Bruce Lindner is at S.G.L Super Speciality Charitable Hospital, Jalander.
46 mins · New Delhi, India ·

*** Punjab Diary: October 31st 2017 ***

This picture is of several little girls who came to the hospital just to visit the team. Each of them had their lives transformed last year, and their families made the journey here today from who knows where just to pay their respect.

Today began just like any other day, with me waking up at 2:00 am craving coffee. Found some Instant in my room, made due. When in Jalandhar...

Met up for a briefing over breakfast at 6:00 am with the team. We then hopped in four cars which transported us over to the hospital, 10 minutes down the road from our hotel. But before the work began, they took us across the street from the hospital for a greeting by the Baba Gee (man of authority, stature within the Sikh community). A tall, VERY DISTINGUISHED looking older man dressed in yellow robes with a tall white turban. We all covered our heads with orange scarves and were then taken to a multi-denominational structure (a chapel, I guess) with four places of worship for each of the four predominant faiths here: A Sikh temple, a Hindu temple, a Christian Church and a Muslim mosque. Folks who wanted to prayed at their preferred quadrant did so, but being an atheist, I had no dog in this uh... that is, I uh... Okay, so here’s what I did. To honor our hosts, I got in line with the Sikhs (as did several of our crew) and made a donation inside the Sikh temple by dropping a few rupees in a wooden donations receptacle. I then bowed and took my place in a circle, myself being just beside Baba Gee. He read some holy scriptures, chanted a little, then they passed around ceremonial morsels of gur (Indian jaggery) mixed with spices that are supposed to cleanse, plopped it in my mouth (not bad!), and that was that.

Back across the street we went to the hospital, where there was much fanfare for the visitors from San Francisco. Lots of photographers documenting everything. Baba Gee was escorted up the steps where he held a ribbon cutting ceremony. A few more pics taken with the leaders of our team, then we all filed in.

My official “job,” such as it is, is to help. That’s all. Bruce, do this. Bruce, do that. Bruce DON’T do that. A 65 year old 180 pound gopher in scrubs. And to be honest with you, I haven’t thus far done all that much. Mostly just bringing equipment to where it was requested.

But by far the most fascinating part of this day was observing a bilateral knee replacement operation. I was literally inside an O.R. smaller than by bedroom back home (but outside the all-important sterile field), while Ricardo and another anesthetist narrated the play-by-play. It was mesmerizing. From beginning to end was around 3 hours, and never once did I find it “gory” or feel queasy.

All this time, wherever we went, we were guarded by some pretty capable looking men packing Kalishnikovs. Everyone, the armed guards as well, were friendly almost to a fault, so grateful that Dr. Baines has brought his team here. Dr. Baines by the way, the team leader, spent much of his day finalizing which “candidates” for spinal correction will be accepted. I saw maybe 25 kids show up with serious deformations, but we’ll only have time for 10 or 12. And many of those cases were either too extreme or were compounded by other complications.

By the end of Day One, one woman had two new knees, the schedule for the rest of the week was set and I learned SO MUCH I can’t even express it here.

So tomorrow is our first spinal correction case. Today was like Freshman orientation, rather than M*A*S*H 101.

The Indian food has been great (no Delhi belly yet), our accommodations are very nice, the coffee... not so much, and I haven’t even pursued any Whisky yet.

It’s 10:25 pm, so I’m gonna grab some shuteye. Many more pics and updates later!

Bruce Lindner
2 hrs · Jalandhar, India

*** Punjab Diary / Update 2 ***

I’ll try to keep this one brief (but you know me ).

The first two spine corrections took place today; one a 17 year old girl, the other a 14 year old boy who weighed 60 pounds. Both went well. Keep in mind that while I’m dressed like Dr. Ben Casey, everyone knows who I am by now with the exception of the local hospital employees, the patients and their families.

When the second back surgery was wrapping up, the 14 year old boy’s, I happened to be sitting in the waiting area in my scrubs and shoe covers when one of the Standing Straight docs came out to give his parents the news. I could kick myself for not recording it, because it damned near brought me to tears. These were clearly very poor people with zero hope that their son would live anything approaching a normal life. So when they heard the good news, their faces erupted in tears, smiles, grins, more tears... emotions unplugged.

