BULLY BOY PRESS & CEDRIC'S BIG MIX -- THE KOOL AID TABLE
First of all, it’s in Charlotte (see above). And it’s not just that Queen City barbecue is something less than great. The problem is that when many North Carolinians hear “Charlotte,” they think of big business, “gentlemen’s clubs,” and traffic jams. Moreover, there’s a generalized suspicion that Charlotteans regard the rest of us as – well, as a basket of deplorables. This suspicion is fed by comments like one from a reader who wrote the Observer to say that “Charlotte has always suffered from an image problem, and it will only change when people separate ‘North Carolina’ and ‘Charlotte’ in their minds.”
So, for starters, Hillary ate her barbecue in the wrong town. Moreover, she ate it at a trendy place in a trendy neighborhood, with an “executive chef” named Matt, a place that gives its bar equal billing with its barbecue, with a menu offering not just pork barbecue, but also barbecued ribs, brisket, burnt ends, prime rib, ground chuck, sausage, chicken, and salmon, served with your choice of sauces: “eastern North Carolina vinegar,” “South Carolina mustard,” a Kansas City-style “Midwood signature,” and “spicy habañero.”
THESE REPORTERS WERE UNABLE TO REACH CRANKY CLINTON FOR A COMMENT BECAUSE SHE WAS IN A MEETING WITH JILL STEIN EXPLAINING WHY SHE NEEDED A COUPLE OF MILLION TO QUESTION THE RESULTS OF HER 1965 CLASS PRESIDENT ELECTION (CRANKY LOST).
INSTEAD, WE SPOKE WITH THE BIG DAWG WHO SAID, "IF YOU THINK HER BBQ PICKS WERE EMBARRASSING, TRY LIVING WITH HER IN ARKANSAS WHEN SHE WENT AROUND WITH THAT SNOOTY, KNOW IT ALL 'TUDE. IF NOTHING ELSE, IT HELPED ME WITH THE LADIES, THEY ALL HATED HER."
VOCM explained yesterday, "Kay Kennedy has confirmed for VOCM News that her son, Michael, was released today. Kennedy told VOCM that her son would not leave others he was travelling with when they were arrested for visa infractions, even though his visa had not expired." Colin Farrell (TELEGRAM) added:
“He called me and he said, ‘Mom, I’ve been released. I’m good, I’m in good health and I’ll be home for Christmas.’”
She explained that her son had been travelling as part of a group when they were arrested.
“The five guys he was travelling with, three Americans and two Germans, their visas were expired,” she explained. “So it was a visa violation, Michael’s visa was not expired. It didn’t expire till January.”
Kennedy explained her son was given an option to go free or stay with the group.
“He turned around and said, the option for me, I am going to stay with my buddies, I am not abandoning them.”
The KRG is standing by their decision to arrest Michael. Murray Brewster (CBC) reports:
But Kurdish authorities, while not disputing the account, say Kennedy's side-trip into Syria was a serious violation that warranted his detention.
"He is arrested because he came from Syria and crossed [the] Iraq and [Kurdish Regional Government] borders illegally [at] Shingal," Dindar Zebari, the assistant head of foreign relations in the semi-autonomous region, told CBC News on Tuesday.
Zebari said Kennedy had been dealt with under Iraqi law.
And the five others that were arrested as well? Garrett Barry (CBC) reports, "Though the other fighters have yet to be released, Kay Kennedy says their governments -- Germany and the United States -- have begun to work on the file."
I hope those in the United States realize how much they owe Kay Kennedy.
Three Americans.
Being held by the KRG.
And where's the focus on that in the US?
The US State Dept should be working to secure their release.
But at yesterday's State Dept press briefing, no one asked spokesperson Mark Toner about it.
No one said one damn word.
About that.
Please be clear, Matt Lee had his usual b.s. questions and "chest thumping" derision of the government of Iran. And he had lots of questions about what Trump will do.
Donald Trump has not been sworn in as president.
I wish Toner would stop indulging this crap. Or is he, in fact, encouraging it -- will more embarrassing e-mails for Matt Lee turn out that explain he is yet again coordinating with the State Dept to figure out what topics and questions to emphasize ahead of time in order to assit the current administration?
There was time for that nonsense from the Matt Lee State Dept Press Corps.
There a bunch of men and few women who want to be men (or, in Elise's case, sleep with the Secretary of State).
They're not people that anyone should take pride in.
Yesterday, they couldn't ask about three Americans being held in Iraq.
They did find time to mock teachers.
QUESTION: Let me just add one more question.
MR TONER: Sure.
QUESTION: I met today with this Palestinian teacher. She won the best teacher award in the world and she’s in town. She actually has a very creative program --
MR TONER: Did she really win the best teacher of the – in the world award? Is that right?
QUESTION: In the world. Yeah, she --
QUESTION: She gets a mug. It says “World’s -- ” (Laughter.)
QUESTION: She has – oh, yeah, she did. Last year --
MR TONER: No, that’s amazing, actually.
QUESTION: -- it was an American teacher, this year it’s a Palestinian teacher.
MR TONER: World’s Greatest – well, okay.
