Germany does not want to be our friend anymore. Thanks Trump!

Oh yeah, we're not going to be friends.

Courtesy of HuffPo: 

In their campaign program for the German election, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives have dropped the term “friend” in describing the relationship with the United States. 

Four years ago, the joint program of her Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), referred to the United States as Germany’s “most important friend” outside of Europe. 

The 2013 program also described the “friendship” with Washington as a “cornerstone” of Germany’s international relations and talked about strengthening transatlantic economic ties through the removal of trade barriers. 

But the words “friend” and “friendship” are missing from the latest election program - entitled “For a Germany in which we live well and happily” - which Merkel and CSU leader Horst Seehofer presented on Monday ahead of a Sept. 24 election. 

Instead, the United States is described as Germany’s “most important partner” outside of Europe. CDU officials were not immediately available to comment on the change in wording.

You know one the themes of Trump's campaign was that President Obama was not garnering trust among our allies around the world.

Just another example of projection on his part apparently. 

Currently our allies around the world are wondering if Americans have lost their damn minds, and whether to trust the new president with anymore classified information.

Those were certainly not their concerns a year ago at this time.

President Obama offered Joe Biden financial help to pay for his son's medical bills.

Courtesy of CNN:

 As his eldest son faced the prospect of resigning as Delaware's attorney general amid health concerns, Vice President Joe Biden received an offer that floored him: financial support from his boss, President Barack Obama. 

In the never been told before story, Biden recalled how concerned Obama had been. 

Describing in an interview with CNN chief political analyst Gloria Borger one of his weekly lunches with Obama, Biden said he told the President he was worried about caring for Beau's family without his son's salary. 

"I said, 'But I worked it out.'" Biden recalled telling Obama. "I said, 'But -- Jill and I will sell the house and be in good shape.'" 

Obama, Biden remembered, pushed back vehemently on the thought of Biden and his wife selling their home in Wilmington, Delaware. 

"He got up and he said, 'Don't sell that house. Promise me you won't sell the house,'" Biden continued, speculating Obama would be "mad" he was retelling the story. 

"He said, 'I'll give you the money. Whatever you need, I'll give you the money. Don't, Joe -- promise me. Promise me.' I said, 'I don't think we're going to have to anyway.' He said, 'promise me,'" Biden recalled.

That is one of the kindest things I have ever heard.

In fact it made me a little emotional. 

And it just makes me respect our President all the more. 

The Anchorage Press takes an interest in Bristol Palin's exotic model friend. Update!

Courtesy of the Anchorage Press:

Bristol Palin—well, all of the Palins, apparently—have a new girl in their life, and it isn’t Bristol’s newborn daughter Sailor Grace, who entered the world on December 23. 

Her name is Marina Lupas, AKA “The Exotic Russian” (as she advertises on her website, exotixllc.com, and proudly declares on t-shirts she sports in various YouTube videos). And while news of their friendship isn’t brand new—tabloids and anti-Palin bloggers featured Lupas in spring of 2015, when Bristol’s engagement to Medal of Honor recipient Dakota Meyer was going south—Lupas was, according to a Facebook post from Mama Grizzly Sarah, in the hospital room with Sarah and Bristol’s little sis’ Piper when Sailor Grace arrived just before Christmas. 

The aforementioned blogs made much of Lupas’s small business endeavors—she apparently has a company called Exotix LLC, which seems to serve no other purpose than marketing Lupas as an exotic model.

I realize this is very old news to all of us, after all we were the ones to out Marina in the first place, however it should be noted that a whole lot of Alaskans don't read the blogs.

But many of them DO get the Anchorage Press.

So now there is a whole new audience that is learning all about Bristol's exotic BFF.

I swear that so far it seems as if just about every day of 2016 has been yet another slap upside the head for Sarah Palin and her hillbilly brood.

And there are so many delicious things yet to come that I can barely contain myself.

Update: It looks like Bristol is once again hiding behind one of her children, just like dear old mom.

Courtesy of Bristol's Instagram page:

afternoon cuddles with my girl

As I dab my eyes after watching last night's final Daily Show with Jon Stewart let me present Arby's video love note to the man who once compared their food to "Shock and awe for your colon."

You KNOW you are a great man when even the fast food restaurant that you endlessly ridiculed is sorry to see you go.

I cannot believe I have to face Monday with no Daily Show waiting for me at the end of it.

P.S. Were as you blown away by Colbert's cameo last night as I was?

