Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Henry Rollins: Help Us, Melania, You're Our Only Hope (LA Weekly)
It's been minute to minute ever since comrade Trump went wheels-up for his first trip abroad. The upside of a multibillion-dollar arms deal with Saudi Arabia is what exactly? Oh yeah, the country that supplied a majority of 9/11 terrorists will acquire tons of weapons because the world needs more ways for men and their egos to impulsively plot your demise.
Lenore Skenazy: Dollar Dreams (Creators Syndicate)
Some people live to pay retail. They love Saks Fifth Avenue and Tiffany & Co. and (of course) Target. But give me a discount shop any day. And make it rock bottom. I'm talking about the gummy-squids-from-Guam, happy-Halloween-now-that-it's-May, looks-like-Woolite-but-it's-Woolbrite shops that make you feel so darn rich.
Lenore Skanazy: Summer Used to Mean Free Time (Creators Syndicate)
About 15 years ago, friends whose kids went to the same preschool as ours invited us to visit the upstate bungalow colony where they spend their summers. "Great!" we said. "But - what's a bungalow colony?" As it turns out, it's a time portal that can transport you back to the Sputnik era. There you will find yourself in a world of impromptu kaffeeklatsches, potluck suppers and, best of all, no play dates. Kids just run around and make their own fun. I know. Surreal.
Ted Rall: Security Is Ruining The Internet (Creators Syndicate)
Another major cyberattack has me thinking about European ruins. Those medieval fortresses and castles had walls 10 feet thick made of solid stone; they were guarded by mean, heavily armored men. The barbarians got in anyway. Security is overrated.
Connie Schultz: Perhaps You Remember Tamir Rice (Creators Syndicate)
Finally - 2 1/2 years after the 12-year-old black boy was shot dead in a city park in Cleveland - we know the fate of the two white police officers involved in his death.
On Tuesday, Cleveland police announced that Timothy Loehmann, the officer who pulled the trigger within seconds of his arrival, has been fired. Not for killing Tamir. That wasn't even mentioned. He was fired for lying on his job application with Cleveland police. Frank Garmback, who drove the cruiser to within feet of Tamir before Loehmann opened fire, was suspended for 10 days without pay.
Alex Buchanan: 5 Iconic Parts Of The Bible We Pretty Much All Get Wrong (Cracked)
The Bible is the most popular book in the world -- yes, more popular than Fifty Shades Of Grey. Indeed, more than all of Stephen King's books combined. Of course it outsells the entire Harry Potter series. Wait, really? We'll get our researchers to double-check that last one. That just doesn't sound right. But despite its massive influence, there are still a few very basic points we get wrong about the Bible. For example …
Adam Wears, Marina Reimann: "5 Myths About War You Believe (Because Of Movies)" (Cracked)
… war movies are constantly lying about war to moviegoers, because as it turns out, war is super complicated and needs to be simplified for mainstream audiences. That's why a lot of aspects of war that we take for granted are about as factually accurate as that scene in The Patriot where Mel Gibson stabs a man with the American flag and wins the Revolutionary War. For example …
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Presenting
Michael Egan
took the day off.
has returned to semi-retired status.
In memory.
Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
Bonus Links
Jeannie the Teed-Off Temp
from Marc Perkel
Patriot Act
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
THE LASER BEAM OF HATE!
HERE WE GO WITH THE COMEY SHOW.
HEADING FOR ARMAGEDDON.
CAGED!
THE GEEKS!
REPUBLICANS HATE WOMEN!
SORRY DONALD.
Visit JD's site - Kitty Litter Music
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
The fig tree is really loaded. Hope the raccoons let us have some.
Celebrities Supporting
Kathy Griffin
While Kathy Griffin received backlash over a photograph she posted online, in which she held a bloody mask of President Donald Trump, the comedian is also getting support from a handful of celebrities. The latest to join the list of her supporters is Alec Baldwin, who backed Griffin in a series of tweets Friday.
