I wish we, as a society, could all just agree that tweets aren't news

I was reading Freud's theories on adults trapped in the anal retentive stage of development

You'll never guess who it kept on reminding me of.

The determination as to the definite sexual behavior does not occur until after puberty and is the result of a series of as yet not observable factors, some of which are of a constitutional, while some are of an accidental nature. Certainly some of these factors can turn out to be so enormous that by their character they influence the result. In general, however, the multiplicity of the determining factors is reflected by the manifoldness of the outcomes in the manifest sexual behavior of the person. In the inversion types it can be ascertained that they are altogether controlled by an archaic constitution and by primitive psychic mechanisms. The importance of the narcissistic object selection and the clinging to the erotic significance of the anal zone seem to be their most essential characteristics.

Children utilizing the erogenous sensitiveness of the anal zone can be recognized by their holding back of fecal masses until through accumulation there result violent muscular contractions; the passage of these masses through the anus is apt to produce a marked irritation of the mucus membrane. Besides the pain this must produce also a sensation of pleasure. One of the surest premonitions of later eccentricity or nervousness is when an infant obstinately refuses to empty his bowel when placed on the chamber by the nurse and reserves this function at its own pleasure. It does not concern him that he will soil his bed; all he cares for is not to lose the subsidiary pleasure while defecating.

1930s "repatriation" of Mexicans was Hoover's response to Depression

I put repatriation in quotes because about 60% of those exiled from the US were citizens of the United States.

I was googling around about Hoover's response to the Great Depression because I was thinking Steve Mnuchin's calling up bankers sounded exactly like what Hoover tried after the stock market crash. And that's how I came across this under reported episode in US history, which today meet the definition of ethnic cleansing.

For God knows what reason, Hoover got it in his Quaker head (which makes him just about the least Quakerish Quaker I've ever met) that the presence of Mexican Americans in the country was a contributor to the depression. As an economics teacher, I can tell you that the depression was caused in part by a lack of consumer power and that young growing families are always a major input into consumer spending. So Hoover, the "sound businessman" was utterly off his nut thinking deporting a million Americans what's going to improve the job market.

Of course the part that saddens me most is the fact that the policy continued under FDR. No wait, the saddest part was of course the fact that hundreds of thousands of Americans were racially profiled and thrown out of their own country.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican_Repatriation

The more things change the more they stay the same, folks.

or does it just create a German mystique and lure of them in

Because next they will be wanting Halal marzipan candy and cuckoo clocks with Arabic numbers? It's a slippery schloopenhillenbergplatz.

Meanwhile in Crazyvillle: EuroRight Angry that Toblerones are Halal

Toblerone's halal certification outrages the far right
By Rob Picheta and Tara John, CNN
December 19, 2018

(CNN) — Members of Europe's far right have called for a mass boycott of Toblerone, after discovering that the popular triangular chocolate bar is halal-certified.

.... <von schnippenheimer> ...

Toblerone has not changed its recipe, but some online commentators have taken badly the news that its factory in Bern, Switzerland, achieved a halal certification in April -- with the federal spokesman of Germany's nationalist AfD party claiming it showed the "Islamization" of Europe.

"Islamization does not take place -- neither in Germany nor in Europe," the AfD's Jörg Meuthen wrote sarcastically on social media <probably while holding a comb under his nose> "It is therefore certainly pure coincidence that the depicted, known chocolate variety is now certified as 'HALAL.'"

...<Das Überßchnippage>....

"The certification did not result in any change to our beloved traditional Toblerone original recipe," <Toblerone-maker> Mondelēz said in a statement emailed to CNN. "Due to the inherent nature of Toblerone chocolate its production process essentially meets the halal criteria anyway."

Experiment: I'm gonna zip along the freeway, but then jump into the passenger seat

... you know, just to see what it would be like if, when I'm going at full speed, my car suddenly didn't have a driver and no one's foot was on the brakes.

I mean, first I'll see what the results are like with a similar experiment going on in Washington DC right now. But then I want to see if I can replicate the results.

Trump less trusted than Xi... or Putin (via Newsweek)

DONALD TRUMP AWARDED ‘GOLDEN IDIOT’ PRIZE BY GERMAN TV SHOW AS MUCH OF THE WORLD LAUGHS AT U.S. PRESIDENT

...A Pew Research Center survey found in October that only 27 percent of respondents from various countries trusted Trump, placing him below German Chancellor Angela Merkel (52 percent) and French President Emmanuel Macron (46 percent), as well as Chinese President Xi Jinping (34 percent) and Russian President Vladimir Putin (30 percent).

Wait, I thought Mexico was gonna pay for the wall.

It's almost like Trump just said some bullshit and now he's shutting down the government because no one wants to swallow it.

What does the wall cost, two billion dollars? Do you realize how many military parades that could pay for?!

"Mulvaney saw Trump's victory as an opportunity to rise in Republican ranks"

from: https://www.politico.com/amp/story/2018/12/15/mick-mulvaney-white-house-chief-of-staff-1066664

But everything seemed to change for Mulvaney when Trump won. While he was always a reluctant Trump supporter — once calling candidate Trump “a terrible human being” — Mulvaney saw Trump's victory as an opportunity to rise in Republican ranks and advocate for his positions from a more prominent perch. With few Republicans willing to work in a Trump administration, Mulvaney made an aggressive bid for Office of Management and Budget director, striking an uncharacteristic détente with Ryan just as his Freedom Caucus friends were planning to boot him from the speaker’s chair.

Ryan recommended Mulvaney to top Trump officials for OMB, giving his candidacy added heft. Mulvaney in turn nominated Ryan to return to the speakership, a conservative endorsement that infuriated the Freedom Caucus.

Trump is considering Jared Kushner to be the new chief of staff