There were only a few standout moments in last night’s Democratic Debate…
Fortunately for you guys, I watched so you didn’t have to.
One was Bernie Sanders kissing Hillary’s ass when it came to her email scandal and how America is sick of hearing about it. Then, there was Chafee defending his party affiliation changes from Republican to Independent to Democrat, complete with his response – “I’m a ‘block of granite’ on the issues.”
A better response might have been, “I was a block of limestone before I was a block of sandstone before I was a block of granite….”
That would have more closely aligned him with Hillary’s takes on how she’s learned and nuanced from issue to issue as opposed to changing her position for the sake of votes.
I thought it was going to be a tough night for Jim Webb as soon as he was introduced and he couldn’t remember the names of his own children. Unless you’ve spoken in front of large groups, like I have, that can happen pretty easily. With hundreds of thoughts running through your head, you can actually forget your own name at times.
But Webb rebounded, showing some real class in response to Anderson Cooper’s question asking how he felt about Bernie Sanders being a conscientious objector.
Being a war hero, Webb could have taken the opportunity to smack Sanders around. Instead, he took the high road and didn’t question Sanders personal beliefs or convictions.
The only other memorable thing from Webb was his Andy Reid-like concern over clock management as he was certain he was being cheated out of camera time.
And he was right.
Finally, as in the Republican debate, Cooper asked a comical, throw away last question; which enemy were the candidates most proud of having made? You got all the requisite, weak kneed responses; the coal industry, the NRA, Republicans.
All harmless, non-answers…
But then, it was Webb’s turn.
“I’d have to say the enemy soldier that threw the grenade that wounded me, but he’s not around right now to talk to…”
The crowd responded with a confused and eerie hush.
Because little did anyone know – since they knew little of anyone outside of Sanders and Clinton – that Webb was a real, live badass. The reference he made included him being awarded a Navy Cross.
You don’t get those for being grazed across the rear end like our “war hero” John Kerry was.
This is taken directly from the Navy Cross award report;
“On 10 July 1969, while participating in a company-sized search and destroy operation deep in hostile territory, First Lieutenant Webb’s platoon discovered a well-camouflaged bunker complex which appeared to be unoccupied. Deploying his men into defensive positions, First Lieutenant Webb was advancing to the first bunker when three enemy soldiers armed with hand grenades jumped out. Reacting instantly, he grabbed the closest man and, brandishing his .45 caliber pistol at the others, apprehended all three of the soldiers. Accompanied by one of his men, he then approached the second bunker and called for the enemy to surrender. When the hostile soldiers failed to answer him and threw a grenade which detonated dangerously close to him, First Lieutenant Webb detonated a claymore mine in the bunker aperture, accounting for two enemy casualties and disclosing the entrance to a tunnel. Despite the smoke and debris from the explosion and the possibility of enemy soldiers hiding in the tunnel, he then conducted a thorough search which yielded several items of equipment and numerous documents containing valuable intelligence data. Continuing the assault, he approached a third bunker and was preparing to fire into it when the enemy threw another grenade. Observing the grenade land dangerously close to his companion, First Lieutenant Webb simultaneously fired his weapon at the enemy, pushed the Marine away from the grenade, and shielded him from the explosion with his own body. Although sustaining painful fragmentation wounds from the explosion, he managed to throw a grenade into the aperture and completely destroy the remaining bunker.”
One of my closest friends has a Purple Heart from Vietnam.
As with most courageous service awards, they come with a backstory well outside what we think of as normal human bravery.
Webb’s was certainly no exception.
However, that “My greatest enemy is DEAD because I blew him up with a grenade,” is not what you would expect to hear out of Hillary’s mouth. Then again, there is Vince Foster …and 20 to 30 other close Clinton associates who are now dead.
So who knows?
PW, Webb’s response to the question sent me to Google on my phone. Like 99% of everyone watching, I was unaware of his Navy Cross and his service record. While he fits squarely in the war hero camp without question, his odds of receiving the nomination are about the same as the poor bastard’s odds that he blew up.
It’s a 2-horse race on the Dem side. If Ol’ Hillary can avoid a jail cell between now and then, it’s her’s to lose. Bernie is a flame-thrower and I love the dude’s passion. But, come on. That’ ain’t happenin’.
