YOU BE the JUDGE

Please give your reasons for either supporting or eliminating

 SUPER MAJORITY

RULE 

in the 

U.S. SENATE

This week, we invite you to speculate

 on the recent performance 

of two public figures

Attorney General 

Jeff Sessions

Silent-but-Deadly, or Weak and Ineffectual?

Senator John McCain

Does Hero to the Left equal Traitor to the Right?

... AND NOW THIS ...

If you don't get it, you ain't got it.

The Belle of Amherst

Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)

Julie Harris

portrays 

Emily Dickinson

  Some keep the Sabbath going to Church I keep it staying at home With a bobolink for a Chorister And an orchard for a Dome.
Some keep the Sabbath in Surplice I just spread my wings And instead of sounding the Bell for Church Our little Sexton sings.
God preaches –- a noted clergyman –– And the sermon is never long. So instead of getting to Heaven at last I'm going all along!

Julie Harris as Emily (1976)

Rest

From the Darkness take a rest,

Give yourself a Break;

Accept Encouragement, Respect,

Let go of the Ache.

Feel the Right beyond the Wrong,

You cannot do this on your own;

There’s more than Dark to run from here,

Alone with Him you own a Throne.

Don’t chase yourself in circles —

Wait for Insight at the Dawn ––

And when no strength remains within,

Rest in the everlasting One.

~ Author Unknown

It is with deep sadness and regret we note the passing of our beloved friend, friendly adversary and notably 
colorful blogging colleague

A lovable, truly unforgettable character
and all-around good sport has left us.

JERSEY McJONES

who lost his battle with advanced, 

metastatic cancer yesterday

JERSEY, TRULY YOU WERE LARGER-THAN-LIFE,

MAY GOD LOVE YOU THROUGHOUT ETERNITY.

WE OFFER NOW OUR KINDEST THOUGHTS, SWEETEST PRAYERS and FONDEST HOPES for HIS WIFE, FAMILY MEMBERS, 

and PERSONAL FRIENDS

...  Just when the fun's beginning Comes the final inning We can be glad for what we've had –– And what's to come ...
~ Eileen Farrel & Leonard Bernstein  "Some Other Time" ON THE TOWN (1944) music: Leonard Bernstein lyrics: Comden and Greene
Posted in Fond Memory of Jersey McJones
~ § ~
MORE TRAGIC IRONY in the NEWS
Sen. John McCain, 80, has been diagnosed with a primary glioblastoma, a type of brain tumor, Mayo Clinic doctors directly involved in the senator's care told CNN exclusively. (CNN) 

Scheming Washingturdians at Work

Bladdermouth McConnell and his jug-eared colleague in corruption

Just Whom Do These Three 

Turkeyturds Think They're Kidding?

The Granddaddy double dealer of 'em all

Mitch McConnell Defers Consideration of Senate Healthcare Bill Until Return of John McCain after Blood Clot Procedure

Washington Examiner

by Daniel Chaitin

Original Article

The Senate will defer consideration of the GOP healthcare plan that would partially repeal and replace Obamacare until Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., returns to work following a procedure to remove a blood clot from above his left eye, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said in a statement late Saturday. After wishing him a "speedy recovery," McConnell, R-Ky., added: "While John is recovering, the Senate will continue our work on legislative items and nominations, and will defer consideration of the Better Care Act." About two hours earlier, McCain´s office revealed that he would be spending a week in his home state …

~ § ~

Please CONTINUE sending your prayers, 
best thoughts, and fondest hopes 
for the recovery of our friend

JERSEY McJONES

still gravely ill with advanced, 

metastatic cancer.

THANK YOU!

OUR BEAUTIFUL FIRST LADY

Of Whom We Should 

Be Very Proud

Melania Trump at age 47

She's Moving As Fast 

As She Can.

Please Don’t 

RUSH HER.

We ask you please to CONTINUE sending your prayers, best thoughts, and fondest hopes for
 the recovery of our friend

JERSEY McJONES

still gravely ill with advanced, 

metastatic cancer.

THANK YOU!

Mystery Solved: Now We Know Why Comey Did Nothing About Hillary

Treachery towers over President Trump

Trump Accuses James Comey of Breaking the Law and Leaking Classified Information

Investor’s Business Daily

by Staff

Russia Scandal: No wonder former FBI Director James Comey refused to press charges last summer against Hillary Clinton for her egregious security breaches: It turns out, he may have been guilty of the same thing.

As the inside-the-beltway political publication The Hill reported, more than half of the memos FBI Director James Comey wrote after having spoken to President Trump about the Russia investigation contained classified information. The Hill cites as its sources "officials familiar with the documents.”

Not surprisingly, perhaps, Trump on Monday morning tweeted out an angry response: "James Comey leaked CLASSIFIED INFORMATION to the media. That is so illegal!”

He may be onto something there.

All told, Comey wrote seven memos based on nine meetings with Trump. In testimony to Congress, he asserted that he had made sure the memos in question didn't have classified material. But a subsequent investigation found markings on four of the memos indicating secret information, the kind that is not allowed to be routinely released to the public.

Comey has long maintained that the memos were his personal property, but virtually no legal authority agrees with that. Nor does the FBI, for that matter. The memos were created on government time and related directly to his work, so they were the property of government.

In short, it sounds like a game of cover-your-hindquarters he's been playing. Because Comey later let outsiders see those memos, and made sure they were leaked to the Trump-hating press, in this case the New York Times, so any protestations of innocence on his part sound more than a little weak.

