Saturday, April 30, 2016

Betty MacDonald, Dorita Hess and Vita Magica

egg_slovak_1989_hardcover_bookjacket2_FRONT


Betty MacDonald in the living room at Vashon on the cover of The Saturday Evening Post.

Betty MacDonald fan club fans,

Betty MacDonald fan club newsletter April  got an excellent feedback.

 
It includes the updated Betty MacDonald fan club essay ' Betty MacDonald and Dorita Hess '. 

There is also an article about Betty MacDonald fan club letter collection.

We are looking for signed or dedicated first editions in great condition with dust jackets by Betty MacDonald and Mary Bard Jensen for our fans.

Betty MacDonald Memorial Award Winner Wolfgang Hampel  and Betty MacDonald fan club research team are working on an updated Betty MacDonald biography and new Betty MacDonald documentary.

Dearest new Betty MacDonald fan club fans you'll receive a very important message by Betty MacDonald fan club event team.

This message includes a very nice Betty MacDonald fan club surprise and many info on our current Betty MacDonald fan club projects.

Join one of our Betty MacDonald fan club research teams, please. 

Thanks a million in advance for your outstanding support.

Let's talk about Betty MacDonald fan club book cover contest.

You can vote for your favourite Betty MacDonald book cover.

Deadline: June 30, 2016

Betty MacDonald fan club book cover contest winner will be  owner of a signed first edition of one of Betty MacDonald's books.  

Betty MacDonald fan club honor member Mr. Tigerli  and our 'Italian Betty MacDonald' - Betty MacDonald fan club honor member author and artist Letizia Mancino belong to the most popular Betty MacDonald fan club teams in our history.

Their many devoted fans are waiting for a new Mr. Tigerli adventure.

Letizia Mancino's  magical Betty MacDonald Gallery  is a special gift for our Betty MacDonald fan club fans.


Enjoy a new breakfast at the bookstore with Brad and Nick, please.


Betty MacDonald fan club honor member Mr. Tigerli  shares his autobiography.

He is a real Casanova but this magical guy got fans from all over the world.

I belong to Mr. Tigerli's devoted fans.

Thank you so much for sharing this witty memories with us.


Wolfgang Hampel's last Vita Magica guest reader was a very famous satirical writer - Michail Krausnick.


We hope Mr. Erdogan won't have any problems with his work. 


Be careful guys!

Great Betty MacDonald fan club ESC news will be published on Betty MacDonald fan club blog.

It's a fact that Italy, Spain, Portugal and Germany have been robbed winning Eurovision Song Contest several times.

A wonderful Betty MacDonald fan club ESC surprise for Betty MacDonald fan club ESC fans from all over the world is waiting for you.




Send us your ESC 2016 votes, please.





12 points for 1st place and until 1 point for your 10th place.





You are not allowed to vote for your own country.



Deadline: April 30, 2016





It'll be very exciting.





Who will be Betty MacDonald fan club ESC winner 2016? 
Deadline: today
Don't miss the chance, please to win two Betty MacDonald fan club ESC 2016 Grnd Final tickets, please.

France, Germany, Poland and Russia are very hot favourites. 
 


Yours,

Astrid, Greta and Lars 



 



Don't miss this very special book, please.










Vita Magica 

Betty MacDonald fan club

Betty MacDonald forum  

Wolfgang Hampel - Wikipedia ( English ) 

Wolfgang Hampel - Wikipedia ( English ) - The Egg and I 

Wolfgang Hampel - Wikipedia ( German )

Vashon Island - Wikipedia ( German )

Wolfgang Hampel - Monica Sone - Wikipedia ( English )

Wolfgang Hampel - Ma and Pa Kettle - Wikipedia ( English )

Wolfgang Hampel - Ma and Pa Kettle - Wikipedia ( French ) 


Wolfgang Hampel - Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle - Wikipedia ( English)

Wolfgang Hampel in Florida State University 

Betty MacDonald fan club founder Wolfgang Hampel 

Betty MacDonald fan club interviews on CD/DVD

Betty MacDonald fan club items 

Betty MacDonald fan club items  - comments

Betty MacDonald fan club - The Stove and I  

Betty MacDonald fan club groups 

Betty MacDonald fan club organizer Linde Lund  
 
















Rita Knobel Ulrich - Islam in Germany - a very interesting ZDF  ( 2nd German Television ) documentary with English subtitles





Germany



German Chancellor Merkel allows investigation of satirist Böhmermann



Chancellor Merkel has allowed German authorities to launch an investigation into satirist Jan Böhmermann. Turkish President Erdogan requested the inquiry, saying he was insulted by a Böhmermann poem. 


