Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Paul Krugman: Trump's $700 Billion Foreign Aid Program (NY Times Blog)
And now Rosenthal's point: unlike the situation in previous tax reforms, we now live in a world where investment holdings are diversified across countries. Specifically, around 35 percent of U.S. equity is owned by foreign residents. So of that $2 trillion windfall, $700 billion goes to foreigners. Make non-US investors great again!
Steven M. Rosenthal: Foreigners Would Win Big from A Corporate Tax Cut (Tax Policy Center)
The Trump Administration and congressional Republican leaders (the Big Six) have proposed a $70 billion-a-year tax cut for foreign investors. It stems from the cut in statutory corporate income tax rate from 35 percent to 20 percent (and repeal of the corporate AMT), which would reduce corporate taxes by an average of $200 billion a year, or $2 trillion over 10 years. While economists debate who gains from corporate tax cuts over the long run, they generally agree that owners of U.S. corporate stock would reap the short-term benefits.
Josh Marshall: The Big WaPo Story & Why Everyone Needs to Thank Marc Elias (TPM)
The Trump team wanted to deliver for Russia right out of the gate in January, a quick series of accommodations and a 'grand bargain' with Vladimir Putin. It was the investigation into Trump's ties to Russia that got in the way and mainly prevented it. It's clear that Steele's research played a major role in that. Remember, the FBI found it so critical it agreed to continue funding Steele's research. Without Marc Elias's decision, that research may never have been conducted. The country owes him a debt of gratitude.
Cameron Joseph: Congressional Democrats Are Crushing The GOP In 2018 Midterm Fundraising (TPM)
One big exception to this pattern: The Republican National Committee is wiping the floor with the Democratic National Committee, a major concern for Democrats as they head into a crucial midterm year. The RNC has $44 million in the bank to the DNC's paltry $7 million.
Rebecca Shapiro: 'The Angriest Librarian' Schools Columnist Over Anti-Library Tweets(Huffington Post)
"First of all, library usage is on the RISE mother*******."
Nathan Heller: Kirkus Reviews and the Plight of the "Problematic" Book Review (New Yorker)
Kirkus has been getting reviews of its own recently, after deciding to remove a star-its marker for exceptional books-from a young-adult title and revising the accompanying review. At first, it praised "American Heart," by Laura Moriarty.
Ed Mazza: Lou Dobbs' Interview With Donald Trump Is Much Better With Porn Music(Huffington Post)
"The Daily Show" gives the love fest the soundtrack it deserves.
Julia Brucculieri: Fats Domino, Legendary Singer And Pianist, Dead At 89 (Huffington Post)
The rock 'n' roll pioneer was known for hits like "Ain't That a Shame" and "I'm Walkin'."
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Presenting
Michael Egan
said:
has returned to semi-retired status.
In memory.
Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
David E Suggests
Florida
David
Thanks, Dave!
Bonus Links
Jeannie the Teed-Off Temp
from Marc Perkel
Patriot Act
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
TRUMP SIGNS NEW TRAVEL BAN.
HANGING OUT IN EUGENE.
THE 'YES' MAN.
'A SICK MAN'
WOOF!
THE SACRED INSECTS.
BOOM?
Visit JD's site - Kitty Litter Music
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Celebrated the kid's birthday.
Shot To Death Since Las Vegas Massacre
800 People
The nation mourned when 58 people were killed and more than 500 injured in the hail of bullets on Oct. 1 in Las Vegas. The scope of the violence was breathtaking, incomprehensible. But since then, more than 2,738 people have been shot in the U.S., according to data collected by the Gun Violence Archive. A reported 840 of them died.
For these tragedies, there is no national spotlight. But victims and their families face the same devastating consequences. They must plan funerals, miss work, make child care arrangements and pay exorbitant health care bills. And their communities struggle with the same mind-numbing sense of loss.
In Orlando, a father left a 5-year-old boy in a car while he went to pick up another child, authorities said, and the boy found a gun, shot himself and died.
In North Carolina, a 4-year-old found a gun in a truck's tailgate and accidentally shot his grandfather to death.
