Joshua Holland, The Nation's Truth Nazi, Needs to Calm Down By Bob Fitrakis, Reader Supported News
 

I am saddened to see [URL="http://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/277-75/36957-focus-joshua-holland-the-nations-truth-nazi-needs-to-calm-down"]The Nation going down this misguided path.[/URL]
[QUOTE]Dear Mr. Holland: After studying and assessing [URL="http://www.thenation.com/article/the-conspiracy-theory-that-the-clinton-campaign-stole-votes-makes-no-sense/?nc=1"]your work[/URL] this semester, it is with deep regret that I have to inform you that you failed Political Science Statistics 101. As you know, you have characterized us as “conspiracy theorists” because in our [I]Strip & Flip Selection of 2016: Five Jim Crows & Electronic Election Theft[/I], Harvey Wasserman and I have suggested that exit polls matter. You have also publicly denounced our colleague Richard Charnin, who has two separate Master’s degrees in Applied Mathematics, for his analysis of this year’s primary exit poll results versus election results.

Since you show so little interest in statistical analysis, let me briefly go over what you should know:

First of all, exit polls are the accepted international standard for indications of election fraud and vote tampering. Here I refer you to Eric Bjornlund and Glenn Cowan’s 2011 pamphlet, [I]Vote Count Verification: a User’s Guide for Funders, Implementers and Stakeholders.[/I] Their work, done under the auspices of Democracy International for the US Agency for International Development (USAID), outlines how exit polling is used to ensure free and fair elections.

“U.S.-funded organizations have sponsored exit polls as part of democracy assistance programs in Macedonia (2005), Afghanistan (2004), Ukraine (2004), Azerbaijan (2005), the West Bank and Gaza Strip (2005), Lebanon (2005), Kazakhstan (2005), Kenya (2005, 2007), and Bangladesh (2009), among other places,” the pamphlet states.

When election results do not match exit poll results, we should not simply accept these results. What Charnin does, which he has been doing for many years, is study improbable election results that fall statistically outside the “margin of error” (MoE).
[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=only_human;434029]So this week, in the land of Trump news (all Trump, all the time) a tremendously huuuge amount of stuff happened. I'm gonna skip the recap but feel that although NBC's SNL comedy show did scramble to include a topical role of Trump spokesperson Joey Pepperoni transparently acted out by the shows Trump character himself for their cold open, for me, real comedy gold would have Joey Pepperoni calling up other countries to engage in Trump braggadacio.
[B]
One classic skit was Reagan calling countries all through the night.[/B][/QUOTE]
I don't know an alternative but I'm not really fond of the office of president anymore.

Here are a few links for the Reagan comedy sketch I mentioned.
6:25 video [URL="http://www.hulu.com/watch/4174"]via Hulu[/URL], [URL="http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/president-reagan-mastermind/n9509"]via NBC[/URL] (might require Flash). [URL="http://snltranscripts.jt.org/86/86fmasterbrain.phtml"]Transcript[/URL]

I'm starting to drift into the mindspace of old Soviet [I][URL="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_political_jokes"]humor[/URL][/I]:
[QUOTE]Telling jokes about the KGB was considered to be like pulling the tail of a tiger.

o A hotel. A room for four with four strangers. Three of them soon open a bottle of vodka and proceed to get acquainted, then drunk, then noisy, singing, and telling political jokes. The fourth man desperately tries to get some sleep; finally, in frustration he surreptitiously leaves the room, goes downstairs, and asks the lady concierge to bring tea to Room 67 in ten minutes. Then he returns and joins the party. Five minutes later, he bends to a power outlet: “Comrade Major, some tea to Room 67, please.” In a few minutes, there’s a knock at the door, and in comes the lady concierge with a tea tray. The room falls silent; the party dies a sudden death, and the prankster finally gets to sleep. The next morning he wakes up alone in the room. Surprised, he runs downstairs and asks the concierge what happened to his companions. “You don’t need to know!” she answers. “B-but… but what about me?” asks the terrified fellow. “Oh, you… well… Comrade Major liked your tea gag a lot.”
[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=only_human;434499]A room for four with four strangers...[/QUOTE]
That's a great one, and it is not from a laboratory strain of jokes. I've heard it in the wild multiple times as early as 30 years ago, and once or twice from my father who stayed in Soviet hotels many a time for business trips.

These days, this is simply shortened to the punch line, "Comrade Major liked your last joke" and can be used in almost any conversation and they won't ask you to explain your utterance.

