Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Dylan Matthews: 5 anti-poverty plans from 2020 Democratic presidential contenders, explained (Vox)
Forget the horse race - here's how 2020 Democrats want to fight poverty.
Andrew Tobias: A Twist on Instant Runoff Voting
One dearly hopes Howard Schultz - a good man, for sure - sees the light and stands down from his disastrous idea to become the next Ralph Nader / Jill Stein / Ross Perot. A super friendly Starbucks boycott until he does might help him see that light - and save us $5 a day we can put toward winning in 2020.
Tom Danehy: How Do Arizona's Charter Schools Get Away With Swindling Students and Fleecing Taxpayers? (Tucson Weekly)
Do you know how many charter schools have come and gone over the past 25 years? Don't feel bad; the State of Arizona doesn't know, either. Do you know how many hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars have been lost to con men and thieves? For that matter, how much of your money has ended up in the pockets of legislators who have used laws they passed to enrich themselves and then used bills they have refused to pass to prevent any oversight of the crooked operation? Nope, we don't know that, either.
Jessica Glenza: How the religious right gained unprecedented access to Trump (The Guardian)
This summer, Trump successfully appointed the conservative Catholic Brett Kavanaugh to the US supreme court. The former attorney general Jeff Sessions announced a religious liberty taskforce, but the names of its members are not public. In the summer of 2017, Trump unexpectedly announced a ban on transgender people serving in the military. Last week, Azar's health department exempted South Carolina from anti-discrimination statutes that protect same-sex couples from discrimination while adopting from faith-based agencies. Trump tweeted support for Bible study classes in state schools.
Helaine Olen: Why are companies so desperate to know what we think of them? (Washington Post)
They are likely effective in one area, though: intimidating employees. Companies attempt to sugarcoat this by asking the questions in a fun way. Bed Bath and Beyond recently asked customers, "Did anyone 'go above and beyond' your expectations to WOW you," while one Delta customer reports he recently received a one-question survey: "Would you hire the representative who just helped you if you owned the Customer Service team?" It sounds innocent enough, but it ultimately leaves the person filling out the survey in the position of both unpaid mystery shopper and potential snitch.
Stephen Phelan: "Goya's Black Paintings: 'Some people can hardly even look at them'" (The Guardian)
Goya's bleak visions were originally painted onto the walls of his house - and remain some of the most disturbing artworks ever made.
Jordan Crucchiola: Criterion Is Finally Launching Its Own Streaming Service (Vulture)
It will be $10.99 per month or $99.99 a year for those who sign up after the launch date. (Don't fret: If you can't do early registration, that option only saves you one dollar each month anyway.) The first movie of the week will be a new restoration of Mikey and Nicky, and those personally curated Ingmar Bergman marathons are now just months away.
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Michael Egan
took the day off.
has returned to semi-retired status.
In memory.
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from Bruce
Anecdotes - Education
Rabbi Shalom Rokeach left his village at times to journey to visit the Seer of Lublin. Once, the Maggid of Kozienice asked him to stay in the village, promising that he would see the prophet Elijah if he stayed. Rabbi Shalom declined to stay. The Maggid of Kozienice again asked him to stay, promising that he would see the Patriarchs. Rabbi Shalom again declined. The Seer rejoiced to see Rabbi Shalom and said, "One who deprives oneself of the privilege of beholding Elijah and the Patriarchs in order to return to his teacher, is indeed a true Hassid."
A Buddhist teacher from India once visited the United States. When he was asked what he thought of Buddhist practices in the United States, he said that they reminded him of a person in a rowboat rowing and rowing, yet getting nowhere because the rowboat is tied to the dock. Many people in the United States devote much time and effort to meditation about lovingkindness, he said, but they forget to practice lovingkindness toward other people in the course of their daily activities.
Elena Vasilievna Shiripina taught ballet at the Kirov School in Leningrad. Once, ballet student Natalia Makarova lost her sense of direction while dancing tours chaξnιs on the diagonal. Ms. Shiripina told her, "Keep going, little one, all the way to the door." Young Natalia did keep going and danced through the door - only to have Ms. Shiripina slam it in her face.