One victim was only 2 months old. Her father was allegedly trying to unload a gun when it went off, shooting the infant girl in the head.
800 People
Cuts 'Standing Ovations' Down To Size
Jimmy Kimmel
Jimmy Kimmel took time to mock President-for-now Donald Trump (R-Odious) on Wednesday night for bragging about the "standing ovations" he received at a meeting with Republican senators this week.
Trump had been responding in part to Sens. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) and Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) breaking ranks to voice their severe criticism of his performance in office. Both senators have announced they would not run for re-election. Earlier on Wednesday, Flake had told "Good Morning America" that he expected other Republicans to speak out against Trump, too.
So Trump fired off several tweets about "multiple standing ovations" during his Tuesday lunch with GOP senators.
"Who wants to be the one to tell him that people are required to stand when the president enters the room?" Kimmel asked. "That's like saying every time I walk into a Starbucks, guy behind the counter asks me if I want coffee."
"If only his mother had hugged him just one time."
Jimmy Kimmel
T-rump Is A 'Danger To The World'
Ron Reagan
The son of former President Ronald Reagan is calling on lawmakers to remove President-for-now Donald Trump (R-Execrable) from office either via impeachment or by taking action under the 25th Amendment.
"Donald Trump is a deeply damaged human being. He is a sociopathic, malignant narcissist," Ron Reagan told Chris Matthews on MSNBC's "Hardball" on Wednesday.
Reagan - a liberal commentator for the cable network and a frequent critic of the president - blamed the electoral system rather than the voters for Trump taking office.
"The Electoral College has sort of vomited this thing up and it landed in the Oval Office, and it needs to be removed. It's a stain. It's a big glob on the carpet there. It needs to be removed. And that means impeachment or the 25th Amendment," Reagan said. "This man is a danger to the world."
Ron Reagan
Grants Citizenship To A Robot
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia has become the first country to give a robot citizenship.
The move is an attempt to promote Saudi Arabia as a place to develop artificial intelligence - and, presumably, allow it to become a full citizen. But many pointed out that those same rights aren't afforded to many humans in the country.
The robot, named Sophia, was confirmed as a Saudi citizen during a business event in Riyadh, according to an official Saudi press release.
"We have a little announcement. We just learnt, Sophia; I hope you are listening to me, you have been awarded the first Saudi citizenship for a robot," said panel moderator and business writer Andrew Ross Sorkin.
A number of internet users have pointed out that while the country might be celebrating the rights it has given to female-appearing robots, the country still only gives limited rights to human women. A joke hashtag about Sophia asking to drop the system under which every female citizen must have a male guardian has been tweeted a third as many times as a popular one about the news, according to the BBC.
Saudi Arabia
Approval Rating Plummeting
T-rump
President-for-now Donald Trump's (R-Crooked) approval ratings took another hit Wednesday, with a Fox News poll showing the president's numbers are poor even among his white voting base.
The president now holds a 38 percent approval rating, down from 42 percent in September, while his disapproval rating climbed four points, to 57 percent, according to the poll.
Trump's numbers have steadily declined since his inauguration in January, but his handling of recovery efforts aftger recent natural disasters could be to blame for his numbers hitting an all-time low.
White evangelical Christians and white men without college degrees are no longer supporting the president with the same fervor as they did during the election, when the president won 80 percent and 71 percent of their votes, respectively.
His support among white men without a college degree slid to 56 percent from 68 percent and among and among white evangelical Christians fell to 66 percent from 74 percent, according to the poll.
T-rump
Married At 11
Florida
Sherry Johnson was 11 years old when she was forced to marry her 20-year-old rapist through a loophole in a Florida law that doesn't set a minimum age for marriage if a girl is pregnant.
That was nearly five decades ago, but the problem still exists today and Johnson, now 58, is hoping to change state law to prevent anyone under the age of 18 from getting married.
Florida doesn't allow anyone under the age of 18 to independently consent to marriage. Children aged 16 and 17 can marry with the consent of both children's parents. But if there's a pregnancy involved, there is no minimum age for marriage as long as a judge approves the marriage license.
