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Friday, February 28, 2020

Weekend!

  It's been a hard week, all the more reason to have an excellent rejuvenating weekend. See you bright and early Monday morning.

work by 'Golden Age' illustrator Kay Nielson 1886 -1957




Amazon

Wired: Amazon Pulled Over 1 Million Items Capitalizing on Coronavirus - The retail giant says it penalizes sellers who violate its policies, but some merchants say enforcement seems haphazard.

The GOP Salve For Everything

  This is absurd.

CNBC: White House considers tax cuts, extra Fed pressure in coronavirus response, report says

'Alligator Waltz'

Stocks

NY Times: Stocks Suffer Worst Week Since Financial Crisis Amid Coronavirus Fears - The S&P 500 tumbled for a seventh day, and other economic indicators are flashing warning signs. By The New York Times

Risk

Axios: Federal Reserve: Coronavirus poses "evolving risk" to the economy by Courtenay Brown
"The fundamentals of the U.S. economy remain strong. However, the coronavirus poses evolving risks to economic activity. The Federal Reserve is closely monitoring developments and their implications for the economic outlook. We will use our tools and act as appropriate to support the economy."

Worst

Axios: Wall Street notches worst week for stocks since 2008 by Courtenay Brown

Polarized

Scientific American: Today's Biggest Threat: The Polarized Mind - To counter it, we call for a mobilization of mindfulness practices and dialogue groups on the scale of a public works program for human civility By Kirk J. Schneider, Sayyed Mohsen Fatemi
The polarized mind is the fixation on a single point of view to the utter exclusion of competing points of view, and it has caused more human torment and misery than virtually any other factor.

Corona Beer Vs Coronavirus

CNN: The spread of the coronavirus couldn't have come at a worse time for Corona beer By Jordan Valinsky
5W Public Relations said that 38% of Americans wouldn't buy Corona "under any circumstances" because of the outbreak (Coronavirus), and another 14% said they wouldn't order a Corona in public.

Pay The Price

Salon: Trump's assault on truth and science got us here — and things could get a lot worse - Trump's corruption of the federal government has created a hollowed-out state. We'll all pay for that now by Heather Digby Parton

The Onion - ‘Whatavirus?’ Says Half-Naked Mike Pence Brushing Crumbs Off Stomach While Taking First Call From Trump In 18 Months

The Onion: ‘Whatavirus?’ Says Half-Naked Mike Pence Brushing Crumbs Off Stomach While Taking First Call From Trump In 18 Months

In Italy

  If you can translate this from Italian to English do so.

milano.corriere.it: Coronavirus, l’ospedale di Cremona: «Abbiamo 18 malati gravi, mancano i posti in Rianimazione»

Prepare

Washington Post: How to prepare for coronavirus in the U.S. (Spoiler: Not sick? No need to wear a mask.)
The CDC recommends washing with soap and water for at least 20 seconds after using the bathroom, before eating and after blowing your nose or sneezing. It also advises not to touch your eyes, nose and mouth and to clean objects and surfaces you touch often.

Have An Excellent Friday

  Read it and weep.

Lawrence O'Donnell - Psychiatrist On Trump’s ‘Dangerous’ Response To Coronavirus Crisis

Watch this.

Lawrence O'Donnell - Troubling Reports About Trump Administration’s Coronavirus Outbreak Response

Stephen Colbert - Wall Street Panics After Trump Unveils Lackluster Coronavirus Response Plan

Not Good

The Palmer Report: This doesn’t look good for Donald Trump by Bill Palmer

Bill McKibben On Global Warming

The New York Review Of Books: A Very Hot Year by Bill McKibben
Exxon, for instance, got the problem right: one of the graphs their researchers produced predicted with uncanny accuracy what the temperature and carbon dioxide concentration would be in 2019.

Essentially, we need to electrify everything we do, and produce that electricity from the sun and wind, which are now the cheapest ways to produce power around the world.

Vulnerable

Guardian UK: Low-income Americans most at risk of coronavirus, experts say - Without guaranteed paid sick leave, or the option to work from home, many recommended precautions do not apply

Updates

Guardian UK: Coronavirus: man from Diamond Princess cruise becomes first Briton to die from illness – latest updates - Man quarantined on cruise ship in Japan becomes first Briton to die from coronavirus as WHO says epidemic could get ‘out of control’. Follow live news

Another Trump Lie

Washington Post: Trump says he can bring in coronavirus experts quickly. The experts say it is not that simple.

Emergency

Washington Post: Live updates: Coronavirus pummels financial markets; Japanese island declares state of emergency

Bernie

NY Times: Bernie Sanders Can Beat Trump. Here’s the Math. Most available evidence points in the direction of a popular vote and Electoral College victory. By Steve Phillips

Perfect


Panic

NY Times: Global Stock Sell-Off Intensifies Over Coronavirus Crisis - European and Asian indexes plunged on Friday. Wall Street was poised for another downbeat open. By Amie Tsang
Panic in the stock market over the spreading coronavirus continued into a seventh day, with shares in Asia and Europe tumbling and the United States set for another steep decline.

