The impeachment inquiry has gone public, but I plan to resist the temptation to follow it extensively here, like a starveling coyote trailing a garbage truck.
My reasoning is that we’ll all read, watch, and hear a lot more than we care to elsewhere. Charlie Pierce is on the case, and I urge anyone who wants the bird’s-eye lowdown on this caper, whatever that means, to become a card-carrying member of his Shebeen.
Also, I imagine that we’re all mostly on the same page here — that the White House has become the Shite House, and that it’s turds all the way down. So I plan to preach to the choir only when I have some fresh take on the revelations.
Tags: Charles P. Pierce, impeachment, Nick Danger, The Firesign Theatre
Mad Blog Media 
November 13, 2019 at 12:30 pm |
I concur.
November 13, 2019 at 3:06 pm |
I listened to part of it today. Bits of important stuff lost in a mass of yadda yadda yadda. The repugs ran their normal bullshit of distract, deflect, deceive, and attack the messenger. I gave up fairly early. Like Kamala Harris said, “I know a confession when I read one.” Read the memo of notes on the call.
November 13, 2019 at 8:03 pm |
Thankfully, my job prevents me from listening to the media at work.
November 14, 2019 at 1:22 am |
Anything interesting will be covered to death on the US news we stream here: NBC and PBS and then there’s the Colbert’s, Meyers’ etc. for the funny parts. The current Rethug excuse seems to be: “OK, he did it. But it’s not so bad that he needs to be impeached.” But this is coming out of the mouths of the same folks who impeached Slick WIlly over lies about a BJ in the White House. WTF?
November 14, 2019 at 7:24 am |
On another topic, it looks like one of our local automotive-crazed asshats will get his day in front of a judge and jury.
https://santafesobs.com/update-from-dough-regarding-trial/
November 14, 2019 at 10:49 am |
Speaking of coming attractions, I suggest checking this Frontline program out. I watched an hour of it last night, and will finish it tonight. Amazing and scary at the same time.
https://www.pbs.org/video/in-the-age-of-ai-zwfwzb/
November 14, 2019 at 10:49 am |
If it wasn’t so historically and politically significant, the dripping irony of Billy’s impeachment would be hilarious. He got caught.
Imagine if a historical tome could be produced documenting all of the clandestine knob polishings that have happened in the history of that building.
November 15, 2019 at 1:46 am |
Yep, but somehow I think the Rethugs (and their so-called evangelical supporters) would look right past it if Donny was caught getting HIS knob polished, even while sitting at the Resolute Desk. They’d probably impeach/prosecute the other party involved for causing their hero (savior) to sin!!!
November 15, 2019 at 7:12 am |
Drain the swamp only to refill as a sewer.
November 15, 2019 at 7:36 am |
Meanwhile, the rest of my shop lights finally arrived so my tiny shop is more-or-less complete. https://cycleitalia.blogspot.com/2019/11/new-shop.html
And before anyone says there are not enough bikes – relax, more will be coming (along with my good tools) in the spring of 2020.
November 15, 2019 at 8:56 am |
That shop seems damn near perfect to me.
November 15, 2019 at 9:12 am |
Lighting and location are indeed perfect: 6 36-watt 1000 lumen LED light strips and located at the bottom of the stairs from the living quarters of the house. The floor space is tight but the loft above lets me put lots of stuff up there out-of-the-way, including some of our rental fleet in the future. I can hang bikes up there if I take the front wheels off so we could easily have half-a-dozen up there. I never dreamed we’d be able to find a place with a shop space like this on the ground and a sea view from the top.
November 15, 2019 at 4:12 pm |
Larry I mean this question in sincerity. Here in the USA we have the tendency to faun over all things Euro in cycling and other beliefs that the US is “off the back”. I had a friend who said German mechanics are better at mechanics than us. Yet my local import car repair expert said his worst two mechanics ever were two German dudes supposedly trained by the Gods Of Mercedes.
Do the Italians give you some ” extra cred” for coming from this side of the pond? As in, if comes from outside this region it must be better? Or is their view of products and brands very parochial?
When I worked for the Japanese I shook my head at their reverence for Jack Daniels which I consider a mediocre firewater at best.
Here’s a toast to your business and hoping the locals see you as a fresh and worldly asset.
November 15, 2019 at 5:32 pm
Herb: Great question!
I’m convinced that whatever comes from elsewhere we tend to believe must be better. E.g.: If you live east of the Mississippi River, western beef is better. If you live west of the Mississippi River, eastern beef is better. It all comes thru Kansas City!!
This, to me at least, is in total contrast to each culture’s belief that they’re superior to the others they come in contact with (sorry PO’G about the dangling proposition!). Read the book “1491”.
Which is why, counter intuitively, “it’s locally owned and operated” resonates with so many.