Incidentally, last time I remembered it was when I posted [URL="http://mersenneforum.org/showthread.php?p=432364#post432364"]that note[/URL]. And by now, the Gub'mint already [B]did pass[/B] the law draft in the first reading, and all that's needed is Putin's signature.

o [url=http://www.counterpunch.org/2016/05/18/the-faux-fracas-in-nevada-how-a-reporters-pack-of-lies-ran-riot-in-the-fact-averse-media/]The Faux Fracas in Nevada: How a Reporter Manufactured a Riot[/url] | Counterpunch

o [url=http://www.salon.com/2016/05/20/i_watched_hillary_clintons_forces_swipe_nevada_this_is_what_the_medias_not_telling_you/]I watched Hillary Clinton’s forces swipe Nevada: This is what the media’s not telling you[/url] | Salon

o [url=http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2016-05-20/sanders-defiant-on-the-stump-quietly-reassures-democrats-on-unity]Sanders, Defiant on the Stump, Quietly Reassures Democrats on Unity[/url] | Bloomberg
[quote]Many in the Democratic establishment are privately seething over Sanders continuing to paint Clinton as the candidate of Wall Street and business and the party as corrupt.[/quote]
"Paint" in this sort of context is normally defined as 'depict', 'evoke', 'describe', all of which convey subjectivity ... thus, a curious euphemism for "voice the indisputable truth of" by the writer of the piece.

o [h/t NC reader 'Kokuanani'] Yahoo reporter Matt Bai rightly takes Hillary Clinton to task over her [url=https://www.yahoo.com/news/the-argument-clinton-shouldn-t-1431736289370166.html]announcement that Bill will be in charge of revitalizing the economy[/url]. ("Whose economy will be getting revitalized" is a very pertinent question here.) But as so often happens on the interwebs, arguably the best part of the piece is one of the reader comments:
[quote]25 Things I Trust More than Hillary Clinton:

• Mexican tap water
• A wolverine with a ‘pet me’ sign
• A mixed drink made by Bill Cosby
• A straight shave from Jodi Arias
• An elevator ride with Ray Rice
• A flu shot from Dr. Kervorkian
• Brian Williams memory
• Pete Carroll coaching decisions
• Loch Ness monster sightings
• Pinocchio
• The Boy that cried Wolf
• Browns going to the Super Bowl
• A Nigerian inheritance email
• A Snapping Turtle in my mud bath
• Harry Reid’s exercise equipment
• Tying Slick Willie’s shoes
• A test fart in bed sick with the flu
• A factory-packed parachute
• A kiss from Judas
• A Josh Duggar Daycare facility
• A mattress tied to a car top
• Keeping my healthcare plan
• A North Korean trial
• A BIC pen that doesn’t leak
• A tuna fish sandwich left on a city bus[/quote]

o Another [url=http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2016/05/links-51816-2.html#comment-2599626]great comment on the presidential primaries[/url]by NC reader 'Ranger Rick':
[quote]Every four years, like clockwork: Unpopular candidate gets picked by party insiders, populist outsider gets picked by party laymen (“the voters”).

Meanwhile, 42% of registered US voters say they are not affiliated with a political party (although you wouldn’t know it, reading a Washington Post op-ed that annexes these voters as unregistered partisans). The way the two-party system is constructed, a little over a third of the country’s registered voters have no say in who they get to vote for in November (since “none of the above” is not an option and most primaries are closed to independent voters). To call this dysfunctional is an understatement. This is the very definition of oligarchy.

At no time since 1968 has the failure of this system been more apparent than in the 2016 presidential election. The absurdly long campaign cycle has finally revealed to the general public that the primaries are when the real election happens — who gets the right to appear on the ballot at all. Even more disheartening to the general voter: the two main political parties are private corporations and their candidate selections are not governed by federal voting law, to the point where the entire state of Colorado did not even have a Republican primary this year as a punishment for backing the wrong candidate in 2012.

The US is running the very real risk of having national elections lose their legitimacy in the eyes of the general public. They derive their right to govern from the people, and once the people no longer think they get a say in who is in charge…[/quote]

And on a humorous parting note, overheard (overlooked?) this week on the Interwebs, a Trump Tweet and an associated dietary concern:
[quote]Donald Trump [url=http://www.politico.com/story/2016/05/trump-hillary-clinton-kentucky-results-223327]has a question about the Kentucky Democratic race[/url].
The presumptive Republican nominee fired off a tweet Wednesday afternoon calling into question why Kentucky Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes, a longtime friend of the Clintons who campaigned for the Democratic frontrunner, declared her the “unofficial” winner of the state even as votes were still being counted and The Associated Press deemed the contest too close to call.