According to Scott Barnard, ballet master with the Joffrey Ballet, master dancers such as Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev never missed a class. Mr. Nureyev might party all night long until 6 a.m., but at 10 a.m. he attended his ballet class. According to Mr. Barnard, "The people with the long careers are those who are sensible about their work, and who are prepared to take advice."
A scandal occurred early in this century when two female students from Smith College invited two male students from Yale University to swim with them in the reservoir providing drinking water to Smith College. President William Allan Neilson of Smith College scolded the two female students, then told them, "I prefer my drinking water unflavored by either Smith or Yale."
Princess Seraphine Astafieva ran a dance studio in London, where she helped many great dancers get their start. Often, when students with real potential - such as Alicia Markova and Anton Dolin - did not have money to pay for their lessons, she would tell them, "You pay one day. Now you learn to be great dancer."
Gustave Lussi of Switzerland coached American Dick Button, who won the gold medal in men's figure skating in the 1948 and the 1952 Olympics. Mr. Button trusted Mr. Lussi completely, saying that if Mr. Lussi should order him to jump from a window, he would do it - while making sure his toe was pointed and his head was in the proper position.
Two convicts were sitting in their cell. One convict was trying to read a book, while the other convict was trying to get him to carry on a conversation. The convict trying to read the book said to the other convict, "I'm going to study and improve myself and when you're still a common thief, I'll be an embezzler."
The USSR was known for its men's singles skaters and its pairs skating teams, but it never produced a really fine women's singles skater until after its breakup. While the USSR was still together, pairs champion and coach Stanislav Zhuk was asked why. He joked, "Because I don't coach them."
Ballerina Natalia Makarova learned at the Kirov School of Ballet that the essence of a character can be found in the way she walks, and so Ms. Makarova approached characters such as Giselle, Odette, and Juliet by first figuring out the way the character ought to walk.
The Dalai Lama once visited the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts, where meditation is both taught and practiced. Immediately on walking through the door, he said, "This place seems so different from the rest of America. What do you do here?"
In the old days, ballet teachers could be slave drivers. In the ballet "The Lesson," a ballet teacher drives the students very hard - and one by one they drop dead.
"When you plant for a year, plant grass. When you plant for ten years, plant trees. When you plant for centuries, plant people." - Chinese proverb.
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All Five Best Song Nominees
Oscars
The Motion Picture Academy, responding to a widespread backlash to its initial plan to only spotlight two of the best original song nominees on the Oscarcast, is now planning to have all five nominated songs performed on the Feb. 24 show, Variety has learned.
Earlier today, the Academy tweeted that Jennifer Hudson would perform "I'll Fight," the Diane Warren-penned song from the documentary "RBG." A subsequent tweet announced a "spoiler" that "The Place Where Lost Things Go" from "Mary Poppins Returns" would be "performed by a surprise special guest" - leaving open the question of whether Emily Blunt, who performed it in the film, would count as a surprise.
Previously, the plan had been to include only the top 10 hits "Shallow," from "A Star Is Born," and "All the Stars," from "Black Panther."
Producers last week told representatives for the remaining three nominees that there wasn't time to perform all five songs in a streamlined show. But now, sources tell Variety that offers have gone out to reps from all five to perform the songs, although in truncated, 90-second form.
It is not yet clear whether any of the performers associated with the nominated songs besides Hudson have accepted Academy offers to perform - among them Blunt, Lady Gaga ("Shallow"), Kendrick Lamar and SZA ("All the Stars") and Willie Watson and Tim Blake Nelson ("When a Cowboy Trades His Spurs for Wings" from "The Ballad of Buster Scruggs").
Oscars
"Black Strat" To Auction For Charity
David Gilmour
Christie's is honoured to bring to auction highlights from the personal guitar collection of rock'n'roll legend, David Gilmour, guitarist, singer and songwriter of Pink Floyd, on 20 June 2019 in New York.
Comprising more than 120 guitars, Gilmour's collection focuses on a selection of his preferred Fender models including Broadcasters, Esquires, Telecasters and Stratocasters, led by a guitar as iconic and recognizable as the historic performances for which it was used - the 1969 Black Stratocaster (estimate: $100,000-150,000). Detailing the musical history of one of the world's most influential guitarists, the sale will be the largest and most comprehensive collection of guitars to be offered at auction.
All sale proceeds will benefit charitable causes. Estimates range from $300 to $150,000, appealing to a wide spectrum of guitar aficionados, fans and collectors alike.