Let's be very clear here: What Comey did is against FBI rules, and it's a violation of federal secrecy laws, on a par with the violation that Hillary Clinton committed when she decided to run the Secretary of State's office from a private, home-brew email server that was clearly illegal.

The agreement signed by all FBI employees says that "all information acquired by me in connection with my official duties with the FBI and all official material to which I have access remain the property of the United States of America.”

It goes on to add that agents "will not reveal, by any means, any information or material from or related to FBI files or any other information acquired by virtue of my official employment to any unauthorized recipient without prior official written authorization by the FBI."

Hillary signed a similar agreement at the State Department. Yet, she routinely put classified information onto public servers, where it could be grabbed by unscrupulous actors, such as the Chinese and the Russians.

How does that compare to Comey, who asked a lawyer-friend at Columbia University, Prof. Daniel Richman, to leak his memos containing classified information to the news media?

The goal of the handoff was to generate stories so that a special prosecutor would be named to investigate Russian meddling in the U.S. election and, more to the point, Democratic rumors that Trump had colluded with the Russians to beat Hillary.

In short, Comey appears to have delivered classified information to the New York Times and other media for the sole political purpose of bringing down President Trump.

More sinned against than sunning - by far.

Comey's actions help explain a lot of things that people have puzzled over since last year. During last summer's campaign and the growing scandal over Hillary's cavalier treatment of U.S. secrets on her email server, Comey came to her rescue.

Yes, he said in July, Clinton's actions were "extremely careless." But stung by the criticism he received from the left, he later in the month said that Clinton's violations didn't rise to the level of a prosecutable crime.

On Oct. 28, he revealed that more emails had been found on an unsecured laptop belonging to former Rep. Anthony Wiener, estranged husband of top Clinton aide Huma Abedin. On Nov. 6, just two days before the election, Comey announced Clinton wouldn't be prosecuted. Case closed.

Comey's later actions suggest, if anything, he learned from Hillary's chutzpah. You can flout U.S. law, and as long as you have friends and political clout, get away with it — even use your illegality as a bludgeon against your political foes.

Moreover, a June piece by Fox News noted at least 14 stories written by the New York Times going back to Jan. 10 containing "confidential information related to Trump and the FBI, mostly sourced anonymously from senior officials in the FBI and DOJ." Comey, it seems, has been working overtime to sabotage Trump.

This calls into serious question the appointment of Robert Mueller as special counsel to look into the rumors of election meddling by Russia. Comey and Mueller are close friends.

At minimum, Mueller must recuse himself on the Trump matters now before him. His friendship with Comey makes impartiality impossible, and it's a clear conflict.

More importantly, Comey got Hillary off the hook last year from what appeared to be a slam-dunk prosecution. And please remember, no one thought at the time that Trump had any chance at all of beating Hillary.

Now, we find out Comey played a double game with the public and the newly elected president. A case of a deep-state operative, Comey, trying to sabotage Washington-outsider Trump? Or just someone with a fast-and-loose idea about following the law?

RELATED:

Why Trump Was Dead Right To Tell Comey: 'You're Fired'

Are Democrats' Claims About Trump Colluding With Russians Collapsing?

No, Trump's Top-Secret Whispering To Russians Isn't Fake News — But It Is A Fake Issue

Clinton Email Scandal Explained

We ask you please to CONTINUE sending your prayers, best thoughts, and fondest hopes for the recovery of our friend

JERSEY McJONES

suffering still with advanced, 

metastatic cancer.

THANK YOU!

Dynamic Giants 

Mount Rushmore patinated with lichen

A raucous confident “Roaring Twenties” 

dreamt of noble statues cut in granite cliffs, 

gigantic torsos with lofty heads 

to haughtily survey the land and loot 

of yesterday’s Manifest Destiny spree.  

Four dynamic giants, wise and stony, 

George, Tom, Teddy, and Abe, 

towering and savvy. 

But, war with Germany interrupts.  

Budget cuts … 

Those heroic torso plans get ditched.   

Hitchcock later concocts 

the zaniest of daring dream-chases, 

cascading down 

those four iconic, stern, paternal faces.  

More budget cuts …

Green slime and sly lichens smirk in delight 

as care is rationed 

in a pinching austere clime.   

But, a German firm, in 2005, 

intercedes, presents a plan, and 

generously donates a free pressure-wash, 

methodically scrubbing 

the four solid upright faces –– of yesterday.   

How we yearn, how we flock,

with selfie stick aloft,

to see our better selves.   

~ Kathy Zwick (1941- )

Mount Rushmore after its German facelift

[NOTE: Kathy (Sanderson) Zwick taught history, literature, and creative writing in international schools in Brussels, Tehran, and London for over 30 years. However, she did not really spend time on her own writing until after she retired. In 2006 she submitted one of her first poems to a competition sponsored by a UK national bookstore and, to her surprise, won. Again, to her surprise, the prize was a collection of poetry books featuring the newly restored edition of Ariel, with a foreword by Frieda Hughes.  Since then, she has had poems published in several UK anthologies including a sonnet anthology, Hand Luggage Only, The Brownsbank Anthology, The Hippocrates Prize, The Ver Prize 2015, and a human rights anthology, In Protest. Many of her poems play with ideas stemming from the quirks and ironies of history.  Kathy also happems to be a high school classmate of FreeThinke.  The two have known each other since 1954.]

~ § ~

We ask you please to CONTINUE sending your prayers, best thoughts, and fondest hopes for the recovery of our friend

JERSEY McJONES

now suffering with advanced, 

metastatic cancer.

THANK YOU!