Have an excellent holiday weekend and see you bright and early Monday morning.
Friday, March 29, 2024
YOLO
Spending on international travel and live entertainment surged roughly 30 percent last year, five times the rate of overall spending growth. Meanwhile, the personal savings rate is at lows not seen since the Great Recession.
Grift
Gift article available to everyone.
Washington Post: Opinion - Trump’s Bible grift is going to backfire By Eugene Robinson
Baltimore
Washington Post: Baltimore begins massive and dangerous cleanup after bridge collapse By Justin Jouvenal, Jacob Bogage and Erin Cox
The U.S. Navy deployed several floating cranes, including one that could lift 1,000 tons, while the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said it would send more than 1,100 engineering specialists and other experts to begin removing the hulking debris that has crippled the Port of Baltimore.
School
Nationally, an estimated 26 percent of public school students were considered chronically absent last school year, up from 15 percent before the pandemic, according to the most recent data, from 40 states and Washington, D.C...
Thursday, March 28, 2024
Collapse
Gift article available to everyone.
Washington Post: Republicans put forth unfounded and sometimes racist theories on bridge collapse By Maegan Vazquez
Dream
Six of those men, migrants from Mexico and Central America, pierced our consciousness this week because they plunged to their deaths in the Patapsco River...
Anti
Gift article available to everyone
Washington Post: Opinion - Trump’s anti-Ukraine view dates to the 1930s. America rejected it then. Will we now? By Robert Kagan
Do
Washington Post: They were each other’s first crushes. 70 years later, they said ‘I do.’ By Maham Javaid
The wedding party, consisting of their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, laughed and cheered in delight watching the 88-year-old newlyweds cut up the dance floor at the Grand Haven Amenities in Palm Coast, Fla.
Baltimore
The focus is now on removing the warped and jagged ruins of the structure. Divers on Wednesday found a red pickup truck in the water with the bodies of two workers.
Weird
NY Times: There Are Some Pretty Weird Things Happening at the R.N.C. By Katherine Miller
...multiple people interviewing for a job at the R.N.C. were asked whether the 2020 election was stolen.
The Market On Thursday
Good morning. At 7:20 a.m. ET DOW futures are -11, S&P futures are -2.75, and NASDAQ futures are -11.75. The market is poised to open slightly lower.
Wednesday, March 27, 2024
Carville
NY Times: James Carville on the Reasons Hillary Clinton Lost By Maureen Dowd
“Certainly some of it was sexism,” he replied. “I’d never deny that. Some of it. They made the wrong calculation. Their calculation was there’s more of us than there are of them...
Idiots
Washington Post: Kari Lake and the Trump movement’s billion-dollar defamation problem Analysis By Aaron Blake
For the second time in eight months, a top Donald Trump ally has, extraordinarily, declined to try to prove they didn’t defame an election worker. Arizona Senate candidate Kari Lake (R) has joined former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani in that distinction.
Black Box
...President Biden called on the federal government to pay for the “entire cost” of the bridge’s reconstruction.
Reasons
The law offers lucrative tax credits for companies to capture and store carbon dioxide — subsidies that several oil giants are eager to exploit, even as they pump record amounts of crude oil and post near-record profits.
Baltimore
Washington Post: ‘Mayday’ call from ship stopped Baltimore bridge traffic, saved lives By Justin Jouvenal, Peter Hermann, Tim Craig, Ellen Francis, and Danny Nguyen
First responders sprang into action, shutting down most traffic on the four-lane Francis Scott Key Bridge just before the 95,000 gross-ton vessel plowed into a bridge piling at about 1:30 a.m...
Work
Getting the rich to pay their share is right up there with getting greedy companies to stop charging you junk fees and, he says, shrinking your Snickers bars.
Baltimore
The disaster severed Interstate 695 and upended operations at one of the nation’s busiest ports, causing a major disruption to shipping and global supply chains that is likely to ripple for weeks. The port is a vital link for the auto and coal industries.
The Market On Wednesday
Good morning. At 7:15 a.m. ET DOW futures are +167, S&P futures are +21.5, and NASDAQ futures are +83. The market is poised to open significantly higher.
Tuesday, March 26, 2024
MSNBC - Trump’s Nightmare - Criminal Trial Coming Before Election And DOJ Vet Says Prison On The Table
I'll believe it when I see it.
In Pictures
"Because Little Boy was an air burst 580 meters (1,900 ft) above the ground, there was no bomb crater and no local radioactive fallout. However, a burst of intense neutron and gamma radiation came directly from the fission of the uranium."
Gag
Washington Post: Trump placed under limited gag order ahead of N.Y. hush money trial By Shayna Jacobs
Trump...was barred from speaking about a New York judge’s court staff during a lawsuit trial last year. U.S. District Court Judge Tanya S. Chutkan, who is overseeing Trump’s criminal election interference case in Washington, has issued a gag order that protects witnesses and court staff.