 

            Very exciting ESC 2016 news





Romania expelled from the Eurovision Song Contest
(Picture: YouTube)
For the first time in the 61 year history of the Eurovision Song Contest, a country has been expelled from the competition. Romania has been thrown out of the competition after its national broadcaster TVR failed to make payments to the European Broadcasting Union (the organisers of the Eurovision Song Contest) that date as far back as 2007. Romania have one of the strongest Eurovision Song Contest records, having a 100% record for qualifying for the Eurovision final. They were due to take part in the Second Eurovision Song Contest semi final on Thursday 12th May. The running order of the show will not be recast following Romania’s elimination.
Ovidiu Anton was due to represent Romania with his pop-rock entry Moment of Silence. Romania will be silent for a lot longer than a moment. Ovidiu promoted the song at the London Eurovision Party on Sunday and was expected to reach a strong position in the Eurovision final on May 14th. In a statement released moments ago on the European Broadcasting Union website, it says:

TVR will now no longer be able to participate in the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest and will lose access to other EBU member services including the Eurovision News and Sports News Exchanges, the right to broadcast specific sporting events, legal, technical and research expertise and lobbying services.
Romanian national broadcaster TVR’s debts to the EBU date back to 2007 and with no other Romanian broadcaster a member of the European Broadcasting Union, it is unlikely that Romania will return to the Eurovision Song Contest for a number of years. ‘This is of course disappointing for the artist chosen to represent Romania, for our colleagues at TVR who have prepared their participation so well this year and, not least, for Romanian viewers and the many Eurovision fans in the country,’ says Jon Ola Sand, Executive Supervisor of the Eurovision Song Contest on behalf of the EBU. Asked what this means for host broadcaster SVT, Sand replied: ‘As with all participants, SVT has been preparing for Romania’s act thoroughly over the past weeks. To take an act out at such late stage is of course a little disruptive, but it will not negatively affect the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest in any other way.’ Romania at the Eurovision Song Contest Romania have twice finished third at the Eurovision Song Contest, in 2005 with Luminita Anghel & Sistem with the song Let Me Try and in 2010 with Paula Selling & Ovi and their entry Playing with Fire. Their 2006 entry Tornero by Mihai became one of the biggest summer chart and club hits across Europe in 2006. Mihai took part in the Romanian national final again this year, losing out to Ovidiu. In 2011, Romania was represented by Hotel FM featuring British singer David Bryan. They campaigned extensively in the United Kingdom but failed to pick up any points from the UK, finishing 4th in their semi final, but only 17th in the final.

Read more: http://metro.co.uk/2016/04/22/romania-expelled-from-the-eurovision-song-contest-5833623/#ixzz46g9XpH39

Betty MacDonald, the Queen and Betty MacDonald fan club ESC 2016 voting




Beautiful World's photo.
Betty MacDonald in the living room at Vashon on the cover of The Saturday Evening Post.

Betty MacDonald fan club fans,

we are going to publish new Betty MacDonald essays on Betty MacDonald's gardens and nature in Washington State.

Tell us the names of this mysterious couple please and you can win a very new Betty MacDonald documentary. 


 

You shouldn't miss our International Betty MacDonald fan club events  because you can make the most wonderful friends there.
 
Betty MacDonald fan club event in London was outstanding.


I think London would be the best place for next International Betty MacDonald fan club event.
I'd like to return to this wonderful city to celebrate a very special birthday.   ( see info below )
 
The Betty MacDonald fan club event DVDs are excellent and I already own a whole collection.

Wolfgang Hampel's  Vita Magica guest was a very famous TV lady, author and singer who is a new very popular Betty MacDonald fan club honor member.

Betty MacDonald fan club honor member Mr. Tigerl is beloved all over the World.

We are so happy that our 'Casanova'  is back.

Don't miss a new breakfast with Brad and Nick, please.

I'd like to visit Betty MacDonald's paradise on Vashon Island.

Onions in the Stew is my favourite of Betty MacDonald's brilliant books. 

Send us your ESC votes, please.
Deadline: April 30, 2016
Use your chance to win two ESC Grand Final 2016 tickets, please.
France, Germany, Poland and Russia are my favourites.

Yours,
 
Simon



Don't miss this very special book, please.





Vita Magica
Betty MacDonald fan club

Betty MacDonald forum  

Wolfgang Hampel - Wikipedia ( English ) 

Wolfgang Hampel - Wikipedia ( English ) - The Egg and I 

Wolfgang Hampel - Wikipedia ( German )

Vashon Island - Wikipedia ( German )

Wolfgang Hampel - Monica Sone - Wikipedia ( English )

Wolfgang Hampel - Ma and Pa Kettle - Wikipedia ( English )

Wolfgang Hampel - Ma and Pa Kettle - Wikipedia ( French )

Wolfgang Hampel in Florida State University 

Betty MacDonald fan club founder Wolfgang Hampel 

Betty MacDonald fan club interviews on CD/DVD

Betty MacDonald fan club items 

Betty MacDonald fan club items  - comments

Betty MacDonald fan club - The Stove and I  

Betty MacDonald fan club groups 

Betty MacDonald fan club organizer Linde Lund  













Rita Knobel Ulrich - Islam in Germany - a very interesting ZDF  ( 2nd German Television ) documentary with English subtitles 


Betty MacDonald, Letizia Mancino, Mary Holmes and the second paradise




Ein lyrisches Portrait von Hilde Domin

Betty MacDonald fan club fans, 

let's talk about great writers and poets Letizia Mancino, Hilde Domin and Betty MacDonald.