The Market On Friday

  Good morning. At 9:00 a.m. ET DOW futures are -232 and the price of oil per barrel is down. The market is poised to open significantly lower. Hold onto your hats.

CNN: $3.4 trillion has been wiped out of the stock market in a week Analysis by Matt Egan

Thursday, February 27, 2020

Untruths

Mediaite: Maggie Haberman Hits Trump on Coronavirus: ‘Sheer Volume’ of Untruths Said By POTUS ‘Does Not Inspire Credibility’ By Colby Hall

Absurd

Sometimes a simple a and b comparison is extremely telling.



Inevitable


Narcissists

Get Pocket: If Humble People Make the Best Leaders, Why Do We Fall for Charismatic Narcissists? People are drawn to those who look and act the romanticized role of the leader. But charismatic leadership can have a dark side.

Another Day Of Huge Losses

CNBC: Stock market live updates: Dow down 1,000, rebound attempt fails, will Fed act?

I Wonder Why

Axios: Faith in government plummets around the world

Incompetent

Salon: Conspiracy theories to colonialism: GOP covers up Trump's incompetent coronavirus response - Republican response to potential pandemic aims at protecting Trump with cowardice, hypocrisy and outright lies by Sophia Tesfaye

The Onion - ‘No Way To Prevent This,’ Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens

The Onion: ‘No Way To Prevent This,’ Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens

Mood

Get Pocket: How Bacteria Are Changing Your Mood - With a growing body of research, microbial medicine is entering the mental health conversation. BBC News by James Gallagher

Stephen Colbert - Hometown Hospitality With Senator Elizabeth Warren

What If

538: What The Race Looks Like If Biden Wins — Or Wins Big, Or Loses — In South Carolina By Nate Silver

Have An Excellent Thursday


Rachel Maddow - Trump Gives 'Incoherent' Briefing On Coronavirus, Contradicts CDC

Morning Joe - Senator Skeptical Of President Donald Trump Response To Coronavirus

Stephen Colbert - Trump Fears The Coronavirus Crisis Will Spoil His Reelection Campaign

'I Can't Make You Love Me'

Kenton Chen and Stories cover one of Bonnie's greatest songs.

Weight Loss - Exercise

Get Pocket: Why You Shouldn’t Exercise to Lose Weight, Explained With 60+ Studies - We’ve been taught for years that as long as you hit the gym you can hit the buffet line and still lose weight. But there’s plenty of science out there to prove this statement false. by Julia Belluz and Javier Zarracina

Swing Away

The Palmer Report: Nancy Pelosi signals she’s gearing up for a big swing at Donald Trump by Bill Palmer

Obama

Guardian UK: Obama takes legal action over 'misleading' Republican attack ad on Joe Biden - live updates

Another Take

Guardian UK: Coronavirus 'could cause 2008-level economic damage' - live updates - Follow latest updates as outbreak spreads and losses on stock market mount - Coronavirus ‘could trigger economic damage on scale of 2008 crisis’ - Priests told to take steps to stop spread at mass - Coronavirus map: how Covid-19 is spreading across the world

Himself - Of Course

Washington Post: Trump keeps his coronavirus news conference focused on one high-risk patient: Himself By Aaron Blake
“We really think we’ve done a great job in keeping it down to a minimum...And again, we’ve had tremendous success — tremendous success, beyond what people would have thought...We’re doing great. Other countries have not been doing great...So far, we’ve done a great job.”

Virus

Washington Post: Live updates: Fears grow of a coronavirus pandemic as markets stumble again; Japan shuts schools By Adam Taylor and Rick Noack
...despite signs that the outbreak may be easing in China.

Virus Update

NY Times: Coronavirus Live Updates: New Cases Light Up the Map as Nations Brace for Outbreaks - The pathogen has now invaded 47 countries, with California and Germany recording the first cases with no obvious source of transmission. U.S. stocks had a depressed opening, losing about 2 percent, in an echo of general losses in European and Asian markets.
The fight to contain the coronavirus entered a new and potentially alarming phase on Thursday as public health officials in the United States and Germany grappled with patients who exhibited no known connection to others with the illness.

Trumpvirus

NY Times: Let’s Call It Trumpvirus - If you’re feeling awful, you know who to blame. By Gail Collins
Our president had to be going crazy over a problem that involves both declining stock prices and germs. This is the guy, after all, who thinks shaking hands is “barbaric,” who is followed around by aides bearing sanitizer.

The Market On Thursday

  Good morning. At 9:35 a.m. the DOW is down -446 and the price of oil per barrel is down. Is there really any need to spell this mess out. The Coronavirus is spooking markets but good.

