Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Tom Danehy: The 10 dumbest things Tom heard after the Florida school shooting (Tucson Weekly)
10. Some woman who called into Rush Limbaugh blamed the shooting(s) on "modern feminism" (as opposed to ancient feminism?). She certainly has a point, seeing as how virtually all of the school shooters are transgender lesbians who take oral contraceptives and insist on equal pay for equal work. Dumb-Ass.
Josh Marshall: And The Wildest Coincidence (TPM)
Manafort's a guy who had a lot of experience doing this. You can make a decent argument - though it's admittedly muddy - that he'd spent a decade doing it specifically for the players who in 2016 were authorizing the disruption campaign which was coming together right as Manafort entered the Trump campaign. It is, to put it mildly, a helluva coincidence.
Dave Jamieson: The West Virginia Teacher Strike Not Over Yet (Huffington Post)
Schools in West Virginia will remain closed Thursday, despite a deal between union leaders and the governor.
Zoe Williams: Politicised students are a nightmare for the government - any attempt to neutralise them is doomed (The Guardian)
Tuition fees were meant to pit teachers and learners against each other. Instead, they have bound them together in solidarity.
Joe Bob Briggs: Making My Peace With Billy Graham (Taki Magazine)
I don't really want to add to the billions of words being written about Billy Graham today-his life and career are well chronicled, and his impact on Christianity firmly established-but I do want to make three points about his message that should make 90 percent of the modern Christian world ashamed of itself. Numero Uno: Billy Graham never built a megachurch.
NRA - Sunday with Lubach (YouTube)
There's something going on in the world. A situation we cannot ignore any longer and we need to address it. Say nay to NRA (nonsensical rifle addiction).
Andy Welch: The legume boom: how we went nuts for posh peanut butter (The Guardian)
The stalwart spread is undergoing a huge boost in popularity as artisan versions favoured by gym bunnies and healthy eaters are driving sales.
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Presenting
Michael Egan
answered:
has returned to semi-retired status.
In memory.
Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
Reader Comment
Current Events
Nobel nomination
As one comment says--He was probably nominated by "John Barron," who sounded amazingly like Donald Trump trying not to sound like himself. :)
Bonus Links
Jeannie the Teed-Off Temp
from Marc Perkel
Marc's Guide to Curing Cancer
So far so good on beating cancer for now. I'm doing fine. At the end of the month I'll be 16 months into an 8 month mean lifespan. And yesterday I went on a 7 mile hike and managed to keep up with the hiking group I was with. So, doing something right.
Still waiting for future test results and should see things headed in the right direction. I can say that it's not likely that anything dire happens in the short term so that means that I should have time to make several more attempts at this. So even if it doesn't work the first time there are a lot of variations to try. So if there's bad news it will help me pick the next radiation target.
I have written a "how to" guide for oncologists to perform the treatment that I got. I'm convinced that I'm definitely onto something and whether it works for me or not isn't the definitive test. I know if other people tried this that it would work for some of them, and if they improve it that it will work for a lot of them.
The guide is quite detailed and any doctor reading this can understand the procedure at every level. I also go into detail as to how it works, how I figured it out, and variations and improvements that could be tried to enhance it. I also introduce new ways to look at the problem. There is a lot of room for improvement and I think that doctors reading it will see what I'm talking about and want to build on it. And it's written so that if you're not a doctor you can still follow it. It also has a personal story revealing that I'm the class clown of cancer support group. I give great interviews and I look pretty hot in a lab coat.
So, feel free to read this and see what I'm talking about. But if any of you want to help then pass this around to both doctors and cancer patients. I need some media coverage. I'm looking for as many eyeballs as possible to read these ideas. Even if this isn't the solution, it's definitely on the right track. After all, I did hike 7 miles yesterday. And this hiking group wasn't moving slow. So if this isn't working then, why am I still here?
I also see curing cancer as more of an engineering problem that a medical problem. So if you are good at solving problems and most of what you know about medicine was watching the Dr. House MD TV show, then you're at the level I was at when I started. So anyone can jump in and be part of the solution.
Here is a link to my guide: Oncologists Guide to Curing Cancer using Abscopal Effect
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
MURDERING POLICE OFFCERS.
TWO FACED TWERP.
SCARAMUCCI GOES ROGUE.
