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Wednesday, January 31, 2018

Zeros In

NY Times: Mueller Zeros In on Story Put Together About Trump Tower Meeting By JO BECKER, MARK MAZZETTI, MATT APUZZO and MAGGIE HABERMAN

'Wrapped Around Your Finger'

Rufus and Sting

Kimmel - Full Interview With Stormy Daniels

Groveling

Salon: Trump’s speech wasn’t the scary part: All the Republican groveling was - Trump’s SOTU was a forgettable, familiar litany. What’s new is the GOP’s brain-dead eagerness to do his bidding by Heather Digby Parton

The Borowitz Report - Trump Collapses From Exhaustion After Ninety Minutes Of Faking Empathy

New Yorker: Trump Collapses From Exhaustion After Ninety Minutes of Faking Empathy By Andy Borowitz

Killer

Science Mag: Listen to this killer whale say ‘hello’ and ‘bye-bye’

Have An Excellent Wednesday

work by André Lhote

Lawrence O'Donnell - The Impeachment Case Against Trump

Infra-Crap

MSNBC: Trump’s infrastructure ‘plan’ is not what it appears to be By Steve Benen

Rebuttal

MSNBC: Democrats’ SOTU rebuttal

Fiction

Guardian UK: Fact check: Donald Trump's State of the Union address analyzed - Alan Yuhas examines key claims in Donald Trump’s State of the Union address and separates fact from fiction

Contempt

Guardian UK: Trump State of the Union address promised unity but emphasized discord - The president’s ‘new American moment’ speech stirred Republican applause while Democrats showed thinly disguised contempt

Besotted

NY Times: Trump’s Besotted Republicans By KEVIN BAKER
If it seems remarkable that this thrice-married serial groper, who demonstrated during the campaign that he did not understand the most basic tenets of Christianity, would shout out: “We know that faith and family, not government and bureaucracy, are the center of American life.

Lies

NY Times: 2018 State of the Union Fact-Check Image
“After years of wage stagnation, we are finally seeing rising wages.”

False.

Wages are, in fact, rising — but at a slower rate than they were at the end of President Obama’s second term.

The Market On Wednesday

  At 8:43 a.m. ET DOW futures are +208 and the price of oil per barrel is down. The market is poised to open significantly higher.

CNN: Stock futures rebound; Fed decision; Earnings galore by Alanna Petrof

Tuesday, January 30, 2018

F.B.I.

The Atlantic: The Republican Party Turns Against the FBI - Trump again provokes a sudden crisis that crystallizes a lengthy erosion of confidence. by David A. Graham

Denies

The Daily Beast: Stormy Daniels Totally Denies Affair With Donald Trump in New Statement

Free


Beyond Nixon

NBC News: The ‘state’ of Donald Trump? He thinks it couldn’t be better. by Howard Fineman
Trump is even talking to friends about the possibility of asking Attorney General Jeff Sessions to consider prosecuting Mueller and his team.

The Second Dossier

Guardian UK: Second Trump-Russia dossier being assessed by FBI - Exclusive: memo written by former journalist Cody Shearer independently sets out some of the allegations made by ex-spy Christopher Steele

Oopsie

Salon: Julian Assange duped by fake Sean Hannity account, tried to send “news” about Senate Democrat - “I felt bad. He really thought he was talking to Sean Hannity”

The Onion - Flustered Mathematician Unable To Recommend Good Number

The Onion: Flustered Mathematician Unable To Recommend Good Number

Beetles

sciencemag.org: Large beetles are shrinking, thanks to climate change By Elizabeth Pennisi

Have An Excellent Tuesday

work by André Lhote

Lawrence O'Donnell - Trump Voter Who Feels Betrayed By Trump

Rachel Maddow - GOP Hopes To Help Trump Target Rosenstein With Release Of Memo

Impeach

MSNBC: 45% of Americans support impeachment

Stuck

The Palmer Report: Donald Trump is stuck between a rock and a prison cell

Women In Prison

Guardian UK: Women's prison populations in 35 states 'worse than men's' study says - In a few states, women’s prison populations have even grown enough to counteract reductions in the men’s population
Oklahoma leads the US in the incarceration of women by a dramatic margin. Out of every 100,000 women in the state, 150 are serving time in a state prison – more than twice the national average.

Low And Loathsome

Guardian UK: Going low: a year of top Trump quotes to rival the White House's list - The White House put out their top Trump quotes – but for everyone else, some other things he said are more memorable
"We are Americans and the future belongs to us ... we are fighting the fake news. It’s phony ... the enemy of the people ... and we’re going to do something about it."

Lindsey

NY Times: The Workout That Saves Lindsey Vonn From Wipeouts ALPINE SKIING Photographs By DINA LITOVSKY, Text by STEPHANIE PEARSON
Vonn holds about 30 pounds of resistance for 30 to 60 seconds twice on each side of her body. ‘‘We call it ‘anti-rotation,’ ’’ Bunt says.

A Softer Gentler A-Hole

NY Times: Some Supporters Fear Trump Will Lose Hard Edge in State of Union Speech By MICHAEL D. SHEAR and JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVIS
...a soft speech that bends more to the predilections of the political establishment in Washington and less to the populist army that sent him there to drain the swamp

The Market On Tuesday

  At 9:20 a.m. ET the DOW is -266 and the price of oil is down. The market will open with a bloodbath.

