Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Mark Shields: Polls Apart (Creators Syndicate)
The most recent WSJ/NBC News poll contains some welcome news for President Trump and Republicans: Nearly two-thirds of Americans are satisfied with the nation's economy, one of the highest ratings since Bill Clinton left the White House in 2001. Trump's approval rating has climbed to 44 percent, the highest it has been since the first month of his presidency and almost identical to Barack Obama's and Ronald Reagan's scores at similar junctures in their presidencies.
Susan Estrich: Absolute Power (Creators Syndicate)
What is he [Trump] thinking? What is terrifying is that we know the answer. He thinks he has absolute power.
Connie Schultz: "Round Up the Parents; Lose the Children" (Creators Syndicate)
"They're armed. They had the dogs. We hear the helicopters on top of us," Sabala told the station. "They took them on a big bus. All I could think about is my mom, because I didn't know where she was, and also my sister, because I didn't know where my sister was, either. And everyone was just crying." This latest ICE carnival was brought to you by the Donald Trump road show. … This is what we do now in America. Our government singles out brown and black children and traumatizes them, as policy. We rip their parents away from them and claim we're protecting jobs that Americans don't even want.
Paul Krugman: Debacle in Quebec (NY Times Blog)
Was there any strategy behind Trump's behavior? Well, it was pretty much exactly what he would have done if he really is Putin's puppet: yelling at friendly nations about sins they aren't committing won't bring back American jobs, but it's exactly what someone who does want to break up the Western alliance would like to see.
Matthew Jacobs: Mister Rogers Is Back, When We Need Him Most (Huffington Post)
The new documentary Won't You Be My Neighbor? explores the radical notion that someone this decent really was who he said he was.
Hadley Freeman: Do women really need to choose between motherhood and art? (The Guardian)
If a woman feels she can't do her work and be a mother, the problem is not motherhood: it's her partner.
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Presenting
Michael Egan
said:
has returned to semi-retired status.
In memory.
Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
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
WHAT EVIL DWELLS IN THE HEART OF DONALD J. TRUMP?
TRUMPS WHORE HOUSE.
"HOW TO RUN A WHORE HOUSE" BY DONALD J. TRUMP.
CUTTING THE 'SCOTCH TAPE'.
HOW TO GET ALONG WITH A DODO BIRD.
Visit JD's site - Kitty Litter Music
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Argh. Running late.
Tony Awards
Robert De Niro
Robert De Niro stunned the crowd at the Tony Awards Sunday by sending a profanity-filled message to President Donald Trump.
"I just want to say one thing," De Niro said from the stage at New York's Radio City Music Hall, before introducing a performance by Bruce Springsteen. "Fuck Trump. It's no longer down with Trump. It's fuck Trump."
Variety and The Wrap confirmed De Niro's comment, which was bleeped out in CBS's broadcast.
Welcoming Springsteen to the stage, De Niro added: "In these perilous times, you rock the vote, always fighting for truth, transparency and integrity in government. Boy, do we need that now!"
The audience responded by giving the actor a standing ovation.
Robert De Niro
Meeting Of 'Two Dictators'
'Fox & Friends'
"Fox & Friends" co-host Abby Huntsman seemed to slip up Sunday while discussing the upcoming summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, calling it a meeting of "two dictators."
Huntsman and "Fox & Friends" guest Anthony Scaramucci, who was infamously fired as White House communications director after just 10 days in office, chatted about the highly anticipated summit during the show Sunday.
"This is history," Huntsman said over video showing Trump arriving in Singapore ahead of Tuesday's meeting with Kim.
"Regardless of what happens in that meeting between the two dictators, what we are seeing right now ? this is history," she continued.
Scaramucci brushed right past Huntsman's apparent gaffe and instead offered praise for Trump's foreign policy strategy.
'Fox & Friends'
Woman Sues NASA
Moon Dust
A Tennessee woman is suing NASA in Kansas to affirm her ownership of lunar dust she says astronaut Neil Armstrong gave her.
The Kansas City Star reports that Laura Murray Cicco filed the federal lawsuit Wednesday seeking to establish her moon dust ownership under the Declaratory Judgment Act of the United States Code.
Cicco was 10 when her mother gave her a vial of dust with a note appearing to be from Armstrong, the first man to set foot on the moon and a friend Cicco's father.
NASA has not tried to claim ownership of the dust, but Cicco filed the lawsuit proactively because the agency's position is that all lunar material belongs to the nation.
Moon Dust
New Study
Tonsils
Having your tonsils out as a child makes you three times as likely to suffer from common colds and other respiratory infections, and may leave you more vulnerable to a host of other infectious diseases, a study has concluded.
The common childhood removal of the tonsils or adenoids in the throat also increased the chances of allergic conditions and skin and eye diseases as well, Australian researchers found.
This is likely to be because the tissues play an important role in the early immune system, detecting and blocking the invasion of bacteria and viruses into the lungs and throat.
They are often removed if they're obstructing easy breathing, or where they are causing repeated bouts of tonsillitis and middle-ear infections.
But the authors of this latest study say alternatives to surgery should be considered because of the increased risk of all types of infection.