The “thank you” or “blessings” gesture here as most folks know, is literally this: both hands clasped together. After the doctor gave them the news, he left to tend to other business... then they spied me. Ah! Another American in scrubs! Out came the plethora of , tsunamis of tears, smiles, grins and more tears. I had neither the heart nor the capability to communicate to them that I’m just a dumb grunt who makes coffee for a living, but I doubt it would have mattered if I had. I just nodded, smiled and ‘ed back. I’ve never seen two people so elated!

So that was pretty damned cool. Two more spines are scheduled for tomorrow, so this time I’ll either be wearing my usual Lindner street attire or I’ll be sure to be elsewhere when the verdict is given.

It turned out to be a 12 hour day, so we all headed out to a kind of micro brewery / disco / restaurant-on-a-rooftop afterwards. Tons of beer all around, more fabulous Punjabi cuisine, then back here to the hotel where it’s nearly 10 pm right now.

Oh, and I learned one other thing today. There’s only one thing more dangerous than driving in Jalandhar: texting while driving in Jalandhar! Driving here makes the chariot race in Ben Hur look like a cotillion.

A long, but singularly gratifying day in Jalandhar!

Bruce Lindner
Yesterday at 9:09am ·

Reminder:
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Richard Nixon ~ 76 indictments, 55 convictions, 15 sent to prison.
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Gerald Ford ~ 1 indictment, 1 conviction, 1 sent to prison.
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Jimmy Carter ~ 1 indictment, no convictions, nobody sent to prison.
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Ronald Reagan ~ 26 indictments, 16 convictions, 8 sent to prison.
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George H.W. Bush ~ 1 indictment, 1 conviction, 1 sent to prison.
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Bill Clinton ~ 2 indictments, 1 conviction, 1 sent to prison.
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George W. Bush ~ 16 indictments, 16 convictions, 9 sent to prison.
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Barack Obama ~ ZERO indictments, ZERO convictions, ZERO sent to prison.
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Donald Trump ~ Check back later! But just 10 months in, it looks like Reagan’s and Nixon’s records are going to be TRUMPED.

IMO, the best thing that could happen is the indictment, conviction and imprisonment of a president.

Bruce Lindner
39 mins ·

Dear Conservatives;
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Remember when you said:
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• If elected, Barack Obama wouldn’t keep us safe “as George Bush did?”
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• Barack Obama wasn’t qualified to be president because 8 years in the Illinois Senate and 4 years in the U.S. Senate was insufficient experience to be POTUS?
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• If elected, Barack Obama would jeopardize our alliances with Europe?
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• Barack Obama was a chronic liar?
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• Barack Obama was a racist?
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• Barack Obama was a narcissist? ( my personal fav’)
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• If elected, Barack Obama would be too weak to deal with Osama bin Laden?
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• Barack Obama divided us by race?
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• Barack Obama was too partisan to cooperate with the opposition?
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• If elected, Barack Obama would blow up the deficit, because only Republicans are fiscally responsible?
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• Ironic, huh?

Barack Obama wasn’t qualified to be president because 8 years in the Illinois Senate and 4 years in the U.S. Senate was insufficient experience to be POTUS?