CNN: Dow slump extends into its second day by Nathaniel Meyersohn

I Have A Dream

  One half hour into the SOTU address, a select group of FBI and CIA agents, military police, and DC police led by Robert Mueller enter the chamber. Trump is read his rights and is being picked up on charges of conspiracy, money laundering, obstruction of justice, and one other thing I keep forgetting about. The agents force Trump to the floor face down, cuff him, pull him back up, and push him out the door. Devin Nunes, Trey Gowdy, and Jim Jordan are simultaneously arrested and led out on similar charges. When the last agent leaves the chamber erupts into applause, and cheering rings through the chamber and all of America. At that point the healing process begins.

Monday, January 29, 2018

Interference

Gordon Corera - Breaking - CIA chief Mike Pompeo tells the BBC he expects Russia to try and interfere in US mid term elections later this year. He tells me he hasn't seen a significant decrease in its subversive activity in Europe or the US.

Take It Down

The Palmer Report: Everyone calm down

Dowd Skewers Trump

NY Times: Trump Hits Alps, but Melania Is Frosty in Florida by Maureen Dowd
When we look in the mirror and try to figure out who we are now, elevating a corporate tax cut over our fundamental values is not going to cut it.

No Reset

Atlantic: No, Trump Will Not 'Hit Reset' With His State of the Union - An attack on one of the most inapt metaphors in American politics by Conor Friedersdorf

Nunes Memo

The Daily Beast: FBI Scrambling to Get More Info on Explosive Nunes Memo Ahead of Vote to Release It - After tempers flared last week over a GOP attack on top bureau officials, the House intelligence committee and the FBI are searching for a climbdown before the memo gets released. by Spencer Ackerman

Sick Minds

Salon: Far-right media pundits are now calling for a police state - Some of Trump’s critics feared he might become a dictator. On the radical right, his fans are now hoping he will by Matthew Sheffield

The Onion - Trump Insists He Never Thought About Firing Mueller, Feeding Him To Pack Of Rabid Dogs, Mounting Head In Oval Office As Trophy

The Onion: Trump Insists He Never Thought About Firing Mueller, Feeding Him To Pack Of Rabid Dogs, Mounting Head In Oval Office As Trophy

Watch The World’s Most Powerful Tractor Beam Levitate Its Biggest Catch

Have An Excellent Monday

work by André Lhote

Morning Joe - How Paul Manafort Made A Career Off Oligarchs, Shady Deals, And Foreign Money

MSNBC: How Paul Manafort made a career off oligarchs, shady deals, and foreign money

Morning Joe - Memo Hints At A New Target - Rod Rosenstein

MSNBC: NYT: Memo Hints at a New Target: Rod Rosenstein

Fit Time

The Palmer Report: Nikki Haley throws a fit about the Grammys

Skewering The A-hole

Guardian UK: Hillary Clinton sends up Trump in surprise Fire and Fury skit at Grammys - Clinton joined John Legend, Cardi B and Cher in a skewering of Trump that saw the group read excerpts from Michael Wolffs’s tell-all book

National Disgrace

Guardian UK: This Land is Your Land - Rotting cabins, closed trails: why we're shining a light on US national parks - Amid dangers from the Trump administration and climate change, sites including the Grand Canyon and Zion national park are facing yet another threat: ‘massive disrepair’ by Alastair Gee

Impeachment

NY Times: An Article of Impeachment Against Donald J. Trump by David Leonhardt
The evidence is now quite strong that Donald Trump committed obstruction of justice.

History Repeats

NY Times: Trump Repeats Nixon’s Fateful Panic by Charles M. Blow
Nixon’s hostility toward the press grew, and the press was emboldened by his aggression. As one reporter then told The Times, “The President has declared war, and the war is on.”

The Market On Monday

  At 9:15 a.m. ET DOW futures are -65 and the price of oil per barrel is down. The market is poised to open moderately lower.

CNN: Stocks start from record highs; Watching Wynn; NAFTA talks by Alanna Petroff

Bad

NY Times: As George W. Bush on ‘S.N.L.,’ Will Ferrell Wants to Remind You: ‘I Was Really Bad’ By DAVE ITZKOF

Wayne, Steve, Sheldon

All Republicans, all living in Las Vegas. Notice anything similar in their appearance.



Real

HuffPo: The Real Causes Of Depression Have Been Discovered, And They’re Not What You Think by Johann Hari

Friday, January 26, 2018

The Weekend!

  Enjoy the weekend, see you bright and early Monday morning.

work by   Enjoy the weekend, see you bright and early Monday morning.

work by illustrator Tatsushi Eto

Here it Comes

Bloomberg: Trump Will Try to Fire Mueller. Again. The president clearly believes he can do whatever he wants. Including obstruct justice. by Timothy L. O'Brien

The Female Price

The Week: The female price of male pleasure by Lili Loofbourow

The Joke News

The Daily Beast: Fox & Friends’ Gives Laughable Defense of Trump on Mueller: ‘Do You Even Care?’ Like Hannity, ‘Fox & Friends’ almost entirely ignored the reporting of their own colleague Ed Henry that confirmed the NY Times story that Trump tried to fire the special counsel. by Matt Wilstein

Fear

The Daily Beast: Trump’s Friends and Advisers Are Terrified of What He Might Say to Mueller - There has been a drumbeat in the White House and on Fox News warning of the big-league risks the president would run. by Lachlan Markay and Asawin Suebsaeng

