Gov. Newsom: Vote no on Trumpism

Checked swings

I see this a lot watching the Giants on TV.

A checked swing should be called a strike when a batter is so badly fooled by a pitch that it becomes an issue---and the call must be made by either the plate umpire or, for a better angle, a first base or third base umpire.

When batter is that badly fooled by a pitch, instead of bitching about a called third strike, he should sit down and shut the fuck up.

Great moments in presidential history

Justin Fox in the NY Times Book Review:

As for Nixon, it wasn’t so much that he wanted to destroy Bretton Woods and the gold standard as that he couldn’t be bothered to save them. 

[Jeffrey]Garten offers this exchange from the White House tapes between the president and his chief of staff, H. R. Haldeman:

Haldeman: Did you get the report that the British floated the pound last night?

Nixon: No. I don’t think so. They have?

Haldeman: They did.

Nixon: That’s devaluation?

Haldeman: Yeah. [White House aide Peter] Flanigan has a report on it here.…

Nixon: I don’t care. Nothing we can do about it.

Haldeman: [Federal Reserve Chair] Burns is concerned about speculation about the lira.

Nixon: Well, I don’t give a shit about the lira.

Rob's comment:

Bob Woodward is credited with saying, "Nixon, the gift that keeps on giving." 

Nixon didn't give a shit because this exchange happened in 1973 after he was reelected in 1972.

What we learn from History

Taliban today in Afghan president's office

Kevin Drum:

Let's round this all up:

* Hubristic nation building.

* Starry-eyed constitution writing.

* Wildly unrealistic military training.

* Vast corruption.

* Lack of food and weapons for Afghan soldiers.

* Bad negotiating from the Trump administration.

* Afghan leadership void.

After we lost in Vietnam, our military leadership "swore it would never happen again. But it did, just as soon as they found themselves in a similar situation."

Rob's comment:

Let's go to Hegel for a Big Thought on History: “We learn from history that we do not learn from history.”

All we learn here is that the world has another country controlled by Muslim religious crackpots.