Leading the Collection is David Gilmour's 1969 Black Fender Stratocaster, purchased in 1970 at Manny's on West 48th Street in New York (estimate: $100,000-150,000). 'The Black Strat' quickly became his primary performance and recording instrument for the next fifteen years and it was extensively modified to accommodate Gilmour's evolving style and performance requirements.
The Black Strat was played on "Money," "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" and the legendary solo on "Comfortably Numb." It was key to the development of the Pink Floyd sound and was instrumental in the recording of landmark albums such as Wish You Were Here (1975), Animals (1977) and The Wall (1979), and of course Pink Floyd's seminal 1973 masterpiece The Dark Side of the Moon, widely regarded as one of the greatest albums of all time.
David Gilmour
Offer Lifetime Concert Tickets
Beyonce, Jay-Z
Music superstars Beyonce and Jay-Z are offering fans a chance to win free tickets for life to their concerts in exchange for adopting a vegan diet for a month.
The "Lemonade" singer announced the contest to her 123 million Instagram followers late on Wednesday in support of the Greenprint Project, which encourages people to reduce their environmental footprint by eating plant-based meals.
Beyonce pledged to eat plant-based breakfasts and go meatless on Mondays, while Jay-Z is promising to eat two plant-based meals a day.
A study in the journal Science last June concluded that avoiding meat and dairy products would be the biggest way to reduce the environmental impact on the planet because of reduced irrigation of farmland, animal emissions, food processing and transport.
Under the contest rules, one fan will get a pair of tickets to one official concert tour by Beyonce and/or Jay-Z for the next 30 years.
Beyonce, Jay-Z
Friends and Fans Pay Tribute
Stan Lee
On Nov. 12, the world lost comics writer extraordinaire, cameo king, and the face of Marvel Comics: Stan Lee. Yet, now, even two months later in the heart of Hollywood he still seems very much alive. That's because, amongst other things, a group of Stan's greatest friends, collaborators, and fans all gathered for a night in a mega memorial in his honor called "Excelsior! A Celebration of the Amazing, Fantastic, Incredible & Uncanny Life of Stan Lee."
On a typical night on Hollywood Boulevard a gathering of superheroes wouldn't be unusual, but Wednesday's celebration for their "Generalissimo", as Stan was sometimes known, would challenge that notion. Dozens of spandex-clad heroes, ranging as wildly as Spider-Man to Cable, comingled with celebrities, ranging as wildly as the RZA and Mark Hamill, all with one thing in common: Stan Lee's impact on their lives.
But the entire crowd, cameras, stars, and cosplayers, gathered outside the TCL Chinese Theatre next to Lee's handprints, were silenced by the sound of "Taps" played above the scene by a military bugler. Lee, a World War II veteran himself, was honored by a full color guard and dedication to his service to his country, where he first was assigned to write advertisements, skits, and other informative recruitment/safety pieces. Lee's daughter J.C. Lee led a group of military men and veterans to a round of "God Bless America."
Hosting the show was Lee's long-time friend and fan, filmmaker Kevin Smith, who was sure to note that Lee was "one of the best humans to ever walk the Earth" before inviting everyone to enter the theater. The theater itself was transformed into a monument to the man, with some of his most beloved comics on display, from the first appearance of Spider-Man and Black Panther to some of the most iconic adventures of the Fantastic Four. Costumes from the Sony-led Spider-Man films were displayed inside glass cases, but it was the energy in the room that truly punctuated the evening.
Smith put it best at the beginning of the tribute: "This is not a funeral, though he's gone. This is a celebration! That's how religions start. We all agree that we saw him tonight and that he's no longer gone. Stan's spirit is here with us." With all the outpourings of love in the room, it'd be hard to argue otherwise. With copious footage of Lee playing throughout the evening, including a touching clip of him singing "Cocktails for Two", with all the energy of someone in their twenties, as his embarrassed assistants set up his microphone.
Stan Lee
Proposal Draws Over 100,000 Responses
Betsy DeVos
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos' proposal to rewrite how universities handle complaints of sexual assault and misconduct had already sparked strong rhetoric from assault survivors and civil liberties groups when she first announced an overhaul in 2017.
