Thursday, July 30, 2020

Herman Cain

Herman Cain has passed away. He was 74 years old. I know Betty's going to be writing about the NASA launch that took place today. I told her I would grab Cain. Herman Cain was an African-American. He was a business person -- CEO of Godfather Pizza at one point -- and the chair of the Kansas City federal reserve. He died today from complications from the coronavirus. His survivors include his wife Gloria (fifty-two years of marriage) and their two children.

He was a Republican. He worked to defeat the Clinton health care proposal of the 90s. In 1996, he was an advisor to Republican Bob Dole's presidential campaign. In 2000, he ran for the Republican Party's presidential nomination. When he dropped out, he endorsed Steve Forbes. Bully Boy Bush would win that year's nomination. 2004, found him running to be the Republican nominee for the US Senate out of Georgia, however, he was defeated in the GOP primary. In January of 2011, he formally began running for the Republican Party's presidential nomination. He suspended his campaign ten months later when four women came forward to accuse him of harassment.

In January of 2012, he was chosen to deliver the Republican response to President Barack Obama's State of the Union Address. Following the 2012 elections (Romney lost to Barack), Cain said that the country needed a third party and that the GOP no longer served conservatives. Cain was popular with the Tea Party movement.

During this pandemic, Cain was a vocal opponent of masks and was seen in public (including at a Trump rally in Oklahoma) not wearing a mask.

He was not someone I agreed with on any issues but he is a significant figure and his passing should be noted. He twice sought his party's presidential nomination, that along would make him significant. But his life included much more than just that. CNN notes:


Soon after the news of Cain's passing, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said the former entrepreneur "embodied the American Dream and represented the very best of the American spirit." "Our hearts grieve for his loved ones, and they will remain in our prayers at this time," McEnany tweeted. "We will never forget his legacy of grace, patriotism, and faith."

BBC News notes:


Born in Tennessee to a janitor and a cleaner, Mr Cain went on to study for a degree in maths and a master's in computing.
He worked variously as a Baptist minister, a radio talk show host and as a businessman.
Mr Cain was an advocate of a flat tax system and ran for office after a stint as CEO of Godfather's Pizza.
During his run, he told reporters he would not stand for any "gotcha questions".
"And when they ask me who is the president of Ubeki-beki-beki-beki-stan-stan, I'm going to say you know, I don't know. Do you know?"
He initially proved popular, but later found himself at the centre of a number of sexual harassment allegations.
Although he denied the accusations against him, his popularity soon suffered and he suspended his campaign. Mitt Romney later became the Republican candidate in an unsuccessful race against President Barack Obama's bid for a second term in office.

Again, we are on opposite sides of the political spectrum.  But his passing does deserve noting.  And my thoughts and prayers are with his wife and children.


Here's C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"


Thursday, July 30, 2020.  The heat explodes in Iraq and more.

Starting the US where a service member has returned from Iraq.





After nearly three days of travel, the final leg for Air Force Senior Master Sgt. Viviana Molina was down a flight of stairs.

Molina, back early from a six-month deployment in Iraq, surprised her husband, Grand Prairie police Officer Edgar Molina, by interrupting him in the lobby of police headquarters as he conducted an interview with the news media.

The Molinas worked together at the Grand Prairie Police Department until nine months ago, when Viviana enlisted with the Air Force.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many U.S. servicemen and servicewomen deployed overseas have been delayed in returning home.

“I got lucky and got to come home a week early,” Viviana Molina said.


Turning to Iraq where yesterday saw Baghdad reached its highest temperature in recorded history: 51.7 C (125 F).  Summers in Baghdad are always hot.   AP reporting in 2015:



AP reporting in 2016:




AP reporting in 2017:




AP reporting in 2018.




But despite yearly heatwaves, yesterday managed to break the record for all time hottest day in Baghdad.  


Baghdad had record breaking heat on Tuesday at 51.8C, today 49C is forecast, but for Basra in Iraq 53C is likely today, the all time record in Iraq is 53.8C
5:00 AM · Jul 30, 2020

RT's RUPTLY reported earlier this week on some how Iraqis attempted to stay cool by jumping into the Tigris River.




What most can't do is step inside to cool off.  That's because all these years after the launch of the 2003 US-led invasion, all these years of occupation, all these years of US-installed prime ministers have failed to deliver reliable electricity.  Matilda Coleman (UPNEWSINFO) observes, "With the state electricity grid failing, many households were relying on generators to power fridges, fans or air conditioning units, the machines adding a guttural hum to the city’s already-noisy streets."  THE NATIONAL notes:

Iraqi men cool off under a public shower at a street in central Baghdad, Iraq. EPA

Baghdad experienced its hottest day on record on Wednesday, as protests against a lack of basic services continued.

