Josh Marshall: This Was Not Normal: Russian Foreign Minister Edition (TPM)
… we're told that US-Russian relations are at their worst pass since the end of the Cold War. Whatever special bond Trump and Putin had during 2016 has been replaced by icier relations driven by his new top advisors at the Pentagon and the NSC. That's a bit hard to reconcile with this. It seems like President Trump's special relationship with Vladimir Putin is on-going.
George F. Will: Trump has a dangerous disability (Washington Post)
It is urgent for Americans to think and speak clearly about President Trump's inability to do either. This seems to be not a mere disinclination but a disability. It is not merely the result of intellectual sloth but of an untrained mind bereft of information and married to stratospheric self-confidence.
Suzanne Moore: Sleep-bragging is the preserve of the ultra-powerful - no wonder Apple is cashing in (The Guardian)
Come sleep with me and my machine. We will do it all night long. Every breath, every movement will be tracked. Every position noted. In the morning, we can compare notes on our performance and vow to do better. Who slept best? Who achieved the right number of cycles? Who woke at precisely the right moment? Who is the most rested? Who really is superior in bed? It's not me, for sure.
Jim Harness: "The Bow Wow Challenge Dares You to (Pretend to) Live Large" (Neatorama)
This Monday, rapper and actor Bow Wow tweeted a little humble brag about flying to New York with a picture of a private jet. The problem? He was spotted on a very not private flight by someone who already saw the Tweet and called him out on it -and thus, the #BowWowChallenge was born.
In Finland it's called "Kapteeni käskee" ("The captain commands"), in France, it's "Jacques a dit" ("Jack said"), and in Ireland they call it "Deir Ó Grádaigh" ("O'Grady says"). What do we call this game in the US?
Hot Stuff the Little Devil is a comic book character created by Warren Kremer who first appeared in Hot Stuff #1 (October 1957), published by Harvey Comics. Imbued with a mischievous personality and able to produce fire, Hot Stuff appears as a red child devil who wears a diaper (said to be made of asbestos) and carries a magical sentient pitchfork (referred to as his "trusty trident"), which is a character in its own right. Much to the consternation of his demonic brethren, Hot Stuff sometimes performs good deeds to irritate them.
Created and first drawn by Warren Kremer, Hot Stuff has appeared in at least eight comic book titles including Hot Stuff Sizzlers (from 1960), Devil Kids Starring Hot Stuff (from 1962), and Hot Stuff Creepy Caves (from 1974) as well and multiple back-up stories from 1957 to 1982, 1986 to 1991, and with some later publications briefly during the 1990s. The most recent appearance of Hot Stuff was in 2009 with Casper the Friendly Ghost and Wendy the Good Little Witch, when a three-issue comic book miniseries was published by Arden Entertainment called Casper and the Spectrals.
Source
Mark. was first and correct with:
Wow, Hot Stuff the Little Devil.
Randall wrote:
Hot Stuff
Alan J said:
Hot Stuff, the little devil.
Gene replied:
His name is Hot Stuff. He was a long-time mainstay of the Harvey Comic Book company which also had Casper the Friendly Ghost, Wendy the Witch, Richie Rich and more. Fun, non-controversial entertainment for the small fry.
(
Richie Rich was an amazing creation for his unimaginable wealth and high moral values, which included charity and not looking down on anyone. About the only billionaire in real life much like Richie and his family is Warren Buffett.)
Kevin K. in Washington, DC responded:
That's "Hot Stuff", the Little Devil, from Harvey Comics. Companion titles
included Richie Rich and Wendy, the Good Little Witch. Pretty silly stuff;
it lacked the intellectual heft of say, Nancy and Sluggo.
Daniel in The City said:
Hot Stuff the Little Devil
Dale of Diamond Springs, Norcali wrote:
Hot Stuff the Little Devil. Fucking bizarre that Kissinger had a photo op at the White House. Can you smell Nixon in Tramp? The Insanity continues!
Billy in Cypress responded:
Hot Stuff the Little Devil was a comic book character beginning in October 1957 who was friends with Casper, the Friendly Ghost and Wendy, the Good Little Witch . These characters were benign but based on childhood fears about supernatural events and persona. When the kids grew a little older, the comic book characters became very evil and gory.