NUNERS GOES ROGUE.
2 LIONS RESCUED!
BANG!
Visit JD's site - Kitty Litter Music
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Even longer day. Ack.
Statue Debuts Pre-Oscars
'Casting Couch'
A golden statue of a bathrobe-clad Harvey Weinstein, seated regally atop a couch with an Oscar in hand, took up temporary sidewalk residence close to the site of Sunday's Academy Awards.
"Casting Couch" is a collaborative work between a Los Angeles street artist known as Plastic Jesus and Joshua "Ginger" Monroe, designer of 2016's nude Donald Trump statues placed in major U.S. cities.
The life-sized Weinstein sculpture, displayed Thursday on Hollywood Boulevard, aims to spotlight the entertainment industry's sexual misconduct crisis and the disgraced studio mogul's role in it, Plastic Jesus said.
"There's so much about Hollywood that's great and celebrated in the Oscars, but there's also this underbelly of darkness within the industry that we often sweep under the carpet or ignore," said Plastic Jesus, formerly a London-based photographer.
Plastic Jesus said he and Monroe first considered a standing Weinstein statue but quickly decided to incorporate a chaise lounge. The project, made of fiberglass and acrylic resin, was in the works for two months.
'Casting Couch'
New Species Discovered in Japanese Parking Lot
Tardigrades
Say hello to Macrobiotus shonaicus, a completely new species of tardigrade-those incredibly resilient microscopic wee beasties that likely have what it takes to survive the apocalypse.
Tardigrades, sometimes referred to as moss piglets or water bears, are eight-legged microscopic animals that like to live in moss, lichen, decaying leaves, and soil. These metazoans, first discovered in 1773, are incredibly resilient, capable of withstanding total dehydration, extreme temperatures and pressures, intense radiation, and the vacuum of space. They typically live a few months, but one lived more than 30 years after being frozen. Tardigrades can be found all over the world, and there over 1,000 described species so far-but scientists think there could be many more.
There are 167 known species in Japan alone. The addition of M. shonaicus now increases this number to 168. The new tardigrade was found in a clump of moss that was sticking out of a concrete parking lot in Tsuruoka-City, Japan. The name shonaicus refers to the ShoŻnai region in which it was found. M. shonaicus belongs to the hufelandi group of tardigrades, whose eggs have similar characteristics.
The research team, led by Daniel Stec from Jagiellonian University in Poland, found 10 individuals in the moss sample taken from the parking lot. These specimens were bred in the lab to produce more tardigrades for the analysis. The researchers studied their physical characteristics using phase contrast microscopes (where a transparent object is conveyed through changes in brightness) and scanning electron microscopes.
Tardigrades
Very Rare Bowl
Qing Dynasty
An extremely rare Qing Dynasty bowl -- one of only three known to exist -- is expected to fetch US$25.6 million and could even break the record for Chinese ceramics, auction house Sotheby's said Thursday.
Measuring 14.7 cm (just under six inches) in diameter, the dainty pink bowl is decorated with falangcai (painted enamels combining Chinese and Western techniques) and flowers, including daffodils which are not typically depicted on Chinese porcelain.
Sotheby's Hong Kong expects the Qing Dynasty bowl, used by the Kangxi Emperor in the 1720s, to make history again in an upcoming sale on April 3.
The bowl was created in an imperial workshop within Beijing's Forbidden City by a small team of craftsmen, with the help of Jesuits from Europe who had brought over new techniques and materials, according to Sotheby's.
Qing Dynasty
'Genius Visa' For 'Extraordinary Ability'
Melania
Seventeen years ago, Melania Knauss was granted legal residency in the United States through a green card with the elite EB-1 program-dubbed the "Einstein visa"-reserved for those who demonstrate that they have "an extraordinary ability, are an outstanding professor or researcher, or are a multinational executive or manager."
At the time she was a Slovenian model who had appeared in European runway shows, the Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition and a Camel cigarette Times Square billboard. She was also dating Donald Trump (R-Corrupt).
The year the future first lady obtained legal residency, 2001, only five people from her home country got green cards through the EB-1 program, according to State Department statistics reported by The Washington Post on Thursday. That year, a fraction of one percent, just 3,376 of more than one million green cards issued, were granted to immigrants with "extraordinary ability," government data indicates.