CNN: Now's the right time for investors to buy Chinese stocks By Paul R. La Monica

Wednesday, February 26, 2020

Hopeful

NY Times: Cheer Up, Democrats - In the midst of Tuesday’s brawl of a debate, there were illuminating, even hopeful, moments. By Michelle Cottle

Updates

  As of today there are 57 cases of people who have the virus in the US.

Axios: Live updates: Coronavirus spreads to Latin America

'Two Or Three Things I Know About Edward Hopper'

trailer - new film by director Wim Wenders on Edward Hopper.

Bamboozle

Salon: Trump in India: Anti-Muslim prime minister puts on a big show, bamboozles our president -Trump had a great time being hosted by Hindu nationalist Narendra Modi: Just another strongman yanking his chain by Heather Digby Parton

The Onion - Moderators Kick Off Debate By Asking Whether Bloomberg Ready To Get Shit Rocked Again

The Onion: Moderators Kick Off Debate By Asking Whether Bloomberg Ready To Get Shit Rocked Again

How

NY Times: How Does a Buddhist Monk Face Death? If we learn to celebrate life for its ephemeral beauty, its coming and going, we can make peace with its end. By George Yancy - Mr. Yancy is a professor of philosophy and an author.

No Thanks

Get Pocket: The Surgeon Who Wants to Connect You to the Internet with a Brain Implant - Eric Leuthardt believes that in the near future we will allow doctors to insert electrodes into our brains so we can communicate directly with computers and each other. MIT Technology Review

Have An Excellent Wednesday

work by Pierre Bonnard 1867 - 1947





Rachel Maddow - Trump Dismantling Of Obama Era Disease Response Leaves US Exposed

Stephen Colbert - Trump Unconcerned As Stock Market Plummets On Coronavirus Fears

Jimmy Kimmel - Representative Adam Schiff On Ending Our National Nightmare

Another Report

The Palmer Report: Joe Biden’s comeback just began by Bill Palmer

Maybe

  Another opinion.

Guardian UK: Moderates just blew their best shot to stop Bernie Sanders by Richard Wolffe

Coronavirus Updates

Guardian UK: Donald Trump praises US coronavirus response while playing down impact - President to receive briefing from CDC experts on Wednesday - San Francisco declares precautionary local emergency
The head of immunization at the CDC, Nancy Messonnier, said in the absence of vaccines or medicines, officials would need to consider possible school closures and telecommuting as part of efforts to contain the spread of the disease.

Washington Post Winners And Loser

  It's interesting to contrast the NY Times and Washington Post 'winners and losers' of the South Carolina Democratic debate held last night. They are both very different. I watched it and I thought it was a very good debate, there was a lot of energy and people were passionate for the most part. I think Steyer is toast and I also think mayor's Pete's time has come to exit the stage. Unfortunately, because I like her very much, it may be Amy's time to exit as well.

Washington Post: Winners and losers from the South Carolina Democratic debate By Aaron Blake
Winner is Warren, Biden, Bloomberg

Bernie

Washington Post: Democrats gang up on Sen. Bernie Sanders in South Carolina presidential debate By Matt Viser, Annie Linskey, Sean Sullivan and Cleve R. Wootson Jr.

Winners And Losers

NY Times: Winners and Losers of the Democratic Debate By The New York Times Opinion
Bernie on top, Steyer on the bottom

Coronavirus Updates

NY Times: Coronavirus Live Updates: Europe Prepares for Pandemic as Illness Spreads From Italy - Six other European countries have reported cases, and an American soldier in South Korea became the first member of the U.S. armed forces to be infected. The number of new coronavirus infections outside China tops those inside the country for the first time.

The Market On Wednesday

  Good morning. At 9:10 a.m. ET DOW futures are +85 and the price of oil per barrel is down. The market is poised to open moderately higher.

CNN: Global markets are slumping for a fifth straight day on coronavirus fears By Laura He and Hanna Ziady

Tuesday, February 25, 2020

Here We Go Again

CNN: Coronavirus fears are weighing on Asian markets again Anchor Muted Background By Laura He

Most Dangerous

The Atlantic: Trump’s Most Dangerous Destruction Yet - What the president is doing to America’s intelligence community could have enormous repercussions for the 2020 election and the country’s preparedness for threats from around the world.

Unfolding Crisis

  Never ever ever believe one word out of Trump's mouth. He is always lying, always.

  On Monday the DOW plunged over 1,000 points and this is what Trump said -

 “The Coronavirus is very much under control in the USA,” he wrote on Twitter. “We are in contact with everyone and all relevant countries. CDC & World Health have been working hard and very smart. Stock Market starting to look very good to me!”

  Today, on Tuesday the DOW plunged 900 points and we have this.

From the Washington Post - "The Dow Jones dived 900 points Tuesday afternoon after the CDC warned of coronavirus inevitability in the United States. “Ultimately, we expect we will see community spread in the United States,” Nancy Messonnier, a top official at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told reporters. “It’s not a question of if this will happen but when this will happen and how many people in this country will have severe illnesses.”