Then when we matured, the real devils were everywhere and worse than those in comic books. They were able to kill thousand in a ridiculous war, then hundreds of thousands in unending wars and now millions of of their own people with a single bill, all designed to make the rich richer. These real demons like to dance around in celebration drinking free beer and congratulating each other on their "work". Those monsters call themselves republicans and their fraternity is called the GOP, Ghouls On Parade, all dancing to the songs of the Great Satan, CpPDJT-ID. Who knew that the Iranian revolution could be so right?
DJ Useo replied:
Arr. That be "Hot Stuff", or "Oliver", as it says on his birth certificate. Lol.
My sister always had those, & similar books on long family car trips,
so we'd eventually read them when we ran out of more "mature" comics,
like Super-Bat-Spider-Man, & Conan the Librarian.
zorch answered:
Hot Stuff
Joe S wrote:
This little guy is known as "Hot Stuff" and this is how he appears in order to fool you into thinking he is really okay.
Sometimes he takes on his natural persona as the Extreme Ruler Of Hell.
Lately he has been seen everywhere in his most scary persona
Beware!
Jim from CA, retired to ID, took the day off.
Deborah took the day off.
David of Moon Valley took the day off.
mj took the day off.
John I from Hawai`i took the day off.
Dave in Tucson took the day off.
Stephen F took the day off.
MAM took the day off.
Marian took the day off.
BttbBob has returned to semi-retired status.
~~~~~
He invented the phrase "priming the pump"?! How fucking retarded IS he?! So much for that fancy--read that useless and substandard--private school education he was exposed to--he certainly never paid attention or LEARNED anything!
Holy crap! Thank goodness for a little schooling from Merriam-Webster!
Patriot Act NSA Spying Unconstitutional Section 215 National Security Letters Must End
My name is Marc Perkel and I have decided to announce that I will not comply with the so called "Patriot Act" laws requiring me to disclose information about my customers. If I receive a national security letter I will immediately photograph it, post it online everywhere I can, and then make a video of me burning it. I will then await my arrest. If you want to put me in jail then come get me mother fucker.
CBS begins the night with a FRESH'Undercover Boss', followed by a FRESH'Hawaii Five-0', then a FRESH'Blue Bloods'.
Scheduled on a FRESHStephen Colbert are Tracy Morgan, Timothy Simons, and Dan Auerbach.
On a RERUNJames Corden, OBE, (from 3/22/17) are Josh Gad, Judy Greer, and Maggie Rogers.
NBC starts the night with a FRESH'First Dates', followed by 'Dateline'.
Scheduled on a FRESHJimmy Fallon are Derek Jeter, Katherine Langford, and Father John Misty.
On a RERUNSeth Meyers (from 4/27/17) are Aidy Bryant, Ian McShane, RaeLynn, and Lucius.
On a RERUNCarson 'The Scab' Daly (from 4/24/17) are Briga Heelan, Ethan Gruska, and Moshe Kasher.
ABC opens the night with a FRESH'The Toy Box', followed by a FRESH'Shark Tank', then '20/20'.
On a RERUNJimmy Kimmel (from 5/1/17) are Dr. Mehmet Oz, Shaun White, and Kings of Leon.
The CW offers a FRESH'The Originals', followed by a FRESH'Reign'.
Faux has a RERUN'Lucifer', followed by a RERUN'Lethal Weapon'.
MY recycles an old 'American Ninja Warrior', followed by another old 'American Ninja Warrior'.
A&E has 'Live PD', followed by a FRESH'Live PD: Rewind', then a FRESH'Live PD'.
AMC offers the movie 'The Matrix', followed by the movie 'The Matrix Reloaded'.