It is unclear how Knauss-who married Trump in 2005-qualified for the so-called "genius visa," or "Einstein visa," as Bruce Morrison, a former Democratic congressman who wrote the Immigration Act of 1990 defining EB-1, calls it. Applicants "must be able to demonstrate extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics through sustained national or international acclaim," according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. "Your achievements must be recognized in your field through extensive documentation."
To do so, applicants need to meet three of 10 criteria, which include being showcased in artistic exhibitions, having material published in major publications and making original contributions to their field. Other acceptable criteria include commercial success and commanding an exceptionally high salary.
Melania
Huckabee Resigns From Board
Country Music Association
Almost as quickly as he was appointed, conservative radio host Mike Huckabeehas resigned from the board of the CMA Foundation, an educational arm of the Country Music Association. "The CMA Foundation has accepted former GovernorMike Huckabee's resignation from its Board of Directors, effective immediately," the CMA said in a statement late Thursday afternoon, just a day after revealing that Huckabee had joined the board, an announcement that immediately set off a firestorm in the country music community.
The CMA had obviously seen Huckabee's appointment as apolitical, since the former Arkansas governor had long been a champion of putting the arts in schools, which is the CMA Foundation's mission. But not everyone thought it was possible to view Huckabee's philanthropic efforts as separate from his extremely conservative politics. "Basically, every gay man in town is furious," said one artist manager, before the resignation was announced.
The writing appeared to be on the wall for Huckabee's day-long tenure after one of the most influential managers in Nashville, Jason Owen, wrote a letter to the CMA announcing that his artists would no longer work on Foundation efforts. Owen even suggested that cooperation with the entire CMA was in question. Owen's clients include Little Big Town, whose Kimberly Fairchild sits on the Foundation board, and was seen as likely to resign if Owen intended to carry out his words. Owen also represents Kacey Musgraves, whose gay-friendly "Follow Your Arrow" politics might be seen as not exactly aligning with Huckabee's.
Owen's letter to the CMAs' CEO, Sarah Trahern, and director of community outreach, Tiffany Kerns, read: "It is with a heavy heart that I must let you know moving forward, Sandbox [his management firm] and Monument [Sandbox's Sony-distributed label] will no longer support the CMA Foundation in any way (this includes everyone we represent collectively) considering the heartbreaking news shared today regarding Mike Huckabee appointee/elected to the CMA Foundation. Further, we find it hard to support the organization as a whole as a result. As you may know I have a child and two on the way. This man has made it clear that my family is not welcome in his America. And the CMA has opened their arms to him, making him feel welcome and relevant. Huckabee speaks of the sort of things that would suggest my family is morally beneath his and uses language that has a profoundly negative impact upon young people all across this country. Not to mention how harmful and damaging his deep involvement with the NRA is. What a shameful choice.
"I will not participate in any organization that elevates people like this to positions that amplify their sick voices," Owen's letter continued. "This was a detrimentally poor choice by the CMA and its leaders. I only wish the best for you and I know how hard you work for the foundation but a grossly offensive decision like this only makes your job harder and diminishes the foundation's purpose."
Country Music Association
Senator's Texts Leaked
Fox "News"
The Senate Intelligence Committee has found that Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee are responsible for leaking to Fox News confidential text messages between the Senate panel's highest ranking Democrat and a Washington lobbyist associated with a Russian billionaire, sources familiar with the situation told The New York Times on Thursday.
Two Senate committee members - Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), whose texts were leaked, and Sen. Richard M. Burr (R-N.C.), the panel's chairman - were "perturbed" by the findings and discussed them with House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) last month, the sources told the Times.
The senators, whose committee is conduction an investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election, reportedly relayed to Ryan their concern about the direction of the House panel under the leadership of its chairman, Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.). Nunes drafted and pushed for public release a controversial memo last month accusing the Justice Department and FBI of impropriety in their separate probe into the Russian meddling and possible connections to President Donald Trump's campaign.
Fox News touted the text exchange as an "exclusive," but even some Republicans discounted its worth.
Both the timing of the Fox News report and markings on the documents they published indicated to the Senate committee that Republicans on the House committee were behind the leak, the sources told the Times.