Betty MacDonald fan Club honor member, artist and writer Letizia Mancino shares her delightful story THE SECOND PARADISE. 

Betty MacDonald fan club honor member Mary Holmes did such a great job in translating THE SECOND PARADISE.
Thanks a million dearest Mary.
We are really very grateful.

I'm one of Letizia Maninco's many devoted fans.

Letizia Mancino sent this connecting piece to " The Second Paradise".

DEFIANT AS A COCK

Copyright 2011/2016 by Letizia Mancino
translated by Mary Holmes 

All rights reserved

That was how my friend Hilde Domin was, dear Betty! You would have liked her so much. She had also been in America. At that time you were a famous author but she was still unknown.

-Did she love cats like you do?

-Yes Betty, she sure did!! Otherwise how do you think she could have been a friend of mine?

-Oh Letizia, don’t boast! Hilde was famous!

-It’s all the same to me, Betty, whether a person is famous or not but that person must love animals

-Why was she as defiant as a cock?

-Well Betty, she was simply so!

-Like a pregnant woman in my “Egg and I”?

-No not so! Betty, Hilde was a whole farm!

- A farm, how was that?

- No Betty, Hilde was more! Almost a zoo! Even more. She was all the animals in the world!

-You loved her very much.

-As I love all animals.

You Betty, if I had known you, I would have loved you exactly so because you loved animals.

-But as defiant as a cock from my Bob-farm!

-Yes and no! (Hilde really loved this double form of answer). Listen Betty , I’ll tell you a story about how Hilde was. You would certainly have loved her.
I’ll call my story “The Second Paradise”.

THE SECOND PARADISE

Copyright 2011/2016 by Letizia Mancino
translated by Mary Holmes

All rights reserved


The Lord God, one day, met Adam in Paradise and saw him lying under a palm.

And God spoke to him: Adam, my son, are you happy, are you content with Paradise ?

Adam answered: Oh Lord, it is wonderful!

And God said: But I will create a second Paradise and give you a wife.

Adam answered: Oh Lord, that is wonderful!

And God said: I will create the wife according to your wishes.

And Adam stood under the palm and thought hard.

And God said: Adam, are you ready?

Adam answered: My wife should be as lively as a bird but she should not fly. She should swim like a goldfish but not be a fish….. She should be as playful as a cat but not catch mice….. She should be as busy as an ant but not so small.

And God said: So shall she be: Like a bird, a goldfish, a cat, an ant…

Adam answered: Oh Lord, that is wonderful, but she should be as faithful as a dog.

And God asked: Adam, have you finished?

Oh Lord, cried Adam. She should also be as delightful and gentle as a lamb and as defiant as a cock!

….She should be as curious as a monkey and as pampered as a lapdog.

And God said: So shall she be.

And Adam said: My wife should be as courageous as a lion and as headstrong as a goat…

And God said: So, like a bird, a goldfish, a cat, an ant, a dog, a lamb, a cock, a monkey, a lapdog, a lion, a goat… and slowly and surely he wished to begin creating…

But Adam stretched himself under the palm and called:

Lord, Lord, she should be as adaptable as a chameleon but not creep on four feet.

She should have sparkling eyes like, like… real diamonds. She should be as fiery as a volcano

But … she should have crystal-clear thoughts like a mountain spring.

God, the Almighty, was speechless…

And Adam spoke: Also she should be as quick as lightening…

And God said: Man, have you finished????

No, said Adam! She should be as strong as a horse, as long living as an elephant but as light as a butterfly!

God found Adam’s thoughts were good and said: So, bird, goldfish, cat, ant, dog, lamb, cock, monkey, lapdog, lion, goat, chameleon, genuine diamonds, volcano, mountain spring, lightening, horse, elephant…. butterfly…

God wished at last to begin creating her…

Lord, called Adam… she should be as stable as steel, but as sweet as three graceful women in one…

And God asked: Should she also be a poet?

Yes, called Adam from under the palm…

And God said: Adam have you finished?

Lord, I wish that, in the second Paradise I shall be one and doubled:

So God according to Adams last words created:

HILDE PALM DOMIN
 
 
Very best wishes


Letizia Mancino


Letizia Mancino is an outstanding writer and artist.

I know you will enjoy this very charming and witty story the same way I did! 

Thanks a Million, dear Letiza Mancino! You made my day!

As you know I'm very interested in pets and excellent literature.

Betty MacDonald Fan Club founder Wolfgang Hampel is working on a Eva Vargas biography. I'd love to know: Did Eva Vargas like pets and cats? 

Letizia Mancino is part of Wolfgang Hampel's new project 'Vita Magica'. 