With the conclusion Wednesday of a 60-day public comment period, the Federal Register noted that almost 103,000 letters and messages were logged online - revealing just how passionate people remain on either side of the debate.
An official with the American Council on Education, higher education's biggest lobbying arm, estimated the volume of submissions would total 20 times what is typically received for a major regulatory proposal, according to The Washington Post.
Most of the comments appear to oppose the Department of Education's reworking of the federal guidelines known as Title IX, which prohibit gender discrimination, including sexual assault, on college campuses as well as in primary and secondary schools.
"F--k you, Betsy," someone wrote. "You are a shame to all women and anyone who has worked hard to improve our education systems."
Betsy DeVos
Fake, ICE-Issued Court Dates
Immigrants
Fearing deportation if they didn't show up, immigrants across the country traveled to ICE-issued court dates on Thursday only to find out those hearing dates were fake. Some traveled for hours and hundreds of miles for nothing, resulting in what one attorney called "mass chaos" at courthouses around the country.
Immigration attorneys told CBS News that there was confusion, crowds and long lines at immigration courts around the country on Thursday morning. ICE agents had issued thousands of Notice to Appear documents - essentially a court summons for immigration court - telling immigrants to appear in court or risk permanent removal from the U.S. It wasn't until hundreds of those people arrived at court Thursday morning that they realized those dates weren't real.
"It's mass chaos," said Ruby Powers, a Houston-based immigration attorney, in a telephone interview the CBS News. "These courts are already short staffed trying to clean up from the government shutdown's mess. It's a perfect storm."
In an attempt to comply with a Supreme Court ruling, ICE agents began issuing seemingly random hearing dates last year. Immigration attorneys knew to double-check, but immigrants without representation were left in the dark, said Eileen Blessinger, a Virginia-based immigration attorney. There's an 800-number that people can use to check on the status of their immigration cases, but there's no way that an immigrant without legal representation - more than half of all those in the immigration court system - would be aware of that option, Blessinger said in a telephone interview with CBS News.
Blessinger said she spoke to one woman who left her home at 3:30 in the morning and spent about $100 to make the hearing date indicated on her NTA. Not only was there no actual hearing, her case hadn't even been inputted into the court system yet.
Immigrants
Neanderthals and Denisovans Shared a Cave
Siberia
A Denisova cave in southern Siberia was home to Neanderthals and Denisovans for thousands of years, but questions remain about the timing of their stay. A pair of new studies traces the history of archaic human occupation at the site, showing who lived there and when-including a possible era during which the two now-extinct species hung out together.
Two papers published today in Nature present an updated timeline for the occupation of Denisova cave by Neanderthals and Denisovans. The new research suggests the Denisovans-a sister species to the Neanderthals-made this cave their home for a longer period than Neanderthals, first venturing into the cave as far back as 287,000 years ago. Neanderthals arrived at the site around 140,000 years ago, possibly sharing the space with the Denisovans for thousands of years. It's further evidence that Neanderthals and Denisovans interbred-and that this co-mingling happened at or near Denisova.
Archaeologists and paleontologists have carefully sifted through Denisova cave for the past 40 years, pulling out various animal and Neanderthal bones. But the real bombshell came in 2010 with the discovery of a finger bone from previously unknown human species, the so-called Denisovans. Genetic analysis suggests the Denisovans were a related species to the Neanderthals, but pretty much everything else about them remains a mystery, such as when they first appeared on the scene and when they died out.
Denisova cave, located at the foot of the Altai mountains in southern Siberia, is thus a critical resource for improving our understanding of not just the Denisovans, but the Neanderthals as well. And possibly our own species, Homo sapiens-though the cave, perhaps strangely, hasn't yielded a single shred of evidence showing that anatomically modern humans ever lived in there. For Neanderthals and Denisovans, however, Denisova cave served as an important refuge for vast swaths of time.
Vast swaths of time, indeed. We're not talking about a thousand years here or a thousand years there. Rather, we're talking about hundreds of thousands of years of occupation. Compiling a timeline of events, such as when the cave was first occupied and by whom, has proven tough, in part due to the large size of the cave and its complex layers of sediment; the cave's stratigraphy encompasses both the Siberian Middle Paleolithic period (between 340,000 and 45,000 years ago) and the Initial Upper Paleolithic period (roughly 45,000 to 40,000 years ago).
Siberia
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