It's Here

Washington Post: Live updates: Spread of coronavirus in U.S. appears inevitable, health officials warn; U.S. financial markets drop sharply
The Dow Jones dived 900 points Tuesday afternoon after the CDC warned of coronavirus inevitability in the United States. “Ultimately, we expect we will see community spread in the United States,” Nancy Messonnier, a top official at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told reporters. “It’s not a question of if this will happen but when this will happen and how many people in this country will have severe illnesses.”

Updates

Axios: Coronavirus spreads to new countries, while U.S. confirms 57 cases
U.S. cases: There are now 57 confirmed cases in the U.S., a CDC spokesperson told Axios Tuesday afternoon. 40 are from the Diamond Princess, 3 evacuated from Wuhan, 12 travel-related, and 2 are person-to-person infections.

A Trump Whopper Of A Lie

NY Times: Trump Accuses Schiff of Leaking Intelligence on Russia’s 2020 Interference - Without evidence, President Trump accused the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee of leaking intelligence. By Eileen Sullivan

Yes He Can

Salon: Can Bernie win? Absolutely — and I don't even support him - Cable news has gone full Debbie Downer on Bernie's prospects in November. That's utter nonsense, and here's why by Bob Cesca

The Onion - Nation’s Men Stunned To Realize Sexual Harassment Problem May Go As Far Back As 1990

The Onion: Nation’s Men Stunned To Realize Sexual Harassment Problem May Go As Far Back As 1990

Survive

Get Pocket: How to Survive 75 Hours Alone in the Ocean - A case study digs into the medical records of a lost diver’s incredible survival story.

Have An Excellent Tuesday






Chris Hayes - Panic Over Sanders Unsupported By Data

Rachel Maddow - Trump, Barr Imposition Sets D.C. Federal Prosecutors On Edge

Stephen Colbert - Trump In India - Cricket, Vegetarian Food, Fun With Pronunciation

'Don't Let Me Down'

Joey Dosik with stories

Worried

The Palmer Report: Donald Trump tips off how worried he is about what’s coming next by Bill Palmer

Duh

Guardian UK: Oil and gas industry rewards US lawmakers who oppose environmental protections – study - Companies spent $84m on congressional campaigns in 2018, analysis of votes and political contributions shows

Torture

Guardian UK: Trump's separation of families constitutes torture, doctors find - Evaluations of 26 people by Physicians for Human Rights provides first in-depth look at policy’s psychological impact

'Ordinary World'

Duran Duran - this song has one of the most catchy hooks of all pop tunes. The verse section unfortunately is mediocre, in my opinion.

'Never Do Planks Like This'

My Hero

Washington Post: Meet the 62-year-old Marine veteran who planked for over 8 hours to break a Guinness world record By Teo Armus

The Crazed World Of The American Conservative

Washington Post: Rush Limbaugh on coronavirus: ‘The common cold’ that’s being ‘weaponized’ against Trump By Allyson Chiu

Waking Up

NY Times: Wall Street Is (Finally) Waking Up to the Damage Coronavirus Could Do - The financial world is realizing how different this is from a trade war or other recent economic hiccups. By Neil Irwin
There remains huge uncertainty about how widely the virus will spread and how much damage it will do. But the financial world is realizing just how much is at stake — and how different this is from other recent hiccups in the global economy, notably last year’s trade war between the United States and China.

Virus Updates

NY Times: Coronavirus Live Updates: Iran’s Deputy Health Minister Tests Positive - An Italian doctor staying at a resort in the Canary Islands was also feared to have the virus. New outbreaks in Europe, Asia and the Middle East are renewing fears of a coming global pandemic.
A large hotel in Tenerife, Spain, is on lockdown.

Trump says coronavirus situation “will start working out.”

The Market On Tuesday

  Good morning. At 9:20 a.m. ET DOW futures are +116 and the price of oil per barrel is down. The market is poised to open significantly higher.

CNN: Gold at a seven-year high and bond yields flirt with record lows as fear grips Wall Street By Paul R. La Monica

Monday, February 24, 2020

40% To 70%

Yahoo News: Harvard scientist predicts coronavirus will infect up to 70 percent of humanity by Tim O'Donnell
Many of those people, Lipsitch clarifies, won't have severe illnesses or even show symptoms at all, which is already the case for many people who have tested positive for the virus.