Tonsils
U.S.-Mexico Border
1,800 Families
Nearly 1,800 immigrant families were separated at the U.S.-Mexico border from October 2016 through February of this year, according to a senior government official, as President Donald Trump implemented stricter border enforcement policies.
The numbers are the first comprehensive disclosure by the administration of how many families have been affected by the policies. Previously, the only numbers provided by federal officials on family separations covered a single two-week period in May.
The government official, who agreed to speak only on condition of anonymity, said he could not provide up-to-date statistics, but acknowledged the number of separations had risen sharply in recent weeks, largely because of new administration policies.
In May, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced a 'zero tolerance' policy in which all those apprehended entering the United States illegally would be criminally charged, which generally leads to children being separated from their parents.
A U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) official testified last month to Congress that between May 6 and May 19, 658 children were separated from 638 parents because of the stepped-up prosecutions. That brings the total of officially acknowledged separations to more than 2,400, though that does not include recent weeks or the period from March 1 to May 6.
1,800 Families
Power Lines Sparked Wildfires
PG&E
A dozen of the wind-driven blazes that swept northern California's wine country last fall, killing 46 people in the deadliest firestorm in state history, were sparked by PG&E-owned power lines, state officials said on Friday.
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or CalFire, also said its investigators had found "evidence of alleged violations of state law" by Pacific Gas & Electric Company and referred those cases to county prosecutors for further review.
PG&E issued a statement in response saying the company looked forward to reviewing the CalFire reports, adding, "We continue to believe our overall programs met our state's high standards."
The findings could have tremendous implications for the San Francisco-based utility company in terms of potential legal liability for one of California's most lethal and costly disasters.
The company cited the "new normal" of heightened year-round wildfire hazards created by years of prolonged drought and millions of dead trees.
PG&E
New Research
Kitchen Towels
Repeated use of tea towels in the kitchen could be putting families at risk of food poisoning, according to new research.
Bacterial build-up was measured on 100 towels over the course of a month during an experiment by scientists at the University of Mauritius.
Researchers found bacteria growth on 49 towels, with more than a third testing positive for coliforms, the group of species of which E.coli is a member.
The study found E.coli was more likely to develop on towels that had been left to sit damp, while coliforms and Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteria were detected at significantly higher rates in households with non-vegetarian diets.
It also found tea towels in the homes of larger families and those of a lower socio-economic background had higher rates of bacteriagrowth.
Kitchen Towels
3,000-Year-Old Sculpture
Archaeologists
A 3,000-year-old sculpture has proven to be a mystery for researchers who have no idea whose face it depicts.
The 5cm figurine was discovered in 2017 in a site called Abel Beth Maacah, which sits just south of Israel's border with Lebanon.
Apart from a missing beard and chipped nose, the Old Testament-era sculpture is in excellent condition. However, archaeologistsare unsure about who it is supposed to represent.
Due to the crown researchers assume the man is some member of royalty, but are unsure who he is or even what kingdom he would have ruled over.
"This location is very important because it suggests that the site may have shifted hands between these polities, more likely between Aram-Damascus and Israel," Hebrew University archaeologist Naama Yahalom-Mack told The Guardian, adding that the sculpture has a "very interesting hairdo", which is similar to the way ancient Egyptians depicted Near Eastern peoples in their art.
Archaeologists
Weekend Box Office
'Ocean's 8'
"Ocean's 8," the female-fronted overhaul of the starry heist franchise, opened with an estimated $41.5 million at the box office, taking the weekend's top spot from the fast-falling "Solo: A Star Wars Story."
At a lower price point and in less fanboy-guarded franchise, "Ocean's 8" - despite ho-hum reviews - found nothing like the stormy reception than the female-led "Ghostbusters" reboot did on the same weekend two years ago.
The horror thriller "Hereditary," starring Toni Collette, debuted with $13 million, setting a new company record for A24, the indie distributor behind releases like "The Witch" and "Moonlight." The feature-film directing debut of Ari Aster, "Hereditary" has received rave reviews and been hailed as the year's scariest movie since its debut at the Sundance Film Festival. Either from disappointment or simply because they were stunned from fear, audiences gave "Hereditary" - about a family cursed after the death of its matriarch - a D-plus CinemaScore.
Less successful was "Hotel Artemis," starring Jodie Foster. The Global Road release, also starring Sterling K. Brown, Dave Bautista and Charlie Day, flopped with $3.2 million in 2,407 theaters. Set in a near-future Los Angeles, "Hotel Artemis" is about a members-only hospital for criminals.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to comScore. Where available, the latest international numbers for Friday through Sunday are also included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
1. "Ocean's 8," $41.5 million ($12.2 million international).
2. "Solo: A Star Wars Story," $15.2 million.
3. "Deadpool 2," $13.7 million ($18.5 million international).
4. "Hereditary," $13 million ($3.5 million international).
5. "Avengers: Infinity War," $6.8 million ($10.9 million international).
6. "Adrift," $5.1 million.
7. "Book Club," $4.2 million.
8. "Hotel Artemis," $3.2 million.
9. "Upgrade," $2.2 million.
10. "Life of the Party," $2.1 million.
'Ocean's 8'
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