Tuesday, December 31, 2019
Fired
CNN: All the cadets pictured giving a Nazi salute will be fired, West Virginia governor says By Scottie Andrew and Carma Hassan
The image, discovered in early December, shows the members of the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation Basic Training Class 18 with one arm raised.
Endgame
Washington Post: What’s Mitch McConnell’s endgame in shaping the Senate impeachment trial to benefit Trump? By Amber Phillips
Opening up the trial to witnesses is a can of worms for McConnell. Senate Democrats — and 71 percent of Americans, including nearly two in three Republicans — want to hear from Trump’s top aides in a Senate trial.
Threat
Washington Post: Trump’s threat to democracy By Joe Scarborough
All versions of Trump have been cynical and manipulative, but his latest incarnation has proved to be destructive to his party, his country and the world.
Though you may not know Trump as I once did, you do know that only a weak man speaks endlessly of his strength and only an ignorant man brags incessantly of his wisdom.
Iran Tensions Boiling
NY Times: Protesters Attack U.S. Embassy in Iraq, Chanting ‘Death to America’ - President Trump blamed Iran after demonstrators breached the compound’s outer wall. Tensions are high after American airstrikes killed members of an Iran-backed militia. By Falih Hassan and Ben Hubbard
...express their anger over American airstrikes that killed 24 members of an Iranian-backed militia over the weekend.
The Market On Tuesday
Good morning. At 9:17 a.m. ET DOW futures are -45 and the price of oil per barrel is down. The market is poised to open moderately lower.
CNN: What we don't know about Carlos Ghosn's dramatic escape from Japan By Charles Riley
CNN: What we don't know about Carlos Ghosn's dramatic escape from Japan By Charles Riley
Monday, December 30, 2019
Top Ten
Washington Post: The 10 worst things Trump did in 2019 By Marc A. Thiessen
1. He gave Turkey a green light to invade Syria and attack our Kurdish allies.
Liar
Can we stop calling them 'false claims' please. They are lies.
Washington Post: President Trump has made 15,413 false or misleading claims over 1,055 days By Glenn Kessler, Salvador Rizzo and Meg Kelly
Washington Post: President Trump has made 15,413 false or misleading claims over 1,055 days By Glenn Kessler, Salvador Rizzo and Meg Kelly
As of Dec. 10, his 1,055th day in office, Trump had made 15,413 false or misleading claims, according to the Fact Checker’s database that analyzes, categorizes and tracks every suspect statement he has uttered. That’s an average of more than 32 claims a day...
Rudy In Venezuela
Washington Post: Trump’s lawyer and the Venezuelan president: How Giuliani got involved in back-channel talks with Maduro By Rosalind S. Helderman, Tom Hamburger, Anthony Faiola and Josh Dawsey
Both (Sessions and Giuliani) were part of a shadow diplomatic effort, backed in part by private interests, aimed at engineering a negotiated exit to ease President Nicolás Maduro from power and reopen resource-rich Venezuela to business, according to people familiar with the endeavor.
Disgraced Bishop
Washington Post: Disgraced bishop spent $4.6 million on mansion that sold for only $1.2 million By Aaron C. Davis
More than just an opulent private retreat for a high-spending bishop, Elmcrest was the site where the heavy-drinking cleric quaffed Cointreau and made unwanted sexual overtures toward younger priests in a basement with a custom-made sunken bar...
Monsey
NY Times: Intruder in Monsey Screamed ‘I’ll Get You’ in Machete Attack on Jews - The rampage at a rabbi’s home in the New York suburbs wounded five people and traumatized the Jewish community in the region. By Rebecca Liebson, Christina Goldbaum, Joseph Goldstein and Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs
The police have not disclosed a motive, and much about the attack remained a mystery on Sunday, including why the assailant chose the rabbi’s house. But Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo referred to the rampage as an “act of domestic terrorism.”
