Suitable For Framing -- November 16, 2016

This note is for the archives. There is nothing here about the Bakken. Nothing to see here, move on. Just some rambling notes.

Life is good again.

For the six weeks prior to the election, I was so distraught I could not even watch my DVDs. I watched no television (except NASCAR and some football). But now, things are back to normal.

It is quite incredible how "uncivil" our country has become, or at least our country as portrayed by the media. When I watch this video I am struck at how "mean" / how "nasty" the "comedians" were. To see Mr Trump sit there quietly while some moron made fun of him was the reason I could not watch television any more. Everything had become so incredibly uncivil. Then, when I saw Ann Coulter in that video, my respect for her jumped a thousand-fold. I didn't care for her one way or the other six months ago, but after watching this video for the umpteenth time, I am just amazed how civil she remained despite the attitude of her colleagues and the mob-hysteria of the audience.

So, now I am back to watching my DVDs. I watched Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy last night and now I'm watching Birdman tonight. I've watched both movies more than a dozen times and never get tired of them. Not only that, I always see something I had not seen before, it seems. I can't find it now, but I think I've previously posted how I decide what movies are on my top ten list. To get on my top ten list, a movie is one I could watch seven times over seven days or something like that. Casablanca, Birdman, and Tinker, Tailor fit that definition.

I enjoyed Doctor Strange but it won't make my top ten list. It will very likely make my top 20 list.

Again, another screenshot from The Drudge Report, another screenshot suitable for framing.

From CNS News:

Republicans added to their historic 2014 gains in the nation’s state legislatures with the addition of five state House chambers and two state Senate chambers in last week’s election, while Democratic control was reduced to levels not seen since the Civil War.

Republicans are now in control of a record 67 (68 percent) of the 98 partisan state legislative chambers in the nation, more than twice the number (31) in which Democrats have a majority, according to the bipartisan National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL).

“That’s more than at any other time in the history of the Republican Party,” according to NCSL. “They also hold more total seats, well over 4,100 of the 7,383, than they have since 1920.”

Next year, the GOP will control both legislative chambers in 32 states - an all-time high, according to NCSL - while Democrats will have total control of just 13 state legislatures.

In 24 of the 32 states with Republican-controlled legislatures, voters have also elected Republican governors. In contrast, Democrats have a “political trifecta” in just six states.

This sort of gives lie to the claim that Donald Trump does not have a mandate. He literally destroyed the opposition. One has to remember he won the presidency on his own. The GOP abandoned him; Paul Ryan did not endorse him; George W Bush made a point to say that he did not vote for the GOP candidate. To say the least, I was quite appalled. On stage, during the primary debates, every GOP contender raised his right hand, pledging to support the nominee whoever it was. Ironically, only Donald Trump seemed to waffle, but in the end he, too, raised his right hand. And then, they all abandoned him. I think, if truth be known, a fair number of Democrats were more loyal to Trump than the GOP.