As always PW, good read.
Jim, there’s not a CHANCE anything is going to stick to her. Unless something happens that’s NEVER happened to the Clintons, she’s preordained!
Thanks, as usual, for the always solid comment.
yes..you’re paul.
McCarthy took care of that when he opened his mouth..
The Clintons are geniuses….say what you will but
bill is considered one of the greatest politcians of all time
by both reps and dems.
thank you McCarthy. Can’t wait for hearings…..
and the landslide next November.
Very sobering, thanks, Wilson. I didn’t watch the debate, just the analysis, and nobody on national TV even mentioned Webb, so thanks. Also appreciated your research about his medal.
As for Vince Foster, I don’t believe Hillary killed off her lover. Others might have, but I don’t think she was part of it. Oh well.
The point of the debate I did like was seeing someone, even tho it was crazy Bernie Sanders, talk about we need to pass a law to reverse Citizens United. We can’t fix the country or the economy if Wall Street and the Koch Brothers and Sheldon Adelson, 158 families in the US, acc. to HuffPo, are financing the elections. period.
Thank you, Ms Thomas. Always great to hear from you.
“You don’t get those for being grazed across the rear end like our “war hero” John Kerry was.”
Yes…you cancall john Kerry all you want…buthe was in Vietnam serving/fighting while the following draft eligible people were not
DID THESE PEOPLE SERVE?
WILSON
HEARNE
WHINERY
GLAZE
CHUCK: YES HE DID….AND WE APPRECIATE HIS SERVICE
GEORGE BUSH
MIKE T
COWBOY
CHENEY: WE KNOW HE HAD WHAT…5 DEFERMENTS?
BOEHNER
CLINTON
GORE
TRUMP
RUBIO
CARLY
CARSON
most of the chickens who bowed out of goig to fight were republicans!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And you wouldn’t hear cheney or bush talkabout their military service..of
course they’re war criminals having lied (according to leading dems and repubs)
to KILL 5000 AMERICAN KIDS….COST US TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS…..
WOUND AND MAIM 250,000 WHO CAME HOME FROM A WAR THEY
LIED ABOUT TO SERVE THEIR OWN NEEDS. OH YES….THEY LIED AND
EVEN REPUBLICANS FELL FOR THE LIES THAT BUSH AND CHENEY
PERPETUATED.
DON’T WORRY…BOYS I STILL GOT 10K READY TO GO ON HILLARY!
When drudge and fox say sanders won …its only because 2016 will be
an electoral landslide and hopefully they nominate such a great veteran
of national service like mr. trump! iT WON’T BE CLOSE….that debate last
night was right on…no name calling…no hatred of women or people of color…
no calling the fastest growing segment of the nation horrid names…
IT WAS FUN.
And remember….mr. Lutz was wrong in 2008 and 2012…
but Harley hit the numbers on the head….perfect score.
bye republicans! Good luck finding a speaker. America is seeing the
difference now. And its looking like a republican with a brain is going the
way of the dinosaurs!
I wasn’t old enough to serve in Vietnam, but why let facts get in your way now? Jesus, getting through your comments is like Shawshank Redemption. Just with more tunneling through shit and no eff’ing REDEMPTION!
Impressive list making skills, Harley….Did you ever serve in the military?
Oh, snap! You know the only answer you’re going to get is NO answer and personal insults, don’t you?
18 USC § 119——————-18 usc 119///////////////////
18 usc 119…
….PAPERS ARE BEING PUT TOGETHER TO
GET THIS SHIT TAKEN CARE OF…..major battle
is going to being in America.
ITS A PROSECUTABLE FEDERAL AND STATE
CLAIM AND OUR INTERNET ATTORNEYS ARE
GETING ON THIS CRAP THAT PEOPLE PUT ON
THE NET.
door bell: Sheriff holding legal documents.
Sherrif: are you the bear?4
Bear: yes sir…
Sheriff: are you the bear…
Bear: yes sir…
Sheriff: here ya go….. hands bear the documents
then leaves.
read it….its a federal crime because it falls under
the internet…
PAPER ARE BEING WRITTN UP RIGHT NOW BY
EXPERTS IN THIS FIELD.
