jerrymahoney

Sure and that's why these days I only fly with business class reservations.

Normal? I remember living in Orlando, FL (DisneyWorld, etc.) and at the airport gate the announcement was: This is early boarding call for those who are elderly or traveling with small children or those who need a little extra time boarding. ... And after that announcement, there were 3 of us left.

My favorite about President Carter: After his one term as Georgia governor, Mr. Carter one morning went into his mother Miss Lillian's room and said: Mother, I've decided to run for President. Ms. Lillian replied: That's nice Jimmy -- President of what??

https://www.rawstory.com/trump-smokescreen-of-chaos/ Trump accused of using 'smokescreen of chaos' to cover up promise breaking December 27, 2024 1:57PM ET Donald Trump's sudden infatuation with seizing control of the Panama Canal, buying Greenland and attempting to get Canada to become a U.S. state appears to be part of a campaign of smoke and mirrors to hide the fact that he is already reneging on campaign promises before he is even sworn in. That is the opinion of the Washington Post's Dana Millbank who accused the president-elect of laying down a "smokescreen of chaos" to occupy social media commentators and the press, both of which would otherwise be picking apart his walk-backs. As Millbank wrote, Trump has multiple controversies looming over him, from his highly promoted proposals for tariffs, which one of his appointees is now downplaying as a "bargaining chip," to his deportation plans for undocumented immigrants, where he has softened his language even if his "border czar" hasn't.

Likely so would Musk. Kissinger-Schwarzenegger syndrome.

Published December 27, 2024 11:52am EST Fulton County Associated Press FULTON COUNTY, Ga. - A judge has ruled that the Georgia state Senate can subpoena Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis as part of an inquiry into whether she engaged in misconduct during her prosecution of President-elect Donald Trump but is giving Willis the chance to contest whether lawmakers’ demands are overly broad. The judge has given Willis a deadline of Jan. 13 to submit arguments over whether the demands are too broad or may deal with confidential information. https://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/lawmakers-subpoena-fani-willis-trump-election-case-ruling

The following is from the Friend-of-the-Court (amici) brief in US/AG Garland versus TikTok/Byte dance generally requesting the Court to delay its decision until after Mr. Trump is inaugurated. Furthermore, President Trump alone possesses the consummate dealmaking expertise, the electoral mandate, and the political will to negotiate a resolution to save the platform while addressing the national security concerns expressed by the Government-concerns which President Trump himself has acknowledged. <citations> Indeed, President Trump's first Term was highlighted by a series of policy triumphs achieved through historic deals, and he has a great prospect of success in this latest national security and foreign policy endeavor https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/24/24-656/336151/20241227163400981_2024-12-27 - TikTok v. Garland - Amicus Brief of President Donald J. Trump.pdf Also https://abcnews.go.com/Business/trump-asks-supreme-court-delay-tiktok-sale-deadline/story?id=117154982

... in Amarillo, Texas

From 1977 Best Picture Oscar Annie Hall -- Woody Allen as Alvy: Alvy Singer: [addressing the camera] There's an old joke - um... two elderly women are at a Catskill mountain resort, and one of 'em says, "Boy, the food at this place is really terrible." The other one says, "Yeah, I know; and such small portions."

Make the world go away And get it off my shoulders (written by Hank Cochran, 1963)

Also here: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/israel-former-mossad-agents-detail-explosive-pagers-hezbollah-terrorists-plot-60-minutes-transcript/

A Dec. 18 X post, opens new tab by Musk saying, “How can this be called a ‘continuing resolution’ if it includes a 40% pay increase for Congress?” amplified the false narrative. But the 1,547-page bill, opens new tab, which included a wide range of provisions unrelated to government spending, would not have given lawmakers a 40% pay raise. The bill would have ended a longtime pay freeze, allowing lawmakers to be eligible for a 3.8% salary increase in January, equal to $6,600. https://www.reuters.com/fact-check/bipartisan-stopgap-spending-bill-did-not-include-40-pay-raise-congress-2024-12-20/