Between 2010 and 2016, 3,161 children - 72 of them under the age of 16 - were married in Florida, according to state Department of Health statistics provided by the Tahirih Justice Center, which is fighting nationally to change laws allowing child marriages. At least one child was married in every one of Florida's 67 counties and in some cases the spouse was at least twice the minor's age.
For Johnson, it's created a lifetime of pain she says she is still recovering from. The man she was forced to marry raped her when she was 9, she gave birth at 10 and was forced to marry at 11. He was a church deacon and the bishop of the church pressured her mother to consent to the marriage, she said. And when a court clerk in the Tampa area refused to issue the marriage license, they went to the next county over for the ceremony.
Florida
Worrying About T-rump Instead Of Schoolwork
Students
Politicians can be powerful role models for kids, for better or worse. And with Donald Trump (R-Corrupt) in the White House, an increasing share of teenagers are mimicking the hateful language, brazen lies, and racial animus they see modeled by the president, according to a study released Thursday.
The study, conducted by the UCLA Institute for Democracy, Education and Access, details how the Trump administration is affecting American classrooms. It is based on a nationally representative May 2017 survey of 1,500 public high school teachers and open-ended answers from 850 of them, plus 35 follow-up interviews.
The results show that more students have introduced unfounded claims into discussions and lashed out at peers with differing viewpoints. Students from marginalized groups are having difficulty learning and are experiencing increased bullying, teachers report.
A non-scientific questionnaire sent to teachers by the Southern Poverty Law Center found similar concerns leading up to and immediately after the 2016 election.
The UCLA study found that teachers' already stressful lives are becoming even more so in these politically charged times. Nearly 70 percent of teachers reported facing increased work-related stress during the 2016-2017 school year. Half of these teachers pointed to the current political environment as the driving force behind this anxiety. Indeed, for many teachers, classrooms appear to be getting more difficult to control: A fifth of survey respondents said there is a growing level of incivility among students.
Students
Nobody Really Likes Him
Roy Moore
It's hard to pinpoint when or why Republicans decided to overlook Roy Moore's ongoing scandals.
He was drummed out of Alabama's Supreme Court in 2003 after he'd refused to remove a statue of the Ten Commandments that'd he'd put up at the courthouse. Ten years later, he won an election to serve as chief justice, only to be suspended in 2016 for refusing to comply with a federal ruling that legalized same-sex marriage across the nation.
Today, Moore bombshells are still dropping. It's been revealed that he collected a huge salary from his charity, which thenfailed to report that income to the IRS. Then it was reported that Moore previously took donations from a Nazi group. Some Alabama conservatives are finding it hard to fall in line with their own party on the state level.
You can't legislate patriotism, you can't legislate morality, and we have a candidate who wants to do exactly that. James Lomax, Republican in Huntsville, Alabama
"He's more of a demagogue than a politician," said James Lomax, 26, a self-described "millennial Republican" perhaps best known for his Huntsville City Council run at the age of 18.
Roy Moore
Murdered?
Pablo Neruda
The Chilean poet Pablo Neruda did not die of prostate cancer, as listed on his official death certificate, a panel of forensic investigators has concluded.
Their findings might fuel speculations that Neruda was assassinated.
Neruda died in a hospital in Santiago at age 69 in September 1973, just days after the military coup that brought dictator Gen. Augusto Pinochet to power in Chile. Neruda, who was also a politician and a diplomat, had been a supporter of the deposed leftist president Salvador Allende.
In 2013, a Chilean judge ordered Neruda's remains to be exhumed for an investigation. Though Neruda's death certificate indicated he died of cachexia, or wasting syndrome associated with cancer, the poet's chauffeur told the Mexican magazine Proceso in 2011 that the Nobel laureate was murdered. Hours before his death, Neruda reportedly told the driver that he had been injected in the stomach with an unknown substance.
"The immediate cause of death, cachexia, cannot be correct," Niels Morling, a forensic geneticist at the University of Copenhagen, told Live Science in an email. "Neruda was an obese man, who should have been recommended a diet - the opposite of cachexia."
Pablo Neruda
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