Baldwin, who often impersonates the 70-year-old president on "Saturday Night Live," recalled his experience of his 1998 joke on Republican politician Henry Hyde. Baldwin had suggested
"Dear Kathy Griffin, Kathy... baby... I've been there. The whole Henry Hyde thing [with] Conan, where we bring out an oxygen mask at the end? a joke. That's what I thought. That's what we intended. No one walked out of the studio and said, "No! We're serious!" No one," Baldwin wrote in the tweets
"But all your gutless, weasels in the GOP insisted that I actually threatened Hyde. They played the victim beautifully. Kathy... f--- them. F--- them all. [no one] believes [you] meant [to] threaten Trump," Baldwin continued. "Trump is such a senile idiot, all he has is Twitter fights. ignore him. Like the leaders of all the other countries in the world. Ignore him."
Actor Jamie Foxx also supported Griffin, saying sometimes comedians tend to "go beyond, past the line."
Kathy Griffin
'Kevin Can Wait'
Leah Remini
"Kevin Can Wait" Season 2 will continue to feature Leah Remini's character, Vanessa Cellucci.
Remini first gave life to the character of a tough, wise-cracking police officer in the two-part finale for "Kevin Can Wait" Season 1 in May. Fans of the sitcom were happy to see Remini in the show, so CBS made sure that she will be back. In fact, Remini has been promoted to series regular for the next season.
"Kevin Can Wait" lead star Kevin James also teamed up with Remini in "King of Queens." They starred in the CBS show together for nine seasons, according to TV Line. This is why their teamup on "Kevin Can Wait" last month was a huge hit among their fans.
In other news, Remini has been making headlines for the past couple of years after she decided to leave the Church of Scientology. Since then, she has become an outspoken critic of the religion and has published a memoir titled "Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology" two years ago. Last year, she also starred in the documentary series "Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath" on the A&E network. According to Variety, the series was recently picked up for a second season.
Leah Remini
Revolutionary War Boat
The Spitfire
More than two decades after it was discovered at the bottom of Lake Champlain, a Revolutionary War gunboat may see the light of day under a museum plan to raise, preserve and put the vessel on display.
The Spitfire, a 54-foot boat that's part of a fleet built by Benedict Arnold before he turned traitor, sank a day after the 1776 Battle of Valcour Island, helping delay a British advance down the lake.
"At the end of the day, the obligation to try to preserve the Spitfire for future generations and be able to utilize it as a connection to the formative years of this nation proved to be the overwhelming value that drove us," said Art Cohn, co-founder of the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum, which is planning the work.
The Spitfire represents the hundreds of shipwrecks in Lake Champlain and other waterways that provide links to the nation's past, Cohn said.
The Spitfire's sinking made it possible for the 1777 American victory at the Battle of Saratoga, a key moment in the American Revolution because it led to French recognition of the fledgling United States of America.
The Spitfire
UNESCO Has 'Serious Concern'
Great Barrier Reef
A United Nations agency said Saturday it had "serious concern" about coral bleaching on Australia's Great Barrier and urged the government to work faster to improve water quality in the region.
UNESCO said in a draft report to the World Heritage Committee released in Paris on the state of conservation of World Heritage-listed properties that "climate change remains the most significant overall threat to the future" of the 2,300-kilometer (1,400-mile) coral expanse.
UNESCO was also critical of Australia, saying "progress toward achieving water quality targets has been slow."
The agency recommended that Australia be asked in a final report to "accelerate its efforts to reach the quality targets " it set out in a reef conservation plan in December.
The government plans to improve water quality through reduced agricultural runoff of fertilizer and pesticides and by reducing the number of trees being cleared along the Queensland state coast.
Great Barrier Reef
Targets London Mayor
T-rump
Donald Trump (R-Buffoon) lashed out Sunday at London's mayor Sadiq Khan, accusing him of downplaying the threat of terrorism a day after knife-wielding men mowed down and stabbed revelers in the British capital.
London's mayor swiftly shot down the US president's remarks, made in a series of overnight tweets, as critics accused Trump of exploiting a terror attack for political gain -- and not for the first time.
A spokesman said Khan "has more important things to do than respond to Donald Trump's ill-informed tweet."
The acting US ambassador to Britain, Lew Lukens, threw his support behind Khan in a series of tweets which also praised the "extraordinary" response from Londoners and emergency services.
"I commend the strong leadership of the @MayorofLondon as he leads the city forward after this heinous attack," he said, quoted on the US embassy's Twitter account.