HARD RAIN…AND I MEAN A HARD RAIN IS GONNA
FALL………..I MEAN F5!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
everyone can read about it and weep. then get thecheckbook out…
costs run 100K-250k to defend this law….this is a
fact….and we’re on it!
yes sirreee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11
and anyone involved in the crime can be
sued also…
we’ve got the precedents !
ask someone how much it costs to defend a
criminal and civil suit in fed court.100-250 K and
even cn get punitive damages in some states!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ding dong…hello…who’s there….Deputy dog!!!!!!!!!!!!!
and like the guys on independence avenue who loan
money say “if you ain’t got what it takes…we’re goona
take what you got!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!e
the train to the station!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And itain’t gonna be pretyy.
loose lips sink ships…
and your tow boat is sinking!!!!!!!!
yes sir! oyes sir……..dingdog!
don’t screw with the laws…you will get burned
DING DONG….THE SHERIFF IS LOOKING FOR THE
CRIMINALS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wow! If this doesn’t prove you’re a total and complete legal moron nothing will.
You just demonstrated you have no earthly idea how a case gets IN “fedurul cort,” idiot.
It also proves you have no access to facts or you would have never refered to me as “polar bear.” But thanks, it adds nicely to your libel list.
I’m most appreciative.
I am glad Tracy is back!
Nice article Paul. I though Cooper did a better job than what I expected. They didn’t pit the candidates against each other at every opportunity, as was the case with the Republicans, but, no one really thought they would. The “Bern” will be VP and Hillary coronated unless Joe enters the race.
” Nancy Pelosi predicted in March 2012, that Obamacare will “liberate” workers to quit their jobs and become “a photographer or a writer or a musician, whatever.” I kinda feel like all of the free stuff the Democrats are promising might get me to vote Democratic. Free college, more bennies, more cash from Government Programs. I wanna believe. I wanna feel like James Joyce hitting a High C. Not because the Fed has it’s hand too deep in my pocket and is squeezing the family jewels to pay the piper for this sh*t, but, because it’s all fu*kin rainbows, unicorns and lollipops.
You just gotta want the party to go on and on. Gotta luv me some Obama. First he comes for the banks and health care, uses the IRS to go after critics, politicizes the Justice Department, spies on journalists, tries to curb religious freedom, slashes the military, throws open the borders, doubles the debt and nationalizes the Internet.
He lies to the public, ignores the Constitution, inflames race relations and urges Latinos to punish Republican “enemies.” He abandons our allies, appeases tyrants, coddles adversaries and uses the Crusades as an excuse for inaction as Islamist terrorists slaughter their way across the Mideast. Don’t ever change man, don’t ever change.
Here is an article about who gives what to what political party.
http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2014/12/democrats_the_real_party_of_the_rich.html
Party on Garth!!
The main take away was, “Take my money, take my guns, make me decisions for the rest of my life. I’m unworthy of such responsibility and unable to do it on my own. Thank you, Uncle Sam, could I have another, please?”
Thank you, as usual, Chuck. And yes, its good to see Tracy anywhere! I personally talked her into coming back. (Thats a lie but I’ll take what I can get…)
Thanks for the piece, Paul. I was really hoping someone from Hearne’s cadre of Pulitzer candidates would offer up something on the debate and was half expecting it to be CG with all his pieces on Trump and the GOP debates. One of the talking heads offered after the debate that Webb really belongs more in the Republican field and might be one of the stronger options on that side if he ran as a Republican. Just throwing the topic out there is great and Chuck, Harley, Cowboy, myself, and others can take it from here.
As a member of the Blue Team, I thought Hillary performed well. Bernie was much more impressive than I thought he might be but he is a bit further to the left than even I am. He tried to define what a Democratic Socialist is in softer terms but in my humble opinion, the overwhelming majority of Democrats would start from the position that they are capitalists who see a role for government. Sanders presence in the race, and on the podium last night made Hillary look very much the moderate. Of the other three, O’Malley seemed to be the strongest but let’s be honest, Hillary looks pretty unbeatable for the nomination now as the debate did not open up a lane for Biden to jump in. She would have to completely implode in front of the upcoming House Benghazi hearing but McCarthy’s admission on the political focus of the investigation has neutered that effort to a great degree.
