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Tuesday, May 31, 2016

Fun Times

WaPo: Trump: 'Bill Kristol is a loser'

Facts

Glamour: Terrifying (and True) Facts About Violence Against Abortion Providers by Meredith Clark
At this point, however, 89 percent of all counties in the U.S. have no abortion provider, and that number may shrink even further in the face of new state laws and continued threats.

Undercut

FOX: GOP convention no-shows threaten to undercut Trump unity push

Veepstakes

FiveThirtyEight: A FiveThirtyEight Guide To Veepstakes Speculation By Julia Azari and William D. Adler

Have An Excellent Tuesday

work by 'Outsider' Matt Lienes

The Onion - Knocked-Out Secret Service Agents Wake To Realize Jimmy Carter Loose

The Onion: Knocked-Out Secret Service Agents Wake To Realize Jimmy Carter Loose

Narcotics

Science Daily: Narcotic painkillers prolong pain in rats, says study - Findings may have far-reaching implications for humans
summary - Painkillers paradoxically prolong pain in rats, a study that could have far-reaching effects for humans, new research demonstrates. Roughly 20,000 Americans died in 2015 from overdoses of prescription opioid pain relievers, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

TRNN - Lois Gibbs On Challenging Corporate Dominance In The EPA

A Third

MSNBC: GOP looks for last minute alternative to Trump - Donald Trump responded to Bill Kristol's cryptic tweet about a potential third party candidate. NBC's Chris Jansing discusses with a political panel.

Stephen Hawking On Trump

Guardian UK: Trump's popularity inexplicable and Brexit spells disaster, says Stephen Hawking - Scientist repeats backing for remain in EU campaign and says US presidential candidate is ‘demagogue who appeals to lowest common denominator’

Ecstasy Is Back

Guardian UK: Ecstasy in comeback as new generation discovers dance drug - Annual survey of drug use finds MDMA is back in the mainstream due to ‘creative and aggressive marketing’ and rise in purity

Global Warming - Hurricane Season Begins June 1st

Climate Central: NOAA: Near-Normal Hurricane Season Expected

Water Crisis

AlterNet: 'That Is Unbelievable': Bernie Sanders Shocked by California's Water Woes, Compares Crisis to Flint's - Sanders joins a growing outrage over a crisis that is forcing people to buy bottled water. By Alexandra Rosenmann

The Market On Tuesday

  Good morning. At 8:45 a.m. ET it is 69 degrees and it is sunny here in the Upper Hudson Valley. The forecast predicts a sunny day with temperatures in the 80s this afternoon. I'm looking forward to Thursday's 8:15 a.m. ET announcement by Bill Kristol. Allegedly there will be another third party candidate entering the presidential race at that time. Who will it be? The speculation covers several names, Romney, Sasse, Cruz, Rice, to mention a few of the biggies. If this does materialize the anti-Trump movement can breathe a short sigh of relief as a third party conservative will make it very difficult for Trump to win. It already is difficult for Trump to win but the difficulty degree would get bigger. Trump is furious about the announcement.

  At 8:45 a.m. ET futures are moderately higher and the price of oil per barrel is up. The market is poised to open higher.

  Big day on Wall Street as there will be reports on all kinds of metrics including housing, personal income, and my favorite - consumer spending. How's your spending oh consumer? Notice that the eurozone has a steady unemployment rate of 10.2%. In America that number stands for let's trade in for a new government. Presently the official US unemployment rate is 5%.

CNN: Stocks: 5 things to know before the open by Alanna Petroff
Shares in India's Tata Motors -- which owns Jaguar Land Rover -- are surging after the company reported better-than-expected full-year results.

Monday, May 30, 2016

Rosie O'Donnell On Donald

Bill Kristol Announcement

  If you have been following the news, Bill Kristol is threatening a third party candidate. He tweeted this response today.
There will be an announcement on Thursday, June 2nd at 8:15 am Eastern. I can't say more right now. But I'd watch... #neverTrump

Skip It

FOX News: List of Republicans planning to skip Cleveland convention

Interest Rates

Guardian UK: Fed chief Janet Yellen says interest rates will rise 'in coming months' - Federal Reserve is expected to announce two to three interest rate hikes this year after it increased rates in December for the first time in nearly a decade

'Heads Up'

CBS News: Is a new candidate going to enter the presidential race?
Weekly Standard editor Bill Kristol sent out a provocative tweet Sunday, calling for a "heads up over this holiday weekend" that another presidential candidate -- an independent -- would be entering the race for the White House.

'Ashleigh Banfield Confronts Tana Goertz Over Trump's Un-Presidential Insults'

Help Me Out

  Can someone help me out here for a second. I'm trying to find out some information on human civilization over the course of time and I'm not finding it.

  You see I was a terrible high school student. I used to make up little time graphs and check off the minutes as a countdown to the end of the class period, so I missed a lot, especially in world history class.

  When was the time in human history when separating people according to race, religion, sex, or wealth ended well for all parties involved? Yes, when did this type of plan end well. Because all I can seem to find is that it never did end well. Some cultures spent decades or even centuries trying to get over such separation. Some never really survived it and collapsed. What did I miss.

  Oh yeah, one more thing, which of the many people who devised such plans are now regarded as wise and brilliant human beings?

'Fortunate Son'

Creedence Clearwater Revival

Have An Excellent Memorial Day

Cheers and thanks to all our amazing soldiers, they serve with tremendous courage and bravery.

The Onion - Report - 70% Of Trump Endorsements Made After Staring At Bedroom Ceiling For 4 Hours

The Onion: Report: 70% Of Trump Endorsements Made After Staring At Bedroom Ceiling For 4 Hours

Mars

Science Daily: Evidence of ice age at Martian north pole
summary - Using radar data scientists found evidence of an ice age recorded in the polar deposits of Mars. Ice ages on Mars are driven by processes similar to those responsible for ice ages on Earth, that is, long-term cyclical changes in the planet's orbit and tilt, which affect the amount of solar radiation it receives at each latitude.

TRNN - Sanders Supports Universal Healthcare Amendment 69 In Colorado, Will Hillary?

A Clinton Sanders Ticket?

MSNBC: Bernie Sanders doesn’t say no to hypothetical Clinton VP slot

Filing Charges Against Adults For Child Related Shootings

Guardian UK: 'A wake up call': child-related shootings fuel Detroit's tough gun safety stance - Filing charges against adults may be difficult – as families are already grieving – but prosecutor Kym Worthy and others argue shootings are ‘entirely’ preventable
According to Everytown For Gun Safety, a nonprofit funded by former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg, in 2016 at least 96 children across the US have been involved in unintentional shootings.

Iraq, ISIS

Guardian UK: Isis attacks in Baghdad kill 11 as Iraqi forces try to retake Falluja - Group claims responsibility for two suicide bombings as military units try to advance into militants’ stronghold
The bombings came amid an operation west of Baghdad to retake Falluja, which has been under Isis control for more than two years.

Tens of thousands of civilians are believed trapped in the city, with few able to escape.

Global Warming - UN Climate Pact

Climate Central: Rules For U.N. Climate Pact May Take Two Years
"My bet is 2018, everything will be done (in) a maximum two years," Laurence Tubiana, France's climate ambassador, told Reuters when asked how long it would take to negotiate a set of rules. Several other delegates gave similar estimates.

Rage

AlterNet: Trump Exposes the GOP's Dirty Secret: They Build Everything by Nurturing White Rage - For decades, GOP has used the war on drugs or voter ID laws as cover for race-baiting. Trump just blew their cover. By Carol Anderson

The Market Is Closed On Memorial Day

  Good morning. It is 68 degrees and overcast here in the Upper Hudson Valley. The forecast shows rain at some point and temperatures in the high 80s this afternoon. It's been hot around here these last few days, Saturday came through with record temperatures in the 90s. It's going to be a hot Summer.

  Wall Street is closed for the holiday. I can mention that articles continue to point to an increase in the price of oil over the next period. Forbes offered some compelling reasons why. Saudi Arabia is on a plan to diversify their economy, move it away from it being exclusively about oil. The plan calls for this gradual economic change to occur through 2030. In the meantime Saudi Arabia is launching an oil company, this IPO will be coming up. Saudi Arabia wants their oil company to be extremely profitable and to finance their economic changes. So how do they make it profitable? They drive up the price of oil.

'A Man So Manifestly Unqualified To Be President'

  WSJ editor Bret Stephens has unflinching contempt for flip flopping Dumb Donald. Must be heard to be believed.

Saturday, May 28, 2016

Closed Sundays

  The blog is closed on Sundays. See you bright and early Monday morning.

'A Well Respected Man'

The Kinks

'He's a well respected man about town doing the best things so conservatively.'

Flip Flopping Dumb Donald

  Now we're cutting SSI, before yesterday, we were not cutting SSI. I'm glad we cleared that up. This is Trump attempting to gain the confidence of Paul Ryan, because he could care less about you and millions of other Americans.

HuffPo: Trump Supports Cutting Social Security From A ‘Moral Standpoint:’ Report - The presumptive GOP presidential nominee has been saying the opposite on the campaign trail.

Dumb Donald

NYT: Donald Trump’s Campaign Stumbles as It Tries to Go Big

Dumb Donald Petition

lithub: An Open Letter to the American People - Writers speak out against Donald Trump
"Because the rise of a political candidate who deliberately appeals to the basest and most violent elements in society, who encourages aggression among his followers, shouts down opponents, intimidates dissenters, and denigrates women and minorities, demands, from each of us, an immediate and forceful response"

Have An Excellent Saturday

work by Frank Lloyd Wright

The Onion - Man Forced To Venture Pretty Far Into Wilds Of Internet To Have Opinion Confirmed

The Onion: Man Forced To Venture Pretty Far Into Wilds Of Internet To Have Opinion Confirmed

Kepler-62f

Science Daily: A planet 1,200 light-years away is a good prospect for a habitable world - Researchers combine climate, orbit models to show that Kepler-62f might be able to sustain life
summary - A distant 'super-Earth' size planet known as Kepler-62f could be habitable, a team of astronomers reports. The planet, which is about 1,200 light-years from Earth in the direction of the constellation Lyra, is approximately 40 percent larger than Earth. At that size, Kepler-62f is within the range of planets that are likely to be rocky and possibly could have oceans.

TRNN - Growing Labor Protests Paralyzing France

'El Idiota'

MSNBC: More protests follow Trump in day of California rallies

Teen Curfews

Guardian UK: Life under curfew for American teens: ‘it’s insane, no other country does this’ - Since the 1990s, millions of teenagers have been arrested for breaking curfew, which a policy analysis shows has a disproportionate impact on minorities
From Baltimore, which has one of the strictest curfews in the country, to Denver, where curfew enforcement ramps up every summer, the laws are on the books in hundreds of cities across the US. According to available FBI data, there were 2.6m curfew arrests from 1994 and 2012; that’s an average of roughly 139,000 annually. Philadelphia alone reported 16,079 violations in 2014 – among the highest in the country.

Dumb Donald's Latest

  Don't you just love the magical thinking - just say there's no drought and voila, there's no drought. All those images and stories about drying up reservoirs, lakes, rivers, and brown lawns spray painted green, and water rationing, and no rain from months on end, and no snow pack during the Winter, and satellite images showing severe drought over several years, well they were just the result of government lunatics trying to save a three inch fish.

  Okay, Trump is dangerous, very dangerous. Be scared, this clown is out to destroy the United States.

Guardian UK: Protesters clash with police outside Donald Trump rally in San Diego - Trump denies California is experiencing a drought as hundreds of riot police are deployed to deal with demonstrators
“There is no drought,” he said.

Trump accused state officials of denying water to farmers so they can send it out to sea “to protect a certain kind of three-inch fish.”

“We’re going to solve your water problem. You have a water problem that is so insane. It is ridiculous where they’re taking the water and shoving it out to sea,” Trump said.

Global Warming - Disaster Preparation

Climate Central: As Disaster Risks Rise, 20 Nations Get Help to Prepare
"Building resilience helps to address disasters, population movements, conflict, fragile countries - all that can be mitigated through investments in resilience."

Digby On Dumb Donald

  Lately I prefer 'Dumb Donald' because it's so close to dumb-dumb, but Digby has the essential traits much better summed up with 'Vainglorious Buffoon'. Perfection.

AlterNet: Trump’s a Walking Time Bomb: Don’t Be Fooled by His 'Victory,' He Can Implode His Own Campaign at Any Moment - He has no idea what he's doing—his campaign is all over the place, with infighting, tension and recklessness. By Heather Digby Parton
It should be obvious by this time that Trump has absolutely no idea what he’s doing and is making it up as he goes along. Paul Manafort is experienced at dealing with this sort of character, and seems quite comfortable doing it. But the campaign is a mess and that’s because the candidate is a vainglorious buffoon who has no clue what he’s doing and thinks he’s a genius. I wouldn’t bet on Manafort lasting through the duration.

Friday, May 27, 2016

'No Drought'

  There you have it, straight from Trump to you - there's no drought in California.

ABC News: Trump Tells California 'There Is No Drought'
"They don't understand — nobody understands it," he said, declaring at one point: "There is no drought. They turn the water out into the ocean."

Prevent Zika

Raw Story: Here are 6 ways to prevent mosquito bites with Zika fears looming this summer

Bees Attack

  The 23 year old man was stung to death.

AZCentral: Hiker dies after 1,000 bees attack at Usery Mountain

Colistin Resistant Superbug

WaPo: The superbug that doctors have been dreading just reached the U.S.
The antibiotic-resistant strain was found last month in the urine of a 49-year-old Pennsylvania woman.

It’s the first time this colistin-resistant strain has been found in a person in the United States.
From Wikipedia -
Colistin is a decades-old drug that fell out of favor due to its nephrotoxicity (poisonous effect on the kidneys). It remains one of the last-resort antibiotics for multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Acinetobacter.[1] NDM-1 metallo-β-lactamase multidrug-resistant Enterobacteriaceae have also shown susceptibility to colistin.[2] Resistance to colistin has been identified in the Escherichia coli strain SHP45, carried by the mcr-1 gene.[3]

It's Back

MSNBC: A possible cellphone link to cancer? A rat study launches new debate

Not Rigged

FiveThirtyEight: The System Isn’t ‘Rigged’ Against Sanders - Clinton’s winning because more Democrats want her to be the nominee. By Harry Enten and Nate Silver

Have An Excellent Friday

work by Frank Lloyd Wright

The Onion - Voyager Probe Badly Damaged After Smashing Into End Of Universe

The Onion: Voyager Probe Badly Damaged After Smashing Into End Of Universe

Habits

Science Daily: How the brain makes, and breaks, a habit - Neuroscience study identifies brain chemicals, neural pathway involved in switching between habitual behavior, deliberate decision-making
summary - Not all habits are bad. Some are even necessary. But inability to switch from acting habitually to acting in a deliberate way can underlie addiction and obsessive compulsive disorders. Working with a mouse model, an international team of researchers demonstrates what happens in the brain for habits to control behavior.

TRNN - Refugees Dehumanized, Impoverished, And Trapped In Europe, What Can We Do About It?

Trump's Utter Lack Of Dignity

MSNBC: Vince Foster’s sister condemns Trump for raising death conspiracy

Berkeley On Trial

Guardian UK: ‘Honey bear’: Berkeley student details alleged sexual advances by professor - Exclusive: Nicole Hemenway describes how repeated harassment by her thesis adviser derailed her studies – and how the school system failed to protect her
“It just made my skin crawl ... imagining middle-aged white men talking about how beautiful and tempting I was in an office,” Hemenway recalled in a recent interview.

A Recipe For Disaster

  Are you ready for four years of this? Any Democrat or liberal who is rallying to Trump's side is not thinking.

Guardian UK: Donald Trump would allow Keystone XL pipeline and end Paris climate deal - Republican nominee took veiled shots at those who are concerned about global warming and endorsed drilling off the Atlantic coast in a speech on energy policy
“There are pools of oil industry waste water that are deeper than Trump’s grasp of energy.”

Global Warming - Tar Sands

Climate Central: New Tar Sands Impact on Climate, Air Quality Found
The study, published Wednesday in the journal Nature, showed that the production of tar sands and other heavy oil — thick, highly viscous crude oil that is difficult to produce — are a major source of aerosols, a component of fine particle air pollution, which can affect regional weather patterns and increase the risk of lung and heart disease.

Elizabeth Warren

AlterNet: The Dems' Lethal Weapon: Is Elizabeth Warren the Only Democrat Who Can Cut Donald Trump Down to Size? Elizabeth Warren has proven herself to be the most effective Clinton surrogate, and the party's best Trump antidote. By Gary Legum

The Market On Friday

  Good morning. It is 79 degrees and overcast here in the Upper Hudson Valley. The forecast predicts that the temperature will hit the high 80s this afternoon and that it may rain. As I am typing I'm hearing the sound of lawnmowers cutting grass before the rain possibly arrives. We see that Trump has released his energy plan. It's a plan alright, a plan for runaway global warming as Trump proclaims the need for more oil drilling and less regulation. In short, it is a recipe for more disaster. And yet he claims to be an intelligent person.

  At 9:15 a.m. futures are modestly higher and the price of oil per barrel is down. The market is poised to open higher.

  The first quarter GDP has been revised up to .8% in the green from the previous reading of .5% in the green. The slight improvement is regarded positively. Janet Yellen will be speaking at Harvard this afternoon and investors will once again carefully monitor her words for signs of a base interest rate hike. Enjoy the weekend...

CNN: Stocks: 4 things to know before the open by Alanna Petroff
Investors are closely monitoring the head of the U.S. Federal Reserve on Friday. Janet Yellen is set to speak at an event at Harvard University in the early afternoon, alongside previous Fed chairman Ben Bernanke.

Thursday, May 26, 2016

On Dignity

Dignity - the state or quality of being worthy of honor or respect.

"There are two kinds of pride, both good and bad. 'Good pride' represents our dignity and self-respect. 'Bad pride' is the deadly sin of superiority that reeks of conceit and arrogance." John C. Maxwell

Donald Trump Senior Press Rep Healy Baumgardner May 26

  Watch how incredibly awful this poor woman is at her 'job'. Wow.

Governor Susana Martinez

MSNBC: Why a prominent GOP governor is feuding with Donald Trump

God Help Us

Newsweek: Donald Trump Delegate Count Clinches GOP Nomination

Have An Excellent Thursday

work by Frank Lloyd Wright

The Onion's Scott Dikkers On Trump

Esquire: The Onion's Founding Editor Knows the Secret to Making Fun of Donald Trump - And he's here to paint a scary picture of our possible future.

Habitable Exoplanets

  The irony is not lost as our own planet is moving towards this same atmospheric disaster.

Science Daily: Number of habitable planets could be limited by stifling atmospheres
summary - Fewer than predicted planets may be capable of harboring life because their atmospheres keep them too hot, new research suggests.

TRNN - IMF-Eurozone Deal Hailed As A Breakthrough, But No Relief For Greeks

More Trump Liability

  Mr Apprentice can't even run his campaign properly and yet he goes around bragging about his 'incredible' business savvy. This is pathetic, Trump is pathetic.

MSNBC: Trump Political Director Rick Wiley parts ways with campaign after six weeks

Migrant Boat Capsizes

Guardian UK: Migrant boat capsizes off Libya's Mediterranean coast - EU’s naval force says it estimates between 20 and 30 people have drowned in sinking

America's Overdose Epidemic

  Examine the interactive map which shows how the epidemic has grown since 1999. It's startling. The Southwestern part of the country is especially heavily hit. Upstate NY is one of the least affected areas in the country yet just a few weeks ago I learned of a young woman, a daughter of a friend of a friend, who overdosed and died. So we are indeed affected too, make no mistake. This epidemic is a nightmare.

Guardian UK: A deadly crisis: mapping the spread of America's drug overdose epidemic By Nadja Popovich - Overdoses kill more Americans than car crashes or guns – and experts say the crisis hasn’t yet peaked. Data reveals how a local problem became a national epidemic

Global Warming - National Parks

Climate Central: Climate Change is the National Parks’ Biggest Challenge - A Threat That Hits Close to Home for All Americans

Low

  Anything will make America seem great again after Trump goes through his dog and pony show destroying every little tiny pretense of American decorum and dignity.

AlterNet: There's No Depth Too Low for Trump: Intimidation, Misogyny and Conspiracies Are His Campaign Playbook Against Hillary - The more heinous the better as Trump tries to cloak his flaws and attempts to take down Hillary. By Heather Digby Parton

The Market On Thursday

  Good morning. It is 69 degrees and sunny here in the Upper Hudson Valley. The forecast predicts a sunny day with temperatures hitting the high 80s this afternoon. I have finally dusted off and brought out the short pants, I'm going with it. Looking through the CNN headlines this morning is something akin to looking at a horror show/nightmare. Trump has fessed up to using different aliases, duh. Terrorism is being promised, emails are being eviscerated, and generally speaking the world is looking as confused as ever.

  At 9:00 a.m. ET futures are moderately higher and the price of oil per barrel is up. The market is poised to open higher.

  Checking data just a few minutes ago before 9 a.m., the price of oil was at $50.04 a barrel. That is the highest I've seen oil in well over half a year. I'm reading that volatility for oil is still expected so this price will not hold allegedly, and yet once the $50 range is breached, oil might find a new home in the $50 to $55 range. We will indeed see but gas is going to be pricier and Obama has nothing to do with it and never did, and you can indeed take that to the bank.

CNN: Stocks: 4 things to know before the open by Alanna Petroff
U.S. crude rose Thursday to trade just a few cents above $50 per barrel.

Wednesday, May 25, 2016

Mary Endorses

  Probably the only time you will see a link on this blog to Red State. However as they continue to rebel against and be repelled by Trump, it's interesting to follow their endorsements. Hint - it's the Libertarian.

Red State: My Endorsement for President of the United States By: Mary Matalin

No Go

NPR.org: Ryan Shoots Down Trump Endorsement, As He Readies House GOP Campaign Agenda

What The Hell Is It Anyhow?

WaPo: There shouldn’t be a GOP platform
For or against a higher minimum wage? Trump has said both. For or against a tax hike on the rich? Trump has said both.

If the GOP were being honest, it would have a blank page as its platform.

New Mexico

USA Today: New Mexico's GOP governor hits back against Trump criticism
"We have got to get your governor to get going,” Trump said. “She’s got to do a better job. OK? Your governor has got to do a better job. She’s not doing the job.

“Hey! Maybe I’ll run for governor of New Mexico. I’ll get this place going. She’s not doing the job. We’ve got to get her moving," he added.

Indies

FiveThirtyEight: Sanders Isn’t Doing Well With True Independents

Have An Excellent Wednesday

work by Frank Lloyd Wright

The Onion - Nation Unable To Recall If Trump Said He’d Personally Fund Abortion Bombings Or If That Just Sounds Right

The Onion: Nation Unable To Recall If Trump Said He’d Personally Fund Abortion Bombings Or If That Just Sounds Right

Black Holes

Science Daily: Scientist suggests possible link between primordial black holes and dark matter
summary - An intriguing alternative view is that dark matter is made of black holes formed during the first second of our universe's existence, known as primordial black holes. A scientist suggests that this interpretation aligns with our knowledge of cosmic infrared and X-ray background glows and may explain the unexpectedly high masses of merging black holes detected last year.

TRNN - Why Austrians Nearly Elected A Far Right Candidate As President

'A Small, Insecure, Money-Grubber'

  Now we're talking. This is the correct level of admonishment to level at Mr Apprentice.

MSNBC: Elizabeth Warren: Trump Is a 'Small, Insecure Man'
In a speech Tuesday, Warren called the Republican presumptive nominee "a small, insecure money-grubber who doesn't care who gets hurt so long as he makes a profit off it." And that was just the beginning.

Heroin

Guardian UK: How cracking down on America's painkiller capital led to a heroin crisis - Critics say Florida’s efforts to contain an epidemic unleashed within its borders have only had limited effect in curbing one crisis while making another worse
“The pills were hard to get. They got to be very expensive. Heroin is cheap,” said Fata, 24. “Almost everyone that I was close to, anybody that was doing pills with me, typically they would at least get to the point where pills were not an option. You were either snorting heroin or shooting heroin.”

Mr Violent Apprentice

  The man-child continues to incite violence with his vile and thoughtless words.

Guardian UK: Protests at Donald Trump rally overshadow Washington primary win - Violence erupts as protesters smash windows and throw rocks - Trump within a few dozen delegates of clinching nomination
There were early posts on social media reporting gunshots and tear gas, but the Albuquerque police department said those were inaccurate. Nonetheless, police horses were deployed to control the large crowd of protesters, and some reports showed pepper spray being used. The door to the convention center where Trump was speaking was also smashed.

Global Warming - Crabs

Climate Central: Acidifying Waters Put Dungeness Crabs at Risk

Mr Goombah Apprentice

AlterNet: Exposing Trump's Decades of Deep Ties to Organized Crime - Trump's real estate empire and casinos have mob roots. By Steven Rosenfeld

The Market On Wednesday

  Good morning. It is 63 degrees and it is gloriously sunny here in the Upper Hudson Valley. The forecast predicts that the temperature will go up into the high 80s today and that it will be sunny. It is going to feel a lot like mid-Summer this afternoon and it is only the end of May. Let's see what mischief humanity and Mr Apprentice are up to today.

  At 9:00 a.m. ET futures are moderately higher and the price of oil per barrel is up. The market is poised to open higher.

  Notice that Monsanto has spurned an acquisition and merger offer from Bayer. It's like a lover spurning an offer of marriage - I guess cabbage that takes away your headache will have to wait. Notice that oil is creeping up towards the magic number of $50 presently trading at $49 and change. If and when oil does surpass $50 a barrel, a new trading range becomes more palatable and that would be $50 to $55, so expect gas prices to be higher over the summer.

CNN: Stocks: 5 things to know before the open by Ivana Kottasova
U.S. oil futures are up 1.3% early Wednesday, racing towards the magic level of $50 per barrel. Analysts are expecting a further drop in U.S. crude inventories when the latest data is released at 10.30 a.m. ET.

Tuesday, May 24, 2016

'National Geographic Hummingbirds Swarm Feeder'

'Chris Cuomo Grills Michael Cohen About Trump's 'Hypocrisy' On Clinton's Marriage'

Ken Starr

  Recall that Starr was at the center of investigating Bill Clinton over Monica Lewinsky-gate.

Sports Illustrated: Report: Baylor board of regents fires president Ken Starr
The regents believe that the blame for the school’s failure in handling rape and sexual assault reports falls on Starr, according to the report, and they might not bring punishment down on head coach Art Briles.

Jersey

  Jersey votes on June 7th.

FiveThirtyEight: Clinton Will Likely Clinch The Democratic Nomination In New Jersey By Harry Enten

Have An Excellent Tuesday

work by Frank Lloyd Wright

The Onion - Report, Nobody Fucking Cares

The Onion: Report: Nobody Fucking Cares

Amphibians

Science Daily: New research confirms continued, unabated and large-scale amphibian declines - Local action key to reversing losses
summary - New research suggests that even though amphibians are severely declining worldwide, there is no smoking gun -- and thus no simple solution -- to halting or reversing these declines.

TRNN - 'The Law Has Always Been In The Favor Of Law Enforcement'

51%

  Believe it or not, Bill Clinton's average approval rating was +55%, with his highest approval at +73% in 1998. source

MSNBC: Obama hits highest job approval since second inauguration

Criminal Justice Reforms In NYC

Guardian UK: New York aims to lessen penalties for crimes from littering to public drinking - City council bill would steer offenses to civil court rather than criminal - Criminal justice reforms intended to help unclog the courts and jails
Public urination and most offenses in public parks would be downgraded from misdemeanors to violations, and the council’s plan would reduce the available jail penalties to just one day for violations. Currently, jail time could stretch up to 90 days for such offenses.

Venezuela Food Shortage

Guardian UK: Food shortages take toll on Venezuelans' diet - Nutritionists point to long-term health risks of low-quality food as basic staples are hard to find or being sold at exorbitant prices
Milk, meat and beans – the main sources of protein in the Venezuelan diet – are hard to find or sold at exorbitant prices, and many are filling up on empty carbs from pasta, rice and the traditional arepa cornmeal cake.

Head On

AlterNet: Bill Nye: Why I'm Taking Climate Deniers Head On - Carbon dioxide has an enormous effect on planetary temperatures.

The Market On Tuesday

  Good morning. It is 62 degrees and rainy here in the Upper Hudson Valley. The forecast predicts that the temperature goes into the 70s this afternoon and that we might have thunderstorms. I just have to state this for the record but it is my deep wish that Americans do not elect Trump in November. We all continue to mull this possibility over and right now the part that has me really terrified is Trump's erratic-ness. He is all over the map which in my opinion that represents instability and that is not a quality that America needs in its president.

  At 9:00 a.m. ET futures are moderately higher and the price of oil per barrel is up. The market is poised to open higher.

  Germany's latest GDP numbers came through with flying colors and the market is responding in kind. Toyota has issued a large recall of its American cars, it's all about a faulty airbag system. First quarter corporate reports continue to come through and relatively speaking there is a brief period of calm/lower volatility across the markets. That, of course, will change.

CNN: Stocks: 4 things to know before the open by Alanna Petroff
Shares in Toyota (TM) dropped 1.4% in Japan after the automaker said it would recall an additional 1.6 million vehicles in the U.S. due to airbag safety issues.

Monday, May 23, 2016

'Unstable Authoritarian Nationalist'

New Yorker: The Dangerous Acceptance of Donald Trump
Countries don’t really recover from being taken over by unstable authoritarian nationalists of any political bent...

'Concern'

MSNBC: Al Gore: Donald Trump’s position on climate change ‘should concern everyone’

Montana

Billings Gazette: Children in crisis: Missoula, state grapple with increasing child abuse cases

Torture GOP Style

WaPo: The 10 most tortured Republican responses to Donald Trump
2. Silence. Lots of silence.

Nice Nice

FiveThirtyEight: Conventional Wisdom: Sanders Refuses To Play Nice By Clare Malone

Have An Excellent Monday

work by Frank Lloyd Wright

The Onion - Google’s ‘Human Flypaper’ Would Protect Pedestrians

The Onion: Google’s ‘Human Flypaper’ Would Protect Pedestrians

Salt And Diet

Science Daily: Low-salt diets may not be beneficial for all, study suggests - Salt reduction only important in some people with high blood pressure
summary - A large worldwide study has found that, contrary to popular thought, low-salt diets may not be beneficial and may actually increase the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and death compared to average salt consumption. The study suggests that the only people who need to worry about reducing sodium in their diet are those with hypertension (high blood pressure) and have high salt consumption.

TRNN - Climate Change Fueled Droughts Pushing Africa To The Brink Part 1

The New Teflon Man

  Strikes me that Trump is the new Teflon man. His wide amazing array of bumbling behavior, erratic changes in thought, odd violent expressions of racism, misogyny, white supremacism, nuclear Armaggedon, mixed with narcissism and egomania, have no effect on his followers. In fact the more the merrier, the worse he is and reveals to us, the more he is liked. That is Teflon.

MSNBC: Hillary Clinton questions Trump’s ‘level of success’
“There’s no evidence he has any ideas about making America great, as he advertises. He seems to be particularly focused on making himself appear great. And as we go through this campaign, we’re going to be demonstrating the hollowness of his rhetoric.”

Japan's Organized Crime

Guardian UK: 100 thieves steal $13m in three hours from cash machines across Japan - Organised crime believed to be behind coordinated raids across stores in Japan

Syria On Fire

Guardian UK: Explosions kill scores of people in Syrian coastal cities - Monitor says at least five suicide attacks and two car bombs hit Jableh and Tartous, which until now have escaped worst of conflict

Global Warming - Cities Are Unprepared

Climate Central: Cities ‘Woefully Unprepared’ for Rising Disaster Risk
"Cities and coastal areas are woefully unprepared for the kind of climate and disaster risk now facing our world," said John Roome, the World Bank Group’s senior director for climate change.

Love Hate Red State

AlterNet: The Red State Gay Porn Habit: Why Conservative States like Mississippi and North Carolina Lead the Nation in Same-Sex Porn Consumption - Behind the search stats, the hypocrisy, repression, secrecy and isolation in states with harsh anti-LGBT laws By Nico Lang
The Magnolia State (Mississippi), in particular, shows a disproportionate preference for black gay porn, while the South boasted three of the top five states with the highest rate of gay porn viewership.

The Market On Monday

  Good morning. It is 64 degrees and it is sunny here in the Upper Hudson Valley. The forecast has the temperature going up around 80 degrees this afternoon with continued sunshine. The forecast also predicts that temperatures may hit 90 degrees later on this week. Hmm, 90s in May, could things be shaping up for a scorcher of a Summer. I hope you had a good weekend. I did my best to avoid the news on Sunday, this is my new ritual. Let's take a look and see what type of mischief humanity is getting itself into today.

  At 8:55 a.m. ET futures are slightly lower and the price of oil per barrel is down. The market is poised to open lower.

  America will now be selling weapons to Vietnam, our old enemy is now our arms trade partner. Bayer is looking to merge with Monsanto and the era of vegetables that take away your headache is just around the corner. Oil continues to trade in the $45 to $50 range and first quarter corporate reports continue to come through.

CNN: Stocks: 5 things to know before the open by Alanna Petroff
President Obama announced the U.S. is fully lifting its ban on lethal arms sales to Vietnam. The embargo had been in place for decades. This could help U.S. defense contractors.

Saturday, May 21, 2016

Closed Sundays

  The blog is closed on Sundays. See you bright and early Monday morning.

I Don't Care


Loaded

  I wish I had something bright to say here about the fetishization of guns and women but I don't. Somehow as a citizen of America in 2016, this all makes some kind of bizarre sense. Maybe someone out there has not been exposed to this but I sort of doubt it. Maybe someone is shocked by it, but I doubt that as well. We are pretty much numb to it. In fact that might be the only slightly bright thing I can say about it - we are numb to it.

  Some very bright person out there is studying this phenom in a psycho-academic type of way and knows its origins and deep societal meanings. In another way we are approaching the ultimate expression of this particular fetish - imagine President Trump standing before the atomic bomb button with an array of gorgeous sirens each with a finger on the button and smiling at the world. 



Not A Cent

  Well well, do we think this might be the thing The Apprentice doesn't want America to know about? Is this the reason he's not showing his taxes to anyone? I bet this is it. He hasn't paid any taxes.

  Don't you just love it, all his great masses of supporters, the people who are the bread and butter of the country and all set to knock heads over this guy, the blue collar workers, are all set to put into the highest office someone who owns more wealth than the entire lot of them combined and who has paid nothing in taxes. The hypocrisy coming out of this election is astounding.

WaPo: Trump once revealed his income tax returns. They showed he didn’t pay a cent.

Fascism American Style

WaPo: This is how fascism comes to America

Human Depravity

CNN: Dog tests positive for meth, heroin

Colbert - Trump's Chief Nickname Strategist

  From May 12th

Have An Excellent Saturday

work by Tony Cragg

The Onion - Nation Dreading Next 6 Months Of Watching Candidates Trying To Relate To It

The Onion: Nation Dreading Next 6 Months Of Watching Candidates Trying To Relate To It

Cloaking

Science Daily: New angles on visual cloaking of everyday objects
summary - Using the same mathematical framework as the Rochester Cloak, researchers have been able to use flat screen displays to extend the range of angles that can be hidden from view. Their method lays out how cloaks of arbitrary shapes, that work from multiple viewpoints, may be practically realized in the near future using commercially available digital devices.

Democracy Now - Chomsky, Today's GOP Is A Candidate For Most Dangerous Organization In Human History—Part 2

Questioning Trump And Getting Vague Or Vapid Answers

  MSNBC lays out the range of questions Trump has either vaguely answered, tripped over, denied, or changed views on multiple times. This is a good list to help you talk with your Trump supporting friend or someone else who is all in on Mr Apprentice.

MSNBC: The questions Donald Trump should answer

Noam

Guardian UK: Noam Chomsky on Donald Trump: 'Almost a death knell for the human species' - As he appears in new documentary The Divide, the great intellectual explains why Brexit is unimportant, why Trump’s climate change denial is catastrophic – and why revolution is easier than you think
It’s hard to say because we don’t really know what he (Trump) thinks. And I’m not sure he knows what he thinks. He’s perfectly capable of saying contradictory things at the same time. But there are some pretty stable elements of his ideology, if you can even grant him that concept. One of them is: “Climate change is not taking place.” As he puts it: “Forget it.” And that’s almost a death knell for the species – not tomorrow, but the decisions we take now are going to affect things in a couple of decades, and in a couple of generations it could be catastrophic.

Tom Perez For VP

Guardian UK: 'Tom Perez has guts': US labor secretary being eyed as Clinton's running mate - Perez has spent his years at the helm of the labor department fighting for paid leave, overtime pay and visiting workers on the ground – and he’s not done yet
He is clearly unafraid of a challenge. Big business has come out swinging against his changes to paid leave. Perez is unfazed. “We are the only industrialized nation on the planet that does not have some form of paid leave. We are the only industrialized nation where paid leave is a partisan issue,” Perez said.

Global Warming - Trump

Climate Progress: Trump’s Newest Enemy: Environmentalists by Emily Atkin
This election, the choice between the candidates on the climate crisis — no matter who the Democratic candidate winds up being — could not be more clear,” said Shulman. “Donald Trump is ignoring the climate crisis and will do anything he can to dismantle government safeguards even if clean air and water are put at risk.”

The 21st Century Addiction

AlterNet: Are You in Pain and Getting the Help You Need? The Opiate Addiction Dilemma That Obama Truly Grasps - And if our other politicians don't follow Obama's lead, they're unlikely to make strides in solving America's addiction problem. By Stanton Peele

'Randy Rainbow Interviews Donald Trump'

  Ha! This is a riot. Randy Rainbow is a new star.

Friday, May 20, 2016

Record Heat In India, 123.8 Degrees Fahrenheit

  And it's only May...

CNN: Mercury rising: India records its highest temperature ever
...in the western state of Rajasthan, shot up to a burning 51 degrees Celsius (123.8 degrees Fahrenheit).

A Brief History Lesson In American Reactionary Politics And How Mr Apprentice Fits In

  Outstanding article - a must read.

NYT: If Trump Breaks Up the G.O.P., It Won’t Be a First By SEAN WILENTZ
But no matter how the power struggle is finally decided, it is clear that the party of Reagan’s era, uniting free market, small government conservatism with white working-class cultural fears and resentments, has come unglued — and no Republican leader or faction seems capable of putting it back together.

Polled

  Last night I read three polls regarding the upcoming election between Trump and Clinton. Two of the polls, Rasmussen and FOX had Trump ahead, a CBS/NYT poll had Clinton ahead.

  I want to point out that in the last election cycle, the right decided that polls were biased against their candidates and set out to create new polls which they somehow believed reflected more accuracy in numbers.

  This same sentiment and notion is in play this year as the partisan Rasmussen and partisan FOX polls show Trump leading.

  In my opinion, and let me restate,  this is opinion, but I believe the right is deliberately using these partisan pollsters as a propaganda tool, truth be damned. If enough people can walk away from the news believing that Trump is leading then maybe they too will either vote for a 'winner' or will for some reason not vote for Clinton as she apparently will lose. In other words, the right wing pollsters are simply part of the right wing main stream biased media and will tell the 'truth' that fits their agenda.

Colbert - Here Comes Trumpy Boo Boo

Wants

NPR: Do Democrats Want What Bernie Wants, Or Just What Bernie Has?
Sanders supporters see that some of their number were not seated in Las Vegas and see evidence that the system is rigged against them. Clinton supporters hear the epithets hurled at women on that stage, including the state party chair and Sen. Barbara Boxer, and perceive evidence of something else.

Juiced

Vanity Fair: Donald Trump Doesn't Have the Juice to Change the GOP

Have An Excellent Friday

work by Tony Cragg

The Onion - Heroic Police Officer Talks Man Down From Edge Of Purchasing Subway Footlong Sweet Onion Chicken Teriyaki

The Onion: Heroic Police Officer Talks Man Down From Edge Of Purchasing Subway Footlong Sweet Onion Chicken Teriyaki

Antibiotics And Brain Cells

Science Daily: Antibiotics that kill gut bacteria also stop growth of new brain cells
summary - Antibiotics strong enough to kill off gut bacteria can also stop the growth of new brain cells in the hippocampus, a section of the brain associated with memory, reports a new study in mice. Researchers also uncovered a clue to why -- a type of white blood cell seems to act as a communicator between the brain, the immune system, and the gut.

TRNN - Wilkerson On Heightened Tensions In The South China Sea

No Comment

MSNBC: Trump spurs GOP Sen’s deathbed apology - Former Republican Senator Bob Bennett's final days were spent apologizing to Muslims for Donald Trump's divisive rhetoric.

Suffering American Style

  This literally chokes me up.

Guardian UK: Elderly Florida man kills ailing wife because medication wasn’t affordable - 86-year-old William Hager is in jail after admiting he shot his wife because her medications were no longer affordable and she was in pain

Get Ready For RoboCop

Guardian UK: RoboCop is real – and could be patrolling a mall near you - There’s a new sheriff in town at the Stanford shopping center, and he has high-definition infra-red cameras and can process 300 license plates a minute

Gruesome Task At Hand

  There is the suggestion that it might have been more like a 9-11 situation with someone suddenly steering the plane wildly. If this turns out to be the case how does our presidential nominee, Mr Apprentice, explain his wild statements on Thursday.

Guardian UK: EgyptAir flight MS804: body part, seats and suitcases found in water, says Greece - live
“It looks highly unlikely that this was consistent with some sort of explosive device,” he said. “One’s inclined to go towards the theory that there had been some interference in the aircraft and on the flight deck, with the control of the aircraft.”

A Modest Improvement

Climate Central: Power Plant Emissions Fall to Lowest Level in Decades
In raw numbers, generating electricity in the U.S. was the source of 1.9 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions in 2015...Emissions peaked in 2007 (at) 2.4 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide.

The Rise Of The Priestess

Guardian UK: Pope Francis' Biggest Game-Changer Yet? Ordaining Women Could Be Around the Corner - He's called for a commission to decide whether women should be deacons in the church. By Patricia Miller

The Market On Friday

  A very good morning to you. It is 55 degrees and it is sunny here in the Upper Hudson Valley. The forecast predicts that the temperature hits the high 70s this afternoon and that the sunshine keeps streaming. Somebody out there who is a wiz at high tech needs to immediately design and sell a new gadget. The gadget would automatically mute Trump's voice whenever it is present, which now is almost all the time, on TV. Rather than sit there and steam away or have your blood pressure start soaring or to even go into a dazed amazement at how this person could possibly appeal to anyone, the device kicks in and bam nothing, no sound. Instant millionaire - I'll take three.

  At 8:40 a.m. ET futures are modestly higher and the price of oil per barrel is slightly down. The market is poised to open higher.

  The Egyptian liner crash rattled the globe on Thursday, but sentiment seems to be picking up this morning. Notice that oil continues to astound with prices overnight closing in on $50 a barrel.

CNN: Stocks: 4 things to know before the open by Alanna Petroff
Oil prices are pushing higher again Friday after passing $49 per barrel overnight.

The price went as high at $49.27 late on Thursday.

Thursday, May 19, 2016

Resistance

Democracy Now: Breaking Free: A Rising Tide of Climate Resistance

Bernie, Cut It Out

The Nation: Bernie Sanders Is Hurting Himself by Playing the Victim - The Vermont senator could turn from movement leader into the messiah of an angry white male cult with his claims of a “rigged” nomination process. By Joan Walsh

Bragging Rights

Raw Story: White nationalists brag that Trump has more KKK delegates waiting to reveal themselves

Krugman On GOP, Clinton, Trump

NYT: The G.O.P. Is Not America, Clinton Is Not Rubio
Third, Trump’s personal record as a businessman is both antisocial and just plain dubious. Republicans, with their cult of the entrepreneur, couldn’t say anything about that. Again, Clinton can.

Have An Excellent Thursday

work by Tony Cragg

The Onion - Wealthy Socialite Falling For Unrefined But Beautiful Lower-Class Populace

The Onion: Wealthy Socialite Falling For Unrefined But Beautiful Lower-Class Populace

Aspirin And Stroke

Science Daily: Immediate aspirin after mini-stroke substantially reduces risk of major stroke - Benefits of taking aspirin immediately after minor strokes have been underestimated
summary - Using aspirin urgently could substantially reduce the risk of major strokes in patients who have minor 'warning' events. Medical researchers say that immediate self-treatment when patients experience stroke-like symptoms would considerably reduce the risk of major stroke over the next few days.

TRNN - Sanders And Class Struggle In The Democratic Party

Trey's Existence

  Yet the committee will forge on...

MSNBC: Benghazi Committee Chair gives away the game
There was nothing the military could have done on the night of Sept. 11, 2012, to stop the attacks in Benghazi, Libya, but the special House committee investigating the terrorist incident will continue to probe the Pentagon’s actions that night, the committee’s chairman said Tuesday.

“Whether or not they could have gotten there in time, I don’t think there is any issue with respect to that. They couldn’t,” Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., told Fox News.

Trumpism

  God help us...

Guardian UK: Republicans prepare for more 'mini-Trumps' in upcoming elections - Trump has already inspired a handful of Republicans facing primaries, and his campaign may have a generational impact on the party and its ideology
...“Trumpism”, for lack of a better term, has emerged as a populist blend of nationalism and protectionism. It is vociferously anti-immigration, strongly pro-tariff, opposed to cuts in entitlement spending and deeply skeptical of an interventionist foreign policy while still being very hawkish.

Flight MS804

Guardian UK: Egyptair flight MS804: 'Terrorism more likely than technical failure', says Egypt – live - Greek TV reporting that large objects found in search for passenger jet that is beileved to have crashed in the Mediterranean with 66 people on board

Global Warming - 2016

  This is a very cavalier thing to say but soon we literally will be able to fry an egg on the sidewalk. Lately I'm thinking that there will be areas on the planet where it gets so hot that people can't comfortably exist there. This is from last year - Heat index in Iran hits staggering 163 degrees

Climate Central: ‘99 Percent Chance’ 2016 Will Be Hottest Year
While an exceptionally strong El Niño has provided a boost to temperatures in recent months, the primary driver has been the heat that has built up from decades of unabated greenhouse gas emissions.

Land Grab

AlterNet: We May Be About to Witness One of the Great Privatizations of America's Public Lands - How the raid on Malheur screened a future raid on real estate. By William deBuys

The Market On Thursday

  Good morning. It is 57 degrees and it is hazy here in the Upper Hudson Valley. The forecast predicts temperatures in the high 60s this afternoon and that there will be sunshine as well. The news is harsh this morning with the disappearance of an Egyptian airliner. How can an airliner disappear going from Paris to Cairo? Must have occurred over the Mediterranean. Let's see what the main stream Trump news is all about today.

  At 9:00 a.m. ET futures are modestly lower and the price of oil per barrel is down. The market is poised to open lower.

  The thing that caught my attention this morning is Bayer making a move to buy Monsanto. Now what liberal worth his or her weight in brown rice likes Monsanto? The answer is none, zero. eh eh. This is a spell it like it is deal, chemicals to chemicals, like to like, same to same. Soon we'll have pain free vegetables that clear your headache.

CNN: Stocks: 6 things to know before the open by Alanna Petroff
German firm Bayer (BAYRY) has made an offer to buy U.S. seed company Monsanto (MON).

The European Central Bank is releasing the minutes of its latest monetary policy meeting at 8:30 a.m. ET.

Wednesday, May 18, 2016

Appalling And Vicious

Rolling Stone: R.I.P., GOP: How Trump Is Killing the Republican Party - Donald Trump crushed 16 GOP opponents in one of the most appalling, vicious campaigns in history. His next victim? The entire Republican Party By Matt Taibbi
They preferred Lubbock to Paris, and their idea of an intellectual was Newt Gingrich. Their leaders, from Ralph Reed to Bill Frist to Tom DeLay to Rick Santorum to Romney and Ryan, were an interminable assembly line of shrieking, witch-hunting celibates, all with the same haircut...

Nate's Mea Culpa

FiveThirtyEight: How I Acted Like A Pundit And Screwed Up On Donald Trump - Trump’s nomination shows the need for a more rigorous approach. By Nate Silver
And we succumbed to some of the same biases that pundits often suffer, such as not changing our minds quickly enough in the face of new evidence.

Have An Excellent Wednesday

work by Tony Cragg

The Onion - Senator From Troubled Home State Repeatedly Acting Out In Congress

The Onion: Senator From Troubled Home State Repeatedly Acting Out In Congress

Potatoes And High Blood Pressure

Science Daily: Higher potato consumption associated with increased risk of high blood pressure - But studying dietary patterns may be more useful than individual foods or nutrients
summary - Higher intakes of boiled, baked, or mashed potatoes, and French fries is associated with an increased risk of developing high blood pressure (hypertension) in adult women and men.

TRNN - Republicans Would Rather Lose The 2016 Election Than Win With Donald Trump

  This is an excellent discussion - highly recommended.

Impossible

  After Oregon and Kentucky, the delegate count stands at - Hillary 2,291 vs Bernie 1,528 with 2,383 needed for the nomination and with 946 still available delegates. Bernie would need 855 of those delegates to win the nomination. That is not going to happen as Bernie would need to win the remaining primaries by margins in the 90% + range. Right now Hillary Clinton is highly favored to win California.

MSNBC: Bernie Sanders wins in Oregon, but needed Kentucky, too
Instead, the most meaningful impact will likely be on the morale of Sanders supporters as he faces a virtually impossible path to winning the nomination.

'Did I Say That?'

  Way to man up there Don - so presidential...

Guardian UK: Donald Trump pleads ignorance to Megyn Kelly over 'bimbo' tweets: 'Did I say that?' - The Republican frontrunner sat down with Kelly on Fox Tuesday night shortly before winning the Oregon primary and admitted to regrets over his behavior
He also sought to downplay his embrace of the phrase “bimbo” to describe Kelly, suggesting at first that he didn’t recall doing so. When Kelly pointed out Trump had on several occasions retweeted followers insulting her as such, he responded: “Ooo. OK. Did I say that? Excuse me.”

He added: “Over your life, Megyn, you’ve been called a lot worse. It’s a modern form of fighting back.”

Primaries

Guardian UK: Bernie Sanders takes Oregon primary while Clinton claims Kentucky - Sanders overcame state’s closed primary, which allows only registered Democrats – not independents – to vote, while Clinton declared victory in Kentucky

Global Warming - Mock Away

Think Progress: Obama Mocks Politicians Who Think Cold Weather Disproves Global Warming by Emily Atkin

Trump Cartoons

AlterNet: Matt Bors on Donald Trump's Terrible Record With Women - Don't worry, he'll be defeated by the Avenging Uterus. By Matt Bors

The Market On Wednesday

  Good morning. It is 52 degrees and mostly sunny here in the Upper Hudson Valley. The forecast is calling for the temperature to go into the high 60s this afternoon and that the temperatures over the next week will be in the 70s - the warmth is here. We see that Hillary is squeaking out a win in Kentucky and that Bernie has won Oregon fair and square. There's lots of contentious behavior occurring on the Democratic side and this is unfortunate. Trump was tweeting away about Hillary being unable to put the nomination away, yet Maddow correctly pointed out that Hillary is in fact closer to the goal of winning her party's nomination than Trump is. Trump will continue to bring the aura surrounding this presidential race down to the level of a shitty diapered infant. We cannot recall such bullying, taunting, and all around ugliness coming from an alleged candidate for the presidency of the US. Trump does not have the attributes of a president, he is obviously not presidential, yet the ignorantariat could care less, the lower the better.

  At 8:45 a.m. ET futures are moderately lower and the price of oil per barrel is up, now trading around $48.35. The market is poised to open lower.

  Lots of first quarter corporate reports are coming through the pipe today. Japan's economy seems to be having a modest rebound and is not headed into a technical recession. Oil continues to rise in price due to a series of global catastrophes in oil producing countries, along with reports on a reduction in the global oil glut.

CNN: Stocks: 6 things to know before the open by Alanna Petroff
Minutes from the latest Federal Open Market Committee meeting will be released at 2 p.m. ET.

The minutes will offer a peek inside the central bank's thinking, and investors will be looking for any hints about a potential June rate hike.

Tuesday, May 17, 2016

Existential Threat To Humanity

Raw Story: Noam Chomsky: Today’s GOP is ‘the most dangerous’ threat to the species ‘in human history’

Angelina Jolie Takes On Trump

No Trump GOP Expansion, No Evidence Otherwise

Politico: Donald Trump Is Not Expanding the GOP - A POLITICO analysis of early-voting data show little evidence for one of the Republican nominee’s core claims. By Shane Goldmacher
But a Politico analysis of the early 2016 voting data show that, so far, it’s just not true.

Have An Excellent Tuesday

work by Tony Cragg

The Onion - Mom Wants To Know If The People Who Live In Your Apartment Building Are Nice

The Onion: Mom Wants To Know If The People Who Live In Your Apartment Building Are Nice

Mom's Voice

Science Daily: Mom's voice activates many different regions in children's brains, study shows
summary - A far wider swath of brain areas is activated when children hear their mothers than when they hear other voices, and this brain response predicts a child's social communication ability, a new study finds.

TRNN - Cracks In The Baltimore Blue Wall Of Silence

Podcast On Trump's Congress Effect

FiveThirtyEight: Elections Podcast: Should Congressional Republicans Be Worried About Trump?

Cuban

MSNBC: Mark Cuban: Trump: ‘Hasn’t Learned And That’s a Real Problem’ - Some disaffected Republicans seeking a third-party option to challenge Donald Trump are floating a number of names, including Mark Cuban. The outspoken billionaire joins MTP Daily to talk about whether he’d run against Trump for president.

Oh Mississippi

Guardian UK: Mississippi city ordered to desegregate schools 60 years after landmark ruling - Federal court says Cleveland’s delay in desegregating its schools has ‘deprived generations of students’ of their constitutional rights
To say the town has two sides is no exaggeration; the population of 12,000 is split east and west by the old Illinois railroad tracks. Residents on the east side are black, and attend East Side high school. On the west, white children attend Cleveland high.

Global Warming - Tropical Regions

  Make no mistake here. As Greenland and the polar caps melt away and sea levels rise, everybody will be affected considering the dense populations living on coastal cities throughout the globe. That would include bodies of water like the Mississippi River, all rising.

Guardian UK: Global warming will hit poorer countries hardest, research finds - Tropical regions likely to suffer biggest increase in hot days and extreme weather because of climate change, say scientists
It has long been expected that poor people would bear the brunt of climate change, largely because so many more of the world’s poorest live in tropical latitudes whereas, wealthier people tend to live in more temperate regions.

Mad Man

AlterNet: The 'Madman Theory' of Donald Trump: What's the GOP Supposed to Do About a Lying, Authoritarian Demagogue? Nixon used to say he wanted his enemies to think him a "madman." For Trump, the problem is everyone thinks he's mad. By Heather Digby Parton

The Market On Tuesday

  Good morning. It is 54 degrees and it is overcast here in the Upper Hudson Valley. The forecast predicts an overcast day with temperatures reaching the high 60s this afternoon. Let's see what the main stream media, which in my opinion is now officially the Trump news media, has for us today. No doubt the topic is Trump, Trump, and more Trump.

  At 9:00 a.m. ET futures are moderately lower and the price of oil per barrel is up. The market is poised to open lower.

  First quarter corporate reports continue to stream in, the price of oil continues to climb especially after a Goldman Sachs report gave oil the green light, and reports on consumer price inflation and housing starts and permits are all being parsed by investors today. Like the Warriors vs Thunder game last night, where the market begins and ends in a trading day is always a surprise, and BTW the Thunder won and it was at Golden State, amazing and utterly unexpected.

CNN: Stocks: 4 things to know before the open by Alanna Petroff
Oil futures continue to regain lost ground and are now trading at their highest levels in more than seven months.