Politics, Religion & Money – Page 160 – Prattling Before the Pratfall

The Check’s In The Mail

I have been told by the Kia dealership in Peoria, Arizona that a check for $10,700 was mailed last Wednesday, and to call them if I haven’t received it by this Wednesday. I’ll do more than that. I’ll call my lawyer in Sun City West.

When you’re buying a car they won’t let you out the door until the money has been settled. But if they’re buying your car they make you leave the sales office not only without your car, but without your money. Funny how that works.

As I continue to wait for the money — payable not to me, but to the family trust — my late father’s car is, of course, available for sale at the dealership. They’ll make a hefty profit, assuming it sells for the asking price of $15,000. Look at that low, low mileage!

Cartoonist Under Fire Fired

In the age of declining newspaper readership, there aren’t many American papers left that have their own in-house political cartoonist. So it’s distressing when an established cartoonist is fired, especially when the reason isn’t economic, but political.

A few years ago the radical cartoonist Ted Rall was pushed out of The Los Angeles Times under very strange and confusing circumstances. Until a couple of days ago The Pittsburg Post-Gazette had Rob Rogers, and there is nothing confusing about the reason for his firing.

Dotard and Little Rocket Man

Have to give credit to Trump for doing what Obama wanted to do — meet with Kim without preconditions.

After all of the constant ripping into Obama by the fanatical right-wing for his so-called “apology tours,” there’s this. Even Kim seemed surprised by the gesture.

Getting Old Gratefully

John Oliver’s show is reason enough to subscribe to HBO, which I don’t do, so I feel guilty watching his videos for free on YouTube. Having responsibly fulfilled the duties of Durable Power of Attorney for my father before he died, and since his passing being Trustee of the estate, this installment of “Last Week Tonight” is especially meaningful to me.

At the end you will see some well-aged celebrities, including 92-year-old Cloris Leachman. Here she is in her very first screen appearance, over 60 years ago. Four years ago I embedded this video of one of my all-time favorite movies, and I’m very surprised it’s still here.

Keeping Us Guessing

Pompeo has that look everybody else in the White House has when Donald starts speaking. He has absolutely no idea what will be said, regardless of what he may have been told the stated position would be. Sometimes I wonder if Trump even knows at any given moment what his next utterance will be.

Federal Bureau of Integrity

We’ve been hearing a lot lately about the need for the FBI to protect its informants. The FBI originally had an integrity problem under J. Edgar Hoover, who was a closeted gay man that favored blackmail as a pressure tactic. I used to think that the agency’s internal controls improved after Hoover died in 1972, but only a few years later the FBI recruited the Boston Irish gangster Whitey Bulger as an informant against the Italian mob.

Even after Bulger was on the run in 1995, the FBI continued to hide the fact he had been an informant, until the truth finally came out. Over a period of 15 years the FBI seemed incapable of capturing Bulger, and eventually the U.S. Marshals Service was brought into the manhunt. Bulger was caught nine months later.