Bruce Lindner
48 mins · Milwaukie, OR ·

Hop in your imaginary DeLorean for a moment. Set the arrival date to September 29th, 2008. Now pretend your name is Barack Obama.
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All polling shows that you’re on the verge of winning the presidency at a time when the country was bogged down in two poorly prosecuted wars, and the opposition party was already treating you, the Democratic nominee, as an interloper. One fool in particular enhanced his cachet amongst the Red Team by pushing an openly racist conspiracy theory regarding your birth certificate.
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September 29th is the day the stock market began its death spiral. Businesses and banking institutions disappeared overnight. Millions of jobs were lost. Trillions in wealth vanished. At one point, before the time the new administration finally had it under control, the economy was shedding 775,000 jobs per month.
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That was the welcome mat the Republicans put down for Barack Obama. And as if a sinking economy and two failed wars wasn’t bad enough, on the very DAY Barack Obama was taking the oath of office on Abraham Lincoln’s Bible, fourteen Republicans, all white men, including the current Speaker of the House, conspired in secret to oppose everything President Obama proposed. And true to their evil intents, that’s what they did.
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Hop back in your DeLorean. Set the time/date gizmo for June of 2009. The stimulus that the Republicans opposed has worked. The recession was officially over. That’s when the long, slow trudge back to economic normalcy began.
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So why am I bringing this up now? Ancient history, right? Hop back in the DeLorean. Set the date for Inauguration Day 2021. The reign of the fool is over. Whether he himself makes it to that point or not (I’m inclined to think *not*), his pawn from the Great State of Indiana will be there to pass the baton in his stead.
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Assuming of course, 1) the Democrats don’t blow this one, 2) Russia doesn’t pull off another cyber-attack, and 3) the electorate hasn’t reached a point of Idon’tgiveashitism.
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Now imagine the caseload awaiting the next president, whoever he or she is. Look at all the damage this monster has done in just one year!
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Deregulation of industry across the board. Pollutant levels are virtually ignored.
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All but severed ties with our oldest, most strategic alliances, including NATO.
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Opened the door to Russian interference in our elections—and continues to keep one foot in that door to this day.
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Attacks on ObamaCare, DACA, Planned Parenthood, the Paris Climate Accord, the Iran nuclear agreement, an established 40 year American trend calling for a two state solution in the Middle East, the lifting of protection of our National Parks and wildernesses, including ANWR — and virtually EVERY document, policy or signing statement that has Barack Obama’s signature at the bottom.
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Established an atmosphere of racial and ethnic division that’s led to an explosion of neo-Nazi hate groups, and multiple subsequent murders.
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And of course, the three-way marriage of FOX/NRA/GOP. As destructive and anti-American as any Hydra conceived of by the ancient Greeks.
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*THIS* is the steaming mound of pachyderm manure that awaits the next Democratic President. Be they male or female, black or white, gay or straight, standing on their own biological legs or on titanium prosthetics, the next POTUS’s ‘Job One’ will be to clean up the mess made by the FOX/NRA/GOP Hydra. Who will of course, as they did with Barack Obama, blame the mess they made on the newly elected Democrat.
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As bad as they made life for Barack Obama, particularly during that first year, I don’t envy 46. He/She will inherit something no president, not even Barack Obama ever inherited: an America on the cusp of losing its democratic spirit to demagogic fascism. The next POTUS will be tasked with bringing us back from the brink.
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I’m tempted to say “we’ve seen this movie before,” but we really haven’t. They’ve driven us into uncharted territory and they’ve run off with the keys to the DeLorean.