We got so many requests from fans from all over the world and have great info for you. 
Wolfgang Hampel's stories and satirical poems will be published in several languages for his many fans from all over the world.  
Enjoy a sunny Sunday,

Yours,

Greta 







Queen's 90th birthday: when is it and how will it be celebrated?







Queen Elizabeth II head shot
Queen Elizabeth II's 90th birthday celebrations will be one of the highlights of 2016, and you can play your part by following our guide to the festivities. Events will be taking place in April, May and June, some of which are free and some of which require tickets, but the key is to plan ahead if you want to participate. We have included links to websites where you can buy tickets and where you can download forms for street parties. We will be updating this page whenever new information is available.






Queen Elizabeth smiles at the queen's guard
 
The Queen with the Duke of Edinburgh at Trooping the Colour, the official celebration of her birthday  

April 21st: The Queen's birthday

The Queen's 90th birthday is on April 21, and while this will not be the main focus of the celebrations, there will still be an opportunity to see the Queen for hardy royal-watchers. Her Majesty will be at Windsor Castle when her birthday comes around, and Buckingham Palace is expected to announce public engagements in the Windsor area on the 21st and possibly the 20th. Expect a royal walkabout where members of the public can see Her Majesty close up - as long as they are prepared to turn up early to bag the best places. Look out also for TV documentaries on the Queen's life by both ITV and the BBC featuring interviews with senior members of the Royal family. No dates have yet been announced.

May 12 to 15: The Queen's 90th Birthday Celebration

May represents the first of two major celebrations of the Queen's birthday. The Queen's 90th Birthday Celebration will be a 90-minute long extravaganza with 900 horses and more than 1,500 riders and performers.

It will be along similar lines to the Diamond Jubilee horse pageant at Windsor in 2012, though this time video projection and theatrical lighting will play a big part. The event will be held every evening from May 12 to 15, with the Queen attending on the final evening. All 25,000 tickets for the arena sold out soon after they went on sale last November, but there is still a chance to take part by entering a ballot, opening in February, for 5,000 free tickets to watch the show on giant screens next to Windsor Castle and see celebrities arriving on the red carpet. For details click here. If you miss out on tickets, ITV will be showing the final night in a two-hour live broadcast hosted by Ant and Dec.

June 10: Service of Thanksgiving at St Paul's Cathedral

A weekend of events to celebrate the Queen's birthday and, unofficially, the Duke of Edinburgh's 95th birthday, will start on June 10 with a Service of Thanksgiving at St Paul's Cathedral. The congregation will be made up of invited guests only, but the service will be televised. June 10 is also the Duke of Edinburgh's 95th birthday, but he has specified that he does not want any public celebration of the date.

June 11: Trooping the Colour

Saturday, June 11 is the date of this year's Trooping the Colour, the official annual celebration of the Queen's birthday. Otherwise known as The Queen's Birthday Parade, it is a chance for the Queen to inspect soldiers from the Household Division. It takes place on Horse Guards Parade behind Whitehall, and is televised live by the BBC from 10am.






Members of the Royal family appear on the balcony of Buckingham Palace after Trooping the Colour
 
Members of the Royal family appear on the balcony of Buckingham Palace after Trooping the Colour
The Queen and other members of the Royal family travel to and from Buckingham Palace in carriages, meaning there is ample opportunity to see her for anyone standing on The Mall. She will then appear on the balcony of Buckingham Palace at 1pm to watch a fly-past. This will be the only "balcony moment" of the birthday celebrations and is another good chance for members of the public to see the Queen, albeit from a distance. Tickets for the seated stands around Horse Guards are allocated by ballot in March and cost £30. You can apply in writing before the end of February to the Brigade Major, HQ Household Division by following the instructions in this link. A rehearsal usually takes place a week before the parade, and can be seen from The Mall or the edge of St James's Park.






The Queen will travel by carriage to Trooping the Colour
 
The Queen will travel by carriage to Trooping the Colour

June 12: The Patron's Lunch

On Sunday, June 12, the climax of the Queen's birthday celebrations, The Mall in London will be transformed into a giant street party for The Patron's Lunch, with 10,000 guests eating a picnic lunch and being entertained by street performers and circus acts. The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh will take part in the event from a specially-built platform on the Queen Victoria Memorial in front of Buckingham Palace.






An artist's impression of The Patron's Lunch
 
An artist's impression of The Patron's Lunch Credit: Patron's Lunch
The purpose of the event is to celebrate the Queen's patronage of 600-plus charities and organisations, and 9,000 of the 10,000 tickets are being made available to those organisations. However, there will be some publicly available tickets for the event, costing £150 each. There are two ways of getting a ticket: 1. Enter a public ballot where a minimum of 1,000 tickets (plus any that are not taken up by the charities) will be made available. You can make your application during the month of March at The Patron's Lunch website. 2. Charities and other organisations that receive tickets will be allowed to auction off 40 per cent of their tickets to raise money for their funds. You can search a list of the organisations of which the Queen is Patron here.






