{"id":75146,"date":"2019-11-24T16:53:54","date_gmt":"2019-11-24T21:53:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/?p=75146"},"modified":"2019-11-24T16:54:46","modified_gmt":"2019-11-24T21:54:46","slug":"the-daily-gouge-archive-friday-november-22nd-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/?p=75146","title":{"rendered":"The Daily Gouge Archive, Friday, November 22nd, 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>It&#8217;s Friday, November 22nd, 2019&#8230;but before we begin, Jim Geraghty relates&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">&#8220;<span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong>Why I\u2019m not riveted by the impeachment hearings, as summarized by\u00a0two quotes that other morning newsletter run by <em>Politico<\/em>:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 60px;\"><span style=\"color: #333399;\"><strong><em>Quote one: \u201cAs of right now, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">every single Republican<\/span> would <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">vote against impeachment<\/span> in the House, multiple senior-level GOP lawmakers and aides told us.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 60px;\"><span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong><em>Quote two: \u201cDespite what Speaker\u00a0Nancy Pelosi\u00a0says publicly, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">every single Democrat<\/span> we speak to is <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">completely certain that they will impeach\u00a0Trump<\/span>.\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">No more facts are needed<\/span>, they say.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #333399;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>Whatever<\/em><\/span> impeachment is <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>supposed<\/em><\/span> to be, it has <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>turned into<\/em> <em>just another<\/em> <em>partisan battle<\/em><\/span> \u2014 <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>just like<\/em><\/span> our Supreme Court confirmation hearings, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>almost all<\/em><\/span> of our legislation, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>most<\/em><\/span> of our national security discussions, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>most<\/em><\/span> of our efforts regarding the economy<\/strong><\/span>&#8230;&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><strong>In other words, it&#8217;s straight out of <em>Alice in Wonderland<\/em>:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/UA-fr40u8cM?start=37&amp;end=68&amp;\" width=\"420\" height=\"235\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>Or, as this meme forwarded by Speed Mach suggests&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/image0000001.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-75090\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/image0000001.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"409\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/image0000001.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/image0000001-293x300.jpg 293w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Now, here&#8217;s <em>The Gouge<\/em>!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>First up, writing at <em>Best of the Web<\/em>, Jim Freeman recounts how Bernie&#8217;s&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"wsj-article-headline\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/bernie-wrote-the-damn-billand-its-scaring-voters-11574207682?mod=djemBestOfTheWeb\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"color: #000080; text-decoration: underline;\">Scaring Voters<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/h1>\n<h3 class=\"sub-head\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/bernie-wrote-the-damn-billand-its-scaring-voters-11574207682?mod=djemBestOfTheWeb\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Most Americans don\u2019t want to abolish their health plans<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/3h60zf.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-75082\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/3h60zf.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"210\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/3h60zf.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/3h60zf-300x158.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">&#8220;<span style=\"color: #333399;\"><strong>At Wednesday\u2019s Democratic presidential campaign debate, MSNBC viewers can expect that <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>once again Sen. Bernie Sanders will claim credit for writing \u201cthe damn bill\u201d that would end private health plans<\/em><\/span>. <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">But the <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>good news for patients<\/em><\/span> is that <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>voters don\u2019t seem to want the bill enacted<\/em><\/span>.<\/span> <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>Two new polls<\/em><\/span> find that a <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>government-run health system<\/em><em> remains a tough sale<\/em><\/span>.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">CNN\u2019s Grace Sparks\u00a0reports today:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 60px;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong><em>A CNN\/Des Moines Register\/Mediacom poll in Iowa finds that a majority of likely <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Democratic<\/span> caucusgoers would prefer a health care option that <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">isn\u2019t<\/span> \u201cMedicare for All.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 60px;\"><em>About a third (36%) want Medicare for All while another third (34%) want to create a public option for buy in and 20% would prefer to restore lost provisions from the Affordable Care Act and work incrementally from there.<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 60px;\"><span style=\"color: #333399;\"><strong><em>Together, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">a majority (54%)<\/span> would prefer an option that <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">isn\u2019t<\/span> Medicare for All, while only <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">36%<\/span> prefer the <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">more liberal alternative<\/span>.<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>This poll\u2019s sponsors and the research company that conducted the survey, Selzer &amp; Company, deserve some credit for <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>describing<\/em><\/span> the Sanders plan to survey participants as \u201ca Medicare for All plan that eliminates private health insurance and covers everyone through a government-run program similar to Medicare.\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #333399;\"><strong>Whether the resulting system <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>would be<\/em><\/span> \u201csimilar\u201d to current Medicare is <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>up for debate<\/em><\/span>. <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">But the pollsters in this case <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>rightly pointed out<\/em><\/span> to survey participants that what <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>politicians call<\/em><\/span> \u201cMedicare for All\u201d <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>not only eliminates private health plans but also replaces existing Medicare<\/em><\/span>.