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John Maxwell

David Mitchell

This just in...............

I know you will all share in my shock and astonishment to learn that newlyweds, Pamela Anderson and her husband of 12 days, Jon Peters, have announced that they are putting their marriage "on hold".

This news catches me completely of guard. I am simply beyond words.

(except to ask,,,, do any of you happen to have her number?)  

John Maxwell

David Mitchell

Jack (and Mike),

Thanks for being so observant about my spelling. I knew that, but I was really just trying to save ink. 

Mary Margaret Clark (Schultheis)

Great story about the Super Bowl Champion's place kicker:

https://aleteia.org/2020/02/01/confession-brought-chiefs-kicker-harrison-butker-back-to-the-catholic-church/

David Mitchell

I know this is kind of a longshot here;  a plea for help!  (seriously)

I have been pre-ocupied for the past week over a matter of great stress.

* If anybody has any political of law enforcement connections in or near northeast Texas - in the area of Paris, Texarkana, Bonham, or more specifically, the town of Clarksville in Red River County - please give me a shout. 

I have a young friend who was arrested there last week on a charge I believe to be completely set up by a corrupt Sheriffs department. 

He's a young guy who I've known for years from our men's group at my church - a basketball group in which I was the old man in the group for 6 years. I helped him get through medical school back in his home town of Targu Murjes, Romania. Then helped him get to Germany where he and his cute M.D. wife (same "Medical College of Targu Murjes") make a lot more money. He is the straightest, most honest, and innocent, but hairbrained guy I have ever known. He just seems ot be a magnet for problems and hard luck.

He visits every year for a week to renew his "green card". He drove over to Texas to visit an old childhood friend from Romania. She and her live-in boyfriend gave him cash to take home to her impoverished parents. A lot of cash - Yes, he was stupid to take it. Cops pulled him over and found Meth in his Sam's Club orange juice bottle. He never saw them do the test. Sheriff won't allow his attorney to test the bottle. Attorney claims the test kits give false positives sometimes. 

Mind you - this guy is a clean living Neurologist from a hosptial in West Germany. He might do one beer once a week. He's actually a bit of a health nut and so anti-medication that it gets old as he "lectures" me about my diet. Doing Meth? I would stake my life against it!

Imagine a young single guy, with a foreign accent, driving an out-of-state rental car on what I have since learned is a "drug curier's corridor" (Hwy 82). And they find a lot of cash in the car.

When you google up "Red River County corruption" you get about 4 or 5 articles on various legal shenannigans in the history of this county - including an 8 year old article titled  "Red River Justice" in the Texas Observer. Pretty bad story about how they went after a lawyer who was trying to expose the corruption. One article is about a dishonest judge in a different county, but the title is, get this -  "Is There a more Corrupt County Than Red River". Another is titled "If You Want to Get Away With Murder, Do It In Red River County".   I am sort of panic stricken that my young friend is toast. 

If anybody has any possilbe connection, please let me know.

John Jackson

Set free by the Senate's whitewash, Trump has fired NSA staffer Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman, a naturalized U.S citizen born in the Ukraine (and a Purple Heart recipient) who was on Trump's shakedown call to the Ukrainian president.  Speaking the truth comes at a price in the Trump administration:

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/07/us/politics/alexander-vindman-white-house.html?emc=edit_na_20200207&ref=cta&nl=breaking-news&campaign_id=60&instance_id=0&segment_id=21085&user_id=69b07627b4fd88e0657a6f64fab5638e&regi_id=47667229

John Jackson

My, my, my - it never rains, it pours (especially when you have a derelict Senate more than happy to look  the other way). Trump has also fired one of his (many former) buddies, Gordon Sondland, one of the “Three Amigos” who was mucking about in our Ukrainian policy. Sondland initially tried to protect Trump but then, fearing a perjury charge, gave damning testimony under oath before the House committee that there was indeed a “quid pro quo” and that “everyone was in on the deal”.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/07/us/politics/alexander-vindman-gordon-sondland-fired.html