Bruce Lindner
5 hrs · Milwaukie, OR ·

I’ve said this before, but in light of the Bolton appointment and the war Cabinet he’s assembled, I believe it bears repeating. This isn’t something I can prove. If it was provable, it couldn’t exist. But it’s what I believe. I BELIEVE it. Beyond that, I got nothin’.
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I believe there’s an unspoken threshold, an invisible line that once crossed, certain actions come into play.
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The Constitution provides for many contingencies, but it’s hardly a modern document. As such, it can’t cover everything. It does provide for the removal of a President for reasons of incompetence or mental incapacity in the 25th Amendment. It also allows for Congress to submit articles of impeachment should a President violate his oath or commit other criminal activity, for the purpose of removing him from office.
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But the Founding Fathers made no contingency for a sociopathic, dangerous, unstable President COMBINED WITH an obsequious Congress unwilling to carry out their responsibilities. Factions of which, have been brazenly coordinating with the White House to shield him from justice. Under the leadership of Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell, there really is no balance in government at this time. Instead of Executive, Legislative and Judicial branches, today we have a near-joint Executive/Legislative Branch on one side, and the Courts on the other. Congress merely provides the rubber stamp. The results of that coalition are self evident. Chaos reigns. The people of the world fear for their future and for their children’s future. Psychologists and psychiatrists are booked months out.
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But I *believe* there’s a mechanism in place for just such a “what if” situation. And I believe we’re approaching it.
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Somewhere (again—I’m postulating. I can’t prove it), there’s a safety valve comprised of men and women within the Intelligence Community, though more likely an elite group of Secret Service agents whose job it is is to defend the Republic in the case of a catastrophic breakdown in the system.
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The POTUS is always surrounded by a network of Secret Service agents whose job is to protect him at all costs. Even if it means sacrificing their own lives. His personal security detail is even tighter. After the assassinations of the ‘60s, they ramped up the concept of security to a whole new level.
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My speculation is that there’s an unspoken system in place that would do what Congress WON’T do, should it become necessary. And by “necessary,” I mean for instance the President occupies himself by tweeting insults to Alec Baldwin or Joe Biden at a time when our Armed Forces are put on DEFCON 3.
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I believe an order would be heard in the headsets of POTUS’s security detail commanding them to “stand down.” Go get a cup of coffee. Save yourselves. People are coming. No, I’m not suggesting a Valkyrie operation. We’re better than that. Just place a bag over his head, put him in cuffs, and hustle him off to be evaluated. Then make the necessary phone calls to our allies, to our adversaries that POTUS is fine, but he needs some rest... then let cooler heads prevail.
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I simply refuse to believe that there’s presently no system in place to protect the other 325 million of us... scratch that: the other 7.6 billion of us, at the expense of one man. One man who’s endangering world peace more and more, with each passing day. While basking in the fear and terror he’s created.

I simply refuse to believe that there’s presently no system in place to protect the other 325 million of us... scratch that: the other 7.6 billion of us, at the expense of one man. One man who’s endangering world peace more and more, with each passing day. While basking in the fear and terror he’s created.

Bruce Lindner
19 mins · Washougal, WA ·

~ TWTWTW ~
... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
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• Stormy Daniels is becoming a weather pattern with staying power. Cold winds blew over the White House for yet another week. The biggest “chill” was revealed in images of Melania standing alongside her betrothed on Easter Sunday. She appears to have lost that lovin’ feeling.
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• George Nader flips on Erik Prince. He’s cooperating with the Mueller probe in exposing Kushner’s “back channel” to Russia.
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• Job creation slows down 70% over previous month.
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• Kushner personally handed classified information to the Saudis: a list of Royal Family opponents which led to a round up, multiple arrests and at least one killing.
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• Scott Pruitt, Trump’s EPA Secretary, is officially the most corrupt man in Washington. Trump says he has “full confidence” in Pruitt. Nixon/Agnew look better every day.
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• Trump’s pick for Wildlife & Parks Administrator at the Department of Interior, Susan Combs, has a long history of opposing the Endangered Species Act.
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• The Mueller probe appears to be exploring potential criminal activity on multiple fronts, with emphasis on collusion and obstruction of justice.
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• Trump declares economic war on China, creating wild fluctuations in the stock market. China retaliates. Trump threatens to triple-down. Ryan and McConnell stare at their shoes.
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• Trump increasingly pushing his Chief of Staff, John Kelly out of the loop. AP reports Trump is “getting tired of being told ‘no’ all the time.”
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• The right wing attempts to deflect from all this by rolling out several old, reliable chestnuts. Notably, 1) A fresh campaign to tie House Democrats to Hillary Clinton, and 2) A big budget film on Chappaquiddick. Because what happened half a century ago is far more important than any of the above.
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• And that was just this week.
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Welcome to the sociopathic presidency. It isn’t going to get any better than this.