Katherine Johnson Dies

Washington Post: Katherine Johnson, ‘hidden figure’ at NASA during 1960s space race, dies at 101

WHO

Axios: WHO won't call coronavirus a pandemic as cases spread
Total cases - 79,441

Deaths - 2,620

He's Getting Wordse

Political Flare: Trump Sparks New Health Concerns After He’s Seen Struggling to Speak Clearly at Vegas Rally By Andrea Jefferson

Andy

Spectator: Donald Trump Politics US Politics Andy Khawaja: ‘The whistleblower’ - Andy Khawaja is charged with campaign finance violations. He says there’s a bigger story by Paul Wood
Khawaja claims the Saudis and the Emiratis illegally paid tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars to the Trump campaign in 2016. He says that to keep it secret, they disguised the money as small donations from Americans, using stolen identities and ‘virtual credit cards’ or gift cards — donations of less than $200 do not have to be reported to the Federal Election Commission and made public.

Cheat And Lie

Salon: By any means necessary: Trump's prepared to cheat again in 2020 — and lie about it shamelessly - Democrats are right to be nervous about this election: Trump's slavish followers are eager to help him cheat by Heather Digby Parton

The Onion - Trump Administration Rolls Back Hunting Regulations Forbidding Use Of Chokeholds, Eye Gouging On Birds

The Onion: Trump Administration Rolls Back Hunting Regulations Forbidding Use Of Chokeholds, Eye Gouging On Birds

Guilty

NY Times: Live Updates: Harvey Weinstein Is Found Guilty of Rape - A jury convicted Mr. Weinstein of felony sex crime and rape, but acquitted him of the most serious charges against him, predatory sexual assault. Harvey Weinstein is being sent immediately to jail to await his sentencing.

Errors

Get Pocket: 5 Common Mental Errors That Sway You From Making Good Decisions - Sometimes we make logical decisions. But there are many times when we make emotional, irrational, and confusing choices. by James Clear

Have An Excellent Monday

photography by Tom Sandberg 1953 - 2014





Morning Joe - Markets Sink As Coronavirus Spreads Globally

John Oliver - Modi

Trouble

The Palmer Report: We’re in trouble by Bill Palmer

Dear India - Please Keep Him

Washington Post: Violence erupts in New Delhi ahead of Trump’s arrival in the capital

Plummet

Washington Post: Live updates: Dow poised to plummet amid coronavirus concerns; White House prepares to ask Congress for around $1 billion for health response By Adam Taylor and Rick Noack

Coronavirus

Guardian UK: Coronavirus: sixth person dies in Italy amid confusion over death toll in Iran – live updates - Latest Italian victim was a cancer patient; Iranian health minister says 12 people have died and 66 been infected after report of 50 deaths

'Black In Space - Breaking the Color Barrier'

Guardian UK: Breaking the color barrier: behind the long fight to diversify space by Adrian Horton

Bernie Rolls

NY Times: Sanders Looks to Knock Out Biden as Pressure Builds on Democrats - The primary race is entering a critical nine-day stretch that could effectively determine the nomination as candidates face a debate, the South Carolina primary and Super Tuesday contests. By Sydney Ember and Jonathan Martin

Coronavirus

NY Times: Global Stocks Plummet Over Coronavirus Concerns - U.S. markets were expected to start the week sharply lower, following a sell-off of shares in Europe after more infections were confirmed outside China. By Keith Bradsher
Spreading coronavirus outbreaks in Italy and in South Korea over the weekend incited broad slides in global stock markets on Monday, as investors feared that the economic disruption already seen in China might affect other economies as well.

The Market On Monday

  Good morning. At 9:05 a.m. ET DOW futures are -830 and the price of oil per barrel is down. The market will tank like I have never seen at the opening bell. This is easily the largest opening drop that I've ever seen and that includes the major recession of 2007 to 2008. Hold onto your hats.

CNN: Dow futures drop more than 700 points as coronavirus spreads to Italy By Julia Horowitz

Friday, February 21, 2020

Weekend!

  Have an excellent weekend and see you bright and early Monday morning.

work by Romare Howard Bearden 1911-1988

Angry

Cosmopolitan: I *WANT* an Angry Woman as My President, Actually - Demolish em’, Lizzie. By Liz Plank

HDA

Axios: Bloomberg offers to release women from 3 nondisclosure agreements by Fadel Allassan

Unfair


Troll

Salon: Trump names right-wing troll Richard Grenell to run national intelligence: What could go wrong? Angered by more Russia revelations, Trump appoints unqualified hack to lead purge of intelligence agencies by Heather Digby Parton

The Onion - GM Ups Ante In SUV Race With New 14-Seat, 11-Door, 7-Wheel, 4-Trunk Chevy Teton

The Onion: GM Ups Ante In SUV Race With New 14-Seat, 11-Door, 7-Wheel, 4-Trunk Chevy Teton

Bloomberg In Nevada

RollingStone: The Bloomberg Myth Explodes on Live TV - The Nevada debate offered voters vital information — including the exposure of Michael Bloomberg’s reputation for “electability” By Matt Taibb
Bloomberg stood in mute fury as his $400 million campaign investment went up in smoke.

When

Super Tuesday will be March 3, 2020.