The Last Decade Of Change
NY Times: The Decade We Changed Our Minds - America in the 2010s saw significant cultural and political shifts that pushed us forward. By Charles M. Blow
"The deadliest years yet were 2017 and 2018, and this year is shaping up to rival them, with at least 60 killed in mass shootings, 38 of them in the last five weeks.”
The Market On Monday
Good morning. At 8:50 a.m. ET DOW futures are +24 and the price of oil per barrel is up. The market is poised to open modestly higher.
CNN: This is the end of a middling decade for US stocks By Charles Riley
CNN: This is the end of a middling decade for US stocks By Charles Riley
Behind The Scenes
NY Times: Behind the Ukraine Aid Freeze: 84 Days of Conflict and Confusion - The inside story of President Trump’s demand to halt military assistance to an ally shows the price he was willing to pay to carry out his agenda. By Eric Lipton, Maggie Haberman and Mark Mazzetti
In late August, Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper joined Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and John R. Bolton, the national security adviser at the time, for a previously undisclosed Oval Office meeting with the president where they tried but failed to convince him that releasing the aid was in interests of the United States. (note - Jim here - this is why Trump does not want them to testify, or at least one main reason).
Read This
Truly a stunning story, please read.
gen.medium: My Semester With the Snowflakes At 52, I was accepted to Yale as a freshman. The students I met there surprised me. by James Hatch
gen.medium: My Semester With the Snowflakes At 52, I was accepted to Yale as a freshman. The students I met there surprised me. by James Hatch
Friday, December 27, 2019
Weekend!
Have an excellent weekend and see you bright and early Monday morning.
work by Albert Gleizes 1881 - 1953
work by Albert Gleizes 1881 - 1953
Deprivation
I must admit of all the depraved things I've read about in my life, this is new. Yet to be quite honest this is similar to Trump's punching down. Here the son is already suffering from cancer, then we have the additional outrage that the mother enacts. With Trump we have a dead person, Dingell. Here Trump adds insult to injury and laughingly tells his morbid audience that perhaps he's in hell. The reality to both these situations is the same. The mother already exists in hell, and so does Trump.
CNN: Mother charged with injecting feces to son's IV during cancer treatment By Shachar Peled
CNN: Mother charged with injecting feces to son's IV during cancer treatment By Shachar Peled
Indeed
CNN: The patriotic move is for Trump to resign Opinion by F. Michael Higginbotham
The sole question should be what is best for the country.
Vile And Reprehensible As Usual
Guardian UK: Trump condemned for trivializing homeless crisis in attack on Pelosi - President’s tweets denounced as ‘vile and reprehensible’ - Trump: speaker’s ‘filthy dirty’ district is worst for homelessness
In another post, he wrote: “Crazy Nancy should clean up her filthy dirty District & help the homeless there.”
Microplastic Rain
Is it time for us to start wearing very precise air filter masks when we go outside?
Guardian UK: Revealed: microplastic pollution is raining down on city dwellers - Exclusive: London has highest level yet recorded but health impacts of breathing particles are unknown
Guardian UK: Revealed: microplastic pollution is raining down on city dwellers - Exclusive: London has highest level yet recorded but health impacts of breathing particles are unknown
The microplastic particles in London were between 0.02mm and 0.5mm. These are large enough to be deposited on to the airways when inhaled and would be swallowed in saliva. Smaller particles that can get into the lungs and bloodstream represent the greatest potential health hazard. These were seen in the samples but their composition could not be identified with current technology.
American Farmers Getting Crushed By Trump And In Trump Country
Washington Post: In Trump Country, a season of need on family farms By Annie Gowen
“We’re supposed to be feeding the world, and we can’t even put food on our own table,” Anne said.