Trump threatens to retake control of Panama Canal December 23, 202411:20 AM GMT+7Updated 11 min ago The United States largely built the canal and administered territory surrounding the passage for decades. But the United States and Panama signed a pair of accords in 1977 that paved the way for the canal's return to full Panamanian control. The United States handed over control of the passage in 1999 after a period of joint administration. "Every square meter of the Panama Canal and the surrounding area belongs to Panama and will continue belonging (to Panama)," Mulino said in his statement, which was released on X. Trump then responded to Mulino: "We'll see about that!" https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/trump-says-he-might-demand-panama-hand-over-canal-2024-12-22/

And, at least for now, they seem to be coming from Republicans in the House and Senate.

The original from 1963 -- bari sax solo by Steve Douglas and piano at the end Leon Russell

Who Is Controlling the Budget Bill? At least for now, fiscal hard-right GOP Rep. 'Chip' Roy of Texas.

ChatGPT has maybe come a long way since MAY 2023 but then there was this: A lawyer used ChatGPT to prepare a court filing. It went horribly awry. Updated on: May 29, 2023 / 5:40 PM EDT / A lawyer who relied on ChatGPT to prepare a court filing on behalf of a man suing an airline is now all too familiar with the artificial intelligence tool's shortcomings — including its propensity to invent facts. Roberto Mata sued Colombian airline Avianca last year, alleging that a metal food and beverage cart injured his knee on a flight to Kennedy International Airport in New York. When Avianca asked a Manhattan judge to dismiss the lawsuit based on the statute of limitations, Mata's lawyer, Steven A. Schwartz, submitted a brief based on research done by ChatGPT, Schwartz, of the law firm Levidow, Levidow & Oberman, said in an affidavit. The fabrications were revealed when Avianca's lawyers approached the case's judge, Kevin Castel of the Southern District of New York, saying they couldn't locate the cases cited in Mata's lawyers' brief in legal databases. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/lawyer-chatgpt-court-filing-avianca/

Ms. Willis was elected.

Yes -- I have a Honda Wave 110 instead of a 100

NY Times headline 5 minutes ago: -- House Approves Stopgap Funding Bill Hours Ahead of Shutdown Deadline --The new legislation would keep the government open but did not include the debt ceiling increase that President-elect Donald J. Trump had demanded. It now goes to the Senate.

Musk is just the latest victim of Kissinger-Schwarzenegger syndrome: Why can't I be President???

Without getting into the minutiae, I hope those in the disaster areas of very Republican western NC, GA, SC and Florida can get some/more relief without undo waiting.

OOPS did not see earlier post Georgia appeals court disqualifies prosecutor Fani Willis in Trump 2020 election case Prosecutor Fani Willis disqualified over romantic relationship with deputy Ruling requires new prosecutor to take over December 20, 20242:13 AM GMT+7Updated 2 hours ago Dec 19 (Reuters) - A Georgia appeals court ruled on Thursday that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis must be disqualified from prosecuting President-elect Donald Trump and several of his allies for attempting to interfere in the 2020 election in the U.S. state. The ruling throws into doubt the future of the case, which includes Trump and 14 allies. The appeals court in Atlanta, in a 2-1 ruling, found that a romantic relationship between Willis and a former top deputy, Nathan Wade, created "a significant appearance of impropriety." "While we recognize that an appearance of impropriety generally is not enough to support disqualification, this is the rare case in which disqualification is mandated and no other remedy will suffice to restore public confidence in the integrity of these proceedings," the court wrote in its opinion. https://www.reuters.com/legal/georgia-appeals-court-says-prosecutor-trump-case-should-be-disqualified-2024-12-19/

After then-VP Nixon lost the 1960 Presidential election to John F. Kennedy, in 1962 Nixon ran for California governor and lost to incumbent Edmund G. 'Pat' Brown (Jerry's father) and gave this famous 'going-away' press conference:

I slipped on a wet floor near my indoor swimming pool -- busted water fountain leak I hadn't noticed in the dim locker room entrance. I went up in the air like I was on ice skates. So just after age 71, following hip fracture, I had full hip replacement -- 74 birthday next month. It has slowed me down but no pain.