Bruce Lindner
1 hr · Washougal, WA ·

One of my pet peeves is how the right has over time, systematically relabeled fascism as a left-wing ideology, rather than what it is; an extreme right-wing construct. Whether it’s Dinesh D’Souza, Sean Hannity or Jonah Goldberg, author of “Liberal Fascism,” they all at some point use the same flawed argument. And now we’re seeing trolls repeating it on Facebook.
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Rather than looking at the history of fascism, its rise in Italy, Spain and Germany, they glom onto the word Nazi, which is an acronym for National Socialism (Nationalsozialismus in German). They zero in on that word “socialism,” try to trim it to fit European style socialism, especially the ex-Soviet States, and come away satisfied that Nazism is left-wing. Never. Ever. Nazism, a nationalistic form of fascism, is, was, and will forever be, RIGHT-WING.
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They completely ignore the fact that the Nazis slaughtered the socialists and communists in the streets of Germany, and that Hitler purged every left-leaning soul from the Nazi Party. And never mind the fact that Der Führer himself said; “Our adopted term 'Socialist' has nothing to do with Marxist Socialism. Marxism is anti-property; true Socialism is not.”
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But during these crazy days, when even the President of the United States spews right-wing lies as facts, this particular lie continues to thrive.
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Early yesterday morning, I posted an article on how the administration was planning on empowering the DHS to compile a database of journalists, bloggers and “media influencers,” and I wrote the following introductory paragraph: “Every time we warn that this administration is taking another giant step towards fascism, the right pushes back; “No, no, you’re the fascists, not us!” And then the administration tries to pull something like this.”
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Sure as Eric Trump is uglier than a baboon’s rump, some troll barged in and started causing havoc. He was so obnoxious, I ended up deleting both him and his comments. First thing he did was he called one of my Facebook friends an “idiot.” I had already resolved to flick him into the forbidden zone, but before doing so, I decided to take a look at his wall. And wouldn’t you know it? He was embroiled in a heated argument with someone over the right-left position of fascism on the ideological teeter-totter, and he was using the “socialism” trope to make his case.
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So I jumped in (paraphrasing from memory, as I’ve since blocked him).
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“Tell me Einstein, so the reason you believe fascism is left-wing is because the Nazis called themselves national socialists?”
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[cough, sputter, *epithet*, lie] Once he got that out of the way, he said “Yeah, I do. Are you gonna tell me socialism is conservative? It’s right there in their name.”
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“Nope, it’s not. Socialism is left-wing. But the Nazis weren’t socialists in the traditional sense.” I wasn’t about to school this doofus on early 20th Century history, so I cut to the chase before he could block me.
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“Tell me this: Do you think the North Koreans and Red Chinese are right-wing or left-wing?”
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“Left, obviously. They’re communists.”
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“Right you are. And yet, they both use YOUR party’s name in their official title. The People’s *REPUBLIC* of China. The *REPUBLIC* of North Korea. You’re a *REPUBLICAN* too, correct? So why shouldn’t I assume you’re also a commie? It’s right there in your party’s name.”
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“Bullshit. That’s not the same thing. You’re playing word games.”
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“Bingo! It’s a fucking word game! And you came over to my wall and tried to play it there. So ponder why the Communist Chinese and North Koreans calling themselves by YOUR party’s name, “Republican” doesn’t mean they’re conservative... yet to you, the word “socialism” once used by a defunct party that’s been outlawed for 73 years somehow connects liberalism with fascism. Now keep your ignorance off my threads. (The guy he was arguing with gave me likes after each point).
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Then I blocked him.
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But feel free to deploy that argument whenever a similarly ignorant jerk shows up on your Timeline: If the word “socialism” embedded in the word Nazi makes modern liberals Nazis, then the word “Republican” must therefore be communist, because modern communist states consider themselves republics.
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Yeah, it’s a word game. But if you know how to play it, it debunks their bunk.

If the word “socialism” embedded in the word Nazi makes modern liberals Nazis, then the word “Republican” must therefore be communist, because modern communist states consider themselves republics.

I love it!
So much easier to explain it that way.

It works the other way too. Don't forget it's the Democratic People's Republic of Korea so clearly Democrats are commies.

Bruce Lindner
14 hrs ·

Remember when politics was strictly political?
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Remember when after the elections ended, both sides were civil to one-another? The candidates even becoming close friends on occasion?
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That’s what happened with Jerry Ford and Jimmy Carter, even though Carter beat Ford for the presidency by 2,000,000 votes.
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For those of you who weren’t around at the time, that man with the white hair beat the guy in the wheelchair by 5,000,000 votes back in ‘92. Look at them now.
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And sixteen years later, Barack Obama beat John McCain by nearly 10,000,000 votes.
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And yet, John McCain has asked both George W. Bush and Barack Obama to give the eulogies at his funeral... even though both men denied him his lifelong dream of the presidency. Bush in 2000, Obama in 2008.
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And he specifically requested that the current president NOT speak at his funeral.
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What the bloody hell happened to us in 2016?