Mexican Women
NY Times: ‘It Was Not My Fault’: Women in Mexico Fight Back Against Violence - A new generation is demanding change, casting off the entrenched notion that women somehow provoke attacks against them. By Paulina Villegas and Elisabeth Malkin
Itan Flores was a young teenager when her first boyfriend imprisoned her for six weeks in a room furnished with just a mattress and a radio. He returned only to rape her, she said, often withholding food and water.
One out of every three women in Latin America has experienced sexual or physical violence, according to the United Nations...
Toxic
NY Times: Anguish and Anger From the Navy SEALS Who Turned In Edward Gallagher - Video interviews and group texts obtained by The Times show men describing their platoon leader in grim terms. By Dave Philipps
“The guy is freaking evil,” Special Operator Miller told investigators. “The guy was toxic,” Special Operator First Class Joshua Vriens, a sniper, said in a separate interview. “You could tell he was perfectly O.K. with killing anybody that was moving,”
The Market On Friday
Good morning. At 8:45 a.m. ET DOW futures are +86 and the price of oil per barrel is up. The market is poised to open significantly higher.
CNN: Stocks close at historic highs, Nasdaq finishes above 9,000 points for the first time By Anneken Tappe
CNN: Stocks close at historic highs, Nasdaq finishes above 9,000 points for the first time By Anneken Tappe
Thursday, December 26, 2019
RSS
The article is from May 2019. The group is called Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh or RSS. They are a right wing nationalist Hindu group in India.
NPR: The Powerful Group Shaping The Rise Of Hindu Nationalism In India
NPR: The Powerful Group Shaping The Rise Of Hindu Nationalism In India
55% Want Him Out
Inquisitr: Donald Trump’s Removal From Office Now Supported By Over Half Of Americans, New Poll Reveals - 'This polling is a clear sign that [the] Republican policy of complete obstruction is not selling well to [the] voting public,' says one researcher.
According to the latest MSN poll, conducted on Christmas Day, 55 percent of poll respondents said they supported convicting Trump in the Senate and removing him from office. That number is significant because it’s the highest level of support for Trump’s removal from office so far.
Online Scams
Washington Post: ‘I feel cheated’: Thousands of fake online stores are rushing to cash in By Abha Bhattarai
“These sites are stealing our images and sending customers horrendous-looking knockoffs — or nothing at all — in exchange for their money.”
Children
Washington Post: Number of children swallowing dangerous magnets surges as industry largely polices itself By Todd C. Frankel
The number of children ingesting rare-earth magnets — powerful tiny balls that are a popular desk toy and can shred a child’s intestines — has skyrocketed...
What Will It Take
NY Times: What Will It Take to Beat Donald Trump? It’s not what the progressive left is talking about. By Bret Stephens
Nearly three years into Donald Trump’s presidency, America needs a hard scrub and a deep cleanse. It needs to wash out the grime and grease of an administration that every day does something to make the country feel soiled.
The Market On Thursday
Good morning. At 8:15 a.m. ET DOW futures are +28 and the price of oil per barrel is up. The market is poised to open modestly higher. Recall that when many traders are on vacation, like today and tomorrow, the market tends to be a little more erratic.
CNN: Why this is the 'most hated' bull market of all time By Julia Horowitz and Charles Riley
CNN: Why this is the 'most hated' bull market of all time By Julia Horowitz and Charles Riley
Wednesday, December 25, 2019
Sick Human Being
Washington Post: What a shame that cruelty isn’t an impeachable offense By Kathleen Parker
No news here, but the president of the United States is a sick human being — charitably speaking. His recent behavior at a campaign rally in Michigan on the very night of his impeachment was several notches below even his usual flair for giving offense.
Forgive
Washington Post:
Stories of forgiveness - Four people choose different paths in their search for renewal By Antonia Farzan, Maura Judkis, Ian Shapira, Rebecca Tan
To forgive is to reach beyond the storms of the moment.