Lessons

Guardian UK: Lessons from the ancient philosophers to help improve our lives today by Marie Robert

Secret


Schiff On Protecting Democracy

LA Times: Op-Ed: How to protect democracy from lawless presidents like Trump By Adam Schiff

Have An Excellent Friday

work by Marcel Brunery 1893 - 1982




Lawrence O'Donnell - Warren On Reports That Russia Is Interfering To Help Trump In 2020 Race

Morning Joe - President Donald Trump Blasts 'Parasite,' Brad Pitt At Thursday Rally

Morning Joe - America Crosses Rubicon This Week

'How Drawing Helps You Think'

Impeachment 24/7

The Palmer Report: Nancy, you may have to impeach him again by Bill Palmer

Rohrabacher Fesses Up About Assange Pardon

  Isn't this grounds for another impeachment?

Guardian UK: Former congressman confirms he told Assange that Trump would pardon him – live - Dana Rohrabacher offered pardon on Trump’s behalf, lawyers say
Former congressman Dana Rohrabacher has confirmed that he told Julian Assange that Donald Trump would give him a pardon if he gave him information proving that Russians had not been the source of the leaked Democratic emails that are thought to have been part of Moscow’s campaign to swing the 2016 for Trump.

Mechanized Bots Amplify Denialist Messages

Guardian UK: Revealed: quarter of all tweets about climate crisis produced by bots - Draft of Brown study says findings suggest ‘substantial impact of mechanized bots in amplifying denialist messages’

Nuttery

Washington Post: Trump bemoans South Korean film’s historic Oscars win: ‘Can we get Gone With the Wind back?’ By Allyson Chiu
The Democratic National Committee had a similar response, tweeting, “Parasite is a foreign movie about how oblivious the ultrarich are about the struggles of the working class, and it requires two hours of reading subtitles. Of course Trump hates it.”

Russia

Washington Post: Senior intelligence official told lawmakers that Russia wants to see Trump reelected By Ellen Nakashima, Shane Harris, Josh Dawsey and Anne Gearan
...Trump grew angry at his acting director of national intelligence, Joseph Maguire, in the Oval Office, seeing Maguire and his staff as disloyal for speaking to Congress about Russia’s perceived preference.

Stone

  I believe Stone will not serve a single day in prison.

NY Times: Has History Finally Caught Up With Roger Stone? It May Be Up to Trump - He embraced the “dark arts” of political sabotage and trickery for decades. Now he will serve more than three years in prison, unless his friend the president bails him out. By Michael D. Shear

Read This

  I am re-posting this article again on Friday. It is very important.

NY Times: Lawmakers Are Warned That Russia Is Meddling to Re-elect Trump - A classified briefing to House members is said to have angered the president, who complained that Democrats would “weaponize” the disclosure. By Adam Goldman, Julian E. Barnes, Maggie Haberman and Nicholas Fandos
Mr. Trump has fixated on Mr. Schiff since the impeachment saga began, pummeling him publicly with insults and unfounded accusations of corruption. In October, Mr. Trump refused to invite lawmakers from the congressional intelligence committees to a White House briefing on Syria because he did not want Mr. Schiff there, according to three people briefed on the matter.

The Market On Friday

  Good morning. At 8:50 a.m. ET DOW futures are -107 and the price of oil per barrel is down. The market is poised to open significantly lower.

CNN: The American farmer is on the mend By Paul R. La Monica

Thursday, February 20, 2020

Racism

CNN: What's spreading faster than coronavirus in the US? Racist assaults and ignorant attacks against Asians By Holly Yan, Natasha Chen and Dushyant Naresh

Miami

Get Pocket: Miami Will Be Underwater Soon. Its Drinking Water Could Go First - The city has another serious water problem.

Bloomberg

Washington Post: Bloomberg isn’t the one Democrats should be going after By Eugene Robinson

Russia Backs Trump In 2020

NY Times: Russia Backs Trump’s Re-election, and He Fears Democrats Will Exploit Its Support - A classified briefing to lawmakers angered the president, who complained that Democrats would “weaponize” the disclosure. By Adam Goldman, Julian E. Barnes, Maggie Haberman and Nicholas Fandos

Tiny

Futurism.com: Scientists Scanned Brains of Bullies and Found Something Grim - Bullies' brains are different — in one key way. by Jon Christian

Still Wrong

NY Times: The Stone Sentence Was Fair. What Barr Did Was Still Wrong. Has the Trump Department of Justice ever asked for a lower sentence for someone who wasn’t a presidential ally? By Noah Bookbinder - Mr. Bookbinder is the executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.
But an examination of federal sentencing processes and principles makes clear that Mr. Barr’s intervention in the Stone case is actually considerably worse than it initially appeared.