BBC -
[12:00PM] STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - SEASON 3 - EPISODE 15-Yesterday's Enterprise
[1:00PM] STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - SEASON 3 - EPISODE 16-The Offspring
[2:00PM] STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - SEASON 3 - EPISODE 17-Sins of the Father
[3:00PM] STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - SEASON 3 - EPISODE 18-Allegiance
[4:00PM] STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - SEASON 3 - EPISODE 19-Captain's Holiday
[5:00PM] STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - SEASON 3 - EPISODE 20-Tin Man
[6:00PM] STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - SEASON 3 - EPISODE 21-Hollow Pursuits
[7:00PM] STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - SEASON 3 - EPISODE 22-The Most Toys
[11:00PM] STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - SEASON 3 - EPISODE 15-Yesterday's Enterprise
[12:00AM] STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - SEASON 3 - EPISODE 16-The Offspring
[1:00AM] STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - SEASON 3 - EPISODE 17-Sins of the Father
[2:00AM] STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - SEASON 3 - EPISODE 18-Allegiance
[3:00AM] STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - SEASON 3 - EPISODE 19-Captain's Holiday
[4:00AM] STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - SEASON 3 - EPISODE 20-Tin Man
[5:00AM] STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - SEASON 3 - EPISODE 21-Hollow Pursuits (ALL TIMES EDT)
Bravo has the movie 'Maid In Manhattan', followed by the movie 'Maid In Manhattan', again.
FX has the movie 'Star Trek', followed by the movie 'Star Trek Into Darkness'.
History has 'Ancient Aliens', followed by a FRESH'Ancient Aliens: Declassified', then a FRESH'Ancient Aliens', and another 'Ancient Aliens'.
IFC -
[6:00AM] PORTLANDIA -The Storytellers
[6:30AM] PORTLANDIA -Separation Anxiety
[7:00AM] BREAKDOWN
[9:00AM] MACHETE KILLS
[11:30AM] JACKIE BROWN
[2:45PM] INCEPTION
[6:00PM] SAFE
[8:00PM] THE TRANSPORTER
[10:00PM] HOMEFRONT
[12:15AM] 8 MILE
[2:45AM] HOMEFRONT
[5:00AM] PUNISHER: WAR ZONE (ALL TIMES EDT)
Sundance -
[6:00AM] The Mary Tyler Moore Show -The Boss Isn't Coming to Dinner
[6:35AM] The Mary Tyler Moore Show -A Friend in Deed
[7:10AM] The Mary Tyler Moore Show -Smokey the Bear Wants You
[7:45AM] The Mary Tyler Moore Show -The 45-Year-Old Man
[8:20AM] The Mary Tyler Moore Show -The Birds and ... Um ... Bees
[8:55AM] The Mary Tyler Moore Show -I Am Curious Cooper
[9:30AM] The Horse Whisperer
[12:30PM] Death Becomes Her
[3:00PM] Law & Order- Indifference
[4:00PM] Law & Order -Aria
[5:00PM] Law & Order -God Bless the Child
[6:00PM] Law & Order -Intolerance
[7:00PM] Law & Order -Mother Love
[8:00PM] Law & Order -Breeder
[9:00PM] Law & Order -Nurture
[10:00PM] Law & Order -True North
[11:00PM] Law & Order -Mother's Milk
[12:00AM] Law & Order -Endurance
[1:00AM] Law & Order -Born Again
[2:00AM] Gomorrah -Episode 5
[4:15AM] Hap and Leonard: Mucho Mojo -Holy Mojo
[5:15AM] The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean (ALL TIMES EDT)
SyFy has the movie 'Armageddon', followed by the movie 'Hook'.
Actor Johnny Depp arrives on the red carpet for the global premiere of the film "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales", in Shanghai, China May 11, 2017.
Photo by Aly Song
Climate change could produce a refugee crisis that is "unprecedented in human history", Barack Obama has warned as he stressed global warming was the most pressing issue of the age.
Speaking at an international food conference in Milan, the former US President said rising temperatures were already making it more difficult to grow crops and rising food prices were "leading to political instability".
He said the United States was currently experiencing "floods on sunny days", increased wildfires and, in Alaska, increased coastal erosion as the ice melts and no country was "immune" to the problem.
If world leaders put aside "parochial interests" and took action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by enough to restrict the rise to one or two degrees Celsius, then humanity would probably be able to cope.