Fox "News"
Air Force One Planes
Boeing
Boeing said Tuesday it has reached an agreement to build future Air Force One planes after addressing Donald Trump's (R-Crooked) criticism over hefty costs associated with the presidential aircraft.
"Boeing is proud to build the next generation of Air Force One, providing American presidents with a flying White House at outstanding value to taxpayers," Boeing said on Twitter.
In December 2016, between his election and his inauguration, Trump lambasted the cost of the iconic aircraft as "ridiculous," saying Boeing was planning to spend $4 billion on the planes. He threatened to cancel the contract if costs were not brought down.
As a cost-saving measure, Boeing had proposed to sell the Air Force two Boeing 747-8 planes initially intended for a Russian airline that went bankrupt, according to a person familiar with the talks.
The Boeing 747-8, the civilian version of the presidential plane, is listed at a price of $390 million. However, the price of the presidential aircraft is significantly higher due to additional military features.
Boeing
Moonies In Pennsylvania
AR-15 Assault Rifles
Hundreds of couples toting AR-15 rifles packed a Unification church in Pennsylvania on Wednesday to have their marriages blessed and their weapons celebrated as "rods of iron" that could have saved lives in a recent Florida school shooting.
Women dressed in white and men in dark suits gripped the guns, which they had been urged to bring unloaded to the church in the rural Pocono Mountains, about 100 miles (160 km) north of Philadelphia. Many celebrants wore crowns - some made of bullets - while church officials dressed in flowing bright pink and white garments to go with their armaments.
Reverend Hyung Jin "Sean" Moon, leader of the church after the death of his father and church founder, the Reverend Sun Myung Moon, blessed the roughly 250 couples at the service, a church spokesman said.
The Feb. 28 marriage blessing ceremony had been planned long before a man with an AR-15 assault-style rifle massacred 17 students and school staff in Parkland, Florida, on Feb. 14, the spokesman said.
"Each of us is called to use the power of the 'rod of iron' not to arm or oppress as has been done in satanic kingdoms of this world, but to protect God's children," Moon said, citing the Book of Revelation in the Bible.
AR-15 Assault Rifles
Slows Cognitive Decline
Aerobic Exercise
Cardiovascular exercise training may help slow the decline in brain function seen in Alzheimer's patients, a new review of past research suggests.
Researchers assessed data from 19 studies conducted between 2002 and 2015 that examined the effects of exercise on cognitive ability in 1,145 people at risk of or diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. Nearly 90 percent were randomized controlled trials, which are the most reliable type of study.
Most participants were female (71%); the average age was 77. Just over half of the study subjects participated either in an aerobic exercise program, or an aerobic program plus a resistance training intervention. The rest of the study participants received only usual care.
On average, participants exercised 3.5 days per week at moderate intensity, with each session lasting 30 to 60 minutes. While the programs tested in some of the studies were as short as 8 weeks, others lasted more than 6 months.
Results indicated that exercise - specifically, cardiovascular exercise - had a strong favorable impact, researchers reported in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.
Aerobic Exercise
In Memory
Barry Crimmins
Barry Crimmins, the Boston-based comedian and political activist who was the subject of Bobcat Goldthwait's 2015 documentary "Call Me Lucky," has died at age 64 just weeks after disclosing a cancer diagnosis.
His wife, Helen, who herself is battling stage four non-Hodgkins lymphoma, tweeted the news early Thursday.
Crimmins was a major figure on the 1980s comedy circuit in Boston where comics such as Stephen Wright, Denis Leary and Bobcat Goldthwait first emerged.
He became famous for his outspoken political views - even serving as a correspondent for the left-leaning talk-radio network Air America. In the 1990s, he revealed during a stand-up set that he had been raped as a child and became an advocate for victims of childhood sexual abuse.
After discovering chatrooms for pedophiles on AOL, Crimmins led a crusade against the company and others he felt were involved in distributing online child pornography, even testifying at a U.S. Senate hearing on the matter.
Tributes quickly poured in for the political satirist. "Barry Crimmins was a compassionate, hilarious man who touched so many lives," Judd Apatow tweeted.
"Rest in Power Barry Crimmins. You fought with your whole heart to make the world better," "Daily Show" co-creator Lizz Winstead wrote.
John Hodgman added, "Barry Crimmins has been an inspiration as a comedian and model of human courage and decency for as long as I've been conscious."
Barry Crimmins
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