How Much

Pro Publica: How Much Has the Government Spent at Trump’s Properties? It Won’t Say. “He’s paying our money to himself,” the Washington Post’s David Fahrenthold told “Trump, Inc.” “There must be so much more we haven’t seen.” by Ilya Marritz

Not Normal

Axios: The new not-normal: The Trump state by Jim VandeHei, Mike Allen

Stone

  I bet he gets pardoned before he serves a single day in prison.

NY Times: Roger Stone Is Sentenced to Over 3 Years in Prison - The sentencing played out amid extraordinary upheaval at the Justice Department and a virtual standoff between the president and the attorney general. By Sharon LaFraniere

Bribe

Salon: Did Trump try to bribe Julian Assange with a pardon? Well, he won't be impeached over it - Lawyers for WikiLeaks founder say Trump offered a pardon for his silence, using Dana Rohrabacher as go-between by Bob Cesca

The Onion - ‘I’ll Rule You Peasants With An Iron Fist,’ Says Bloomberg To Standing Ovation During DNC Debate

The Onion: ‘I’ll Rule You Peasants With An Iron Fist,’ Says Bloomberg To Standing Ovation During DNC Debate

Correction

CNN: Goldman Sachs warns of stock market correction By Julia Horowitz

Have An Excellent Thursday

work by Rafal Olbinski - born 1943


Morning Joe - Unprepared, Unequipped Mike Bloomberg Makes First Debate Appearance

MSNBC - Democrats Trade Jabs At Nevada Debate

Now What

The Palmer Report: So now what? by Bill Palmer

Bolton - Shameless

Guardian UK: John Bolton rebuked for withholding Trump testimony in new public event - Ex-national security adviser criticized by Obama official - ‘I would feel like I was shamefully violating the oath I took’

My Prediction - Trump Pardons Stone

Guardian UK: Trump hints at pardon as Roger Stone sentencing looms

Winners Losers

Washington Post: Winners and losers from the Nevada Democratic debate by Aaron Blake
Winner - Bernie Sanders...Warren

Arrogant

Washington Post: At fiery Democratic debate, a sour welcome for Bloomberg and criticism for Sanders By Matt Viser, Annie Linskey, Chelsea Janes and Michael Scherer

Mike

NY Times: Despite His Billions, Bloomberg Busts - His rivals were ready. He was not. By Frank Bruni
But you can’t buy a debate performance, and that’s why Mike Bloomberg’s on Wednesday night mattered so much. This was the man talking, not the money.

The Debate

NY Times: Warren Leads an Onslaught of Attacks, Zeroing In on Bloomberg - The sharp exchanges in the Nevada debate reflected the urgency of the moment as Michael Bloomberg, in his first presidential debate, was repeatedly criticized in personal terms. By Alexander Burns and Jonathan Martin
Two candidates who have shied away from direct conflict in past debates, Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., mounted something of a tag-team onslaught against Mr. Bloomberg, several times leaving him visibly irked and straining to respond.

The Market On Thursday

  Good morning. At 9:05 a.m. ET DOW futures are -92 and the price of oil per barrel is up. The market is poised to open significantly lower.

CNN: Morgan Stanley is buying E-Trade for $13 billion By Paul R. La Monica

Wednesday, February 19, 2020

Quid Pro Quo

The Daily Beast: Trump Offered Assange Pardon if He Covered Up Russian Hack, WikiLeaks Founder’s Lawyer Claims - Lawyers acting for the WikiLeaks founder said Dana Rohrabacher, a former Republican congressman, had brought the message to London from Trump.

Bloomberg

Politico: Bloomberg in 2016: ‘Yes, Donald, I do love you’ - The former New York mayor is haunted by his past chumminess with the man he wants to boot from office.

Embattled

Salon: Trump and the Christians: Evangelical historian John Fea on decoding the great paradox - Historian and author of "Believe Me" on his struggle to reach the embattled evangelicals who oppose Trump by Chauncey DeVega

The Onion - Rod Blagojevich Somehow Already Governor Of Illinois Again Minutes After Prison Release

The Onion: Rod Blagojevich Somehow Already Governor Of Illinois Again Minutes After Prison Release

Scammer

Get Pocket: How to Become a Great Impostor - Why do people believe a scammer? Consider the story of Ferdinand Waldo Demara.

Have An Excellent Wednesday

work by Marianne von Werefkin 1860 - 1938




Rachel Maddow - Expected Case Against Deutsche Bank Disappeared In Trump Transition

Morning Joe - President Donald Trump Trails Dem Candidates In Hypothetical Matchups

'Alternative Math'

short film - watch this.

Pretend

The Palmer Report: The real reason Bill Barr is suddenly pretending he’s going to resign by Bill Palmer

Calling BS On Barr

Guardian UK: Barr reportedly considers quitting as attorney general over Trump tweets - Revelation comes days after Barr took swipe at president over apparent intervention in Roger Stone case

Tonight

Guardian UK: 'Gloves will be off': Nevada debate could be pivotal for Democrats - Centrists likely to attack frontrunner Bernie Sanders as Mike Bloomberg makes debate-stage debut

Bernie Takes The Lead

Washington Post: Sanders surges into national lead in new Post-ABC poll By Dan Balz and Scott Clement

King Shitler

Washington Post: Post-impeachment, Trump declares himself the ‘chief law enforcement officer’ of America By Toluse Olorunnipa and Beth Reinhard
“I’m actually, I guess, the chief law enforcement officer of the country..."