Bruce Lindner
2 hrs ·

~ Things I’ve Learned This Week ~
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• Democracy still exists in America. The 30-35 Democratic pickups in the House sent a clear message to the Ochre Ogre: “We don’t like you.” Of those who lost their seats, some 27 were candidates singled out by survivors of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas massacre. So the NRA was cc’ed in that communique. Pissed-off kid power... The March For Our Lives movement made a huge difference on Tuesday!
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Oh, and that “thumping” the Dems supposedly took in the Senate? Hang onto your lugnuts, because things are still fluid. At this writing, Krysten Sinema is now ahead in Arizona (in Arizona!), Heller lost to Rosen in Nevada, Jon Tester held on in Montana, and Florida is still too close to call.
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• Paradise California, a pretty little burg in the Northeastern part of the state, has quite possibly been erased from the map by wildfire. It’s too soon to tell just how much damage has been done, but firefighters aren’t optimistic. Good thing the current administration thinks Climate Change is much ado about nothing, huh?
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• The Ochre Ogre is trying to save his ass from the “hoax” Mueller investigation by appointing a toady as temporary AG. Already, there’s been some pretty interesting pushback. George Conway, husband of Trump’s hired hatchet-woman Kellyanne Conway, has coauthored an Op-Ed accusing Trump of violating the Constitution. I don’t know if he has or not, but what he’s done smacks of the worst dictatorships of the last century. If he gets away with this, then the concept of “checks and balances” is just another false promise: Only in America can a crooked president fire the top law enforcement officer in the land, his replacement will then be empowered to undermine an investigator hot on that president’s trail. The obsequious suck-ups Lindsey Graham, Chris Crusty, Rudy Ghouliani, etc., are each hoping to be rewarded with the fallen man’s shoes. Rome under Caligula probably wasn’t this corrupt.
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My gut tells me he won’t get away with this. But with men like McConnell and Cornyn running the Senate, my conscience warns me that he might. We’ve never been here before.
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• A well-known restaurant chain contacted me this week, asking if they could examine my Javamobile. I told them of course. Might I ask why? They’re planning on expanding into the food truck pods, saw my grand opening on television last spring, and were impressed by my design. I’ll be meeting with them next week to give them a tour... such an honor!
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• Television production is slowly but surely returning to Portland. After Grimm, Portlandia and the Librarians all shut down last season, TV gigs have been pretty sparse here. That’s no longer the case—much to the benefit of vendors like moi.
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• On Wednesday morning (Pacific time), I had to hush my customers for a few minutes as some high drama played out over the airwaves. Trump held a post-election press conference to try to A) take credit for a “victorious” election the night before, B) call out Republicans BY NAME for having lost because they didn’t embrace him, and C) to use the occasion to prove once and for all, that contrary to his claim that the press is the enemy of the people, he is an enemy of the 1st Amendment. In fact, he’s Public Enemy No. 1 of the 1st Amendment.
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Following 80 minutes of the wildest clown show ever broadcast, this White House later used doctored footage to justify suspending the press credentials of a CNN reporter who DARED ask questions that made poor Donnie sweat. Jim Acosta showed himself to be a warrior for the Fourth Estate. We the People shouldn’t settle for reporters who are sycophantic to power—that’s what Fox News is for—we should expect them to do what Acosta did: Get up in his face and ask the uncomfortable questions! Because if nobody does, then what’s the point of an independent media? (again, that excludes you, Fox News).
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• Old love never dies. It just fades away.

Bruce Lindner
15 hrs ·

Isn’t Trump a clever guy? He tweeted Adam “Schitt” instead of Adam Schiff. Nyuk, nyuk! So funny! So witty! The man’s 72 years old going on 11. You MAGAts must be so proud.
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As for the gist of his message, what is there to say? Special Counsels are an appointed position. The man’s an imbecile.

