Burningbird
Recently, Mediaite posted screen shots captured by a Twitter user who goes by the name of Not a Bot that seemingly showed several homophobic comments made on a now defunct weblog by MSNBC’s Joy Ann Reid. Reid replied that her weblog had been hacked and several articles modified by unknown parties. The media has responded by digging up an apology Reid made late last year about homophobic comments she had made in the past, which seemingly contradicts her claim of being hacked.
Responding to concerns from the agricultural community, Trump today noted that he had instructed U.S. Trade Representative Robert E. Lighthizer and National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow to explore the US rejoining the Trans-Pacific Partnership, “…on our terms of course”.
The news either portrays the information in a positive manner, or skeptically, noting the many criticisms Trump has made about the TPP in the past. Very few, though, report that there is no longer a TPP. The eleven other countries involved with the TPP moved on when Trump abruptly pulled the rug out from under the deal. They signed a new deal, the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), in March, 2018.
With the EOL (end of life) of Node 4.0 and the introduction of Node 10 coming in April, it’s time to look at that perennial Node problem: what to do about the Buffer constructors.
“Shooting reported at school”
You read the words in Twitter and feel your shoulders drop, your head lower, and you don’t want to hear any more, but you want to hear everything.
The scenarios run through your head. “A teacher accidentally shot themselves in the foot.” “One kid was showing another a gun he found at home and it accidentally discharged.” “Troubled teen kills himself.”
“A shooter entered the school and killed several people using an AR-15 and a high capacity magazine.”
It’s almost overwhelming when you realize that you’re hoping you’ll read about some troubled kid killing him or herself, because you don’t want to read the alternative. But it was not to be on Valentine’s Day at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
The St. Louis PD headline reads Missouri Republicans debate whether Greitens should stay or go. The debate is centered around revelations of the Greitens’ affair, and especially whether he photographed a bound, blindfolded woman and threatened blackmail.
Of course, discussions about kicking out a Republican in charge are not new this year. They happen all the time with President Trump. People breathlessly wait for the culmination of Mueller’s Russian investigation, hoping for a criminal indictment and impeachment.
Just stop for a moment, though, and think about what would happen if Greitens was forced to resign, and Trump kicked out of office?
In Missouri, the Lt. Governor would take over. This is Mike Parson. Many of us know Mike Parson from his effort to destroy Proposition B, the anti-puppy mill bill. He did so at the behest of Forrest Lucas, a wealthy Indiana oil man. Forrest Lucas is also the man behind Protect the Harvest, a frothing-at-the-mouth anti-animal welfare, anti-environmental effort. Lucas owns Mike Parson.
Not only would Parsons continue the destructive efforts begun by Greitens in the state, he’d likely increase such efforts because, unlike Greitens, Parson knows how to get along with the Republicans in the legislature. Right now, it is these same Republicans who have stymied some of Greitens more egregious actions.
Interestingly enough, the same circumstances hold true for Trump and the Vice-President, Mike Pence.
Mike Pence would support most of the cabinet members Trump has appointed. Heck, he probably recommended most of them. Pence would also continue undermining our civil rights, our environment, and our attempts at economic equality. But, unlike Trump, he’s seemingly level-headed, not overtly narcissistic, knows how to hide the bodies, and is a former Congressman. He’d get along with the Republicans in Congress—to the point where the GOP would stage such a slash-and-burn on the government and this country that it could be decades before we’d recover.
Most importantly, both Trump and Greitens are tarnishing the Republican brand. They are millstones tied around the neck of every Republican running for office.
So, giving up Eric Greitens for Mike Parson, and giving up Donald Trump for Mike Pence. Is this really what we want? Is it worth the momentary satisfaction of kicking a hated person out of office, only for them to be replaced by an even more destructive, harmful person?
Or is a better use of our time focused on preventing as much damage as we can, locally and at the national level, while we replace all of these jokers during elections in 2018 and 2020?