The Day Gold Rained From The Skies and Other Odd Stories

                                     Good Day World!

Imagine for a moment that you live in Siberia, one of the most hellish regions on earth, and one day gold bars and diamonds shower down from the skies!

The precious metals rain down as you watch. You think your ship has come in! God has granted your wish for good fortune.

Unfortunately, it wasn't God showering you with enough wealth to take care of generations of your children.

It was a Russian airplane - a Nimbus Airlines AN-12 - that was scattering the riches across the countryside! But before you can start scavenging, government authorities appear.

The Siberian Times reported that the value of "gold, platinum and diamonds" aboard the aircraft totaled $368 million.

Apparently some moron didn't secure the hatch door after the plane took off. Oh, well.

In other off-beat new stories...

Slain Colorado Woman Placed Craigslist ad for hitman to Kill Her, Suspect Claims

Think Commas Don't Matter? Omitting One cost a Maine dairy company $5 Million

One of my favorites today is...

"Grumpy Cat" Wins $700,000 in Federal Case Over Identity

Time for me to walk on down the road...

Where Does Trump Find These People?

Good Day World!

"I pick good people."  - Donald Trump on the campaign trail

Remember how Trump bragged during the presidential campaign about how he'd only appoint the best people to his administration?

Funny what a difference a year makes. That first round of government appointees, including a couple of key cabinet positions, are almost all gone now.

Fading memories of ass-kissers who couldn't cut the mustard. Every one of them left under a dark cloud. 

Trump's new generation of puppets is being announced almost daily.

The most recent was Larry Kudlow, a TV personality, has been tapped as an economic advisor by Trump. He's replacing Trump's longtime lawyer and buddy, Gary Cohn.

Like all of Trump's second generation administration, Kudlow is uniquely unqualified for the job.

His biggest recommendation was that he flip-flopped on his dislike of tariffs to fall in with Trump's lonely position on the hot-button topic.

If you thought Rex Tillerson was unqualified for his appointment to Secretary of State, his successor is even worse.

Mike Pompeo, whose made licking Trump's shoes into an art form, was tapped to take Rex's place. As for diplomacy experience, the man doesn't have any. Kissing American politicians asses is different than sucking up to heads of state.

Trump happily touted Pompeo's new position on twitter, noting that they think alike. Now that's scary. It's also how he got the job as CIA chief in the first place.

And look at who Trump appointed to take Pompeo's place...Gina Haspel.

In case you don't know who she is, let's just say she made her mark with the agency by using torture techniques (including waterboarding) in a CIA house in Thailand.

The rest of the story is the White House purge isn't over yet.

I can see Ben Carson, Scott Pruitt, and Betsy DeVos following shortly because of the sandals they're involved in and actually embarrassing the White House (which isn't an easy to do).

F.B.I. deputy director, Andrew McCabe, appears to be in Donny's sights. Attorney General Jeff Sessions is reviewing a recommendation to fire him just days before he's scheduled to retire on Sunday.

Though no decision has been made as of this writing, the scuttlebutt at the Justice Department expects him to be fired before Friday.

Why? Because Trump is a vindictive asshole and wants to jeopardize McCabe's pension after serving honorably for 21-years.

The million-dollar question is, where does Trump find these piss-poor people? What rocks does he overturn to locate so many scumbags?

It's like he's purposely picking the most unqualified candidates possible for each position. Out of spite. After all, he came into Washington as the self-avowed Disrupter-in-Chief.

It's getting harder to find candidates for positions in the Trump administration every day. The fear and loathing that takes place behind those hallowed doors has taken it's toll.

Consider this, Trump is already replacing his great picks after just one year in office. What will the next three years bring to the revolving door in the West Wing?

Time for me to walk on down the road...

Didn't You Use To Work In The White House? And, Other Questions Of The Day

                                     Good Day World!

Washington D. C. Pennsylvania Avenue

Man-On-the-Street interviews:

"Excuse me sir! Didn't you use to work in the White House? Aren't you John McEntee?"

Man keeps walking without answering.

"Wait a minute viewers! I think I see Rex Tillerson! Yep, that's him on the North Lawn! Boy he sure looks pissed off! Let's see if we can get a statement from him.

"Excuse me, Mr. Secretary of State, can I ask you a quick question?"

"Better make it quick, I'm outa this shithole for good!"

"What? Why?"

"That moron-in-charge fired me this morning! He claims I didn't kiss his ass often enough."