Bruce Lindner
11 hrs ·

The Watergate break-in took place on June 17th, 1972. I don’t remember when I’d first heard about it, but it was probably at least a month later. It wasn’t much of a story until early 1973.
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Watergate culminated with Nixon’s resignation on August 9th, 1974. So from beginning to end, the whole affair lasted about 26 months. Not that Watergate was a blueprint for Trump/Russia, but considering the increase in the din lately, I’m getting a strong sense of déjà vu.
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Every day during those hot summer days in 1974 brought a new revelation. El Presidente became increasingly irrational. Even drinking himself drunk at night. And then... it was over.
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Trump doesn’t drink, but he does tweet. And if ever there was a window on a man’s mental state, it’s Trump’s tweets. The angst building up in that man is palpable.
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The first we heard about the Russian attacks on our election was in the late summer of 2016. The Obama administration made it official on October 8th when they formally accused Russia of being the culprit. Robert Mueller took the reins in May of 2017 after President Bugnutz fired Jim Comey... a move he may regret for the rest of his miserable life.
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So right about now, we’re 26 months into this thing. The same length as Watergate, from the break-in to end game. We’re not there yet, but it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas.
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As Al Pacino said in Scent of a Women, “Things are heatin’ up.”

Bruce Lindner
27 mins ·

Whenever I see Joe Scarborough, Wolfe Blitzer, or a few others in the media criticize Trump on Twitter or Facebook, there’s always an immediate avalanche of comments calling them out for their hypocrisy. Scarborough probably more than most, as Trump was a regular call-in guest on his morning program during the campaign. In fact, much of the media DID go out of their way to legitimize Trump’s candidacy back in 2015-16. So they do have some responsibility.
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But in their defense (some of them, anyway), Trump’s candidacy was a bona fide news story. As a newspaper, cable outlet or online news agency, they couldn’t exactly pretend he didn’t exist just because he’s a pompous asshole. If anything, their most egregious miscalculation was that they didn’t focus on that assholiness, and treated his boorish behavior as if it wasn’t out of the ordinary. So a guy with no political experience whatsoever boasts about his sexual prowess during a nationally televised debate. Sure, that happens every day. At least you’d think so, by the follow-ups from the pundits. “So Andrea Mitchell, how would you compare Donald Trump’s economic vision with Ronald Reagan’s?”
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Who the hell CARES!? Would you mind covering what he just said up there about the size of his junk? WHO DOES THAT!??
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CNN, MSNBC and (of course) Fox News, all regularly broke away from scheduled programming whenever Trump would hold one of his OWPORs (old white people only rally). And it didn’t take long for the Trump campaign to figure out that if they scheduled their hootenannies during prime time, the networks would follow... which they DID, and Trump got quadruple the exposure of everyone else. They inadvertently gave him rock star status. This failure of a businessman... failure of a husband... failure of a father... failure of a citizen... was being presented as a legitimate successor to Barack Obama.
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I remember someone asking Chris Matthews; “Why do you always cut away whenever Trump’s on TV? Can’t you see that he’s playing you?”
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Matthews answered (paraphrasing from memory): “Yes, we know. But we don’t want to miss it when he finally crosses the line, and that day is inevitable.”
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So in the case of Matthews at least, he (wrongly, as it turned out) believed by giving Trump unprecedented coverage, they’d be there to capture the magic moment when Trump went too far—when his campaign would implode and his followers would turn to Rubio, Kasich or whomever.
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What CNN, MSNBC and virtually everyone else failed to grasp (including me), is that there is no “bottom” with Trump’s base. He could have literally walked over to Carly Fiorina and relieved himself on her Manolo Blahniks, and it wouldn’t have fazed his true believers. They were already hooked. Nothing was going to tear them away from him.
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We didn’t understand it 2-3 years ago, but it’s self evident today. He IS the leader of a cult. And as with all cults, everyone sees it for what it is, except for the cultists themselves.
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What the media did 2-3 years ago may have been legitimate journalism under any other candidate, but in the case of Trump, it wasn’t. It had the unintended effect of glorifying him, legitimizing his presence where he had no business being, and robbing every other candidate of much deserved exposure.
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Hopefully, they’ll chalk it up to lessons learned. But Jesus, what a HARD way to have to learn it.