“Why did Clinton supporter @AlisonForKY declare Crooked Hillary winner in KY when AP hasn’t even called the race?” Trump tweeted.

==============================================
Hilarity continues….
At my present rate of popcorn consumption, I expect to weight 800 lbs by the election…[/quote]

Trump eats french fries. Says "I love the French" (just kidding)

[URL="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/donald-trump-nomination-photoshop-battle_us_5747ea01e4b03ede44146cce"]Donald Trump Eats McDonald’s Meal On His Jet, Sparks Photoshop Battle[/URL]

[QUOTE=only_human;434975]Trump eats french fries. Says "I love the French" (just kidding)

[URL="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/donald-trump-nomination-photoshop-battle_us_5747ea01e4b03ede44146cce"]Donald Trump Eats McDonald’s Meal On His Jet, Sparks Photoshop Battle[/URL][/QUOTE]

Haha, editor's note (what happens with me? I usually don't read political links! But today is Saturday... BTW Ross, thanks for supporting me on duo, hehe)

[QUOTE][I]Editor’s note: Donald Trump regularly [/I][URL="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/donald-trump-violence_us_56e1f16fe4b0b25c91815913"][I]incites political violence[/I][/URL][I] and is a [/I][URL="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/donald-trump-911_565b1950e4b08e945feb7326"][I]serial liar[/I][/URL][I], [/I][URL="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/9-outrageous-things-donald-trump-has-said-about-latinos_55e483a1e4b0c818f618904b"][I]rampant xenophobe[/I][/URL][I], [/I][URL="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/donald-trump-racist-examples_us_56d47177e4b03260bf777e83"][I]racist[/I][/URL][I], [/I][URL="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/18-real-things-donald-trump-has-said-about-women_us_55d356a8e4b07addcb442023"][I]misogynist[/I][/URL][I] and [/I][URL="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/donald-trump-stephen-colbert-birther_56022a33e4b00310edf92f7a"][I]birther[/I][/URL][I] who has repeatedly pledged to ban all Muslims — 1.6 billion members of an entire religion — from entering the U.S.[/I]

[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=LaurV;434977]Haha, editor's note (what happens with me? I usually don't read political links! But today is Saturday... BTW Ross, thanks for supporting me on duo, hehe)[/QUOTE]
You're welcome. It's awesome that you have been on fire there for 174 days.

I rarely stick to it for more than a week at a time and before this week I hadn't been there for about three months.

Trump offers a debate to Bernie.
Bernie accepts.
Trump says he doesn't want to debate a runner up.

[QUOTE=0PolarBearsHere;434998]Trump offers a debate to Bernie.
Bernie accepts.
Trump says he doesn't want to debate a runner up.[/QUOTE]

You have the causality reversed - it was Sanders who floated the proposal, via Kimmel. Watch the segment on YouTube (or via the NBC website), if you don't want to take my word for it.

I still think The Donald should have gone through with it, but see that Bernie had the most to gain from such an 'interleague' primary debate, which I believe would have been unprecedented, at least in living memory. We can still hope for a Trump/Sanders debate in the run-up to the election, though. (Improbable as the scenario of the DOJ actually indicting an elite lawbreaker may be.)

[QUOTE=only_human;433527][URL="http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2016/05/budweiser-will-call-its-beer-america-through-the-election/482118/"]Budweiser Will Call Its Beer 'America' Through the Election[/URL][/QUOTE]
[URL="http://money.cnn.com/2016/05/28/news/companies/coke-uso-american-cans/"]Coke has caught the patriotic fever.[/URL]
[QUOTE]Coca-Cola is the latest company to adopt USA-themed packaging. Anheuser-Busch even changed the name of "Budweiser" to "America" -- the name change will last through the presidential election in November.

The cans also promote the joint "Campaign to Connect," which is being sponsored by Coca-Cola and the USO, which was reported earlier by AdAge.

The campaign aims to get Americans to send one million messages of support to members of the armed forces. Messages can be sent online via the campaign's website.

A special celebration of Coke's partnership with the USO begins this weekend at [B]NASCAR[/B]'s Coca-Cola 600 race.[/QUOTE] (my bold emphasis)

[QUOTE=ewmayer;435034]You have the causality reversed - it was Sanders who floated the proposal, via Kimmel. Watch the segment on YouTube (or via the NBC website), if you don't want to take my word for it.
[/QUOTE]
Too much effort. I'll take your word for it. Either way, it worked well for him to get his "Crooked Hillary" and "Bernie doesn't have a chance" punchlines out there some more.