The Emotionally Ill President
Washington Post: Trump lashes out at Pelosi, Democrats after exchanging holiday greetings with troops By Toluse Olorunnipa and John Wagner
“She hates the Republican Party,” Trump said of Pelosi, predicting that she would lose her speakership. “She hates all of the people who voted for me and the Republican Party. . . . She’s doing a tremendous disservice to the country.”
Money And Health
NY Times: Crisis Looms in Antibiotics as Drug Makers Go Bankrupt - First Big Pharma fled the field, and now start-ups are going belly up, threatening to stifle the development of new drugs. By Andrew Jacobs
The problem is straightforward: The companies that have invested billions to develop the drugs have not found a way to make money selling them.
Tuesday, December 24, 2019
No Tea
Shunryu Suzuki
Leave your front door and your back door open.
Allow your thoughts to come and go.
Just don’t serve them tea.
Ten
I know I do at least one of these things...
Get Pocket: 10 Things Incredibly Likable People Never, Ever Do (and Why You Love Them for It) - What you do can make you extremely likable. So can what you don’t choose to do.
Get Pocket: 10 Things Incredibly Likable People Never, Ever Do (and Why You Love Them for It) - What you do can make you extremely likable. So can what you don’t choose to do.
Merry Trump
Washington Post: A Trump Christmas, with ill will to all by Dana Milbank
During the past two weeks of impeachment, my stocking has been stuffed with good cheer from President Trump’s supporters. They describe me variously as a woman, unprintable epithets for a gay person, a Democrat, a “f---ing clown” and an “intel mouthpiece,” a hack and a fraud, a “scumbag” and a “s---head,” a hater who is insufficiently grateful to “white people” and who performs certain unmentionable sexual acts.
Roll Back
Washington Post: Trump attacks on wind turbines, low-flow toilets and LED lightbulbs set up key campaign clash with Democrats By Toluse Olorunnipa and Juliet Eilperin
...President Trump is promising voters a world free of the everyday inconveniences associated with combating climate change — rolling back lightbulb regulations, ordering a study on low-flow toilets and turning bans on plastic straws into a campaign rallying cry.
Absolving Environmental Responsibility
Recall that just a few days ago, Trump gave a rambling nutty speech that included words on how wind turbines kill birds. He presented himself as some kind of defender of birds. Well take a look at this and remember, never ever believe a single word out of Trump's mouth.
NY Times: A Trump Policy ‘Clarification’ All but Ends Punishment for Bird Deaths By Lisa Friedman
NY Times: A Trump Policy ‘Clarification’ All but Ends Punishment for Bird Deaths By Lisa Friedman
A new interpretation of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act in 2017 means that as of now, companies are no longer subject to prosecution or fines even after a disaster like the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010 that destroyed or injured about one million birds and for which BP paid $100 million in fines.
The Market On Tuesday
Good morning. At 8:55 a.m. ET DOW futures are +24 and the price of oil per barrel is up. The market is poised to open moderately higher.
CNN: Asian markets mixed as leaders from China, Japan and South Korea meet By Laura He
CNN: Asian markets mixed as leaders from China, Japan and South Korea meet By Laura He
Monday, December 23, 2019
MAGA Scamming
Washington Post: 63 million suckers, just waiting to be conned By Paul Waldman
So all you need to do is come up with a name that sounds legit (“Trump MAGA 2020 Committee” or some such); buy yourself a list with email addresses of marks (or, ahem, leads); start blasting out emails begging for donations to hold off the despicable Democrat secularist socialist elites who want to destroy America; and watch the money pour in.
Both Ways
Washington Post: Evangelicals can’t have it both ways By Eugene Robinson
Can a Christian movement completely ignore morality? Can it pretend not to know the difference between a leader who strives to be good and one who doesn’t? Tell me: Where in the Bible does it say anything goes?