 St James's Park artist impression on a sunny day for the Queen's 90th birthday 
 
Members of the public will be able to watch the event on giant screens in Green Park and St James's Park  Credit: The Patron's Lunch
If you don't have a ticket, but still want to be part of the event in London, there will be room for 15,000 people to watch the event on giant screens in St James's Park and Green Park, though they will have to bring their own picnics. Security will be tight, so arrive early. The event's organiser Peter Phillips, the Queen's grandson, is keen for the event to be replicated with street parties up and down the country and across the Commonwealth. You will need to tell your local council four to six weeks in advance, and the Department for Communities and Local Government has published a guide on how to organise a street party, complete with an application form for you to send off to your local authority.






The Patron's Lunch - a map of events for the day's celebrations
 
The Patron's Lunch will be held on the Mall on June 12

Friday, April 29, 2016

Betty MacDonald and three very important elections

egg_czech_2008_paperback_FRONT
Seattle skyline across Pier 66 waterfront
Betty MacDonald in the living room at Vashon on the cover of The Saturday Evening Post.

 Betty MacDonald fan club fans,


Betty MacDonald fan club event voting will be very exciting.

Tell us your favourite city please for International Betty MacDonald fan club event 2016.

My favourite is Seattle.

I'll  contribute a Betty MacDonald letter to Betty MacDonald fan club letter collection.
 
I own a very important letter of Betty MacDonald.

I wished there was a relative in my family who met Betty MacDonald and Mary Bard Jensen.

However I'll share a very interesting Betty MacDonald letter which was inside a book I bought.

You'll be able to find my Betty MacDonald fan club contribution in Betty MacDonald fan club newsletter April.

I love the Betty MacDonald fan club motto:

Sail away and find new treasures every day!

That's exactly what Betty MacDonald, Mary Bard Jensen, Alison Bard Burnett,  Mr. and Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle and Wolfgang Hampel did/does.

I had the very same feelings when I saw Betty MacDonald's letter inside the book.

As I adore the Betty MacDonald items by Betty MacDonald Memorial Award Winner Wolfgang Hampel I'm going to forward a copy of the letter for Betty MacDonald biography and Betty MacDonald fan club letter collection.

The subject of Betty MacDonald's letter is her family, friends and favourite authors.

New Betty MacDonald documentary will be very interesting with many interviews never published before.

Betty MacDonald fan club honor member Mr. Tigerli  shares his autobiography.

He is a real Casanova but this magical guy got fans from all over the world.

I belong to Mr. Tigerli's devoted fans.

Thank you so much for sharing this witty memories with us.

Enjoy a new breakfast with Brad and Nick at the bookstore. 



Wolfgang Hampel's last Vita Magica guest reader was a very famous satirical writer - Michail Krausnick.


We hope Mr. Erdogan won't have any problems with his work. 


Be careful guys!

Great Betty MacDonald fan club ESC news will be published on Betty MacDonald fan club blog.

It's a fact that Italy, Spain, Portugal and Germany have been robbed winning Eurovision Song Contest several times.

A wonderful Betty MacDonald fan club ESC surprise for Betty MacDonald fan club ESC fans from all over the world is waiting for you.




Send us your ESC 2016 votes, please.




12 points for 1st place and until 1 point for your 10th place.




You are not allowed to vote for your own country.


Deadline: April 30, 2016




Don't miss the chance to win two Grand Final ESC 2016 tickets.




It'll be very exciting.




Who will be Betty MacDonald fan club ESC winner 2016? 

 This is our current Betty MacDonald fan club ESC 2016 TOP 10 in alphabetical order:


Australia, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Malta,  Poland,  Russia, Serbia, Spain, Sweden and Ukraine.
 

 

Take good care of yourself,

Martin & Jo




Don't miss this very special book, please.



Vita Magica 

Betty MacDonald fan club

Betty MacDonald forum  

Wolfgang Hampel - Wikipedia ( English ) 

Wolfgang Hampel - Wikipedia ( English ) - The Egg and I 

Wolfgang Hampel - Wikipedia ( German )

Vashon Island - Wikipedia ( German )

Wolfgang Hampel - Monica Sone - Wikipedia ( English )

Wolfgang Hampel - Ma and Pa Kettle - Wikipedia ( English )

Wolfgang Hampel - Ma and Pa Kettle - Wikipedia ( French ) 


Wolfgang Hampel - Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle - Wikipedia ( English)

Wolfgang Hampel in Florida State University 

Betty MacDonald fan club founder Wolfgang Hampel 

Betty MacDonald fan club interviews on CD/DVD

Betty MacDonald fan club items 

Betty MacDonald fan club items  - comments

Betty MacDonald fan club - The Stove and I  

Betty MacDonald fan club groups 

Betty MacDonald fan club organizer Linde Lund  







 

Rita Knobel Ulrich - Islam in Germany - a very interesting ZDF  ( 2nd German Television ) documentary with English subtitles 