It’s going to be interesting to see if Rubio can generate money and media attention in the next few months as I still think he presents the GOP’s best hope. He needs to stake out positions in the middle of the political spectrum however and quit pandering to the far right. It’s not Democrats or Republicans who will elect the next President, it’s the moderates and independents in the middle.
I know we don’t have very many Star readers here but David Brooks wrote a great opinion piece today in the editorial section of the “New Improved (?) KC Star” format. Check it out.
Last offering; nobody is looking to take away anyone’s guns. Background checks are favored by almost 80% of Republicans for private gun sales and sales at gun shows. Why do some on the right start screaming about Obama/Hillary/Dems wanting to take away our guns when there is a mention of background checks?
Thanks Paul !
I think she did well also. She deflects with the best of them! And I liked The Bern….
stomper:
bush down
Rubio falling
Fiorina dying
carson gaining but the repubs ae not bringing a black man into the nomination.
Kasich” sick
rick perry: already looking for work as a lobbyist in d.c…another…cant
count or remember how to count to three OOOPS!!!!!!!!!!!
Huckabee: Looking for a lady to do a cake for a gay couple so he can
ride their story to a few pics on fox news and to hold his job
as guest of some southern revival show on that network.
The right wing writers at kcc. sad and crying. They see their party
imploding then exploding wondering how do we get the presidency
back…because without that you’re just a baby in a stroller.4
Come on trump…tell us how youd date your own daughter and the
sick things you say about her. That too is a great commercial
except in albama/Mississippi and Georgia where inbreeding is
a sacred right of passage.
another year till this whole mess is over for repubs…and now rudio
and bush are fueding for the florida vote. Both are losers…bush is
old and tired and Rubio’s combover looks as bad as Burt Reynolds face
lift.
good luck…y ou’ll need it.
Can’t wait for Hillary to tear into the repubs and their vestigative committee.
I remember one shoe hustler saying this was the issue that would bring
her donw. Not quite Mr. famous footwear.
This is her shining moment.
Its should be her sista solda moment!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
hahahahahaha! the clown car of repugs got a flat tire and not one
of them knows how to change a spare!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I don’t know what “dirt” she has on them, but it must be pretty terrible judging from how almost the entire political class is terrified of offending Hillary Clinton. Even, it seems, Kevin McCarthy!! Sincerely, Ernest Evans
Earnest, I could not believe the collective ass kissing of her, especially on the email comment where Sanders jumped to her defense. I just don’t get it, unless he’s aiming for a VP slot.
Ernest, if you are referring to the email question, I thought Bernie hit the nail on the head last night. Unless you are an old white guy that votes republican, it really is not on anyone’s list of concerns. Clearly it is not something that democrats care about and last night was about the democrats The discussion needs to focus on jobs and the economy, not her use of an email server. Was it a dumb move, especially in hindsight? Yes. Criminal intent or even a big deal? No.
What about intentionally covering up confidential emails she claimed wasn’t there? How would you rate that, Stomper?
Confidential ??? Not important. If she KNOWINGLY sent, received or stored CLASSIFIED information, that would clear the bar to become a misdemeanor offense. At this point there is no evidence that she violated any law. I rate this as conspiracy theory by paranoid right wingers that fear Hillary kicking some GOP butt.
Well, if the “mens rae” argument is working for Hillary under the watchful and unbiased eyes of the DOJ and the President, does General Petraeus get an “Olly Olly Oxen Free”? My guess is no, that if there is an attempt at a comparison to the two cases, obfuscation and 2nd party straw men would take the hit. “Olly Olly Oxen Bullsh*t For Free”.