Apart

Salon: With the Mueller bombshell, the GOP’s grand conspiracy theory falls apart - Trump couldn’t get his henchman to fire Mueller, and backed down. His defenders are left looking like idiots again by Heather Digby Parton

The Onion - Outback Employees Return From Mandatory 6-Month Walkabout In Australian Wilderness

The Onion: Outback Employees Return From Mandatory 6-Month Walkabout In Australian Wilderness

Light

BBC News: Can 'light nutrition' help us beat the January blues? By Padraig Belton

Have An Excellent Friday

work by Eyvind Earle

Lawrence O'Donnell - Trump Tried To Fire Mueller, Will Trump Answer Mueller

Morning Joe - NYT Reporter Michael Schmidt On Trump’s Attempt To Fire Mueller

Meltdown

The Palmer Report: Sean Hannity has crazed meltdown amid report that Donald Trump tried to fire Robert Mueller

Toilet

Guardian UK: Toilet humour: Guggenheim responds to White House Van Gogh request – video

Denial

Guardian UK: Donald Trump denies report he tried to fire Robert Mueller in June - President was dissuaded from firing Robert Mueller when counsel threatened to quit rather than carry out order, New York Times reports

Blowhard Extraordinaire

  Watch blowhard Hannity do his little on air about face on news of the NY Times exposing Trump's directive to fire Mueller last summer.

Twitter: Hannity's about face

Here's Hoping

NY Times: McGahn in June, Other Republicans Soon by David Leonhardt
Here’s hoping other Republicans show the same courage as McGahn.

Of Course

NY Times: Of Course the Christian Right Supports Trump by Michelle Goldberg
"Trump’s religious champions, Michael Gerson writes in The Washington Post, are “associating evangelicalism with bigotry, selfishness and deception. They are playing a grubby political game for the highest of stakes: the reputation of their faith.”

The Market On Friday

  At 9:25 a.m. ET the DOW is +39 and the price of oil per barrel is down. The market will open moderately higher.

CNN: U.S. economy grew faster in 2017, but growth slowed at year's end by Patrick Gillespie

Thursday, January 25, 2018

Fool

The fool is his own enemy. The mischief is his undoing. How bitterly he suffers! — Buddha

Time


Trump, Is Going Down

NY Times: Trump Ordered Mueller Fired, but Backed Off When White House Counsel Threatened to Quit By MICHAEL S. SCHMIDT and MAGGIE HABERMAN
Mr. Mueller learned about the episode in recent months as his investigators interviewed current and former senior White House officials in his inquiry into whether the president obstructed justice.

Seth Meyers -Trump's Stormy Daniels Payment Might Have Been Illegal

Two Minutes To Bye

NBC News: Doomsday Clock is now just two minutes away from midnight by Corky Siemaszko
“The world is not only more dangerous now than it was a year ago, it is as threatening as it has been since World War II...“In fact, the Doomsday Clock is as close to midnight today as it was in 1953, when Cold War fears perhaps reached their highest levels.”

Stephen Colbert - Trump Is In Switzerland And Melania Is Not

Nutjobs In Full Force

Salon: A perfect “storm”: The far right’s latest pro-Trump conspiracy theory explains everything - The Deep State, Pizzagate and the “secret society”: Your crazy racist uncle now runs the conservative movement by Matthew Sheffield

The Onion - CDC Issues Warning Of Full-Blown Epidemic Of The Blahs

The Onion: CDC Issues Warning Of Full-Blown Epidemic Of The Blahs

Hawker Fare

NPR: With 'Hawker Fare,' Chef James Syhabout Shares Laotian Food He Grew Up With

Have An Excellent Thursday

work by Emil Nolde

Lawrence O'Donnell - WH Lawyer Scrambles To Walk Back Impromptu Trump Mueller Comments

Rachel Maddow - Mike Flynn Hid FBI Interview From White House

Gates

The Palmer Report: Rick Gates spokesman killed ahead of his plea deal against Donald Trump

Malicious And Obnovious

  In my opinion, of all the obnoxious things Trump has done, his attacks on the free press are the worst. May he spend eternity in hell because of that.

Guardian UK: How Trump's 'fake news' gave authoritarian leaders a new weapon - By co-opting the term to describe any negative media coverage, Trump helped other countries explain away atrocities

He's Lying, He Won't

Guardian UK: Donald Trump: 'I'm looking forward' to speaking under oath to Russia inquiry - President says he is willing to talk with Robert Mueller in investigation into Russian interference in 2016 election

Yes It Is, With A Few Exceptions

NY Times: Is the Business World All About Greed? by Nicholas Kristof
...the most interesting people in Davos aren’t the presidents or celebrities, but the social entrepreneurs — those using business tools to address social problems...

Unfit

NY Times: Soul of a Nation by Charles M. Blow
...Trump’s complete unfitness for office based on his character and his unrelenting assault on morality, ethics, truth, norms and decorum.

The Market On Thursday

  At 9:15 a.m. ET DOW futures are +118 and the price of oil per barrel is significantly higher. The market is poised to open significantly higher.