Apparently
NY Times: No One Is Above the Law, Except, Apparently, Donald Trump By Jamelle Bouie
If there seems to be a different set of rules for Trump, under which there is always a reason to look the other way or give him a second chance, that’s because for all intents and purposes, there is.
Baltimore
Washington Post: Baltimore Key Bridge collapses; search continues for 6 unaccounted for
“And that was solid concrete,” Fischer said. He added that the main support beams of the bridge were protected by “dolphins” — truck-sized barriers that he thought would have withstood the impact from a cargo freighter. About a decade ago, Fischer said, several people on a recreational boat were killed after the boat collided with a dolphin.
Baltimore
An inspection of the Dali last year at a port in Chile reported that the vessel had a deficiency related to “propulsion and auxiliary machinery.” The inspection, conducted on June 27 at the port of San Antonio, specified that the deficiency concerned gauges and thermometers.
Comment
Very frustrated here folks, the justice system in America has decided that the best way to treat Trump is to baby him in any way it possibly can. He is definitely being treated like he is above the law. I won't bother to rehash all of Trump's miserableness, but the entire 'Trump actively worked to destroy democracy' one really sticks. January 6th was the most disturbing thing any American politician has done in my lifetime and it is unforgivable. This man decided to place his narcissist needs above the entire history and entire population of the country. It's one person versus millions and millions and millions. In this type of scenario, it's not the millions who need to go away for good.
FNBC
Washington Post: Opinion - The RNC’s Ronna McDaniel is not ready for her NBC close-up By Eugene Robinson
They (Morning Joe) cited McDaniel’s role in pressuring election officials not to certify the result of the 2020 election and in abetting “Donald Trump’s fake elector scheme.”
Chaos
...in split seconds attacking one set of judges and praising another, ignoring reporters then suddenly pivoting to address them, brushing off heckles and welcoming cheers from onlookers along the streets.
Pill
The case means that abortion is once again before the court, less than two years after a conservative majority eliminated the constitutional right to abortion and said it would cede the question of access “to the people and their elected representatives.”
Baltimore
A major bridge in Baltimore collapsed after being struck by a cargo ship early Tuesday, sending vehicles plunging into the water and setting off an emergency response, the Coast Guard and the local authorities said.
The Market On Tuesday
Good morning. At 7:24 a.m. ET DOW futures are +100, S&P futures are +21.75, and NASDAQ futures are +101.75. The market is poised to open significantly higher.
Monday, March 25, 2024
Glenn Kirschner - A Tale Of 2 Cases - One NY Court Orders Trump To Trial On 4/15 - While Another Reduces His Appeal Bond
No way Trump goes to court on 4/15, I have no faith in any of this anymore.
Failure
Washington Post: The other failure of the Republican investigation into Biden Analysis By Philip Bump
The Biden probe demonstrated an active failure by House Republicans to uncover pay-for-play politics. Not paying any consideration to Trump’s actions and relationships was a passive failure — and a more egregious one.
B.S.
At this point I don't believe the trial will ever take place. April 15th is a pipe-dream. Trump is above the law, this is reality.
Off The Hook Again
With Donald J. Trump on the clock to secure a nearly half-billion-dollar bond in his civil fraud case, a New York appeals court appears to have handed the former president a lifeline on Monday, saying it would accept a far smaller bond of $175 million.
No One
Washington Post: Opinion - Other than Trump, virtually no one was doing better four years ago By Jennifer Rubin
By the time Trump left office in January 2021, KFF reported, “the number of deaths from covid-19 increased so rapidly that it has clearly become the number one cause of death in the U.S., with an average of more than 3,000 people per day dying of covid-19.”
Weak
Members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus have already admonished Johnson as a weak leader who they believe does not fight back in negotiations with Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.).
Delay
Donald J. Trump is expected to appear in a Manhattan courtroom on Monday to seek another delay of his criminal trial on charges that he covered up a sex scandal that could have derailed his stunning victory in the 2016 presidential election.
Global
...the Taliban have been fighting ISIS-K in Afghanistan. So far, the Taliban’s security services have prevented the group from seizing territory or recruiting large numbers of former Taliban fighters, according to U.S. counterterrorism officials.
The Market On Monday
Good morning. At 7:24 a.m. ET DOW futures are -60, S&P futures are -17, and NASDAQ futures are -102.5. The market is poised to open significantly lower.
Friday, March 22, 2024
More Than 60 Killed
NY Times: What we know about ISIS-K, the group that claimed responsibility for the Moscow attack.
ISIS-K was founded in 2015 by disaffected members of the Pakistani Taliban, who then embraced a more violent version of Islam.
Comment
I look forward to a time when the focus of the national news is not about the life and crimes of Donald Trump.