As always, thanks Chuck. I think Betrayus knew what he was doing and was focused on getting laid.
http://spectator.org/articles/61966/if-david-petraeus-were-hillary-clinton
Yeah, sure, ok…
Actually, my questions about Hillary and the political class do not have much to do with the email issue. They have to do with a much broader question: Why is it that Hillary Clinton, whom I freely admit has a lot of good points and has done a lot of good, have fewer people in the US political class willing to criticize her than does Mother Teresa? Yes, Hillary is a good, competent politician–but she is not a living saint and the fact that the US political class has been treating her as if she were since the spring of 2008 is, frankly, quite creepy. Most of the articles by pundits on Hillary written since May 2008 read like they were from the North Korean press about that nation’s “Dear Leader.” Whatever dirt she got on the nation’s politicos in the spring of 2008 must be pretty awful. Sincerely and Respectfully, Ernest Evans
Thanks Ernest. Guess we travel in different circles and read/hear different media sources. To me there appears to be absolutely no shortage of people in the US political class willing to criticize her. Try Fox News, American Thinker, Drudge, Limbaugh, Breitbart, Hannity, Beck, Issa, etc.
This climate where compromise is forbidden and everybody must pick a team feels dangerous to me. The true strength of the system used to be checks and balances.
What is fascinating to me is the immense popularity of Sanders with the millenials. We taught this generation to accept everybody as equals and to immediately reject bullying.
The younger generation is rejecting the GOP en masse due to the perception of intolerance the party seems to have adopted to satiate their base.
The teriffic irony is that the more influence the vocal far right gains in the short term, the further left the population seems to be drifting for the long term.
“Moderate” has become a four letter word.
KCMonarch, You nailed it. I feel like I have been commenting excessively here but what is transpiring is what I look for at KCC. The polite and inquiring discourse on political topics. I work in a field that is dominated by fiscal conservatives yet we can almost always find some level of compromise we are both comfortable with on about every issue on the spectrum. There are some republican positions I see merit with but it appears that the leadership of the party doesn’t play to win elections. Why moderation and compromise can’t happen in Washington is very disappointing but I do believe the pendulum will swing back and the future does hold hope for two parties dominated by rational adults who don’t see compromise as complete evil. Doing the “people’s business” should be noble work and perfect should not be the enemy of good.
fact….trump has 30% of the republican vote but his
top might be around 40 and every democrat in the
nation and foreighn hope he gets the nomination.
With the rethugs unable to find a speaker…and with
their support for shutting the govt down…and now
idiots who know nothing about running anything but
bankrupt casinos.
so south and whinery…don’t waste 1000 dollars
getting your picswith Donald…he’s a loose cannon
and when he has to talk about issues he has no
knowledge about anything. Its just
great/huge/ best/the biggest b.s. campaign ever
seen.
I doubt he’ll spend a dime ofh is oen monrynuy
he will lambasted by Hillary..because she knows
where the “real payoffs” are as will many of the
repubs who know his winning the repub nomination
will kill the party even though it might be
dead before the onoimation.
With commercials outling everything his opponents
have said about him…hllary only needs to use
her 2 bllion dollars to run these ads!
fact is that trump is a con man…and when they open
his bk records we’ll see what a crook he really is.
Don’t think theres smoke in those bks and the other
investors who took it in the shorts are waiting to
tell the world about thid thief. its inevitufuol and
I’m glad to see that all the resot of kcc is coming around
to agree with Harley that she’s the 2016 winner.
Just another example of Harley leading the sheep
in this country on the truth .
For further writings…contact me at law4life1000
@yahoo.com
And remember the rain storm begins soon.
the truth will set everyone free!!!!!!!!!!!!11
Dear Mr. Stomper: Thanks for responding to my comments!! Yes, lots of the right-wing media attack Hillary–but you have to be careful about how seriously you take such criticism. My own sources tell me that almost the entire neo-conservative movement is secretly behind Hillary because they feel that she would be the candidate most likely to give them what they want to most: A US-Iranian War. Now, since I am a Democrat my sources in the conservative movement are not always 100% accurate, but I do feel that there is a lot of quiet support for Hillary in conservative circles. Sincerely and Respectfully, Ernest Evans
Ernest, you’ve been around here a while; haven’t you learned unless your source is Harley, its NEVER accurate??
You are all (with a few notable exceptions) learned and dedicated citizens. But c’mon people., you KNOW what we all want… to have Bill back in the White House!
Imagine; mid-morning coffee in a tattered robe on the white house patio smoking a big stogie. Afternoon putting practice with Bill Murray. A huge play-set on the front yard for Charlotte. I want a Bill Clinton Reality Show! This is going to be fun!
