I believe they are a big piece of the puzzle future.

Salud, Marlene! 🗽🙋🏻🙋🏼🙋🏽🙋🏾🙋🏿

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Salud, Christine! 🦾💪🏼💪🏻💪🏽💪🏾

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Ditto to all you say, Marlene. I fail to understand the people of Texas who are so supportive of Abbot. But then, I could say that about anywhere there is a Republican uber-lord. I wonder if the abortion fracas at the SCROTUS (Supreme Court Republicans of the US) is meant as a deterrent from attention to the erratic leaders whose failures are becoming obvious?

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It’s not all Texans, a fact to which I can attest. However, the barbarians are at the door, many dressed as little old ladies. It’s not just the macho MAGAts. This is true of any state, even the “reddist.” It’s why my preference for The United States to ditch the South will never fly. I could move (with much difficulty) but many cannot. Hence, blues must fight on, wherever they may be.

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Abbott is a gerrymandered autocrat, the majority of Texans do not support him.

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I appreciate your correction of my assumption. I think I should worry more about gerrymandering.

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SCROTUS

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They did a tribute to Psaki and Peter Doocey on Steve Doocey's FOX show that was sincere. Peter Doocey gave sincere praise to Psaki and even went to far as to say Psaki made him a better reporter.

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Wow. Every little bit of honesty on FOX helps.

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No kidding! Ms. Kaleigh (former Press Sec under TFG) must be furious.

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I call him Dookie but nice to hear that he praised her.

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Dear God, please grant Marlene's prayers.

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💞💞💞💞💞💞

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It's a win-win for democracy if both things happen at the same time -- that the TFG-backed candidate loses in the Republican primary, AND that Stacy Abrams soundly defeats Kemp in the general election. That's the optimal outcome (and of course, keeping the two Democrat senators in their seats). Now, if Georgia would just wake up and ditch the radicals in the State government who are holding its citizens hostage via a Republican-led (sorry, I mean right-wing radical-infested) legislature.

A girl can dream, can't she?

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You can dream but the Democrats are going to get walloped as they ought to. As the 40 BILLION aid package to Raytheon I mean Ukraine just demonstrated, the anti-war component of the Democratic Party that used to exist during the Dubya years is gone. Everyone, aside from the most sheltered and privileged amongst us, can plainly see that the Democratic Party is a catastrophic lie. We have two right-wing parties to choose from in this country and right now, the "Democratic" one is worse.

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Plop

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Sadly, you have chosen to back the wrong people. I generally oppose war, but when a peaceful country is invaded by an authoritarian war monger, we need to defend.

The Dems are too beholden to corporate donors for my taste, BUT! And it's a very big but. Dems are pro democracy while Republicans are doing all they can to reduce and remove the people's voice by voter suppression and filling vote administration's with corrupt people who are willing to flip votes to candidates of their choosing.

If Trump had really won, Repubs wouldn't need to stack administrative positions with flunkies, nor would they need to suppress votes.

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Respectfully, you are backing the wrong people. You really bought into the lie that the Democratic Party is "Pro Democracy" didn't you? Remember when we were lied into invading Iraq? That was supposed to be about "Spreading Democracy". Instead we spread death and destruction. How about Afghanistan? How did that turn out? How about when we armed extremist Islamic groups to fight the Syrian Government? Did we successfully spread Democracy then?

None of those wars would have happened without Democratic Party support. In fact, despite promises of "Hope and Change" the Democratic Party became full Neo-Con under Obama who started 3 new wars (Libya, Syria, Yemen) with US involvement and the expansion of an existing one, Afghanistan.

No madam, you are supporting the wrong people. Do you really think 40 BILLION to Raytheon I mean Ukraine is going to help bring about peace? This is not about peace. At the moment, the only opposition to this madness is in the Republican Party so if we have to choose the less rotten of two apples, I guess for now mine is red.

Time to wake up people! HRC I mean HCR is not your friendly historian. She is propagandizing you for profit.

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So, you'll share your preferred slate of candidates?

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Yessir, Republican Primary in Virginia is June 21st. I'd be happy to discuss with you please feel free to call (434) 284-2525 or email c.blundon@gmail.com

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If you keep backing Republicans, you will soon find that we will have no elections at all. The fact that Trump and too many Republican members of congress helped plan and support the violent overthrow of our government should tell you something, but evidently, it does not.