"Whose going to take your place?"

"A top-drawer ass-kisser...Mike Pompeo."

"Then whose going to take Pompeo's job as CIA chief?"

" Another world-class ass-kisser and kicker! Gina Haspel, the current CIA deputy director."

"Well viewers, you heard it here. Another White House exodus."

"Hey buddy, I've got some news for you."

"Who are you?"

"David Rhodes."

"As in the president of CBS News?"

"That's right. I just want to let you know my network is working on verifying information provided by Stormy Daniels before we release an interview with her on 60 Minutes." 

"Can you tell us when to expect this bombshell?"

"Soon. Just stay tuned."

"This has been quit an exciting day so far viewers. You never know who you'll see strolling along on Pennsylvania Avenue.  

"Hold on... I think I see Yahoo News chief investigative correspondent Michael Isikoff and Mother Jones Washington bureau chief David Corn coming up the street!

"They released their new book "Russian Roulette: The Inside Story of Putin's War on America and the Election of Donald Trump" yesterday. Let's see if we can have a moment with them.

"Excuse me gentleman! Do you have anything to say about your new book?"

"Yea...read it!" Isikoff said.

Pausing for a moment the two men stopped directly in front of the White House. Then they both gave a single finger salute and slowly walked away.

"That's a wrap for the day!

"In the upcoming segments we hope to see the rest of Trump's original cabinet - Jeff Sessions David Shulken, H.R.McMaster, Ryan Zinke Scott Pruitt, Ben Carson, John Kelly, and Betsy DeVos, before they're kicked out too.

I hope you tune in next week to see whose coming and going on Pennsylvania Avenue!"

Time for me to walk on down the road....

Primary Parade Begin's Today - Will Pennsylvania Go From Red To Blue?

                                      Good Day World!

The primary parade starts today in Pennsylvania. 

Voters will decide in the special House election, between Democrat Conor Lamb and Republican Rick Saccone, who will represent their state.

Interesting fact:

The traditionally red 18th district is not going to look the same come November's midterm elections.

Why?

Because the Republicans were caught cheating.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court redrew the state's legislative map to redress decades of gerrymandering, resulting in a more level playing field. 

Despite being called a close race by political pundits, there's a sense of an impending Democratic avalanche. A positive energy is coming in the form of voter turn-out in the state.

By all accounts, the Democratic base is much more motivated to vote now - a year into Trump's presidency - than they were in the 2016 election.

Between now and the Fall, we're going to see a lot more national coverage on state races. That in itself, would benefit Democrats.

I have no predictions for today.

If Lamb loses, I won't be shocked. If he wins, I won't be entirely surprised, and will certainly take it as a good sign towards the Democrats regaining Congress.

Time for me to walk on down the road...  

Nuke Wars: When Psychopathic Leaders Meet To Measure Hand Sizes

Good Day World!

First off, I don't really expect to see Trump and Kim Jong Un in the same room...anywhere.

Despite talk of their upcoming meeting tentatively scheduled in May, don't bet on it.

But...

If the unthinkable happens, and the two world-class egotists do sit across from one another without calling each other a name long enough to negotiate a treaty, it would be Yuuuch!

In the miracle department for sure!

Current status for this stunning news:


North Korea has the advantage in this proposed get-together. They've already called the first shot in the game by getting Trump to agree to meet.

No American president has ever met with a North Korean dictator for good reason...they didn't want to legitimize the rogue regime by sitting down as equals, and without getting a major concession from them first, before any talks take place. 

Trump's sudden decision to meet with Kim sends a bad message to other rogue states in the world that North Korea is so powerful that the world's superpower has agreed to negotiate with them.

Imagine, just for a scary moment, that Trump and Kim did sit down and got to comparing nuclear arsenals - each trying to one-up the other - as tensions rise in the room - and staffers on both sides attempt to cool them down.

The final straw, I suspect, would be when they got to comparing hand sizes! They'd both bruise their chubby knuckles pushing down too hard on their respective nuclear football codes.

Back to reality.

Like I initially suggested, the odds are pretty steep that the two psychopathic leaders will ever meet face-to-face.

At least, I hope not!

Time for me to walk on down the road...

Goo Goo Days In The White House As Donny Sheds Babysitters

Good Day World!

It finally happened.

After a year of going through baby-sitters, Donny has shed whatever restraints they had over him.