CNN: Half the Venezuelan economy has disappeared by Patrick Gillespie

Facts

From Bill de Blasio NYC Mayor

‏ Some facts Donald Trump should know about his hometown:
•55% of NYC business owners are immigrants.
•45% of NYC’s labor force is made up of foreign-born workers.
•34% of workers in NYC’s tech sector were immigrants in 2016.
•58% of NYC's kids have immigrant parents.

Wednesday, January 24, 2018

Crime

Seth Abramson - Hate to state the obvious, but, former public defender here, if you're being investigated by the feds for major crimes and you "fight back against it" by trying to get those investigating you fired/arrested, lying to them, hiding evidence, falsely accusing others... it's a CRIME.

Read This

Huffington Post: The Domestic Conspiracy That Gave Trump The Election Is In Plain Sight by Seth Abramson

'Big New Prinz'

The Fall - Mark E. Smith - March 5, 1957 - January 24, 2018

If Only

LA Times: Sweet words we may soon hear: 'Mr. President, you are a target for obstruction of justice charges' By Harry Litman

Jimmy Kimmel - The Porn Donald Trump Doesn't Want You to See

Schumer's Influence

The Daily Beast: Team Trump’s Goal for the Next Three Weeks: Keep Him ‘The Hell Away’ From Chuck Schumer - White House immigration hawks want to make sure the president stays away from a moderating influence on immigration: Chuck Schumer. by Asawin Suebsaeng and Sam Stein

Stephen Colbert - Big News In The Russia Investigation

Seth Meyers - The Tiny Voice In The Back Of Donald Trump's Head

Copy That


Garrison

Salon: Garrison Keillor’s alleged misconduct far worse than originally stated report claims - A MPR News investigation claims Keillor’s behavior goes far beyond “inappropriate” by Rachel Leah

The Onion - Cory Booker, Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren Assure Dreamers They’ll Never Stop Fighting For The 2020 Nomination

The Onion: Cory Booker, Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren Assure Dreamers They’ll Never Stop Fighting For The 2020 Nomination

Music

Science Daily: Your brain responses to music reveal if you're a musician or not
summary - How your brain responds to music listening can reveal whether you have received musical training, according to new research. By applying methods of computational music analysis and machine learning on brain imaging data collected during music listening, the researchers we able to predict with a significant accuracy whether the listeners were musicians or not.

Chennai

The New Indian Express: Chennai: Ninth edition of Hindu Spiritual Fair starts with ‘mixing’ of Ganga, Kaveri

Have An Excellent Wednesday

work by Emil Nolde

Lawrence O'Donnell - Ex-DOJ Official - Mueller Coming At Trump 'Like A Freight Train'

Rachel Maddow - GOP Tries To Save Trump, Attacks FBI, U.S. Intelligence

Can the GOP go any lower? Oh yes they can.

Pee

The Palmer Report: Donald Trump called Michael Wolff about the Pee Pee Tape

Newsweek: Trump and Comey Talked Russian 'Hookers' and 'Golden Shower' Scandal By Jason Le Miere On 6/7/17

Sick F**k

Guardian UK: How the Drudge Report ushered in the age of Trump - Twenty years ago, Matt Drudge’s reports on the Lewinsky affair nearly brought down Bill Clinton. He was seen as the wellspring of a new, hyper-aggressive American conservatism – but has he been outflanked by his imitators?

Seek The Truth

Guardian UK: Pope Francis compares fake news to snake in Garden of Eden - Journalists should make it their mission to seek truth and resist ‘sensational headlines’, he says
The message made no reference to how some public figures, most notably the US president, Donald Trump, often label unflattering or critical reports “fake news” to try to discredit the information.

Sessions

NY Times: Sessions Is Questioned as Russia Inquiry Focuses on Obstruction 查看简体中文版 查看繁體中文版 By MICHAEL S. SCHMIDT and MAGGIE HABERMAN
...Robert S. Mueller III, is increasingly focused on Mr. Trump’s conduct in office and on whether he obstructed the investigation itself, according to two people briefed on the matter.

Hang Tough Schumer

  The border wall is an utterly ridiculous idea. It is a 5th Century BC solution to a 21st Century AD problem. It didn't work back in the 5th Century BC either and it sure as hell won't work now. A wall is not an insurmountable obstacle.

NY Times: Border Wall ‘Off the Table,’ Schumer Says, as Immigration Progress Unravels By SHERYL GAY STOLBERG and MAGGIE HABERMAN

The Market On Wednesday

  At 9:15 a.m. ET DOW futures are +105 and the price of oil per barrel is up. The market is poised to open significantly higher.

CNN: GE's fossil fuels disaster gets uglier by Matt Egan

Tuesday, January 23, 2018

Refusal

Politico: Biden: McConnell stopped Obama from calling out Russians By EDWARD-ISAAC DOVERE
...refusing to sign on to a bipartisan statement of condemnation.

Miller

Salon: Stephen Miller isn’t pulling Trump’s strings: He’s “mirroring” his deepest desires - Is Miller manipulating Trump? Not at all; he’s enabling the president’s true, racist self. It’s a love match by Heather Digby Parton

The Onion - Local Woman Considers Telling Gynecologist Whole Truth

The Onion: Local Woman Considers Telling Gynecologist Whole Truth

Turmeric

Science Daily: Curcumin improves memory and mood - Twice-daily supplements boosted cognitive power over 18 months
summary - Daily consumption of a certain form of curcumin -- the substance that gives Indian curry its bright color -- improved memory and mood in people with mild, age-related memory loss.