Irritation

NY Times: As Trump Claims to Be Law of the Land, Barr’s Irritation Builds - The president broadly asserted his authority of the criminal justice system, attacking law enforcement officials and issuing pardons. By Peter Baker, Katie Benner and Sharon LaFraniere
Mr. Trump insisted he had not directly interfered in the prosecution of advisers like Mr. Stone and Mr. Flynn, but declared again that he had the power to if he wanted and at the very least, he planned to speak out for them.

Hate

NY Times: The Audacity of Hate - Trump has a knack for turning anger and fear into political power. And for turning the volume up to 11. By Thomas B. Edsall - Mr. Edsall contributes a weekly column from Washington, D.C. on politics, demographics and inequality
More than anything, Trump intuitively understood how polarization, and with it, the intense hatred among legions of Republican voters of liberal elites and of the so-called meritocracy could be a powerful tool to win elections.

The Market On Wednesday

Good morning. At 9:00 a.m. ET DOW futures are +94 and the price of oil per barrel is up. the market is poised to open significantly higher.

CNN: Blue Apron may be up for sale as losses mount By Paul R. La Monica
The announcement came on the same day that the struggling meal-delivery service company reported its latest quarterly results. Blue Apron posted a loss of $1.66 a share -- a bigger deficit than expected...

Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Take


The Onion - Rod Blagojevich Trying To Sell Presidential Commutation To Cellmate For $2.8 Million

The Onion: Rod Blagojevich Trying To Sell Presidential Commutation To Cellmate For $2.8 Million

Exclusive


Real

NY Daily News: Rembrandt painting declared fake 50 years ago turns out to be real thing By Lauren Theisen

Pardon

Wall Street Journal: Trump Commutes Sentence of Rod Blagojevich - Former Illinois governor was serving 14 years for corruption By Jess Bravin

Insurrection

Salon: Bill Barr, finally under fire: Will Trump's henchman survive a DOJ insurrection? Donald Trump's anointed fixer is finally facing serious pushback from within Justice. Will he be forced out? by Heather Digby Parton

The Onion - Pope Francis Attempts To Compromise On Rule-Change Proposals By Allowing Priests To Marry Him

The Onion: Pope Francis Attempts To Compromise On Rule-Change Proposals By Allowing Priests To Marry Him

Super

Guardian UK: Fail productively… how to turn yourself into a super-learner - Whether you’re taking up the oboe or finessing your Finnish, scientific research offers tips to aid learning

Have An Excellent Tuesday

Titian 1488(90) - 1576





Lawrence O'Donnell - Trump's 247 Days Of Golf Costs Millions In Taxpayer Dollars

Morning Joe - Former Deputy AG Under Bush Calls For Barr To Resign

'Travis Picking'

'Bad Romance'

Stories featuring Maiya Sykes

Exposed

The Palmer Report: Mike Bloomberg shouldn’t be the nominee – but he’s exposed the roadmap for taking Donald Trump down by Bill Palmer

Robert Reich's Latest

Guardian UK: In his assault on justice, Trump has out-Nixoned Nixon by Robert Reich - After Watergate, we worked for impartiality. Trump, Roger Stone and William Barr have dragged us back to the swamp

Special

Guardian UK: Trump seems to call for new Roger Stone trial – live updates

Still

Washington Post: They were one of the first families separated at the border. Two and a half years later, they’re still apart. By Kevin Sieff

Coronavirus

Washington Post: Live updates: Director of Wuhan hospital dies of coronavirus as infections mount in China By Anna Fifield and Rick Noack

Why Indeed

NY Times: Why Do My Fellow Republicans Make Excuses for Trump’s Deficits? He is driving the country to financial ruin. And his own party is letting it happen. By Mark Sanford - Mr. Sanford is a former candidate for the 2020 Republican presidential nomination.
First, despite the president’s words, financially we have never been as vulnerable as a country since the Great Depression and World War II. We have never run deficits this big in peacetime. What happens to them when the economy cools?

Here Comes Mike

NY Times: Michael Bloomberg Surges in Poll and Qualifies for Democratic Debate in Las Vegas - After garnering 19 percent support in a national poll, the billionaire will be on the debate stage, where he is certain to be a target of onstage criticism. By Reid J. Epstein

The Market On Tuesday

  Good morning. At 9:00 a.m. ET DOW futures are -140 and the price of oil per barrel is down. The market is poised to open significantly lower.

CNN: Apple shares drop on coronavirus warning By Julia Horowitz