White House staffers are fleeing, like rats fleeing a sinking ship, amidst the chaos.

Chief babysitter, John Kelly, has gone from being a war hero to changing Donny's diapers and ignoring the stench.

The latest news from the Oval Office nursery:

The man baby looks like he's going to get his parade after all, but some brave adults have put their foot down when it comes to tanks and heavy equipment tearing up Pennsylvania Avenue.

The New Norm?

What a scary thought, Donny home alone.

He's increasing his 'executive time," that part of the day when he watches Fox and Friends, tweets crazy announcements, and passes out lies like candy to his base.

Baby Donny has everybody guessing what he's going to do, or say, daily.

From imposing insane tariffs, to announcing he's meeting with the North Korean dictator Kim - something no American president has done (for good reason) yet, he's thriving without supervision.

In Isaiah 11:6-9 of the Bible, there's a sentence referring to children leading the way to peace. Real world. Trump is not the child who will bring peace to the planet.

Chaos? Yes.

The only truthful thing baby Donny has ever said was when he promised to bring change to Washington. He brought change alright.

What was once a barely functioning Congress is now a total collection of cowards who can't (or don't want to) shed the corruption he brought to town.

But his days are numbered. 

From the Russia investigation to porn star Stormy Daniels, there's an increasing pressure on Donny's fantasy world. His friends, and family are facing increasing scrutiny over their illegal activities.

Meanwhile, Donny is sitting high in his height chair laughing at the adults!

Time for me to walk on down the road...

Snap Shots of America: The Good, Bad, and the Ugly

Good Day World!

Location: Berkley, California - The Ugly

A camera follows two Trump Supporters as they go inside of a book store and confront people.

The male Trump supporter, wearing his ragged MAGA hat and an American flag draped over his shoulders, warned one of the staff that he was going to burn the book store down because no one liked Trump there.

The male and the female Trumpies leave the store when told there was a video camera recording their hateful spiel.

Hurling vile epithet's they stood outside the store for hours harassing people.

Location, The White House, Washington D.C. - The Bad

The camera follows Trump around all day, as he drops two bombshells to divert the negative narratives piling up against him.

One was enacting an ill-advised trade tariff on steel and aluminum. The other was suddenly reversing his position on North Korea, and agreeing to talk with their leader before May.

Not only would he give Kim status in the world, but also a new narrative to North Korea's allies that they're as powerful as the U.S.

The chance that the two oddball leaders actually meeting is slim. There's an awful lot to figure out before May arrives.

If they do, don't be surprised that after the first meeting negotiations break down, leaving Trump alone on an island (there's a nice thought!).

Location - The outskirts of Sepporis, Israel -The Good

The camera focuses on a paralyzed man, Amit Goffer, who reinvented the wheelchair to help people walk again.

After years of research, thousands of paraplegics and quadriplegics all over the world are using his innovative exoskeleton - ReWalk. 

Time for me to walk on down the road...

Warning! Too Much Competing Information Is Causing Chaos

Good Day World!

Timely news and world events have created a 24-hour cycle of chaos that can consume a person.

News travels so fast we only have time to briefly analyze it before another newsworthy event occurs.

The online mainstream media, and social media, are creating a tribal culture that feeds on sites that play to their world views.

What we have is a news overload. Real and fake news stories compete for followers in nefarious ways. They mix entertainment with real news to keep our attention focused on them.

Talking heads insult guests and start arguments for ratings. Web sites offer links to radical groups striving for attention. Truth is tossed around like a football.

I'm at the point where I have to fact check everything I read, regardless of the source. There was a time when I didn't have to do that. When people trusted the major news outlets.

As a journalist, I've watched what's happening to the credibility of the free press with a heavy heart. The public doesn't know who to believe anymore. I can't say I blame them.

So people go to the echo chambers that promote their beliefs, regardless of how inaccurate and illogical they are. It's easier than spending time researching for validity in stories.

The result is the ever-increasing chaos in our culture where everyone is polarized on every subject. Where compromise is mocked, and bullies prevail. 

Short of avoiding news programs on TV, podcasts, and the radio altogether, there's no way to clear away all the haters and lies that will muck up your day.

The same goes for reading newspapers, magazines, etc. Your choice is to be real selective, or don't even bother reading any non-fiction.

Reality is really a bummer nowadays. You'll do best, mentally, by controlling your own environment, and what you let in.

Time for me to walk on down the road...