P.S. George W. Bush, a REPUBLICAN President lied us into Iraq.

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Cheryl , It appears that your intentions are well. Regarding your apparent confusion, I mostly blame the corporate propaganda that lies to you every day, but, If I'm being honest, I also blame you. Had you have had a consistent motivation to dig for and understand the truth yourself, I'm sure you would have succeeded. Instead it would certainly appear that you doubled down on your partisan worldview.

You seem to be unaware of the evil that you defend because you have been sheltered from the violence and propagandized your entire life. When I talk about evil in this context, I speak of that which leads to a form of suffering that is beyond comprehension, as a result of war . For our part, the suffering that arises from multiple foreign US-led wars of aggression without popular consent or real understanding: Vietnam, Panama, Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria, Yemen and now Ukraine.

We have lived in a country that is responsible for having wrought untold suffering on populations across the globe. This has been a bi-partisan effort. I feel that it is my patriotic duty to ensure that my fellow citizens are free of propaganda and fully aware of the reality of this suffering such that future suffering might be mitigated with the goal of outright avoidance.

We were dealt this hand: Two corrupt parties. What is the way out of this mess? My take: Never pledge allegiance to either one. Go with whichever is the less evil at that particular moment. There are times in modern history when the Democratic Party has clearly been the more sinister of the two (LBJ massively escalating the Vietnam War, Clinton era sanctions on Iraq resulting in death of ~ 500,000 children) and vice-versa (Illegal invasion of Iraq under Dubya resulting in ~ 1,000,000).

I'm happy to talk to you about this in greater depth anytime. c.blundon@gmail.com

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Yes, yes, yes and yes!

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AMEN!!!

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I, too, will miss Jen Psaki.

I am surprised that Dr Richardson switched to other topics so suddenly, with no further comment about Karine Jean-Pierre. K J-P bears more scrutiny. Her anti-Israel rhetoric concerns me as I wonder about the administration’s general stance on Israel. Time will tell, I hope this blog will keep an eye on her.

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Remember the song Les Brown wrote. “Give Peace a Chance”?

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Pat, Sorry, but John Lennon wrote "Give Peace a Chance". A link to the man himself singing it is below.

The next link is to the song sung in Ukraine in 2014 (the year Russia took a big bite of it.)

To hear the great Les Brown, deliver 'Your Dream is Possible", see the 3rd link below. After an improbable start, Les made his dream come true, and that's exactly what he wants for you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayZbP6XCKoE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etYeu7gDlm8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHxbNEZwDvw

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Fern, you knocked it out of the park. Fresh from a women's march and news of yet another terrorist murder of 10 innocent Black grocery shoppers by a tactical geared white supremacist, get out the tissues. Then get out the vote.

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Ellie, I cannot write now -- it not tissues Ellie --unbearable. We'll talk.

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Well I’ll be darned! The truth comes to the light of day despite excellent propaganda. Let that be a warning. She has a two hour head-start on most of us. Thanks for the truth again and the music.That damn Fern, I tell you.

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Who be 'darned', you propagandist! You, Mr. Pat Cole, had a two hour head start to spread 'false news'. Soon, we hope, to be passe. In the past, got that? We want the TRUTH! Try, Pat, to 'Imagine' that!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkgkThdzX-8

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I had hoped Les Brown would bring you out. Now tell us some good news! This forum is ready for good news not squabbling over semantics.

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Fern is such a fabulous rascal.

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Yes, rascal

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Honestly, reading & seeing news regarding the killing of an American-Palestinian journalist by Israel soldiers? Then the disruption (to put it mildly) of the funeral of that journalist? I think that changes many peoples views of Israel! Then there is the destruction of Palestinian homes?? And so much more. The underdog Israel has become the bully. Sadly, thats nothing new.

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May 14, 2022
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Yes Spooky. And for all second guessing Karine Jean-Pierre already, isn’t that just typical. Never do I see a male appointee to anything pre-judged so vociferously as women are. LETS SEE HOW SHE DOES AS PRESS SEC’Y become convening a jury. This is a day to praise and hold up women as high as you can.

Salud!

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Ever so true! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

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Yeah Jen's propaganda was good, let's see if Karine can match!

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