Doom

Newsweek: Robert Reich: Trump Is Killing the Republican Party

Abe's Honesty


Have An Excellent Tuesday

work by Emil Nolde

Lawrence O'Donnell - Investigation Demanded Into Trump's Alleged Porn Star Payment

Rachel Maddow - Wray Threatened To Quit Over Pressure To Fire McCabe - Axios

Cheater

The Palmer Report: Melania Trump bails on Donald Trump after Stormy Daniels scandal worsens

Homeless In California

Guardian UK: California county evicts hundreds from homeless camp – with few beds to offer - Orange County, one of the state’s wealthiest, has targeted as many as 1,000 people near Disneyland, despite having just 250 shelter spaces

Which Is It

  A commitment from McConnell - isn't that an oxymoron.

Guardian UK: Compromise or cave-in? Democrats' deal to end shutdown sows division - After Senate Democrats agree to measure promising to address Dreamers, progressives fear party has been too quick to concede
In a 81-18 vote on Monday, Democrats approved a three-week spending measure in exchange for a commitment from Mitch McConnell, the Senate majority leader, who pledged to bring up legislation that would extend protections to Dreamers, whose status was thrown into chaos when Trump cancelled Daca in September.

Broken

NY Times: The Art of the Broken Deal by Paul Krugman
... Donald Trump — a man who has evident contempt for the rule of law and who, like Louis, sees no distinction between loyalty to the nation and loyalty to himself. The main difference is that Louis seems to have at least tried to understand the issues.
NY Times: A Billionaire Keeps Pushing to Impeach Trump. Democrats Are Rattled. By ALEXANDER BURNS
Mr. Steyer is likely to unsettle national Democrats further in the coming weeks, with a new phase of his campaign aimed at pushing lawmakers in solidly liberal seats to endorse impeachment.

The Market On Tuesday

  At 9:15 a.m. DOW futures are -5 and the price of oil per barrel is up. The market is poised to open slightly lower.

CNN: Trump's trade tariffs; Fox-Sky hurdle; Davos kicks off by Rishi Iyengar

Monday, January 22, 2018

Nature


Montana

Axios: Montana becomes first state to add net neutrality rules after repeal

Replacing Kelly

Vanity Fair: “I’ve Got Another Nut Job Here Who Thinks He’s Running Things”: Are Trump and Kelly Heading for Divorce? With the president and his chief of staff arguing in public, Ivanka Trump takes charge of finding a replacement. by Gabriel Sherman

Fold

The Daily Beast: Dems Fold on This Shutdown, But the Next One Could Be Worse - Chuck Schumer accepted Mitch McConnell’s promise to vote on Dreamers in exchange for reopening the government. If he breaks that promise, all hell will break loose. by Gideon Resnick, Andrew Desiderio, Sam Stein

Heh



Forgot


Racist At Heart

Salon: Do Trump and the GOP really want a DACA deal? We already know the answer - Advisers like Stephen Miller and Tom Cotton are feeding Trump’s racism, because they know what’s in his heart by Heather Digby Parton

The Onion - Researchers Say That First Warning Sign Of Alcoholism Generally Driving Over Curb, Plowing Through Fire Hydrant, And Crashing Into Aquarium

The Onion: Researchers Say That First Warning Sign Of Alcoholism Generally Driving Over Curb, Plowing Through Fire Hydrant, And Crashing Into Aquarium

Creative

Science Daily: The creative brain is wired differently
summary - Scientists studying brain scans of people who were asked to come up with inventive uses for everyday objects found a specific pattern of connectivity that correlated with the most creative responses. Researchers were then able to use that pattern to predict how creative other people's responses would be based on their connections in this network.

Have An Excellent Monday

work by Emil Nolde

Morning Joe - Trump Clearly Not Up To The Task Of Being President

Morning Joe - Trump's Staff Complicates Ability For Compromise

Bannon

The Palmer Report: Here’s how Robert Mueller got to Steve Bannon

Empty Head

Guardian UK: A far from cluttered mind? The meaning of Donald Trump’s empty desk - In a recent picture, the Resolute desk had nothing on it but a phone, a coaster, a marker pen and a wooden box. Is he lazy or just efficient?

Homophobia In Brazil

Guardian UK: Violent deaths of LGBT people in Brazil hit all-time high 0 At least 445 LGBT Brazilians died as victims of homophobia in 2017, new research reveals, following a 30% spike in just one year

Flawed

NY Times: Shutdown, Showdown, Sure Thing by Charles M. Blow
Donald Trump proved himself both woefully inept at making tough deals and also demonstrated that his yearlong strategy of trying to govern to the exclusion of Democrats and playing to a narrow base is fatally flawed.

Shutdown

NY Times: Government Shutdown Goes Into Monday as Senate Inches Toward Deal By NICHOLAS FANDOS and THOMAS KAPLAN

The Market On Monday

  At 9:20 a.m. ET the DOW is -54 and the price of oil per barrel is slightly up. The market is poised to open moderately lower.

CNN: NAFTA is close to falling apart with time running out by Patrick Gillespie

The Sky


The Future


Friday, January 19, 2018

Weekend!

  Enjoy the weekend, see you bright and early Monday morning.

work by Albarrán Cabrera

Belief


President Predator

The Daily Beast: Stormy Daniels Reveals Donald Trump Is a Lot Like Harvey Weinstein - The president’s M.O. with his alleged mistress was the same as it was with some of his accusers: Sleep with me if you want a job.

