Friday, February 08, 2019
Let's Get It Straight
NY Times: Trump Versus the Socialist Menace - The Commies are coming for your pickup trucks. By Paul Krugman
What Americans who support “socialism” actually want is what the rest of the world calls social democracy: A market economy, but with extreme hardship limited by a strong social safety net and extreme inequality limited by progressive taxation. They want us to look like Denmark or Norway, not Venezuela.
Broken GOP
NY Times: Republicans Got Us Into This Mess, and They Have to Get Us Out of It - The idea sounds crazy — until suddenly it doesn’t. By Jonathan Rauch and Peter Wehner
We believe that Mr. Trump’s strength among Republicans is more precarious than it appears. For reasons both substantial and practical, we believe his disgorgement by Republicans can happen, might happen — and should happen. Contrary to conventional wisdom, removal by his party would be as healthy for America’s democracy as his removal by the voters, perhaps more so.
The Market On Friday
Good morning. At 9:20 a.m. ET DOW futures are -119 and the price of oil per barrel is up. The market is poised to open significantly lower.
CNN: Jaguar Land Rover causes biggest loss in Indian corporate history By Rishi Iyengar
CNN: Jaguar Land Rover causes biggest loss in Indian corporate history By Rishi Iyengar
Thursday, February 07, 2019
Surprise
Actress Marlee Matlin posted this picture of herself in a salon. Notice the person in the left corner of the photo who happened to be there at the same time.
One Hand Chips
Help!
Guardian UK: 'Drinkable' potato chips: the products keeping your phone grease-free - Pre-smashed One Hand Chips are far from the first to tailor the dining experience around our phone-centric lifestyles
Guardian UK: 'Drinkable' potato chips: the products keeping your phone grease-free - Pre-smashed One Hand Chips are far from the first to tailor the dining experience around our phone-centric lifestyles
Among the concerns facing today’s social media maven: how can one scroll through Instagram and enjoy a bag of potato chips without getting their phone all greasy?
This Is True
NY Times: Trump Loves a Culture War - The president lied about abortion in the State of the Union. By Michelle Goldberg
“Lawmakers in New York cheered with delight upon the passage of legislation that would allow a baby to be ripped from the mother’s womb moments from birth,” he said of the state’s recent Reproductive Health Act. He added, “And then we had the case of the governor of Virginia where he stated he would execute a baby after birth.”
The Market On Thursday
Good morning. At 9:25 a.m. ET DOW futures are -116 and the price of oil per barrel is down. The market is poised to open significantly lower.
CNN: BB&T and SunTrust announce $66 billion merger, creating the sixth-largest US bank By Julia Horowitz
CNN: BB&T and SunTrust announce $66 billion merger, creating the sixth-largest US bank By Julia Horowitz
Wednesday, February 06, 2019
It's The Fear
I finally figured out why Trump lies so often. Trump is speaking to the fears of right wing people and telling them that what they fear is occurring. Right wing people believe that illegal immigrants are coming into the country, they are taking away jobs, they are bringing in drugs, and they are murdering people. Right wing people also believe and fear that they have to pay for illegal immigrants with their hard earned money because immigrants are getting free food, free schools, free housing, free luxury cars, everything, and it’s all paid with their too high taxes. This is a fear, it’s not the truth, but it’s a fear.
There’s no proof of these fears, there are though lots of rumors, stories, and myths which get amplified and retold over and over, but there’s no truth, just fear. Trump is simply telling them that their fears are literally happening. This is the lie and this is his gambit, which has earned him the White House. Trump improves upon this gambit with further exaggerations. He says there are caravans coming, terrorists pouring in, deadly diseases being brought into the country infecting right wing children. Then, only he can really and truly take care of it. He is going to build a wall around the country, similar to how you would put a fence around your yard as a demarcation, this is my house, my yard, don’t cross that fence. Understand, this is not a joke, Trump is not doing this intentionally, it’s not because he doesn’t get it or that he can’t understand. Trump is not concerned with this. Trump has taken a course, he has a strategy, and he can’t change that. What he does is he will continue to amplify it, make it greater. He is speaking to the fear in his base, he is telling them that this fear is real and it is happening. He is turning fear and treating fear as if it were truly happening. Does this make sense?
Trump is a story, telling the tale of monsters and demons to children who believe in monsters, scaring them out of their wits to the point where the children have nightmares and are affected through their daytime as well.
It is also likely that this fear based strategy is the work of people like Stone, Bannon, and key GOP insiders more concerned with power and wealth than anything else.
There’s no proof of these fears, there are though lots of rumors, stories, and myths which get amplified and retold over and over, but there’s no truth, just fear. Trump is simply telling them that their fears are literally happening. This is the lie and this is his gambit, which has earned him the White House. Trump improves upon this gambit with further exaggerations. He says there are caravans coming, terrorists pouring in, deadly diseases being brought into the country infecting right wing children. Then, only he can really and truly take care of it. He is going to build a wall around the country, similar to how you would put a fence around your yard as a demarcation, this is my house, my yard, don’t cross that fence. Understand, this is not a joke, Trump is not doing this intentionally, it’s not because he doesn’t get it or that he can’t understand. Trump is not concerned with this. Trump has taken a course, he has a strategy, and he can’t change that. What he does is he will continue to amplify it, make it greater. He is speaking to the fear in his base, he is telling them that this fear is real and it is happening. He is turning fear and treating fear as if it were truly happening. Does this make sense?
Trump is a story, telling the tale of monsters and demons to children who believe in monsters, scaring them out of their wits to the point where the children have nightmares and are affected through their daytime as well.
It is also likely that this fear based strategy is the work of people like Stone, Bannon, and key GOP insiders more concerned with power and wealth than anything else.
Knicks
The team with the worst record is the most valuable team. There's something about the worst rising to the level of the highest that is an American institution.
Yahoo: Forbes lists Knicks as most valuable NBA franchise
Yahoo: Forbes lists Knicks as most valuable NBA franchise
Stacy
NY Times: Stacey Abrams, in Democrats’ Response, Calls for Ballot Fairness By Sheryl Gay Stolberg
“Let’s be clear: Voter suppression is real,” Ms. Abrams said, speaking from Atlanta and surrounded by supporters. “From making it harder to register and stay on the rolls to moving and closing polling places to rejecting lawful ballots, we can no longer ignore these threats to democracy.”
The Market On Wednesday
Good morning. At 9:25 a.m. ET DOW futures are +2 and the price of oil per barrel is down. The market is poised to open flat.
CNN: SoftBank and Uber; Carmakers under pressure; GM earnings By Ivana Kottasová
CNN: SoftBank and Uber; Carmakers under pressure; GM earnings By Ivana Kottasová
Tuesday, February 05, 2019
Different Reactions
The Atlantic: Liberals and Conservatives React in Wildly Different Ways to Repulsive Pictures - To a surprising degree, our political beliefs may derive from a specific aspect of our biological makeup: our propensity to feel physical revulsion. by Kathleen McAuliffe
Compared with liberals, they’d previously found, conservatives generally pay more attention—and react more strongly—to a broad array of threats. For example, they have a more pronounced startle response to loud noises, and they gaze longer at photos of people displaying angry expressions.
Trump's Moscow Trail
Buzz Feed News: Secret Files Show How Trump Moscow Talks Unfolded While Trump Heaped Praise On Putin - Ahead of Michael Cohen’s testimony, read the original paper trail behind the campaign to build Europe’s tallest tower in Moscow — and how it played out alongside Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.
As Trump went from rally to rally, vociferously denying any dealings in Russia, his representatives, Michael Cohen and his associate Felix Sater, worked with Trump Organization lawyers and even Ivanka Trump to push forward negotiations to build a 100-story edifice just miles from the Kremlin. The fixers believed they needed Putin’s support to pull off the lucrative deal, and they planned to use Trump’s public praise for him to help secure it. At the same time, they plotted to persuade Putin to openly declare his support for Trump’s candidacy.
Paper Tiger
NY Times: Trump Once Said Power Was About Instilling Fear. In That Case, He Should Be Worried. By Michael Tackett and Maggie Haberman
Mr. Trump has found that his lack of experience in politics and diplomacy, which require policy knowledge, team building and nuanced negotiating ability, has left him at a decided disadvantage despite his boasts about his deal-making prowess.
The Market On Tuesday
Good morning. At 9:25 a.m. ET DOW futures are +100 and the price of oil per barrel is down. The market is poised to open significantly higher.
CNN: Why oil companies have suddenly gone missing in the bond market By Matt Egan
CNN: Why oil companies have suddenly gone missing in the bond market By Matt Egan
Monday, February 04, 2019
Breathe
I know this for a fact. It's true.
Scientific American: Proper Breathing Brings Better Health - Stress reduction, insomnia prevention, emotion control, improved attention—certain breathing techniques can make life better. But where do you start? By Christophe André
Scientific American: Proper Breathing Brings Better Health - Stress reduction, insomnia prevention, emotion control, improved attention—certain breathing techniques can make life better. But where do you start? By Christophe André
Full Fat
Guardian UK: Revealed: how big dairy pushed fattier milks into US schools - The Trump administration has worked closely with the dairy lobby, allowing the drinks’ reintroduction despite opposition
Just two months later, Perdue would finalize a rule allowing fattier chocolate and strawberry flavored milks to be sold to roughly 31 million kids in school cafeterias.
Himalayan Ice
Guardian UK: A third of Himalayan ice cap doomed, finds report - Even radical climate change action won’t save glaciers, endangering 2 billion people
At least a third of the huge ice fields in Asia’s towering mountain chain are doomed to melt due to climate change, according to a landmark report, with serious consequences for almost 2 billion people.
No Comment
NY Times: Trump Won’t Commit to Making Mueller Report Public By Katie Rogers
President Trump would not commit in an interview aired Sunday to making public the results of the special counsel’s investigation into Russia’s ties to his campaign, adding that it was time to “get rid” of the inquiry.
Radical
NY Times: What’s Really Radical? Not Taxing the Rich - It’s time to reverse the extreme upward redistribution of the last 40 years. By David Leonhardt
If middle-class pay had increased as fast as the economic growth, the average middle-class family would today earn about $15,000 a year more than it does, after taxes and benefits. Instead, that middle-class family effectively forfeits the money to the rich, year after year after year.
The Market On Monday
Good morning. At 9:30 a.m. ET DOW futures are -10 and the price of oil per barrel is down. The market is poised to open slightly lower.
CNN: Papa John's gets a $200 million investment and new chairman By Danielle Wiener-Bronner
CNN: Papa John's gets a $200 million investment and new chairman By Danielle Wiener-Bronner
Friday, February 01, 2019
Australia Is Frying
MSN: Australia's extreme heat is sign of things to come, scientists warn by Lisa Cox, Jonathan Watts and Australian Associated Press
US News: January Was Officially Australia's Hottest Month on Record - Australia has sweltered through its hottest month on record in January and the summer of extremes continues with wildfires razing the drought-parched south while expanses of the tropical north are flooded.
US News: January Was Officially Australia's Hottest Month on Record - Australia has sweltered through its hottest month on record in January and the summer of extremes continues with wildfires razing the drought-parched south while expanses of the tropical north are flooded.
Trump Is A Waste
NY Times: Trump, in Interview, Calls Wall Talks ‘Waste of Time’ and Dismisses Investigations By Peter Baker and Maggie Haberman
“I think Nancy Pelosi is hurting our country very badly by doing what she’s doing and, ultimately, I think I’ve set the table very nicely,” Mr. Trump said. He made no mention of closing the government again, a move that backfired on him, but instead suggested he plans to declare a national emergency to build the wall. “I’ve set the table,” he said. “I’ve set the stage for doing what I’m going to do.”
The Market On Friday
Good morning. At 9:25 a.m. ET DOW futures are +73 and the price of oil per barrel is up. The market is poised to open significantly higher.
CNN: Exxon's oil and gas output finally stops shrinking By Matt Egan
CNN: Exxon's oil and gas output finally stops shrinking By Matt Egan
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