Opinion: The new Donald Trump can beat Hillary Clinton


Published: Apr 29, 2016 6:04 a.m. ET

Trump’s makeover into a serious statesman will make him electable against unlikable Clinton



 
 REUTERS/Jim Bourg
Republican U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump delivers a foreign policy speech at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington on Wednesday.
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) – The making of a president 2016 has already begun.
Republican frontrunner Donald Trump gave a major foreign policy address this week with all the trappings of a commander in chief — American flags in the background, dark suit with the stars-and-stripes lapel pin, white shirt, red tie, and, wonder of wonders, a teleprompter to stay on script.
Trump, who is nothing if not a good performer, mostly pulled it off, prompting MarketWatch Washington bureau chief Steve Goldstein to comment, “Squint and you can almost see Trump speaking from the Oval Office.”

Renowned Indiana University basketball coach Bob Knight threw his support behind Donald Trump's presidential campaign, less than a week before Indiana voters go to the polls in the state's primary. Photo: AP
The makeover that began with Trump’s uncharacteristically short and concise victory speech after the New York primary is in full swing, with the aim of transforming the rowdy, rambling brawler of the primaries into a distinguished statesman capable of taking on the most powerful political office in the world.
It could work.
After all, Theodore White’s best-selling “Making of the President” series, which began with his chronicle of John Kennedy’s successful 1960 run, soon became Joe McGinnis’s “The Selling of the President” about the equally successful packaging and marketing of candidate Richard Nixon in 1968.
And who is better at marketing and branding than Donald Trump?
The Democrats are in more trouble than they realize proceeding with their rigged effort to crown Hillary Clinton as their nominee.
Who really thinks it’s a good idea to field a candidate with that much baggage and with a 56% unfavorable rating?
The Democratic Party bosses take comfort that Trump’s negatives are even higher, thus logically pointing to a Clinton victory in this war of attrition.
But, as Clinton herself constantly proclaims, she is the battle-scarred veteran of the trenches, and her favorability ratings are likely to move much more sluggishly.
Trump is new to this game and his ratings are more fluid. There is every reason to expect that as he pivots to a new look and demeanor, his favorability rating will improve.
As for the content of that foreign-policy speech, the mainstream media predictably found it “incoherent” and full of “paradoxes.” As if the foreign policy followed by President Barack Obama and his erstwhile secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, was a resounding example of coherence.
There is actually a good deal of internal coherence in Trump’s analysis of America’s place in the world and his policies, and it fits in well with the general themes of his campaign. Read the speech and judge for yourself.
“America First,” like “Make America Great Again,” has considerable resonance with a wide swath of voters through any number of swing states that Trump could well move into his column in a general election. (Sorry, pundits, no one really cares if the expression was first used by Nazi sympathizer Charles Lindbergh in the 1930s.)
And let’s look at the widely touted impact on the down ticket — that aversion to Trump will swing a number of contested Senate seats to the Democrats and enable them to regain control of the Senate while making considerable gains in the House.
That may be too optimistic, especially considering that the trend under Obama has been for the party to lose ground.
Data from University of Virginia analyst Larry Sabato published this week in the Washington Post showed that Obama set new standards in this regard.
Democrats have lost a net 11 governorships during his tenure, as well as 13 Senate seats, 69 House seats, and control of 32 (!) state legislative chambers — far more in every case than Republicans under that party’s presidents and mostly more than other Democrats have lost.
Why should Democrats gain under Clinton’s standard after she has wrapped herself in the “success” of the Obama administration?
The Democratic Party leadership is for the most part geriatric and sclerotic, and even the feisty independent trying to win a new generation to progressive policies is 74.
Conceivably, Hillary Clinton could do a pivot of her own and wholeheartedly embrace the policies championed by Bernie Sanders, which have generated so much of the energy and enthusiasm in the Democratic primaries.
No matter how convincingly Sanders endorses Clinton once she has actually won the nomination, it is not his responsibility to keep that enthusiasm alive.

Carly Fiorina brings to the Ted Cruz campaign a proven ability to go toe-to-toe with arch rival Donald Trump. Here are some of the sharpest exchanges between Fiorina and the GOP frontrunner. Photo: AP
The ability to generate enthusiasm is nontransferable and if Clinton wants to keep those voters, especially young people who would be voting for the first time, it is up to her to motivate them to go to the polls.
She has shown little inclination so far to do that, apparently confident that she has the “Obama coalition” well enough in hand to win the election and that organization will do the rest.
But it won’t be fear and loathing of Trump that gets these young people to the polls. It is Trump who is making the more successful opening to the center, with his support for Medicare and Social Security and his opposition to trade pacts.
He, too, could promise some relief for student debt along with his raising hopes of more and better jobs.
These young voters aren’t bogged down in the past. They don’t care if someone calls himself a socialist, and they certainly won’t care that Charles Lindbergh was the first to use the expression “America First.”
Hillary Clinton, as Wall Street Journal columnist Daniel Henninger noted this week, is much likelier to pivot now to the halcyon days of President Bill Clinton, perhaps throwing Obama under the bus now that he has served his purpose of winning her the nomination.
But for many of these young voters, the first Clinton administration is something they read about in history books, and it would be hard to overestimate the degree of Clinton fatigue among older voters.
We’ll see who does a better job of packaging and selling, but it would be premature to count on seeing a second President Clinton
 


Rosen... / Schleedorf



                                Mr. Tigerli's memories





Copyright 2015/2016 by Letizia Mancino




Translated by Mary Holmes




All rights reseverd 





My birthday! 