QUESTION: And she has a creative program where she teaches kids to reject violence and so on and all these things. But – and she said – she told me that at one point you guys talked – or the State Department, someone, wanted to invite her over, and then – and they – like they did not disinvite her, but they stopped the process. Are you aware of that? Would you like to see someone like this come and visit with people and --
MR TONER: I apologize. So we’re talking about a different person now. This is not the individual that was just denied entry.
QUESTION: No, no. She was not – she’s here, actually.
MR TONER: She’s here.
QUESTION: She was not denied --
MR TONER: I’m not aware of this case, so we’ll look into it. I promise.
Oh, how funny it was to them.
I guess if I were nothing but a cheap whore who presented the administration's views and opinions as factual events, if I were that much of a liar and coward, I wouldn't like teachers either.
Because good teachers instill ethics and honesty.
Good teachers bust their asses doing actual work -- unlike the Matt Lee fluffers covering the State Dept.
Good teachers make a good difference.
Unlike the Matt Lees who pave the way for war by unquestioningly repeating lies over and over.
They think teachers are something to laugh at?
Have they looked in the mirror?
“He called me and he said, ‘Mom, I’ve been released. I’m good, I’m in good health and I’ll be home for Christmas.’”
She explained that her son had been travelling as part of a group when they were arrested.
“The five guys he was travelling with, three Americans and two Germans, their visas were expired,” she explained. “So it was a visa violation, Michael’s visa was not expired. It didn’t expire till January.”
Kennedy explained her son was given an option to go free or stay with the group.
“He turned around and said, the option for me, I am going to stay with my buddies, I am not abandoning them.”
The KRG is standing by their decision to arrest Michael. Murray Brewster (CBC) reports:
But Kurdish authorities, while not disputing the account, say Kennedy's side-trip into Syria was a serious violation that warranted his detention.
"He is arrested because he came from Syria and crossed [the] Iraq and [Kurdish Regional Government] borders illegally [at] Shingal," Dindar Zebari, the assistant head of foreign relations in the semi-autonomous region, told CBC News on Tuesday.
Zebari said Kennedy had been dealt with under Iraqi law.
And the five others that were arrested as well? Garrett Barry (CBC) reports, "Though the other fighters have yet to be released, Kay Kennedy says their governments -- Germany and the United States -- have begun to work on the file."
I hope those in the United States realize how much they owe Kay Kennedy.
Three Americans.
Being held by the KRG.
And where's the focus on that in the US?
The US State Dept should be working to secure their release.
But at yesterday's State Dept press briefing, no one asked spokesperson Mark Toner about it.
No one said one damn word.
About that.
Please be clear, Matt Lee had his usual b.s. questions and "chest thumping" derision of the government of Iran. And he had lots of questions about what Trump will do.
Donald Trump has not been sworn in as president.
I wish Toner would stop indulging this crap. Or is he, in fact, encouraging it -- will more embarrassing e-mails for Matt Lee turn out that explain he is yet again coordinating with the State Dept to figure out what topics and questions to emphasize ahead of time in order to assit the current administration?
There was time for that nonsense from the Matt Lee State Dept Press Corps.
There a bunch of men and few women who want to be men (or, in Elise's case, sleep with the Secretary of State).
They're not people that anyone should take pride in.
Yesterday, they couldn't ask about three Americans being held in Iraq.
They did find time to mock teachers.
QUESTION: Let me just add one more question.
MR TONER: Sure.
QUESTION: I met today with this Palestinian teacher. She won the best teacher award in the world and she’s in town. She actually has a very creative program --
MR TONER: Did she really win the best teacher of the – in the world award? Is that right?
QUESTION: In the world. Yeah, she --
QUESTION: She gets a mug. It says “World’s -- ” (Laughter.)
QUESTION: She has – oh, yeah, she did. Last year --
MR TONER: No, that’s amazing, actually.
QUESTION: -- it was an American teacher, this year it’s a Palestinian teacher.
MR TONER: World’s Greatest – well, okay.
QUESTION: And she has a creative program where she teaches kids to reject violence and so on and all these things. But – and she said – she told me that at one point you guys talked – or the State Department, someone, wanted to invite her over, and then – and they – like they did not disinvite her, but they stopped the process. Are you aware of that? Would you like to see someone like this come and visit with people and --
MR TONER: I apologize. So we’re talking about a different person now. This is not the individual that was just denied entry.
QUESTION: No, no. She was not – she’s here, actually.
MR TONER: She’s here.
QUESTION: She was not denied --
MR TONER: I’m not aware of this case, so we’ll look into it. I promise.
Oh, how funny it was to them.
I guess if I were nothing but a cheap whore who presented the administration's views and opinions as factual events, if I were that much of a liar and coward, I wouldn't like teachers either.
Because good teachers instill ethics and honesty.
Good teachers bust their asses doing actual work -- unlike the Matt Lee fluffers covering the State Dept.
Good teachers make a good difference.
Unlike the Matt Lees who pave the way for war by unquestioningly repeating lies over and over.
They think teachers are something to laugh at?
Have they looked in the mirror?
RECOMMENDED: "Iraq snapshot"