What England Is Reading

The Sun: DON’S SPANK SESSION Donald Trump made porn star Stormy Daniels spank him with a copy of Forbes magazine featuring his own face on the cover, reports claim - The adult star also claimed he chased her in a hotel room in just his underpants and compared her to his daughter Ivanka

Yes

"Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet." - Aristotle

The Best And Brightest

Salon: Trump appointee drops out after sexist, homophobic and racist rant emerges - Carl Higbie, a former Navy SEAL, made hateful comments about African-Americans, undocumented immigrants and others by Matthew Rozsa

The Onion - Michigan Restaurant Selling $180 Tacos

The Onion: Michigan Restaurant Selling $180 Tacos

Breathing

Science Daily: Flu may be spread just by breathing - Coughing and sneezing not required for transmission
summary - It is easier to spread the influenza virus (flu) than previously thought, according to a new study. People commonly believe that they can catch the flu by exposure to droplets from an infected person's coughs or sneezes or by touching contaminated surfaces. But, new information about flu transmission reveals that we may pass the flu to others just by breathing.

ROFLMAO

The Cut: Trump Reportedly Told Stormy Daniels to Spank Him with an Issue of Forbes By Madeleine Aggeler

Have An Excellent Friday

work by Leslie Ann O’Dell


Morning Joe - GOP On Losing Side Of History

No shit...

Lawrence O'Donnell - John Kelly's Hard Lesson On Trump's Belief On Evolution

Rachel Maddow - Fusion GPS Transcript Outlines Potential Trump Money Laundering

Expectations

The Palmer Report: Robert Mueller expected to arrest these five people in Donald Trump’s Russia scandal

Only 12?

Guardian UK: Turn and face the strange: the 12 weirdest days from Trump's first year

Trump Love

Guardian UK: Stormy Daniels on Trump: pajamas, unprotected sex and … scary sharks - The porn actor, real name Stephanie Clifford, reveals details of her relationship with the future president in full text of 2011 interview
Clifford also described her sexual encounters with the businessman, saying she did not use protection: “It was kind of in the moment. And I was really kind of upset about it because I am so, like, careful.”

GOP Nonsense

  The GOP itself is proof that the American educational system is broken, that propaganda has replaced real information, and that mental health care is woefully broken as well.

NY Times: The G.O.P.’s Doomsday-Machine Politics by Paul Krugman
“Give me what I want or I’ll blow everything up.”

Shutdown

NY Times: Showdown Vote in Senate on Friday With Government Shutdown at Stake By THOMAS KAPLAN and SHERYL GAY STOLBERG
The Senate is heading toward a showdown vote on Friday on legislation to keep the government open past midnight, and Democrats appear ready to block it, gambling that a weakened President Trump will have to offer concessions in the face of a looming government crisis.

The Market On Friday

  At 9:20 a.m. ET DOW futures are +26 and the price of oil per barrel is down. The market is poised to open moderately higher.

CNN: Shutdown looms; IBM drops; Schlumberger earnings by Alanna Petroff

Thursday, January 18, 2018

Dreamers

From Mike Jollett
Trump says immigration should reward the ability to contribute to society.
91% of Dreamers are employed.
US would lose over $400 billion in GDP if they're deported.
If its really about “contribution,” then the Dreamers should stay.

Gorka

The Daily Beast: Hungarian Police Have Arrest Warrant Out for Sebastian Gorka
“firearm or ammunition abuse"

House


Fun And Fury

BBC: Fire and Fury: Trump exposé to become television series
The rights have been sold to Endeavor Content...

Healthy

Salon: Not just “girthers”: Doctors question Trump’s health report - “We’re talking about a 70-plus-year-old man who is obese and doesn’t exercise” by Charlie May

The Onion - Huckabee Sanders Repeatedly Insists That President’s Footprints Created The Great Lakes

The Onion: Huckabee Sanders Repeatedly Insists That President’s Footprints Created The Great Lakes

Invisible

BBC: The animals that are almost invisible - These animals’ ability to control light renders them almost invisible
Animals that live in midwater though have neither of these options. This region is known as the pelagic zone, and it also happens to be where most invisible animals live.

The Heart

  The dude is literally asking for a heart attack.

NY Times: Trump’s Physical Revealed Serious Heart Concerns, Outside Experts Say By MICHAEL D. SHEAR and GINA KOLATA

Need


Have An Excellent Thursday

work by Leslie Ann O’Dell

Morning Joe - Trump Eroding Credibility Of US Institutions

Lawrence O'Donnell - Why The Mueller Investigation Is So Important

Rachel Maddow - Mueller Subpoena Blocks Bannon Congressional Testimony

It's Complicated

The Palmer Report: Robert Mueller’s four dimensional chess against Donald Trump just got even more sophisticated

Simona Mangiante

Guardian UK: The boss, the boyfriend and the FBI: the Italian woman in the eye of the Trump-Russia inquiry - Simona Mangiante, the girlfriend of ex-Trump campaign aide George Papadopoulos, also worked for a mysterious Russia-linked Maltese professor. No wonder Robert Mueller’s investigation came knocking

Global Confidence In USA Down Under Trump

  No surprise there.

