Ukrainian Crisis Seems Headed for a Resolution

On the Mc Laughlin group last night they spent a lot of time on Vladimir Putin backing off his position saying he’ll pull Russian troops back from the Ukranian border, and also that Putin was NOT in favor of that bogus referendum vote held in two eastern Ukrainian provinces on the question of should they secede and reunite with Russia.  Those who know these things say the victory for the secessionists is a slam dunk despite those who have conducted legitimate polls say that the proposition is failing- - in all demographic groups.  Whether you ask ethnic Ukrainians, or the entire populations, or just those who speak Russian, or all those living in the two provinces in question-  the secession question fails all around, but “only” 57% of the ethnic Russians are against it.  But the bottom line is, all of the Mc Laughlin panelists agreed that some compromise is in the works, where the West agrees not to push for NATO membership by Ukraine, and in exchange Putin will back off the pressure.  They are referring to it as the “Finlandization” of Ukraine.  As such- - those hoping for a stock market panic on war news will be sorely disappointed, and those who have been bullish like me- are looking good right now.  Vladimir Putin score six goals in an exhibition Hockey game.  Not even our pros do that.  Now they are saying that people are voting multiple times in this election and policing of the balloting seems to be non existent.  Gunfire has punctuated this day in Ukraine- - but I don't think it will ammount to anything serious and by no means is the harvenger of some general Civil War.

This whole scandal with the Veterans Administration is coming to light.  It seems abuses have been going on for years and people are wondering when Gen Shensecki is going to be let go from his position.  There are massive cover-ups and just plain suppression of names of patients who have been denied service and put off for more than two years.  About forty people complained that they were on the verge of death or something and every one of the forty patients died, and their families want answers.  This is a REAL cover-up scandal, as opposed to the coming Bengazi circus.  My gut feeling on this is- - even if we were to adopt a single payer system I guess I still have an inherent distrust of “socialized medicine” where the government hires and otherwise completely controls the doctors.  I guess maybe some of Judy’s brainwashing has gotten through to me that “the government can never do things as well”.  And the logic of this is simple.  There is no market system- - hence no present monetary incentive or competition to provide better service than other doctors operating in a free market.

Student loans have come to the fore again.  Now a number of democrats have each introduced bills to lower the interest rates on government Student loans TO the present market levels, which would mean around 3.8% as opposed to the current rate in excess of six percent.  This would go a long way tword helping these students out who are on average $26,000 in debt when they graduate college.  That’s horrible!  And as you know with interest rate compounding where is an exagurated affect with each percentage point of interest rate hike- - where your payments and how long it will take to pay them off rise almost exponentially.   I don’t see what person who is either compassionate or sane, can’t vote to reduce the interest rate and the accrued debt on these students who could be your son or your daughter, or maybe even You.

Those Bible people who are looking for a “rapture of the faithful” have a real eye opener awaiting them.  Some of you may wonder what a "rolling rapture" referred to.  Well, rather than the event occur in a moment of real time - it would occur in a single day starting at the International Date line and working its way west over the Planet and occur right as the sun hit the midnight "meridian", which would be what they used to fall sun dial time.  The idea here is that if you were doing a TV movie it would be a drawn out event with more suspense- - as those not hit yet by this "wave" would fall under increasing panic.  But don't go "signing up" for this event, because it most likely will not be what you think. Because Jesus teaches in the parable of the wheat and the chaff the notion that when the wheat is winnowed- - it’s the chaff that blows away and the wheat settles and is put in the Master’s barn.  So it would seem to be with the “October non surprise” rapture.   So it may be that the evil people such as the Tea Party may be “removed”.  But they needn’t bodily disappear.  Don’t look for supernatural hocus pocus like that.  It may well be that their spirits may depart their bodies- - - and alian beans- - from the Federation for all I know (don’t tell them I said that) may take their place in those bodies.  As such these “pod people” will be on OUR side voting our way in the November congressional election.  Jesus also said “Blessed are the meek for they will inherit the earth”, a quote you’ll never hear from the religious right.

And now - what you’ve all wanted to know; the Clippers beat the Oklahoma Thunder this afternoon at the Staples Center in a game that ended just before 3:20.   I began watching this game about quarter after one where there was eight minutes and change left in the second quarter.  The Clippers averaged maybe twelve points behind most of the game, and with nine minutes to go the Clippers were down some sixteen points.  For 42 minutes the Thunder controlled the game.  The Clippers came on strong in the final six minutes- first with brilliant defensive plays, and then with some good shooting.  They just were altogether more infused with Spirit.  So now the Clippers are two and two- rather than in a one and three hole, and this will guarantee that no matter what happens in game five, the Clippers will be back here.

The highlight of the Leo Le Port show was talking about these “Patent trolls” who are people who never produced anything people actually use, but they have some sort of a patent- - apparently so sloppily done you didn’t know just WHAT was being patentened, and even if someone came out with the identical thing two years earlier, the government didn’t pay.  Apparently patents handed out back in the nineties are still in effect.  I thought patents were only fourteen years.  But Leo says the trick is to ask for Less than what it would cost to defend yourself in court.  But if you give into them and pay what they ask, this only emboldens them, for now they have a “war chest” from which they will be able to mount even more major suits.

There was a gay football player drafted in the seventh round of the NFL draft by the St Louis Rams.  You know Rush is going to throw a fit over that.  Apparently he is the first “out of the closet” player the NFL has ever had, and the guy was really emotional to have been accepted.  You know darned well Rush is going to carry on about the “feminization” of the game.

It’s a little strange that Chris Matthews is stating it as a virtual fact that the republicans are going to pick up “eight to ten house members” and also assume control of the US Senate.  Then on the Mc Laughlin group they said that “Actually this immigration bill will have a better chance of passing next year when the Republicans control the senate.  If that sounds like a major “disconnect” to you, it’s because “The senate will have control as to what’s in the bill”.  The problem with this is the bill passed by the US Senate last year was a very responsible and balanced immigration bill.  Apparently Marco Rubio voted helping get that bill passed.  But now of course Rubio is backing off of that position before his tea party friends.  Marco Rubio was on “This Week” this morning.  They say he only comes in a weak tenth place in polls even trailing Donald Trump.  But the guy sounds confident as hell as to his chances.  He’s going to put out a book outlining his plans for the country.  Rubio is only 43 and thus falls into what I call the "children of the Jesus Generation" category. This generation was raised the vision of Ronald Reagan as some idealized "Conservative father figure" rather than having been actually old or mature enough to remember this period for what it was, or what Ronald Reagan really was. These people can't possibly know what the sixties OR - hippies or war protests were even like.  For that matter- - I doubt they've ever met a REAL liberal because they are pretty much all an extinct species by now.  All they know is what they have been told by their dubious mentors. ( ) I think the guy’s doomed and doesn’t know it.  Too many people in the tea party (who run everything) regard Rubio as “damaged goods” now.