John Jackson

I’ve never posted two back-to-back posts, let alone three, but I’ve been biting my tongue… I’ll just remind you all that Clinton made an abject and contrite Rose Garden speech apologizing for “all I’ve done wrong and in words” after the Senate refused to remove him from office:

https://www.c-span.org/video/?116231-1/presidential-apology

Contrast this with Trump’s yahoo performance at the Prayer Breakfast two days ago.  

https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2020/02/06/trump-national-prayer-breakfast-newspaper-impeachment-acquittal-sot-vpx.cnn

Regardless of what you might think of Clinton, I’d say we’ve come a long way since 1999…

John Jackson

And having said all that, I didn't mean to short-circuit the legitimate question Dave asked in his post.

Michael McLeod

I just want to say that this was a great forum until blabbermouth Jackson took over.

And that I see frightening parallels between China and the United States these days.

In both countries, now, if you speak your mind and it varies in any way from the authoritarian point of view, you are in danger. You will be chastised, punished, publicly vilified.

We have always debated fiercely in this country.

But not since the McCarthy era have we had the kind of repression we face today.

It is un-American. It is frightening. It goes against everything those three letters stand for:

U.

S.

A.

It is time to stand up against what's happening now regardless of where you stand on the philosophical spectrum. 

David Mitchell

John,

I too have been biting my tongue. When Mitt Romney gave his statement, I was thinking of JFK's great book, "Profiles in Courage". Mind you, I never thought they would convicct, but I expected more strong statements of rebuke. But my fear is that the Senate has handed him a mandate. And that the Democrats (who can't seem to come up with anybody other than day-draming socialist dreamers) will play right into his game plan for 4 more years. I won't be the least bit surprised if he tries to go for 12!

Don't laugh at the idea - he made a very susicious statement a few weeks ago that got burried in the news. As Putin was removing Medvedev and the entire Russian cabinet from their office (and setting himself up for life in offfice), Chumpy tweeted out something like, "Isn't he (Putin) great! Maybe we should try that idea here sometime". This kind of stuff makes me nervous!

And we can all be relieved at Col. Vindman's dismissal. I guessed that was coming before we heard the news. After all, those guys that serve in combat, and wear purple hearts are really "scum" as Chump called him. Kinda like those top ranking generals in the pentagon who he calls "stupid crybabies" and refuses to listen to. 

Also very disappointed in Senator Alexander. I guess he's gotten old and just wants to go home.

Jodelle Sims

John Jackson, your posts are my favorite.  I want more!!!

Bonnie Jonas (Jonas-Boggioni)

Dave, I can't say that that section of TX is bad, and I'm not sure if I can help, but State troopers in Tennessee come to mind!  They all love the large sums of cash, because they get to keep it!  

You could have his lawyer contact the Texas State Attorney General.

We also have a local "Watch Dog" in our local paper - Dave Lieberman.

Best I can do!

Michael McLeod

In the meantime: Just learned this morning that my more-or-less daughter-in-law is coming home early -- from Beijing.

Thank goodness.

She is an amazing linguist in her late 20s who speaks several languages, including Mandarin. Last year she moved to China, quickly rising through the ranks of a corporation that teaches English via Internet. She is - soon to be was - a rare "laowai" (foreigner) in the upper echelon of the business (not to mention being mixed race.) She is brilliant and regularly kicks my ass at Scrabble so it will be good to have her back home. Really bad over there. Everything locked down. Can't go into her office, has to work from her apartment in a high rise. Just getting something from the store has become nearly impossible. Can't get antiseptic wipes. I told her to use Vodka if she can get it. Coming home in a matter of weeks, or at least plans on it, so we will be biting our fingernails till then. 

David Barbour

Mike M.