Guardian UK: World's confidence in US leadership under Trump at new low, poll finds - Approval for US falls to 30% from 48% under Obama - ‘Historic low’ of Gallup poll ‘sets a new bar for disapproval’

The Shitholes

NY Times: What We Can Learn From ‘S-Hole Countries’ by Nicholas Kristof
3. Rwanda may eliminate cervical cancer before America...

Border Boondoggle

NY Times: Trump Denies Changing His Position on Border Wall By EILEEN SULLIVAN

The Market On Thursday

  At 9:20 the DOW is -6 and the price of oil per barrel is down. The market is poised to open slightly lower.

CNN: China GDP; U.S. shutdown threat; IBM earnings by Alanna Petroff

Wednesday, January 17, 2018

What He Said

Axios: Inside the room: What Steve Bannon told Congress yesterday

The Onion - Follow-Up Tests Confirm President Trump’s 19 Other Personalities Also Perfectly Healthy

The Onion: Follow-Up Tests Confirm President Trump’s 19 Other Personalities Also Perfectly Healthy

Stephen Colbert - Trump Is Conveniently One Pound Under Obese

Trump's Fake News Awards

Number Three

The Daily Kos: Third adult film star emerges to say married Donald Trump begged her to 'party' in his hotel room

The Girther Movement

Salon: Trump’s medical exam inspires “girther” movement - With the White House obfuscating Trump’s medical records, a new conspiracy theory is born by Jeremy Binckes

The Onion - New Report Finds Adult Film Star May Have Paid Over $130,000 To Cover Up Sexual Encounter With Trump

The Onion: New Report Finds Adult Film Star May Have Paid Over $130,000 To Cover Up Sexual Encounter With Trump

Math

Scientific American: The Hidden Depth in Math’s Simple Puzzles - Mathematician Richard Schwartz explains why he loves problems he can start solving right away, and how computers can help By Kevin Hartnett

Have An Excellent Wednesday

work by Monet

Lawrence O'Donnell - Bannon Subpoenaed By House Intel As Mueller Subpoena Looms

Rachel Maddow - Steve Bannon Will 'Tell All' To Robert Mueller - Report

Sing

The Palmer Report: Report: Steve Bannon to sing like a canary for Robert Mueller

Lowest

Guardian UK: Trump's approval rating at lowest for any president in their first year - Gallup poll shows Trump has averaged just 39% approval rating since his inauguration, a number that’s unprecedented for a US president

Bannon Under Orders

Guardian UK: Steve Bannon refuses lawmakers' questions under 'White House instructions' - Bannon’s lawyer reputedly said former strategist, facing subpoena, would otherwise have been willing to respond

Facebook

NY Times: Facebook Doesn’t Like What It Sees When It Looks in the Mirror By NOAM COHEN

Soiled By Trump

NY Times: Donald Trump Will Soil You. Ask Lindsey Graham. by Frank Bruni
There’s no honor or wisdom in cozying up to Donald Trump — just a heap of manure.

The Market On Wednesday

  At 9:20 a.m. DOW futures are +135 and the price of oil per barrel is down. The market is poised to open significantly higher.

CNN: Reagan and Bush economic adviser says stocks are due to fall by Chris Isidore

Tuesday, January 16, 2018

Now We're Talking

NY Times: Bannon Is Subpoenaed in Mueller’s Russia Investigation By MICHAEL S. SCHMIDT

Laughable

Salon: Republicans are literally being laughed at while trying to defend Trump - Witness Joni Ernst, who was met with laughs while trying to explain her position on Trump by Matthew Rozsa

The Onion - Hawaii's False Missile Alert Caused By Employee Pressing Wrong Button

The Onion: Hawaii's False Missile Alert Caused By Employee Pressing Wrong Button

Gene Therapy

Science Daily: The coming of age of gene therapy: A review of the past and path forward
summary - After three decades of hopes tempered by setbacks, gene therapy -- the process of treating a disease by modifying a person's DNA -- is no longer the future of medicine, but is part of the present-day clinical treatment toolkit. A new article provides an in-depth and timely review of the key developments that have led to several successful gene therapy treatments for patients with serious medical conditions.

Have An Excellent Tuesday

work by Marius Amtoft

Lawrence O'Donnell - Frum - Trump's Presidency 'A Serious Attack On Ethical Norms'

Rachel Maddow - Sketchy Kazakh Money Finds Its Way Into Trump Dealings

Morning Joe - Author Of Book On Trump - 'He Is Appallingly Ignorant'

Hole

The Palmer Report: Donald Trump said even more racist things during his “shithole” meeting

Racist

Guardian UK: Trump insists 'I am the least racist person' amid outrage over remarks - US president condemned by UN and African Union, as ex-ambassador warns his comments ‘are disorienting for our partners’

Medical Bankruptcy

Guardian UK: Bankrupted by giving birth: having premature twins cost me everything - After Jen Sinconis had twins 16 weeks early, requiring millions of dollars to save their lives, bills drove her family into debt - Why does it cost $32,093 just to give birth in America?

Trump Porn

NY Times: The President and the Porn Star by Michelle Goldberg
In any other administration, evidence that the president paid hush money to the star of “Good Will Humping” during the election would be a scandal. In this one it has, so far, elicited a collective shrug.