Failing to do this, Mr Obama warned, increased the risk of "catastrophic" effects in the future, "not only real threats to food security, but also increases in conflict as a consequence of scarcity and greater refugee and migration patterns".
A mural signed by "TV Boy" and depicting Pope Francis and Donald Trump kissing, is seen on a wall in downtown Rome, Italy May 11, 2017.
Photo by Tony Gentile
21st Century Fox has spent $110m on sexual harassment allegations in the last nine months, reports show.
In a quarterly earnings statement, the conservative news network revealed it spent $45 million on "costs related to settlements of pending and potential litigations" in the last nine months - a period marked by departures of the network's CEO, co-president, and most popular TV host. The high-profile departures have cost the network an additional tens of millions of dollars in exit packages.
Perhaps the most publicised expenditure is the $20 million deal the network stuck with former Fox and Friends co-host Gretchen Carlson. Ms Carlson accused Mr Ailes of sexually harassing her throughout her decade-long stint at the network. At least 20 other women later came forward with their own sexual harassment allegations after her disclosure. Fox is said to have settled with at least two of them.
Fox was also forced to drop its most popular host, Bill "Loofah" O'Reilly>, after a New York Times investigation revealed the network had paid about $13 million to silence sexual harassment allegations over the course of his career. More than 50 advertisers abandoned his show in the wake of the revelation.
The Department of Justice is currently investigating the network for allegedly failing to inform its stockholders about some of its sexual harassment settlements.
Vermont lawmakers on Wednesday approved a measure to legalise recreational use of marijuana, which if not vetoed by the governor would make the state the ninth to legalise the drug and the first to do so by legislation rather than ballot initiative.
The U.S. state's House of Representatives voted 79-66 for the measure, which was attached to a bill increasing penalties for the possession and sale of the opioid drug fentanyl. The measure, which would take effect in July 2018 and allow adults 21 and over to buy and use the drug, was passed by the state Senate last week in a 20-9 vote.
A spokeswoman for Governor Phil Scott, a Republican, said he would need to consider the details of the legislation before deciding whether to sign, veto or let it pass into law without his signature.
Democrats control both houses of the Vermont legislature.
"Last Man Standing" has been axed by ABC after six seasons.
The Tim Allen-starrer followed the life of Mike Baxter (Allen), a conservative sporting goods executive whose values oftentimes clashed with those around him. Mike is married to Vanessa (Nancy Travis), and they were blessed with three children: Mandy (Molly Ephraim), Eve (Kaitlyn Denver) and Kristin (Amanda Fuller). Mike also often had disagreements with his son-in-law, Ryan (Jordan Masterson).
"Last Man Standing" has been occupying the 8 p.m. EST timeslot every Friday on ABC. The sitcom averaged 6.4 million viewers and 1.1 demo rating among audiences aged 18 to 49. The final episode for "Last Man Standing" aired in March, but it wasn't until Wednesday, May 10 that ABC made the decision to cancel the show. The finale episode for Season 6 also featured guest star Jay Leno, according to TV Line.
The cancellation also came as a shock because "Last Man Standing" was dubbed as the perfect sitcom for the Trump era, according to Deadline. The publication claimed that the central character, Mike, who is a political conservative and a devout Christian, was embraced by viewers in the Heartland. However, none of these things were considered by the network, and despite its success, "Last Man Standing" was ultimately canceled.
The Mormon church, the biggest sponsor of Boy Scout troops in the United States, announced Thursday it is pulling as many as 185,000 older youths from the organization as part of an effort to start its own scouting-like program.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said the move wasn't triggered by the Boy Scouts' decision in 2015 to allow gay troop leaders, since Mormon-sponsored troops have remained free to exclude such adults on religious grounds.
But at least one leading Mormon scholar said that the Boy Scouts and the church have been diverging on values in recent years and that the policy on gays was probably a contributing factor in the split.
Saying it wants a new, simplified program of its own that is more closely tailored to Mormon teenagers, the church announced that boys ages 14 to 18 will no longer participate in the Boy Scouts starting next year. The church said the decision will affect 185,000 teens; the Boy Scouts put the number at 130,000.