BillF’n, I have to admit, that’s as notable a reason as any other for any other candidate! You just may be on to something…
It was a good article, and I concur that Webb is what the Democrats used to be. It does not go without notice tha Democrat Presidents led us through World War I, World War II, part of the Korean Conflict, and the start of Vietnam, the latter two open to Iinterpretation. So the first question I asked in watching the debate, is would I want any of these leading our defense in terms of Syria, Libya, Iraq, Iran, or Afghanistan. My only answer was Webb. Clinton actually chimed in that Libya was a success, with no boots on the ground, and the moderator had to remind her of the four dead that, in fact, were boots on the ground. In terms of substance, the issue of Wall Street ignores the simple fact that the government prospered from the original bailout, with only AIG and GMAC still holding government debt. In fact the government received more money back from “Wall Street” than it lent, and some of that lending was forced. Where the losses really came from were Corzine’s loss of over a billion in investor money, and the idiot of New York. The balance of what is deemed risky lending was, in fact, mandated by Congress, the absence of red lining, repeal of Glass Steagle, and other measures. So, blame Wall Street if you want, but at least follow the facts. As for small business, many of the prposals were ludicrous. There is no way a three or four employee office can handle paid family leave. When I leave for two hours my clients are unhappy, and I don’t get paid. However, the greatest tragedy about the debate was fsilure to notice the elephant in the room. Oh, they talked about feeding it, adding 18 trillion more in spending over the next ten years to an 18+ trillion dollar debt, but they never mentioned the word, “debt”. I don’t know about you, but that scared the living daylights out of me. Average interest on federal debt, 36 trillion, at 4%, is over half the projected tax revenue, a revenue stream which recently came in lower than projected. Most of us remember the second grade math lesson that any tax rate times no income or profits is no tax revenue. That lesson was missed by all of those on the podium, and beteen radical Islam and climate change, if we don’ t solve the first, we won’t have to worry about the second. I watched the debate to be informed, and I was.
Well spoken, Cowboy….
If you want to talk about the childishness in Congress, that is a whole separate ball game, and it is on both sides. The Vice Chair of the DNC was disinvited from the debate because she argued for more debates. Boehner was fired because he tried to rule the Republican House like a fiefdom, moving Huelskamp off of the Ag Committee because he didn’t like his vote on the budget, and In the Senate the 60 vote rule continues to sllow the tyranny of the minority.
Concerning e-mails, I listen to the talking heads. Yes the Benghazi Committee did discover what no other Committee had discovered before, and yes there are Inspector General reports ad now an FBI Investigation. If Hillary is indicted and convicted, she is guilty. If not, she is innocent. That is how our system works. It tdoes not matter whether the Committee was out to get her or not. I just want to know what happened, and, to date, I do not know anything except, it wasn’t a movie.
Ok, this is a pretty funny You Tube, called D.C. Matic on Hillary’s emails.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlWo05vlKkM
🙂
Good comments Cowboy. With regards to your desire that the Benghazi committee will get answers and possibly do some harm to Hillary’s chances at either the nomination by the Democrats or in the general election against Bush or Rubio, you might be careful with what you hope for. The fact that the hearings will be public and covered heavily by the media plays right into Hillary’s wheelhouse. If you think she did a good job preparing for the debates and had polished and powerful responses to the questions presented by the CNN crew, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet. Trey Gowdy reminds me of the Martin Short character in the SNL skit ( I Must Say). He may be in a little over his head trying to question Hillary and make her look bad. Maybe akin to having a recently called up pitcher from AA ball to face Kendrys Morales with the bases loaded and no one out. Remember there are also 5 democrats on the committee so Hillary will have some assistance in the hearing. I understand that the republicans need to take at shot here and hope they can do some damage but it is a roll of the dice in reality and may very well backfire on them. Should be interesting either way.
If this country is going to doom anyone under 40 to a life less fruitful than their parents then the least the 1% can do for us is legal weed and subsidized health care.
Who else are they going to pay 7.25 an hour to change their diapers?
Well Paul, after his badass performance in the debate, Badass Jim just became the first of the five in the field now to . . . quit.
Proving he’s the brightest of the other three who should have gone first!