For those of you who thought the "George Zimmerman heroically saved a family from a fiery car accident" was a fraud, it turns out you were right.

Courtesy of Penigma: 

The initial report was that George Zimmerman was ‘just coincidentally’ driving by after a car accident occurred, that he leaped out of his vehicle to come to the rescue of the family of four trapped inside as the vehicle caught fire, pulling them to safety. That was followed by the claim that the family he rescued had planned a press event to thank George Zimmerman, but that they canceled due to threats from Trayvon Martin supporters. 

It appears they may have canceled the event because they did not want to be part of the fraud of making Zimmerman out to be a hero, when that story was not precisely true. 

What did occur was that an accident occurred where a car slid on it’s side into a median. People at the scene called 911, which went to the Sanford office of the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office. BEFORE responding to the 911 call, News Ball.com reports that Seminole Sheriff’s Dept. Officer Patrick Rehder, a self-styled friend and supporter of Zimmerman, contacted Zimmerman by cell phone directing him to go to the accident (There is some debate about this information.) so as to appear to be a hero. News Ball.com also provides a social media screen capture of a curious statement about Rehder taking pleasure when someone gets credit for something they did not do. 

Rehder’s name appears on the accident report as the responding officer; social media shows his connection to Zimmerman. 

There were plenty of people driving by who witnessed the accident, and stopped to help the family out of the vehicle, BEFORE Zimmerman showed up, according to the 911 calls, but no ‘thank you’ press conference mentioning anyone else by name specifically was scheduled by the family, and no mention of anyone other than Zimmerman was made by the sheriff. 

Zimmerman showed up AFTER he was called by a SCSO member according to a report at News Ball.com, Zimmerman then got out of his car with a fire extinguisher (There was no fire.), and apparently left without doing anything especially heroic. You can hear the course of events here in the 911 calls; many people who were there as the accident happened stopped to get people out, and the fire and smoke problem from the calls, appeared some time after they were out of the car. As you can hear from the calls, people were out before there was a smoke or fire problem; Zimmerman did not appear to risk his life to pull anyone out of a burning car, as was claimed.

You know when this first happened my first instinct was to call bullshit on it. However I refrained from writing anything about it, because you know I did not want to the guy that ALWAYS thinks that there are conspiracies afoot. 

But as you can see my first instinct, and of course many of yours, were dead on.

I actually heard Rush Limbaugh pimp this story on his radio show and then lament the fact that the "rescued" family had  cancelled their press conference thanking Zimmerman because of threats from Trayvon Martin supporters. So that is how this is being presented to the Right Wing.

You know I have to say that the very fact that Zimmerman would participate in a stunt like this just makes him seem even more guilty in my eyes. The guy is obviously a liar, and is clearly not finished manipulating the truth even now

P.S. My hat is off to the internet sleuths who found all of this out by the way, and I suggest you follow the links and give them some well deserved traffic.

Some troubling news about our friend Joe.

Courtesy of Yahoo News:  

Author-journalist Joe McGinniss says he was diagnosed in May with advanced prostate cancer but is responding well to treatment and feels "terrific." 

The 70-year-old McGinniss is best known for controversial works such as "The Selling of the President" and "Fatal Vision." On Wednesday, he posted on his Facebook page that he had "inoperable, terminal, metastatic prostate cancer." He confirmed the diagnosis in response to an email from The Associated Press and in a subsequent Facebook posting. 

McGinniss told the AP that he has no symptoms and is eager to write more books and magazine articles.

This is certainly an upsetting way to end the day.

Joe was, and continues to be, a great friend, and I have every confidence that he will "not go gentle into that good night." But instead  "rage, rage against the dying of the light."

I still remember sitting with Joe on the porch of his rented house in Wasilla, looking out over that dead lake and sharing stories about Alaska on one of the most beautiful summer days that I can remember. Not a memory that I will soon forget, and I hope that he returns someday soon so we can pick up where we left off that day.

This country owes Joe McGinniss an incredible debt of gratitude for exposing Sarah Palin to the world. Not to mention the fact that they owe him for the many OTHER wonderful books that he had written before.

I am fortunate to have TWO books in my library signed by Joe, "Going to Extremes" and of course "The Rogue."  I will treasure them always.

Hopefully they will soon be joined by the NEXT book that Joe writes as well.

Final thought for the day.

I simply could not allow that last story be how we ended today.

I think considering the occasion this is much more appropriate.