The loss is only a fraction of the 2.3 million youths in the Boy Scouts of America, but the organization has been grappling with declining membership for years and has enjoyed an unusually close bond with the Mormon church for more than a century because of their shared values. Joining the Boy Scouts is practically automatic among Mormon boys.
Pilgrims walk by a 26 metre tall giant glow-in-the-dark rosary, titled "Suspension" by the Portuguese artist Joana Vasconcelos, above the entrance of Basilica of the Holy Trinity, in Fatima, Portugal, May 11, 2017. Pope Francis is visiting the Fatima shrine on May 12 and 13 to canonize two Portuguese shepherd children whose "visions" of the Virgin Mary 100 years ago turned the sleepy farming town of Fatima into a major Catholic pilgrimage site.
Photo by Paulo Duarte
Donald Trump (R-Fabulist) has somewhat inexplicably claimed to have invented the phrase "priming the pump."
In an interview with the Economist published Thursday, Trump took credit for the common saying while explaining his economic philosophy. He was arguing that it's all right for a tax plan to increase the national deficit in the short term if it spurs economic growth in the long term.
Trump asked the magazine's editors if they understood what he meant by "we have to prime the pump." Then he asked if they had ever heard of the phrase while claiming to have thought it up earlier this week.
"Have you heard that expression used before? Because I haven't heard it. I mean, I just… I came up with it a couple of days ago and I thought it was good. It's what you have to do," Trump said.
Shortly after the interview appeared, Merriam-Webster noted that the phrase "priming the pump" dates to the early 1800s and has been used to reference government investment expenditures since at least 1933.
A West Virginia journalist was arrested and jailed after following U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price (R-Sock Puppet) down a hallway in the state's capitol building and peppering him with questions about healthcare policy, the reporter said.
Journalist Dan Heyman was grabbed by security and handcuffed after repeatedly calling out a question to Price as the health secretary visited the Charleston legislature with White House advisor Kellyanne Conway on Tuesday, Heyman said at a press conference after the incident.
"I'm not sure why, but at some point I think they decided I was just too persistent in asking this question and trying to do my job, so they arrested me," said Heyman, who works for Public News Service, a nonprofit news operation.
A criminal complaint filed against Heyman in Kanawha County, West Virginia said he was "yelling questions" at Price and Conway and "aggressively breaching secret service agents to the point where the agents were forced to remove him a couple of times."
Heyman said he repeatedly asked Price if domestic abuse would be deemed a pre-existing condition under the healthcare bill passed last week by the U.S. House of Representatives, but the official did not respond.
The news of James Comey's ouster as director of the FBI was met with shock, confusion and condemnation from both sides of the political spectrum - although mostly from Democrats - Tuesday evening.
By the next morning, however, Fox News had managed to find plenty of people willing to publicly defend the president's decision to fire Comey.
"I think it couldn't happen soon enough," Sen. Rand Paul (R-Dim Bulb), said on "Fox & Friends" Wednesday. "I'd lost confidence in Comey a long time ago."
Former House Speaker and past presidential candidate Newt Gingrich (R-Philanderer) was similarly dismissive of those who've raised questions about the timing of Comey's termination.
"If Trump comes out at lunchtime today and says, the American flag is red, white and blue, Chuck Schumer will yell out it's actually fuscia," he said.
James Comey, during Donald Trump's (R-Corrupt) first days in office, was asked if he would pledge loyalty to Trump, The New York Times reported on Thursday night.
Trump posed the question over a private dinner with Comey in January, The Times' Michael Schmidt wrote, at a time when the FBI was trying to determine whether the Trump campaign had colluded with Russian operatives to help him get elected.
Comey declined Trump's request for loyalty at least twice during the dinner, according to two people close to Comey who were cited by The Times and had knowledge of the conversation.
Schmidt wrote: "Instead, Mr. Comey has recounted to others, he told Mr. Trump that he would always be honest with him, but that he was not 'reliable' in the conventional political sense."
Trump unsuccessfully asked for Comey's loyalty again during the dinner and Comey again declined, The Times said, adding that Trump as a private citizen has for years demanded loyalty from close associates.
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wrote:
took the day off.
has returned to semi-retired status.