Power shortages, a common occurrence since 2003, led to the latest street protests as people struggled to keep cool.

Temperatures climbed to 51.7°C on Wednesday, surpassing a record high temperature of 51.2°C in the capital.

The protests began on Sunday night in Baghdad and several southern cities, and turned violent in the capital. On Monday, two men died after being struck directly by tear gas canisters that are typically fired in arcs over protesters and on less powerful trajectories.


And to explain how serious this is, let's include GULF NEWS:

Chronic power outages combined with low oil prices threaten Iraq's political stability, and Opec's second-biggest producer must act fast to boost electricity supply or face a new crisis within the next two months.
That's the conclusion of Fatih Birol, the head of the International Energy Agency, which advises the world's richest economies on energy policy.
Iraq faces a widening shortfall in electricity, due largely to a lack of investment in ageing power plants and networks, and the plunge in crude prices this year limits what it can spend to upgrade them. Baghdad must slash red tape and prioritize maintenance and spending on power facilities to stave off social and political turmoil, Birol warned.
'If there are not urgent and concrete steps taken for the electricity sector, we may well have major problems in the next two months in terms of electricity supply, he said in an interview. 'It may well lead to unrest within the country.
In a grim sign of what could come, security forces in Baghdad opened fire Sunday on protesters complaining about power cuts. 


Iraq is going through the summer heat (around 50 degrees) and the government decided to cut off the electricity for the people not to protest. Where’s the humanity? Families are suffering and the world is silent. All this in a country rich in oil... F**k the Iraqi government



Heartbreaking story! People in central and south of Iraq sleep inside their car to avoid the scorching heat as the #Iraqi government fails to provide electricity.
2:53 PM · Jul 29, 2020


In the US, is there anything more disgusting than right-wing Senator Tammy Duckworth.  She started her political career pretending to be liberal and knocking the actual leftist out of the Democratic Party primary.  But she lost the general because who the hell wants Tammy?  Rahm and others spent forever grooming her so she could appear 'electable.'  She votes like someone who was groomed and paid for.  She talks like a nutcase. 

Maybe because she is one?

She's spent the last years thinking up nicknames for Donald Trump -- I'm sure the people of Illinois are happy with that hard work -- as opposed to her working to improve their lives.  She's spat on the presidency because she's just trash.

That's all she's ever been and that's all she'll ever be.

Donald Trump did not serve in Vietnam.  Good.  I wish no American had gone to Vietnam.  But because he did not serve in the US military, Macho Manly Tammy has given him all these rude nicknames.  They're beneath her and they're beneath the office of the president.  

It's strange though, isn't it?, how she's trying to become Joe Biden's running mate since Joe also avoided service in Vietnam.  He had, you understand, 'asthma.'  Didn't stop him from playing sports in high school or college.  

Somehow, manly Tammy's not cupping her crotch, spitting on the ground and thinking up nicknames for Joe.

We bring up Freak Duckworth today because she went on ABC and started repeating claims about Russia putting a bounty on US troops in Afghanistan.  Long after the story has been discredited, there's Freak Tammy screeching at the top of her lungs, hiding as always behind her military time, and screaming that others are traitors.  In better days, say the 1950s or 1960s, people would be drumming her out of the Sentate.  Instead, she gets to play Joe McCarthy in drag.

At the start of this month, Joe Lauria (CONSORTIUM NEWS) explained:

The Los Angeles Times reported

Maintaining imperial interests in Afghanistan seems to be one of the main reasons for the so-far uncorroborated, possibly cooked-up “scandal” known now as Bountygate.

Other motives appear to be the same twofer that was at the core of Russiagate: first, unnamed intelligence officials meddling in domestic U.S. politics, this time to undermine Trump’s re-election campaign; and, second, to even further demonize and pressure Russia.

The public has been subjected to daily morsels of supposedly factual stories meant to further deepen the plot. The first item dropped online on June 26 with The New York Times’ initial

It seemed yet another attempt to launder disinformation through big media, giving it more credibility than if it had come directly from the security services. A discerning reader, however, would want more than the word of a bunch of spooks who make a living practicing deception. 

The “evidence” for the story that Russia paid the Taliban to kill U.S. soldiers came from interrogation of Afghan detainees. If the interrogations were “enhanced” the evidence is even more unreliable. 

For the record, Consortium News supports no candidate and has been a strong critic of Trump. But we see intelligence agencies’ insertion into domestic politics to be a greater threat than even eight years of Trump for the precedent it is setting. As spooks like to say, “Administrations come and go. And we’re still here.”


Tammy Duckworth is becoming a public embarrassment.  History will not look kindly on her nor will it approve of the silence of other Democrats in Congress who should have called her out long ago.


The following sites updated:

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