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #333399;\"><strong>Also today, Drew Altman of the Kaiser Family Foundation\u00a0writes\u00a0in Axios on other survey data finding <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>greater Democratic support<\/em><em> for a government health care takeover<\/em><\/span>, but <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>significant opposition from independents in states expected to be key battlegrounds in the 2020 election<\/em><\/span>.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Mr. Altman says that his outfit and the Cook Political Report polled in P<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>ennsylvania, Minnesota, Michigan, and Wisconsin<\/em><\/span>.<\/strong><\/span> He adds:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 60px;\"><span style=\"color: #333399;\"><strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">62% of Democratic<\/span> voters in those states say a Medicare for All plan that eliminates private insurance is a <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">good<\/span> idea \u2014 while <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">62% of swing voters<\/span> in these battleground states say it\u2019s a <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">bad<\/span> idea.<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">&#8230;<strong><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>Who are<\/em><\/span> the people <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>drawn to a candidate promising to abolish private health plans<\/em><\/span>?<\/span><\/strong> Matt Pearce of the Los Angeles Times\u00a0offers\u00a0an interesting study of the Sanders voter:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 60px;\"><span style=\"color: #333399;\"><strong><em>\u201cWhen I\u2019m lying in the morgue, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">they\u2019ll know I fought in the revolution<\/span>, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">I did my best<\/span>,\u201d said campaign volunteer Gina Franklin, 62, of Marion, Iowa, showing off a Sanders tattoo on her forearm at a recent phonebanking session.<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/0CrsiTkUWak?start=76&amp;end=81&amp;\" width=\"420\" height=\"235\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">&#8230;Mr. Pearce has more in the L.A. Times:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 60px;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong><em>Aric Nielsen, 23, of Omaha, who attended the Council Bluffs rally, described himself as a \u201c<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">fiscal socialist<\/span>\u201d who <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">supported Sanders in 2016<\/span> but <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">now prefers Buttigieg<\/span>.<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 60px;\"><em><span style=\"color: #333399;\"><strong>Nielsen thinks the Indiana mayor has a better shot of beating President Trump because of his military service and his conciliatory style.<\/strong><\/span> <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Nielsen works with \u201c<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">very conservative, blue-collar people<\/span>\u201d who do <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">trenchwork for a nonunion excavation firm<\/span>, and their responses to Sanders are \u201c \u2018<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Blah<\/span>!\u2019 <span style=\"color: #333399;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Disgust<\/span>.\u201d<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 60px;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong><em>\u201c<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Once you throw in the term \u2018socialism,\u2019 people just freak out<\/span>,\u201d said Nielsen, who was wearing a pro-Sanders shirt. <span style=\"color: #333399;\">\u201c<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">It\u2019s all, \u2018We don\u2019t want to give free [stuff] away<\/span>&#8230;<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">You need to work for what you get<\/span>.\u2019 \u201c<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>If Mr. Nielsen thinks <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>such comments represent freaking out<\/em><\/span>, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>wait until he sees how patients respond to the abolition of their health plans<\/em><\/span>.<\/strong><\/span>&#8220;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/zaQlAHptguM?start=46&amp;end=49&amp;\" width=\"420\" height=\"235\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>In a related item, the <em>WSJ<\/em>&#8216;s Kimberly Strassel details&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<h1 style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/warrens-medicare-blunder-11574380230\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000; text-decoration: underline;\">Warren\u2019s Medicare Blunder<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/h1>\n<h3 style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/warrens-medicare-blunder-11574380230\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">She makes her plan slightly less radical. That\u2019s likely to leave everyone unhappy<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/download-6.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-75083\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/download-6.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/download-6.jpeg 400w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/download-6-300x169.jpeg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">&#8220;<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Sen. Elizabeth Warren <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>admitted<\/em><\/span> last Friday that she had made a <em>colossal<\/em>, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>potentially fatal, campaign error<\/em><\/span>\u2014and <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>immediately proceeded<\/em><\/span> to <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>make it worse<\/em><\/span>.<\/span> <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>If<\/em><\/span> the Warren presidential bid <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>flops<\/em><\/span>, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>this<\/em><\/span> will be the <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>moment to mark<\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/span>&#8230;&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Since we&#8217;re on the subject of Progressives utterly detached from reality, <em>FOX News<\/em> informs us how an&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"headline\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/us\/ohio-woman-wearing-fur-is-stabbed-by-animal-rights-activist-in-church-police-say\" class=\"broken_link\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\">Ohio woman wearing fur is stabbed by animal-rights activist in church<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/h1>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/bca3c5573e6a4c3d923b0d6e06437648.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-75060\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/bca3c5573e6a4c3d923b0d6e06437648.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"365\" height=\"205\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/bca3c5573e6a4c3d923b0d6e06437648.jpg 365w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/bca3c5573e6a4c3d923b0d6e06437648-300x168.