And, while we’re on that topic, why do we seek out (and market) “organic/natural/non-GMO” when many of us are taking synthesized meds that are none of that, pursuing surgical procedures that are not “natural” for aesthetic reasons, and still searching for today’s genetically-modified version of Ponce de Leon’s Fountain of Youth?
Aren’t we all genetically-modified? 🙂
November 16, 2019 at 8:18 am
Interesting points – I think it goes both ways. One of our cycling friends (a guy who worked with various Italian amateur and pro teams as a mechanic/go-fer) once complimented me on a pair of S brand (made in China) cycling shoes I was wearing. Only because they were free BTW, but I said, “Giacomo! You live in the country where the best cycling shoes in the world are made. Why would you think these cheap Chinese shoes are any good?” It was all about the exotic foreign-ness of the shoes…. not whether they are any good. It’s the same with bicycles, there are tons of Big-S and G bikes being ridden around Italy, most of ’em equipped with Shimano components.
But when it comes time to eat or drink – things are different…way different. Italians would rather have one bite of something original and good than a whole plate of something mediocre. I always laugh here when they rave about their visits to the USA…after they go on and on for a bit I ask about the food. “Oh, the food? Well, uh..uh…” is the response because they don’t want to start-in on how awful it was…until I start…then they open up with all kinds of complaints, especially if they stupidly tried a US place that claimed to serve Italian food.
The steak-house idea they love! Big steaks that are cheap compared to Italy. They kinda smile halfway when I point out those steaks are laced with all kinds of hormones, antibiotics and gawd-knows-what and the cows are force-fed corn, but they figure they’re not eating ’em every day so it’s all good.
Most Italians have a tough time understanding why someone like me would ditch the USA and move to Sicily of all places as they think the USA is just like Italy (in the positive sense) but without all the negatives. If they spend any real time there they learn that’s not the case and I can’t count the Italians I know who moved there only to move back after awhile, usually after they made some money there.
One of our Italian friends who lives in CA now always tells me “Well, if I could be like YOU, and do nothing but ride my bike and drink wine all day, I would come back to Italy in a second! But I have to make a living and there’s nothing I can do there to make one.” His business partner left because he really hated the USA…but in 6 months he was back in CA, unable to find any sort of job in Italy that would support him and his wife.
November 15, 2019 at 6:13 pm |
JD the best part is many of the generic drugs we take, both prescription and over the counter, do not have country of origin marked on the container. I am willing to bet that my generic benedryl comes from China but I don’t want my red beans to come from there. I once bought some organinc kidney beans at Safeway for a buck a can. Got home, read the fine print, and the damn things were from China. How the hell do you produce a can of beans and ship them to the US for a buck. There are some peasants involved somewhere. I threw them away.
November 16, 2019 at 11:46 am
Winds me up when I look at chickpeas (ceci as they’re called here) in a store here and find out they’re from CANADA! Today we saw almonds (despite the fact that Sicily grows some of the best) in a store that were from CALIFORNIA! WTF?
November 17, 2019 at 5:41 am
Welcome to the global economy. For me, it would be Canada si and China no.
November 15, 2019 at 7:06 pm |
Well done indeed on the shop, Lorenzo. I wish my space were so well arranged. I have more of it, but am not nearly so organized. I gotta get serious about mixing some Law with my Chaos.
November 16, 2019 at 8:23 am |
Not having to put a car in there helps. Same as our place back in CA – a one-car garage is enough shop space as long as a car’s not inside, even if it’s a 60’s Fiat 500. Even a two-car garage is tough if there are two cars in it, bicycles take up a lot of space no matter how you store ’em. The loft above this one makes up a lot for the small footprint on the ground and I do have to admit this IS the nicest floor of any shop I’ve ever set up, which means I spend more time sweeping up!
November 19, 2019 at 5:33 am |
I hear the rain is coming. It’s coming ’round the bend. It ain’t rained here since I don’t know when.
Too bad it’s not getting far enough North to soak down Santa Rosa.
November 19, 2019 at 7:45 am |
Raining here now, but not like in the center/north of Italy. Wonder how many washed-out roads we’ll find in Piedmont next summer? Could be worse of course, Venice is really taking it in the shorts right now.
November 19, 2019 at 2:09 pm |
Have we got the roof leak fixed yet Larry?
November 20, 2019 at 1:56 am |
HA! You well know how that goes my friend…we have yet to even try to do anything about ’em other than put a pot on the floor to catch the drips. We’re trying to get our handyman guy over here for some other projects so we’ll try to point ’em out to him for advice. There are some cracks in the grout on the terrace tiles that I think are letting some water in when the wind blows the rain away from the drain up there and a crack in the window/door arch on the 2nd floor is suspected to be the cause of the other….the 3rd leak I’ve got no ideas…but our expert will probably have some!!! The joys of owning a 100+ year old house in Italy, right? 🙂
November 19, 2019 at 4:10 pm |
Clouding over here but no rain yet