Moscow
Washington Post: Explosion and gunfire hit popular Moscow concert venue By Francesca Ebel and Mary Ilyushina
“People in camouflage, at least three, burst into the ground floor of the Crocus City Hall and opened fire from automatic weapons. There are definitely wounded..."
MAGA Brain Trust
“This is not a Republican bill; this is a Chuck Schumer, Democrat-controlled bill,” Ms. Greene said on the House floor on Friday morning.
Kids
Born in the late 1990s to fearful and overprotective parents, they were raised, unlike the baby boomers and Generation X, with almost constant adult supervision.
Bill
...Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia began the process of threatening a snap vote to oust Mr. Johnson, according to a person familiar with her plans who requested anonymity to describe her thinking.
Comment
It's like a terrible two's toddler went on a big nationally televised stage with a huge audience and started to scream about his bad parents making him go to bed early and while he stands there screaming, he poops into his diaper. And the weirdest part is, the audience can't get enough of it.
Four
Gift article available to everyone.
Washington Post: Stressed or sad? Four ways to cope with difficult emotions. Advice By Juli Fraga and Hilary Jacobs Hendel
Replace self-criticism with compassion
War
Mr. Yusov has been collecting bodies from the bloody fields and battered villages of eastern Ukraine for a decade. He is now the head of a group of civilian volunteers called Platsdarm, and has witnessed more death than he would care to remember.
Garland
In 2021 it was “simply inconceivable,” said one former Justice Department official, that Mr. Trump, rebuked by many in his own party and exiled at his Florida estate Mar-a-Lago, would regain the power to impose his timetable on the investigation.
The Market On Friday
Good morning. At 7:03 a.m. ET DOW futures are +56, S&P futures are +9, and NASDAQ futures are +28.25. The market is poised to open moderately higher.
Thursday, March 21, 2024
LOL
The Babylon Bee: Church Bassist Discovers His Amp Has Been Unplugged For Past 20 Years
Christroads Community Church bassist Jimmy Bernard suddenly realized Sunday that his bass amp has been unplugged for the past two decades, without anyone ever noticing, sources confirmed.
Village
Gift article available to everyone
Washington Post: Scientists found an amazingly well-preserved village from 3,000 years ago By Adela Suliman
SSI
Washington Post: Social Security program failed to properly notify people of huge fines, report finds By Lisa Rein
The two-year probe into a little-known anti-fraud program discovered particularly stark due process violations starting in 2018, with investigators finding no evidence that the government ever sent written notice to some of those hit with massive penalties, which at times reached more than $100,000.
Bills
At least seven states, all controlled by Republicans, are hoping to follow suit or have already considered bills that were not passed.
Cash
Washington Post: Trump lags behind Biden in campaign cash reserves while legal bills mount By Maeve Reston and Clara Ence Morse
But the Biden campaign demonstrated a clear fundraising advantage over Trump in filings Wednesday night, reporting $71 million in cash on hand to Trump’s $33.5 million — more than double his rival’s reserves.
Bankrupt
Even though bankruptcy could alleviate his immediate cash crunch, it also carries risks for a candidate who has marketed himself as a winning businessman — and whose greatest appeal to voters, some advisers say, is his financial success.
Yapping
“Somebody that just keeps on talking to fill the air. If it gets quiet, they just don’t stop talking.”
Myth
NY Times: The Potency of Trump’s ‘Lost Cause’ Mythmaking By Charles M. Blow
More than 1,200 people have been charged related to Jan. 6. And though it shouldn’t have to be said, let’s be clear: Those who’ve been tried, convicted and imprisoned for storming the Capitol aren’t hostages, they’re criminals.
The Market On Thursday
Good morning. At 6:48 a.m. ET DOW futures are +96, S&P futures are +18, and NASDAQ futures are +127. The market is poised to open significantly higher.
Wednesday, March 20, 2024
In It
I really object to calling politicians names on this blog, for the most part. Okay I do it, but not on every article. Having said that, Comer...how on earth does someone get like that.
The Daily Beast: Comer Keeps Stepping In It as Impeachment Witness Dishes Dirt on Giuliani - Lev Parnas called the MAGA universe a “cult.” By Justin Rohrlich
Bond
Washington Post: N.Y. attorney general questions Trump’s claim that he can’t get a bond By Shayna Jacobs
New York Attorney General Letitia James on Wednesday urged an appeals court not to believe Donald Trump’s recent assertion that he is unable to secure a bond for more than $450 million to satisfy the civil business-fraud judgment against him.
Super
Washington Post: A supervolcano erupted 74,000 years ago. Here’s how humans survived it. By Carolyn Y. Johnson
Even more intriguing, scientists found that humans shifted their diets in the extremely arid conditions that followed the eruption in the lowlands of Ethiopia. They ate more fish, which researchers think could have been readily harvested as the Shinfa River dried up, leaving shallow waterholes.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
