Apology Due Chris Matthews

Chris Matthews

is the current host of the show Hardball at MSNBC (http://www.msnbc.com/hardball). I have been watching, reading, and listening, to Chris since he appeared as a regular on The McLaughlin Group (https://www.mclaughlin.com/). I have read three of his books, which are excellent:

In a recent post (https://xpertchesslessons.wordpress.com/2018/08/15/chris-mathews-has-seven-women-on-his-mind/) I mistakenly made fun of Chris for saying the song, Take It Easy, was a Jackson Browne song. This weekend I finally got around to watching the 2013 documentary, History of the Eagles (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2194326/?ref_=nv_sr_1), from which I learned Jackson Browne began writing, but had trouble completing the song. In stepped Glenn Frey of the Eagles to finish the song.

‘History of the Eagles’ director Alison Ellwood credits Glenn Frey with reinforcing the honesty of her 2013 documentary.
George Pimentel/GettyImages

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/eagles-doc-director-says-glenn-frey-didnt-want-a-fluff-piece-199277/

I sincerely regret the lack of knowledge shown with the earlier post. One lives and hopefully, learns. Life is like Chess in that one must be honest about mistakes and, hopefully, correct them, so as to not make the same mistake again. It is more than a little obvious I should have researched the origin of the song before firing a hardball salvo at Chris Matthews, whom I admire and respect. This is my attempt at a heartfelt apology due Chris Matthews. It is I who should have run it by Ari Melber before firing the salvo.

The Oppressive Stench of Shady Activity Binds the Trump Universe

Everyone in Trump’s Orbit Keeps Getting Indicted

Rep. Chris Collins, one of the president’s most loyal supporters in Congress, was arrested in New York on Wednesday

By Ryan Bort
August 8, 2018 1:45PM ET

Rep. Chris Collins, R-N.Y. listens at right as President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with members of Congress in the Roosevelt Room of the White House. Evan Vucci/AP

If there’s one thing that binds the Trump universe together, it’s the oppressive stench of shady activity. This applies to those closest to the president, as well those orbiting him from a distance, like Rep. Chris Collins (R-NY), a back-bench lawmaker who in February 2016 became the first member of Congress to officially endorse Trump’s campaign. On Wednesday morning, Collins surrendered to authorities after being indicted on a number of charges related to securities fraud. Central among the allegations is the lawmaker’s involvement with Australian pharmaceutical company Innate Immunotherapeutics Limited. Federal prosecutors allege that Collins sold his stake in the company shortly before the unfavorable results of a drug test it had conducted became public.
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/collins-indictment-707943/

GOP Lawmaker Jason Spencer Shows His Ass

Mike Luckovich Atlanta Journal & Constitution

I was born and raised in the Great State of Georgia. I recall reading about a study some time ago in which Americans were asked how strongly they identified with their region. Unsurprisingly, Southern people identified most strongly with their region. As the saying goes, “You can take the boy out of the South, but you cannot take the South out of the boy.” We Southern folk know it goes even further than just region. During a conversation while living in the beautiful North Carolina mountain area of what is called the “WNC,” I mentioned something about “we,” as in “We are from the South.” One fellow shot a question, “Where are you from?” After answering, “The Atlanta area,” he fired back, “You ain’t one of us!” Obviously, some of the folks in the WNC region identify strongly with that area…

Georgia is a large state, geographically speaking. Most of the population is concentrated in the larger metropolitan areas. Politically speaking, the forward looking and thinking people live in the cities. The more conservative thinking people, who oppose change of any kind, live in the rural areas, which was known during the last election cycle as “Trump country.” Georgia is, therefore, a greatly diverse, and divided, state.

If you live in the US you are probably aware of the Republican State Congressman, Jason Spencer,

who greatly embarrassed our state on TV recently. If you live in other parts of the world, as do many of my readers, you may not have heard of the debacle. In case you missed it, here is Jason, the Republican, in all his glory:

Here are a few articles written after Jason made a fool of himself on national TV:

GOP Lawmaker Jason Spencer Strips Down, Screams ‘N-Word’ on Sacha Baron Cohen’s ‘Who Is America?’

The second episode of Baron Cohen’s Showtime series upped the ante with Dick Cheney and a seriously unhinged state representative from Georgia.

Matt Wilstein
07.22.18 10:31 PM ET
https://www.thedailybeast.com/gop-lawmaker-jason-spencer-strips-screams-n-word-on-sacha-baron-cohens-who-is-america

Georgia lawmaker refuses to resign after using racial slur on Sacha Baron Cohen show

Jason Spencer also dropped his pants in Who Is America? series after being told it would scare off Muslim terrorists
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/jul/23/jason-spencer-who-is-america-sacha-baron-cohen-n-word-video

Watch Sacha Baron Cohen Get Georgia State Rep to Shout Racial Slur, Drop Pants

Other Georgia lawmakers called for Spencer to resign, issue apology after Republican shouted “n-word” on ‘Who Is America?’

By Ryan Reed
https://www.rollingstone.com/tv/tv-news/watch-sacha-baron-cohen-get-georgia-state-rep-to-shout-racial-slur-drop-pants-702442/

Brother Ray Charles was born in Albany, Georgia, September 23, 1930. Listening to this song always gives me chills.

How The Trumpster Sees The World

The following is from an article, by Frank Jacobs, found over a year ago at the Big Think website (http://bigthink.com/strange-maps/the-world-according-to-trump). It was saved because of the maps. Reading it again this morning caused me to reflect upon how prescient the author was about what the future could possibly bring to US.

“I know the outer world exists”: from any other presidential candidate, that most basic of foreign policy affirmations would sound merely comical; from the mouth of Donald Trump, it sounds like a vague threat – especially to anyone in the ‘outer world’ (i.e. that not inconsiderable part of the planet outside the U.S.).”

“Trump’s foreign policy so far seems to rest on just two basic premises: keep that outer world out, and make it pay. The proposed Mexican Wall and a blanket ban on Muslims entering the U.S. are two examples of the former. On the latter point, Trump has called into question America’s strategic alliances and free trade agreements as ‘free rides’ for America’s military allies and economic rivals, respectively.”

“Under Trump, America would no longer be the policeman of the world; the U.S. should stop “paying to defend countries that can afford to defend themselves”; on the other hand, he has not ruled out using nuclear weapons in Europe, because “Europe is a big place”. Nor would China continue to “suck (America) dry”. Trump would “start taxing goods that come in from China”.

“Here are three maps painting the world according to Trump, in the grand tradition of cartography used to lampoon imperial arrogance and ignorance.”

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/we-are-the-world-a-minute-by-minute-breakdown-30th-anniversary-20150306