T-rump
Mum on Gay Pride Month
T-rump
LGBTQ groups and activists are calling out Donald Trump (R-Crooked) for his failure recognize June as Pride Month. Trump had endorsed a number of other celebrations associated with the month of June, including National Ocean Month and African-American Music Appreciation Month, but has avoided acknowledging Gay Pride.
During his presidential campaign, Trump claimed to be a supporter of LGBTQ individuals and their rights. However, he lost some goodwill when he chose running mate Mike Pence (R-Mother's Boy), who once referred to gay marriage as a "societal collapse."
"Ask yourself, who is really the friend of women and the LGBT community? Donald Trump with actions or Hillary Clinton with her words?" Trump said at a New Hampshire campaign stop in 2016. "I will tell you who the better friend is. And some day I believe that will be proven out big league."
Despite his bold words regarding his support for the LBGTQ community, a vast majority of the community's leaders didn't believe him.
While Trump may claim he supports LGBTQ rights, his record has not been strong. In his first day in office, the White House's official website was overhauled and a section intended to preserve gay and lesbian rights.
T-rump
Host Disavows Internment Camps
Fox "News"
A Fox News host on Sunday clarified his own position on internment camps, denouncing them as "reprehensible," after two panelists on the network suggested rounding up British Muslims in response to Saturday night's terror attack in London.
Clayton Morris, a host of "Fox and Friends Weekend," made the statement on behalf of the network.
"Earlier on the show, we had a couple of guests mention the word 'internment,' the idea of internment camps, as a possible solution to this," he said. "I think I made it well known my feeling on that, which I find reprehensible, but on behalf of the network, I think all of us here find that reprehensible here at Fox News Channel, just to be clear."
On Sunday, two of the show's guests, including Brexit leader Nigel Farage (R-Rupert's Whore), now a Fox News contributor, had touted the idea of internment camps.
Farage conceded that "we might alienate decent, fair-minded Muslims in Britain."
Fox "News"
Daily Diet Includes Just Fast Food
T-rump
While Donald Trump (R-Corrupt) has used his fingers mostly for letting the world know what he has been up to, via his unending tweetstorm ever since becoming the POTUS, another equally vital use has been to press a button and order his choice of fast food anytime he wants.
Trump's love for fast food was never a hidden fact as he himself has claimed multiple times that being a person who likes cleanliness, he rather prefers fast food to "maybe someplace that you have no idea where the food's coming from," PopSugar reported. He has also been tweeting pictures of feasting on different kinds of fast foods since his campaigning days.
Trump has often admitted dinner is his most favorite meal of the day. Some of his favorite dinner options include a Big Mac and fries or a KFC chicken bucket. In a picture on Twitter that went instantly viral as soon as he posted it, Trump is seen eating fried chicken with a knife and fork sitting in his private jet.
Trump also has the habit of snacking on taco bowls and junk foods like Doritos, Lays Potato Chips and Keebler's Vienna Fingers.
T-rump
Weekend Box Office
'Wonder Woman'
"Wonder Woman" conquered milestones and movie myths at North American theaters, where the Patty Jenkins-directed superhero film powered its way to a $100.5 million debut this weekend and became the biggest blockbuster ever directed by a woman.
Last week's top film, "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales," slid dramatically to $21.6 million in its second week. It landed in third place, behind Fox's "Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie." The animated release, in which a pair of students make their principal think he's a superhero by hypnotizing him, opened with $23.5 million.
But "Pirates" still sails well overseas. It's made $386.6 million internationally, driving the Disney sequel to more than $500 million globally.
The success of "Wonder Woman" gave the summer box office a much-needed charge. Thus far, the season's only blockbuster has been its first: "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2." It has made $355.5 million in North America and $816.6 million worldwide.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to comScore. Where available, the latest international numbers also are included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
1. "Wonder Woman," $100.5 million ($122.5 million international).
2. "Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie," $23.5 million.
3. "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tells," $21.6 million ($73.8 million international).
4. "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2," $9.7 million ($4.4 million international).
5. "Baywatch," $8.5 million ($23.8 million international).
6. "Alien: Covenant," $4 million ($3.7 million international).
7. "Everything Everything," $3.3 million.
8. "Snatched," $1.3 million.
9. "Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul," $1.2 million.
10. "King Arthur: Legend of the Sword," $1.2 million ($3.7 million international).
'Wonder Woman'
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