But The Emails
Washington Post: New emails help peel back the layers of pressure surrounding Trump’s July 25 call with Zelensky By Philip Bump
“Based on guidance I have received and in light of the Administration’s plan to review assistance to Ukraine,” Duffey wrote, “including the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, please hold off on any additional DoD obligations of these funds, pending direction from that process.” Later, he added, that “[g]iven the sensitive nature of the request, I appreciate your keeping that information closely held to those who need to know to execute the direction.”
Bloody Rudy
NY Mag: A Conversation With Rudy Giuliani Over Bloody Marys at the Mark Hotel By Olivia Nuzzi
He said former ambassador Marie Yovanovitch, whom he calls Santa Maria Yovanovitch, is “controlled” by George Soros. “He put all four ambassadors there. And he’s employing the FBI agents.” I told him he sounded crazy, but he insisted he wasn’t.Raw Story: Here are the 5 craziest details from Rudy Giuliani’s new off-the-wall interview
“Don’t tell me I’m anti-Semitic if I oppose him,” he said. “Soros is hardly a Jew. I’m more of a Jew than Soros is.
Nothing
NY Times: That Christianity Today Editorial Won’t Change Anything - Evangelicals continue to support Trump in overwhelming numbers. By Sarah Posner - Ms. Posner is the author of the forthcoming book “Unholy: Why White Evangelicals Worship at the Altar of Donald Trump.”
In this insular ecosystem, the president is seen as a divinely anointed leader, sent by God to save America at a critical moment in history, when, supporters claim, their religious freedom is under attack by secularists.
Nancy
Guardian UK: Nancy Pelosi: the woman who stood up to Trump - The veteran Democrat began 2019 by being elected speaker of the House for a second, historic time and ended it by leading the president’s impeachment by Lauren Gambino
That 15-minute Oval Office meeting marked the beginning of a struggle between Pelosi and Trump that culminated last week in the president’s impeachment by the House of Representatives for “high crimes and misdemeanors”. Pelosi, dressed in funeral black, banged down her speaker’s gavel to finalize the vote, binding together their legacies for all time.
Disorder
Washington Post: All his life, his health was poor. It took more than 50 years to find out why. By Sandra G. Boodman
...a little-known form of a progressive, life-shortening disorder typically diagnosed in infancy.
Leverage
Washington Post: Impeachment live updates: McConnell chides Pelosi for ‘absurd position’ on sending articles of impeachment to Senate By John Wagner
Democrats, meanwhile, are seeking to use newly released emails showing that the White House put a hold on military aid to Ukraine less than two hours after Trump’s July call with the country’s leader to bolster their case that a Senate trial should include witnesses.
The Market On Monday
Good morning. At 8:45 a.m. ET DOW futures are +59 and the price of oil per barrel is down. The market is poised to open moderately higher.
CNN: Investors can bank on a year-end gift after a stellar 2019 By Julia Horowitz
CNN: Investors can bank on a year-end gift after a stellar 2019 By Julia Horowitz
Friday, December 20, 2019
Who
Long story short, it's Biden, Sanders, Warren, Buttigieg, and Klobuchar. Right now I'm most interested in Amy.
Axios: Who has qualified for the January Democratic debate
Axios: Who has qualified for the January Democratic debate
Matt Shea Terrorist
Guardian UK: Republican Matt Shea 'participated in act of domestic terrorism', says report - Report produced for Washingotn state legislature following reporting from the Guardian and other outlets on Shea’s activities by Jason Wilson
...Shea “advocated the replacement of US democracy with a theocracy and the killing of all males who do not agree”
Morally Lost And Confused
Washington Post: Christianity Today, an influential evangelical magazine, says Trump ‘should be removed from office’ By Sarah Pulliam Bailey and Kayla Epstein
...editor in chief Mark Galli, who called Trump “a near perfect example of a human being who is morally lost and confused.”
Delay
Washington Post: Pelosi’s delay sparks standoff with Senate GOP over Trump impeachment trial By Robert Costa, Philip Rucker and Rachael Bade
...Speaker Nancy Pelosi delayed acting to initiate the Senate trial that will determine whether Trump remains in office...