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 365px) 100vw, 365px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"speakable\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">&#8220;<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>An\u00a0Ohio\u00a0animal rights activist allegedly stabbed a woman <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>in a church<\/em><\/span> on Wednesday <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>because she was wearing fur<\/em><\/span>. <span style=\"color: #800000;\">Police believe that Meredith Lowell, 35, stabbed the woman wearing fur boots <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>based on a prior arrest in 2012, in which Lowell was charged with attempting to hire a hitman to kill a person wearing fur<\/em><\/span>.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">&#8230;In 2012, Lowell allegedly posted several times on social media looking for someone willing to kill a person wearing fur. \u201cI would like to create an online community on Facebook which would allow me to find someone who is willing to kill someone who is wearing fur toward the end of October 2011 or early November 2011 or possibly January 2012 or February 2012 at the latest,\u201d Lowell wrote, according to the indictment.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>After <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>multiple<\/em><\/span> evaluations, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>psychologists determined Lowell was not competent to stand trial because of mental disease or defect<\/em><\/span>.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">&#8230;<span style=\"color: #800000;\"><strong>Prosecutors said she had passed a handwritten note to jail guards shortly after her 2012 arrest. <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">The note stated that <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>if Lowell were to be released<\/em><\/span>, she would <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>contract another hit man to kill a person wearing fur or even do the deed herself<\/em><\/span>, according to prosecutors.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>However<\/em><\/span>, a forensic evaluation later determined that <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>though she was not competent to stand trial<\/em><\/span>, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>did not pose a risk to herself, the general public or to property<\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/span>&#8230;&#8221;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/VZ5zrPVnrzo?start=27&amp;end=29&amp;\" width=\"420\" height=\"235\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">&#8220;<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Fast-forward to <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>2018<\/em><\/span>, when Lowell <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>reportedly stabbed a woman<\/em><\/span>. Her <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>motives were unknown<\/em><\/span>. <span style=\"color: #800000;\">She was charged with felonious assault and released on a $5,000 bond.<\/span> <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>Her case was transferred to mental health court<\/em><\/span>, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>specialized<\/em><\/span> for individuals with <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>documented mental health issues<\/em><\/span>.<\/strong><\/span>&#8220;<\/p>\n<p><strong>We won&#8217;t hold our breath waiting for Ms. Lowell to be charged with a <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>hate crime<\/em><\/span> <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>on top<\/em><\/span> of <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>attempted murder<\/em><\/span>&#8230;sorry, &#8220;felonious assault&#8221;.\u00a0 After all, doesn&#8217;t <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>everyone<\/em><\/span> who stabs another human being for wearing fur <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>only intend<\/em><\/span> on <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>teaching them a lesson<\/em><\/span>?!?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Then there&#8217;s this ironic video from the Dean of Northwestern&#8217;s Medill School of Journalism in response to the recent anti-First Amendment opposition voiced by some of his students:<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-lang=\"en\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\u201cPublic thinks of journalism as advocacy, and many of our students, when they start, think of journalism as advocacy as well, and we quickly try to disabuse them of that notion\u201d &#8212; Charles Whitaker, Dean of <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MedillSchool?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@MedillSchool<\/a> of Journalism at Northwestern U, on CNN\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ReliableSources?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@ReliableSources<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/1BuGFOx3nX\">pic.twitter.com\/1BuGFOx3nX<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Brent Baker (@BrentHBaker) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BrentHBaker\/status\/1196143053800648706?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">November 17, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8220;Ironic&#8221; because he recorded it with the &#8220;George &#8216;Can&#8217;t Stands Ya'&#8221; Lookalike Contest winner, on the cable network <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>most-closely related<\/em><\/span> with the term &#8220;<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>Fake News<\/em><\/span>&#8220;.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Which brings us, appropriately enough, to\u00a0<em>The Lighter Side<\/em>, thanks today in large part by Ed Hickey:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Image-11-21-19-at-4.30-PM.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-75061\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Image-11-21-19-at-4.30-PM.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"331\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Image-11-21-19-at-4.30-PM.jpeg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Image-11-21-19-at-4.30-PM-300x215.jpeg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/stiglich-1.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-75079\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/stiglich-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"321\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/stiglich-1.png 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/stiglich-1-300x208.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/ramirez2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-75071\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/ramirez2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"312\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/ramirez2.png 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/ramirez2-300x203.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/varvel-4.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-75062\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/varvel-4.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"331\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/varvel-4.png 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/varvel-4-300x215.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/sbr112019dAPR20191120024539.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-75080\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/sbr112019dAPR20191120024539.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"319\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/sbr112019dAPR20191120024539.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/sbr112019dAPR20191120024539-300x207.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/lisa-2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-75063\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/lisa-2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"297\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/lisa-2.png 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/lisa-2-300x193.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/mckee-2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-75064\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/mckee-2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"391\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/mckee-2.png 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/mckee-2-300x254.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Image-11-20-19-at-7.35-AM.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-75050\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Image-11-20-19-at-7.35-AM.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"328\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Image-11-20-19-at-7.35-AM.jpeg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Image-11-20-19-at-7.35-AM-300x213.jpeg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/chastity-belt.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-75066\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/chastity-belt.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"396\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/chastity-belt.jpeg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/chastity-belt-300x257.jpeg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/meanwhile.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-75067\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/meanwhile.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"464\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/meanwhile.jpeg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/meanwhile-150x150.jpeg 150w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/meanwhile-300x300.jpeg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/whatever-you-do.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-75068\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/whatever-you-do.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"353\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/whatever-you-do.jpeg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/whatever-you-do-300x229.jpeg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/thanks-for-friending-me.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-75069\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/thanks-for-friending-me.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"478\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/thanks-for-friending-me.jpeg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/thanks-for-friending-me-290x300.jpeg 290w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Finally, we&#8217;ll call it a wrap with another sordid story straight from <span style=\"color: #800000;\"><em>The Crime Blotter<\/em><\/span>, courtesy today of yet another urban &#8220;leader&#8221; facing significant time in stir for abusing their office:<\/strong><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"article-header__title\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalreview.com\/news\/former-baltimore-mayor-charged-with-fraud-faces-up-to-20-years-in-prison\/?utm_source=email&amp;utm_medium=breaking&amp;utm_campaign=newstrack&amp;utm_term=18663545\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #800000;\">Former Baltimore Mayor Charged with Fraud, Faces up to 20 Years in Prison<\/span><\/a><\/h1>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/3gylgb.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-75049\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/3gylgb.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"233\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/3gylgb.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/3gylgb-300x175.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">&#8220;<span style=\"color: #800000;\"><strong>Former Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh was indicted on Tuesday on <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>multiple<\/em><\/span> federal charges, including <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>fraud and tax evasion<\/em><\/span>.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #008080;\">In March, federal authorities began investigating allegations that Pugh made <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>$500,000 from selling her children\u2019s book\u00a0Healthy Holly\u00a0to the University of Maryland Medical System<\/em><\/span> (UMMS) <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>while she was serving on the UMMS board<\/em><\/span>.<\/span> It was then\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em><a style=\"color: #800000; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalreview.com\/news\/fbi-raids-baltimore-mayors-city-hall-offices-home-amid-corruption-probe\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">revealed<\/a><\/em><\/span>\u00a0that health insurance provider <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>Kaiser Permanente had paid Pugh $100,000 for 20,000 copies of the book<\/em><\/span>, at the<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em> same time the company was seeking a contract to insure city employees<\/em><\/span>.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">&#8230;<\/span><span style=\"color: #008080;\"><strong>Pugh will be\u00a0arraigned\u00a0on Thursday in <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>Washington, D.C. district court<\/em><\/span>. <span style=\"color: #800000;\">She faces a maximum sentence of 20 years <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>if convicted<\/em><\/span>.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/span>&#8220;<\/p>\n<p><strong>With the emphasis on &#8220;<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>if<\/em><\/span>&#8220;.\u00a0 Hells bells, if Pugh stands trial in D.C., the jury will likely want to award her a medal <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>and<\/em><\/span> monetary damages.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Magoo<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It&#8217;s Friday, November 22nd, 2019&#8230;but before we begin, Jim Geraghty relates&#8230; &#8220;Why I\u2019m not riveted by the impeachment hearings, as summarized by\u00a0two quotes that other morning newsletter run by Politico: Quote one: \u201cAs of right now, every single Republican would vote against impeachment in the House, multiple senior-level GOP lawmakers and aides told us.\u201d Quote [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1988,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_s2mail":"no","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-75146","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75146","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1988"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=75146"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75146\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":75148,"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75146\/revisions\/75148"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=75146"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=75146"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=75146"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}