I, Mr. Tigerli, can hardly save myself from being submerged in red roses!  Oh dear, a loving cat has his problems.





Surrounded by a sea of flowers!





Mind you I’ve earned it. I have risked so much for love in my life!





I have become famous because of being such a great lover.  I am a Casanova cat.





 Am I exaggerating?  Are there not cats more famous than me, artists who paint or play the piano?






That may be so, but they are “nobodies” in the art of loving!





Look in the internet under “Erotica Felina”! You will see that my name immediately appears on the screen.





People boarding their plane in Singapore have found me at once on Google.





I am a world famous cat.





Oh no, I don’t loose my head over female cats. But women! I love women.  Yes only women. These wonderful creatures give me everything! Not only affection, good conversation and food.





I was four months old when I discovered my partiality for women.





One time I was cavorting on the bed with Roswitha, my first love – although it was strictly forbidden to get onto the bed – when under the woolen blanket I suddenly felt a wonderful soft plump area! Roswitha’s tummy! I was running backwards and forwards across it when suddenly a shot of adrenalin rushed through my cat brain. At an early age I became a slave to love!


But it was Roswitha’s foot that surprised me with my first erotic feelings. She had unknowingly stretched it out of the bed under the pressure of my four paws and for the first time I saw the naked foot of a woman. Five small tempting little sausages attracted my attention. How delicately the points moved. They were more attractive to look at than the mice in the fresh grass. I miaowed to them “I’m going to bite you”!
I understand men who kiss the feet of women so ardently.

I immediately lost my head and my innocence.



Now I began to nibble at these five little porkies.
 
Roswitha continued to sleep and sighed softly. Encouraged I licked her whole foot. Roswitha laughed sweetly and delightfully in her sleep.


Within eight months I was familiar with her leg.


I love beautiful legs. Without hair, without ticks or other insects. They have such a wonderful perfume. I could lick women’s legs without any saliva. Wonderful!   A refined lover begins with delicate movements, not by taking the female creation by storm. Only goats climb on the back of their females without paying a single compliment. You know, Betty, that a Casanova doesn’t come straight to the point!


Roswitha, I love you Oh, my first love! I felt so good in your bed. I lay at your feet in the night. But after two intimate years deeply in love with your feet, your husband came home. His field service away from home was over, and sadly my home service with you too.


“Get out of my bed”, he shouted. It’s not right to treat a loving cat so rudely, even when men have the right to be jealous of us. We are after all superior to them. We are supple and seductively beautiful until old age. We are not rude or, even worse, drunkards! A woman can spend romantic hours stroking us or even sleep with us in her bed and still believe in platonic love, which is hardly possible for them with a man. Women never become pregnant with us and this has advantages. Casanova was the inventor of the condom. We are the condom.


I was thrown out. Are men all so brutal, Betty? The bedroom door was locked. But I was still allowed to live in the house: three sofas in the living room, a bed in the guest bedroom, and an old divan in the cellar were available for me. Roswitha could come to these. But I was appalled!
Mr. Brummi avoided my dirty looks. Since then I have not befriended men, to say nothing of cats!
Without Roswitha’s feet I had to eke out a miserable existence in the house. And she complained that her feet were cold.

The husband however was obdurate. He tried, without success, to take my place: to stroke Roswitha’s feet, to rub them, to tickle them! But Roswitha’s five little white toes remained in the bed as motionless as if rigor mortis had set in.



There were no more giggles. The doctor recommended an evening foot-bath. To think that I should be replaced by a herbal bath! How outrageous!
Should I have scratched at the bedroom door every night? I am a proud cat! I would rather look around! She wouldn’t have heard me anyway. The husband snores as loudly as a vacuum cleaner on the point of collapse. Should I have dropped five dead mice in front of the door? But I don’t bring her these presents any more. If you love me, I thought, get divorced!
“Darling” I hear her say to her husband, “Couldn’t you snore more quietly?”