Withhold
NY Times: Trump Impeachment Trial in Doubt as Democrats Weigh Withholding Articles - Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she would wait to see what the trial in the Senate would look like before sending the two charges there. By Sheryl Gay Stolberg and Nicholas Fandos
...Speaker Nancy Pelosi put an abrupt halt on the proceedings, holding back from sending the charges to the Republican-led Senate in a politically risky bid to exert influence over the contours of an election-year trial.
The Market On Friday
Good morning. At 8:40 a.m. ET DOW futures are +32 and the price of oil per barrel is down. The DOW is poised to open modestly higher.
CNN: 3M is a dog of the Dow -- and it may not get better in 2020 By Paul R. La Monica
CNN: 3M is a dog of the Dow -- and it may not get better in 2020 By Paul R. La Monica
Thursday, December 19, 2019
Lev And Igor
NY Times: How 2 Soviet Émigrés Fueled the Trump Impeachment Flames - “Lev and Igor” were obscure businessmen who became fixtures of the Republican donor set. Then they played an unlikely role in the proceedings gripping the nation. By Michael Rothfeld, Ben Protess, William K. Rashbaum, Kenneth P. Vogel and Andrew E. Kramer
Mr. Parnas, now 47...tooled around in a Ferrari and wooed new sources of capital with boasts of ties to important people.
Mr. Fruman...53...invested in a sprawl of businesses there that were once worth millions of dollars — nightspots, a beach club, a dealership selling Jaguars that was part-owned by a local politician — as well as a New York-based import-export company.
Takeaways
Washington Post: 4 takeaways from the impeachment of President Trump By Aaron Blake
2. The GOP’s devotion to Trump
Impeached
Washington Post: Trump is impeached by the House, creating an indelible mark on his presidency By Philip Rucker, Felicia Sonmez and Colby Itkowitz
...branding an indelible mark on the most turbulent presidency of modern times.
Down The Drain They Go
NY Times: Trump Has Been Impeached. Republicans Are Following Him Down. Ignoring facts and trashing the impeachment process is no way to protect democracy. By The Editorial Board
...Mr. Trump has had the opportunity to rebut the charges. By his account, he could have extinguished both articles of impeachment by allowing top administration officials to testify under oath. If he really did nothing wrong, the testimony of these officials would exonerate him of the charge of abusing his power, and simply their appearance under oath would dissolve the charge of obstructing Congress.
Impeached
NY Times: Trump Impeached for Abuse of Power and Obstruction of Congress - Voting nearly along party lines, the House approved two articles of impeachment against President Trump, making him the third president in history to face removal by the Senate. By Nicholas Fandos and Michael D. Shear
The timing was uncertain, after Ms. Pelosi suggested late Wednesday that she might wait to send the articles to the Senate, holding them out as leverage in a negotiation on the terms of a trial.
The Market On Thursday
Good morning. At 9:15 a.m. ET DOW futures are +5 and the price of oil per barrel is up. The market is poised to open flat.
CNN: 3M is a dog of the Dow -- and it may not get better in 2020 By Paul R. La Monica
CNN: 3M is a dog of the Dow -- and it may not get better in 2020 By Paul R. La Monica
Wednesday, December 18, 2019
Trump Impeached!
Trump, the most miserable, corrupt, vile, obnoxious, and toxic president ever, is now the third president to be impeached.
NY Times: Trump Impeached for Abuse of Power and Obstruction of Congress - Voting nearly along party lines, the House approved two articles of impeachment against President Trump, making him the third president in history to face removal by the Senate. By Nicholas Fandos and Michael D. Shear
NY Times: Trump Impeached for Abuse of Power and Obstruction of Congress - Voting nearly along party lines, the House approved two articles of impeachment against President Trump, making him the third president in history to face removal by the Senate. By Nicholas Fandos and Michael D. Shear
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