Senseless And Very Disturbed Minds

NY Times: 13 Siblings, Some Shackled to Beds, Were Held Captive by Parents, Police in California Say 查看简体中文版 查看繁體中文版 By MATTHEW HAAG and LOUIS KEENE
Their parents, David Allen Turpin, 57, and Louise Anna Turpin, 49, were both arrested on nine counts each of torture and child endangerment. They were being held in jail with bail set at $9 million each, the authorities said.

The Market On Tuesday

  At 9:20 a.m. ET DOW futures are +208 and the price of oil per barrel is down. The market is poised to open significantly higher.

CNN: Dow near 26,000; BP losses; U.S. dollar weakness by Alanna Petroff

Monday, January 15, 2018

FBI Investigator - 'I Think Kushner Is Criminally Exposed' On Russia And Money Laundering

Stalin

CNBC: GOP Sen. Jeff Flake plans speech comparing Trump's treatment of the media to Stalin - Longtime Trump critic Jeff Flake plans to deliver a speech on Wednesday comparing the president's language on the media to that of Joseph Stalin. Excerpts of Flake's speech reveal an emphasis on Trump's use of the phrase "enemy of the American people," referring to the media.

Acceptance


'Linger'

  CNN: Cranberries singer Dolores O'Riordan dies at age 46

'Ah! La Barbe'

  'Ah! La Barbe' is a French short film from 1906. In the film a man shaves in front of a mirror, tastes the shaving cream he applies to his face, then decides to eat some of the shaving cream. He begins shaving and as a result of eating the shaving cream starts to see frightening hallucinations in his mirror. It's regarded as being one of the first horror films.

Morally Bankrupt Jerk

NY Times: Maybe Trump Is Not Mentally Ill. Maybe He’s Just a Jerk. By JEFFREY A. LIEBERMAN

Down The Shithole

Salon: Our values, down the s***hole: Trump pushes against legal immigration - Republicans have long claimed they were OK with legal immigration. Under Trump and Sessions, forget it by Heather Digby Parton

The Onion - Mom Hasn’t Said Full, Uninterrupted Sentence To Family Since 1997

The Onion: Mom Hasn’t Said Full, Uninterrupted Sentence To Family Since 1997

The Sanskrit Effect

Scientific American: A Neuroscientist Explores the "Sanskrit Effect" - MRI scans show that memorizing ancient mantras increases the size of brain regions associated with cognitive function By James Hartzell
Most interestingly for verbal memory was that the pandits' right hippocampus—a region of the brain that plays a vital role in both short and long-term memory—had more gray matter than controls across nearly 75 percent of this subcortical structure.

Have An Excellent Martin Luther King Day

work by Jim Sande

Morning Joe - Rev. Sharpton - Trump's Remarks Pose Security Risk For The US

Morning Joe - As President, Trump Pokes And Prods At The Scab Of Race

Straight Talk

Robert Reich: Straight Talk About Trump

Misery Man

Guardian UK: How Bannon turned on Trump … and where the nationalist right goes next - The ex-White House strategist who turned his fire and fury on the president is now out at Breitbart too. Those in the know, though, say he isn’t finished yet

Wolff

Guardian UK: 'It's all explosive': Michael Wolff on Donald Trump - Speaking to the Guardian, author who shook the White House faces down critical fire and presidential fury and says: ‘I got to a truth no one else has gotten’ by Edward Helmore
"...Donald Trump is deeply unpredictable, irrational, at times bordering on incoherent, self-obsessed in a disconcerting way, and displays all those kinds of traits that anyone would reasonably say, ‘What’s going on here, is something wrong?’”

Morally Bankrupt

  Trump boasts that no one knows more about bankruptcy than he does. This is true, unfortunately his bankruptcy experience extends way beyond business, he is also morally bankrupt.

NY Times: In Trump’s Remarks, Black Churches See a Nation Backsliding By SABRINA TAVERNISE
“I’ve been involved in the civil rights movement since my college days, and I’m not sure I’ve ever been more confused than I am right now,” said Sterling Tucker, 94, a civil rights leader in Washington.

Racist

NY Times: Trump Is a Racist. Period. by Charles M. Blow
Racism is simply the belief that race is an inherent and determining factor in a person’s or a people’s character and capabilities, rendering some inferior and others superior. These beliefs are racial prejudices.

The Market Is Closed ON MLK Day

  Wall Street is closed for the holiday. One thing to notice and keep and eye on though, the price of oil is closing in on $65 per barrel. Gas is pricier. All those folks who bought gas guzzlers when oil was below $40 per barrel are in for some new sticker shock.

'Trumpocracy'

SF Gate: ‘Trumpocracy: The Corruption of the American Republic,’ by David Frum - Review By John Diaz
The most important new book about the dangers of Donald Trump’s presidency is getting the least attention at the moment.

Bankrupt

Guardian UK: America is spiritually bankrupt. We must fight back together - The undeniable collapse of integrity, honesty and decency in our public and private life has fueled racial hatred and contempt by Cornel West

Pencils

NY Times: Inside One of America’s Last Pencil Factories - A photographer captures a colorful world of craft and complexity.

Friday, January 12, 2018

Weekend!

  Enjoy the weekend, see you bright and early Monday morning.

work by Albarrán Cabrera

The Trump Supporter


Never


Yup


Hush

The Daily Beast: Report: Trump Lawyer Arranged $130K Hush Money to Keep Porn Star Quiet
...in an effort to keep her silent about an alleged sexual encounter with Trump, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday.