Monday, April 08, 2019
Friday, April 05, 2019
Less And Less Coherent
NY Daily News: Trump’s mental condition seems to be getting worse: He should subject himself to a rigorous assessment now By Bandy X. Lee, Lee is a forensic psychiatrist and expert on violence at Yale School of Medicine.
Most markedly, he has of late been growing less and less coherent. His two-hour Conservative Political Action Conference speech revealed many rambling sentences, tangential thoughts, repetitions and word-finding difficulties. There was also the “Tim Apple” episode a few weeks ago, and then his calling Venezuela a company, confusing his grandfather’s birthplace with his father’s, mispronouncing “oranges” for “origins,” and stating, out of the blue, “I’m very normal.” These are signs of cognitive decline, the source of which we cannot know without examining him, but there is no question he needs an evaluation.
Fed Cain
Clearly Bozo the Clown was not available...
LA Times: Herman Cain, Trump’s next pick for the Fed, embraces the stupidest idea in economic policy By Michael Hiltzik
LA Times: Herman Cain, Trump’s next pick for the Fed, embraces the stupidest idea in economic policy By Michael Hiltzik
The Hayabusa 2
Guardian UK: Japanese spacecraft 'bombs' asteroid in scientific mission - Scientists hope samples from Hayabusa 2 will provide clues about origins of life on Earth
The cone-shaped impactor, fitted with a copper explosive the size of a baseball, was programmed to detonate 40 minutes after it was released, gouging a crater into the asteroid’s surface.
The Unhinged President
NY Times: Finding Biden in Familiar Fix, President Trump Adds a Jab By Annie Karni and Sydney Ember
President Trump, ignoring his own troubled history with women and bragging about sexual misconduct, went after Joseph R. Biden Jr. via Twitter on Thursday, posting a video that mocked the former vice president for his handsy approach to politicking.
Opiods
NY Times: Fear, Loathing and Fentanyl Exposure - It’s almost impossible to ingest opioids by accident, but misinformation has triggered a panic about the risks. By The Editorial Board
Fentanyl is indeed one of the most powerful opioids ever created: It is 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And it’s true that even very small doses can be fatal. But merely touching the substance is not dangerous.
The Market On Friday
Good morning. At 9:20 a.m. ET DOW futures are +85 and the price of oil per barrel is up. The market is poised to open significantly higher.
CNN: US jobs report; US-China trade talks; Samsung warning By Ivana Kottasová
CNN: US jobs report; US-China trade talks; Samsung warning By Ivana Kottasová
Thursday, April 04, 2019
New Mexico
The Hill: New Mexico gov signs bill granting electoral votes to national popular vote winner By Owen Daugherty
New Mexico is the latest state to sign into law legislation that would give the state’s Electoral College votes to the presidential candidate with the most popular votes nationwide.
Yes
I love the way House Democrats are checking Trump's nonsense.
CNN: House to file lawsuit challenging Trump's national emergency at the border By Katie Bernard
CNN: House to file lawsuit challenging Trump's national emergency at the border By Katie Bernard
Barr's Coverup Is Falling Apart
In case you have not seen this news, this is the bombshell of the last 12 hours.
Guardian UK: Mueller report was more damaging than Barr revealed, officials say – live - Attorney general failed to properly convey findings of Trump-Russia report, New York Times reports
Guardian UK: Mueller report was more damaging than Barr revealed, officials say – live - Attorney general failed to properly convey findings of Trump-Russia report, New York Times reports
Robert Mueller’s report is more damaging than the attorney general revealed, according to a report in the New York Times. The Times cited several of Mueller’s investigators as saying Barr’s four page summary failed to accurately portray their findings. The full report, yet to be released, found no evidence that Trump colluded with Russia, but did not exonerate him on obstruction of justice accusations.
Warning
Guardian UK:
Climate change group scrapped by Trump reassembles to issue warning - Panel was disbanded after a Trump official voiced concerns that it did not have enough members ‘from industry’
A US government climate change advisory group scrapped by Donald Trump has reassembled independently to call for better adaptation to the floods, wildfires and other threats that increasingly loom over American communities.
The Market On Thursday
Good morning. At 9:15 a.m. ET DOW futures are completely flat, 0, and the price of oil per barrel is up. The market is poised to open in the flat area.
CNN: Boeing crash report; Tesla sales slump; India slashes rates By Ivana Kottasová
CNN: Boeing crash report; Tesla sales slump; India slashes rates By Ivana Kottasová
Wednesday, April 03, 2019
Cover Coming Off Coverup
NY Times: Some on Mueller’s Team Say Report Was More Damaging Than Barr Revealed By Nicholas Fandos, Michael S. Schmidt and Mark Mazzetti
Some of Robert S. Mueller III’s investigators have told associates that Attorney General William P. Barr failed to adequately portray the findings of their inquiry and that they were more troubling for President Trump than Mr. Barr indicated, according to government officials and others familiar with their simmering frustrations.
Flake
Guardian UK: Jeff Flake reveals he has received threats from Trump supporters - Ex-senator described threatening messages and behavior made against him and his family in an interview with the Guardian
The defendant, 58-year-old James Dean Blevins Jr, said on the voicemail: “I am tired of him interrupting our president, and I am coming down there to take him and his family out,” according to prosecutors.
Punisher
NY Times: Trump the Punisher - In politics, as in life, there are Fixers and there are Punishers. No question which the president is. By Michelle Cottle - Ms. Cottle is a member of the editorial board.
Such warnings are spot on. They also miss the point. In threatening to shut down the border, Mr. Trump isn’t looking to solve a crisis. His primary aim is to make life unpleasant for those who have crossed him — or simply had the misfortune to get in his way.
The Market On Wednesday
Good morning. At 9:20 a.m. ET DOW futures are +105 and the price of oil per barrel is down. The market is poised to open significantly higher.
CNN: Oil prices zoom higher; US-China trade talks; Bitcoin surges By Ivana Kottasová
CNN: Oil prices zoom higher; US-China trade talks; Bitcoin surges By Ivana Kottasová
Tuesday, April 02, 2019
Boredom
Brain Pickings: In Defense of Boredom: 200 Years of Ideas on the Virtues of Not-Doing from Some of Humanity’s Greatest Minds - Bertrand Russell, Søren Kierkegaard, Andrei Tarkovsky, Susan Sontag, Adam Phillips, Renata Adler, and more. By Maria Popova
"We are less bored than our ancestors were, but we are more afraid of boredom. We have come to know, or rather to believe, that boredom is not part of the natural lot of man, but can be avoided by a sufficiently vigorous pursuit of excitement." - Bertrand Russell
Trump To Cripple El Paso
El Passo has a population of 844,818 people.
Guardian UK: Trump shutting Mexico border would 'cripple' El Paso, Republican mayor says - Dee Margo warned Donald Trump that closing the border would have a ‘detrimental, almost draconian’ impact on the region
Guardian UK: Trump shutting Mexico border would 'cripple' El Paso, Republican mayor says - Dee Margo warned Donald Trump that closing the border would have a ‘detrimental, almost draconian’ impact on the region
Bad Decision
NY Times: Trump’s Border ‘Solutions’ Will Make Things Worse - There’s been a surge of migrant families at the southern border. The answer is not to close the border and cut off aid to Central American nations. By The Editorial Board
My NY Times comment to this article.
"My take is that this decision is driven by negative emotion rather than careful analysis or even a basic understanding of the issue. This is spite and contempt mixed with a desire to hurt and harm, similar to the policy of separating children from their parents and then caging them and placing them in the hands of unvetted predators. Once again the essential problem is the inescapable fact that Trump is who he is. The hope would be that a Trump replacement in 22 months could start utilizing understanding, wisdom, facts, and knowledgeable advice to help the problem and not exacerbate it. America has to figure that one out collectively."
By threatening to close the border with Mexico and moving to cut off aid to El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala — the so-called Northern Triangle countries, from which many migrants headed to the United States are coming — President Trump is effectively shooting America in the foot, to paraphrase one expert.
My NY Times comment to this article.
"My take is that this decision is driven by negative emotion rather than careful analysis or even a basic understanding of the issue. This is spite and contempt mixed with a desire to hurt and harm, similar to the policy of separating children from their parents and then caging them and placing them in the hands of unvetted predators. Once again the essential problem is the inescapable fact that Trump is who he is. The hope would be that a Trump replacement in 22 months could start utilizing understanding, wisdom, facts, and knowledgeable advice to help the problem and not exacerbate it. America has to figure that one out collectively."
The Market On Tuesday
Good morning. At 9:20 a.m. ET DOW futures are -20 and the price of oil per barrel is up. The market is poised to open modestly lower.
CNN: Tesla sales; Walgreens earnings; Boeing delay By Ivana Kottasová
CNN: Tesla sales; Walgreens earnings; Boeing delay By Ivana Kottasová
Monday, April 01, 2019
Have An Excellent Monday
Dorothea Osborn is an acclaimed visual artist, based in NY. She received her MFA in painting from The State University of New York at New Paltz. After travelling around Europe and frequent visits to New Mexico, her work transformed from representational to abstract and the tension between representation and abstraction; The liminal. Her work primarily focuses on drawing and painting with an intense interest in oils, pastels, and mixed media. Her work is of process, action, and associative reference where experiences, spirituality, science and perception negotiate, compose, and harmonize. She exhibits work locally and nationally, in Universities and Colleges. She has been the recipient of many “best of” awards in a variety of exhibits. Collectors have been acquiring her work from Seattle to Korea. She has taught Painting at the State University of NY at New Paltz to both Undergraduate and Graduate students and has also taught in Public schools, workshops, Arts councils and in Ghost Ranch, NM. Her web site is www.dorotheaosborn.com
Stephen Colbert - The Trump Campaign's Memo To TV Producers
From March 27th - The Trump re-election campaign sent a memo addressed to 'Television Producers' with a list of six people that shouldn't be welcome on TV.
Venezuela
NY Times: Trump, Putin and a Possible ‘Red-Line Moment’ in Venezuela By David E. Sanger
For the past week, the Trump administration has escalated its warnings about Russian intervention in the country, claiming that Moscow is helping to prop up President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela and undermining the hopes of American officials that the Venezuelan military will oust him.
Out Of Control
NY Times: Trump’s Acts Show the Urgent Need to Curb the Imperial Presidency - The end of the Mueller investigation reveals that post-Watergate guardrails set up against executive overreach have been smashed and need replacing. By Ian Bassin and Justin Florence - Mr. Bassin and Mr. Florence served as associate White House counsels.
Whatever one’s feelings about the end of the Mueller investigation, the Barr letter makes one thing clear: The guardrails that were established after Watergate against these types of abuses have been smashed. We still need to see the full Mueller report, but unless corrective steps are taken, Mr. Trump and Mr. Barr will have changed, perhaps profoundly, the shape of presidential power, and in troubling ways.
The Market On Monday
Good morning. At 9:25 a.m. E.T. the DOW is +206 and the price of oil per barrel is up. The market is poised to open significantly higher.
CNN: Wells Fargo's CEO is out. Here's how the bank can end its crisis
CNN: Wells Fargo's CEO is out. Here's how the bank can end its crisis
Ha!
Looks like he's going for an insanity defense as a way to protect himself from many lawsuits.
CNN: Alex Jones says 'form of psychosis' made him believe events like Sandy Hook massacre were staged By Christina Maxouris and Elizabeth Joseph
CNN: Alex Jones says 'form of psychosis' made him believe events like Sandy Hook massacre were staged By Christina Maxouris and Elizabeth Joseph
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