Depends where you are, our youngest is a sales engineer for a large manufacturing

outfit.  He is currently self quarantined in his apartment for one more week but is working

from home.  He is allowed to shop for food every other day.  This is in Cheng Du, Sichuan

province.  On the other hand we just sent some face masks because those are in short supply.

One of his favorite rants is how media ( TV ) coverage tends to slant everything towards

disaster.  Recently he sent photos of a beautiful, peaceful Hong Kong that he and a friend

visited during the riots.  No rioters present!

DB

David Mitchell

Thanks Bonnie.

But his lawyer can't even get the local District Attorney to answer his phone calls. He is actualy back in my house here in Bufton (had to drive his rental car back to the Atlanta airport or pay a large fine), and rode a buss down to Savannah. The details of this case are so bizarre I can't even begin to explain them. If he does not get a court date soon, he will have to buy a plane ticket home and get back on the payrol at the hospital in Germany - or lose his job.

But then get this - if he does, and they call him back for a court date, the new Trump rules will not allow hin to come back in - or thye would let him in and immeditely place him under arrest. Damned if he does, and damned if he doesn't. 

One interesting fact -  He took a drug test here in Bluffton a few days before he left (for his CDL license - yes, this young M.D. wants to keep his old Truck Driver's license current here - go figure). And a day or so after he was arrested in Texas, the police tested him again.         Both times, drug free! 

---------------------

And Mike,

Aside fom all the serious political stuff, I would like to say that I think I really like your (more or less) duaughter in law.  I mean, anybody who can kick your as in Scrabble can't be all bad,,,

(more or less).

David Mitchell

Bonnie,

I am not sure how many of our Forum readers get the history of your inside joke about Tennesse, but this irony just hit me. My friend actually drove from here to Tennessse first, to see other friends - then on to Texas. And then back through Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia. With a little more (bad) luck, he could have scored a sort of legal "hat trick".      (a hockey term for three goals in one game)

Never will forget how hard I laughed years ago at your story with those State Trooper boys from Tennessee and them purty little "buckeye leaves" on your bumper sticker. 

Wish you could re-copy the article here for all to enjoy: 

USA TODAY front page ! 

     "an elderly couple" - - LOL!

Lawrence Foster

Sunday mornings is when I usually get up by 7 a.m. and head out to Starbucks to spend an hour or so writing in my journal.  Going down the street I saw this "moonset." 

And then I remembered that if there is a moonset then there is also likely a sunrise.  So I turned aound and took this photo.

And the rest of the way to Starbucks in my mind I was hearing, "Sunrise, Sunset.  Sunrise, Sunset, swiftly flow the years..."

Have a good day you all And Happy Birthday Nancy DeCola and Fred Clem!

James Hamilton, M. D.

Larry,

Moon set of the full moon with almost silhouettes of bare winter trees and snow on the ground - nice! Kudos for braving what looks like a very cold walk to Starbucks for that cup of coffee. But the rewards of experiencing a beautiful moon set and sunrise made it even more worthwhile.

Jim 

Janie Albright (Blank)

A friend of mine, Judy Krings, took this photo yesterday morning at 5:30 a.m. from her condo that is perched on the hillside overlooking the bay here in Vallarta. Granted it's warm here ;)

James Hamilton, M. D.

Janie,

Tell Judy that is a very impressive monochromatic shot and should be entered into a contest!

Jim 

David Mitchell

Janie,

I think that's Doctor talk for "black and white".

Lawrence Foster

Janie, that is an outstanding photo that your friend took.  I have been doing some art work in just pencils and charcoals and I am likely to try and make a drawing of this image.  Thanks for posting this. 

Janie Albright (Blank)

Not an artistic shot like my friend took but here is my photo from last night (Sunday) at 8:39 central time. Just googled this for someone who asked me what makes it a super moon so will paste it here.

"It is a supermoon because it is within 90 per cent of its closest approach to Earth. This means it appears up to 14 per cent larger and 30 per cent brighter than normal, when viewed from Earth."