I comforted myself with her socks. The dirty ones, naturally. There were a few flakes from her skin that I swallowed with joy. Some men even sniff underwear. Idiotic love. That’s going too far for me. I, Mr Tigerli, don’t do that because I am an aesthetic cat. Gradually I’d had enough of the socks. Should I look for a new woman? The thought of being unfaithful came to me quite suddenly.
The nights in my basket passed peacefully  - and also the nights in Roswitha’s bed. Cold feet and migraines are two passion killers. The husband was sullen. She never suffered with me. I laughed - even if cats can’t laugh – behind my beard and knew that she had remained faithful.  I didn’t. I found the young servant in the house very fascinating. Her legs were not so beautiful as Roswitha’s , but the risks were low. The young woman was a Russian, temperamental, pretty and I liked her. Infidelity was for me a triviality.


“Oh, Mr. Tigerli”, cried Putziputzi  (that was her pet name. I’ll say no more, she had two brothers) “why are you licking me so tenderly?”
I could have answered. “You are my second choice. I am missing Roswitha’s feet.” But I wrapped myself round her leg, as all loving cats do.


She gave an even louder cry and ran away! I was perplexed!


I had no idea that genuine love-play begins with “No, no, I’d rather not, please don’t”.


I still had a lot to learn. Then I thought: Quick , Tigerli, follow Putziputzi and sing her a song! After that wonderful days followed: I showered her soft thighs with delicate little love-bites. It was intoxicating!

We constantly changed the spot we chose for our love-making. On Mondays and Fridays we lay on the three sofas, on Tuesday on the bed in the guest room, but most of the time we spent together in the cellar. She was crazy! Is this sex, 
I asked myself. What man can make a woman so happy?

Putziputzi was soon dismissed from her job.


I have no great opinion of husbands and I must admit I have good reasons for this. But that their wives should react with such jealousy was for me an insoluble puzzle.
It wasn’t long before I was lying in bed with Roswitha again.
 
The husband had probably seen that the loss of a servant can have serious consequences. Now it was his job to vacuum the whole house: from the cellar to the attic. Roswitha assured him this would only be for a short transitional period, until she had found a replacement for Putziputzi.

“Yes, yes!  But the replacement must be ugly and unattractive and she should only work in the house and she must not play with Tigerli”, he answered.


“Yes, yes! I agree”, answered Roswitha, “and it would be wise if you would allow Tigerli to sleep in the bed with me again”.
The husband willingly gave his consent.
He nodded his agreement and it was clear that he saw me in a new light.
I was no longer a competitor.
What the heck, he thought! The guy was sleeping in my bed with my wife when I was away anyway!
So thanks to the vacuum-cleaner I was able to continue my love-affair with my first love Roswitha.





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                      Who is Mr. Tigerli?                             















Romania expelled from the Eurovision Song Contest










Romania expelled from the Eurovision Song Contest
(Picture: YouTube)
For the first time in the 61 year history of the Eurovision Song Contest, a country has been expelled from the competition. Romania has been thrown out of the competition after its national broadcaster TVR failed to make payments to the European Broadcasting Union (the organisers of the Eurovision Song Contest) that date as far back as 2007. Romania have one of the strongest Eurovision Song Contest records, having a 100% record for qualifying for the Eurovision final. They were due to take part in the Second Eurovision Song Contest semi final on Thursday 12th May. The running order of the show will not be recast following Romania’s elimination.
Ovidiu Anton was due to represent Romania with his pop-rock entry Moment of Silence. Romania will be silent for a lot longer than a moment. Ovidiu promoted the song at the London Eurovision Party on Sunday and was expected to reach a strong position in the Eurovision final on May 14th.
In a statement released moments ago on the European Broadcasting Union website, it says:


TVR will now no longer be able to participate in the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest and will lose access to other EBU member services including the Eurovision News and Sports News Exchanges, the right to broadcast specific sporting events, legal, technical and research expertise and lobbying services.
Romanian national broadcaster TVR’s debts to the EBU date back to 2007 and with no other Romanian broadcaster a member of the European Broadcasting Union, it is unlikely that Romania will return to the Eurovision Song Contest for a number of years.
‘This is of course disappointing for the artist chosen to represent Romania, for our colleagues at TVR who have prepared their participation so well this year and, not least, for Romanian viewers and the many Eurovision fans in the country,’ says Jon Ola Sand, Executive Supervisor of the Eurovision Song Contest on behalf of the EBU.
Asked what this means for host broadcaster SVT, Sand replied: ‘As with all participants, SVT has been preparing for Romania’s act thoroughly over the past weeks. To take an act out at such late stage is of course a little disruptive, but it will not negatively affect the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest in any other way.’
Romania at the Eurovision Song Contest
Romania have twice finished third at the Eurovision Song Contest, in 2005 with Luminita Anghel & Sistem with the song Let Me Try and in 2010 with Paula Selling & Ovi and their entry Playing with Fire.
Their 2006 entry Tornero by Mihai became one of the biggest summer chart and club hits across Europe in 2006. Mihai took part in the Romanian national final again this year, losing out to Ovidiu.

In 2011, Romania was represented by Hotel FM featuring British singer David Bryan. They campaigned extensively in the United Kingdom but failed to pick up any points from the UK, finishing 4th in their semi final, but only 17th in the final.