Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Paul Krugman: The Gang that Couldn't Think Straight (NY Times Column)
The astonishing incompetence of Trump appointees.
Paul Krugman: Worse Than Willie Horton (NY Times Blog)
Trump's invocation of a fake immigrant crime wave is truly evil.
Gary Fineout: Federal judge knocks down Florida's voting ban for ex-felons (AP)
In a ruling that could have reverberations on this year's crucial elections, a federal judge Thursday ruled that Florida's current ban on former felons voting is unconstitutional and needs to be changed as soon as possible. U.S. District Judge Mark Walker issued a blistering ruling that says the state's current process to restore voting rights - which can take years - is flawed.
Ryan J. Reilly and Jessica Schulberg: The Key Players In Trump's 'Deep State' Conspiracy Theory Are All Republicans (Huffington Post)
The key law enforcement figures in what President Donald Trump and his allies have characterized as a "deep state" conspiracy against him are not lefties or even Democrats: They are Republicans. And Trump picked a number of them himself.
Catherine Shoard: "Paul Thomas Anderson: 'You can tell a lot about a person by what they order for breakfast'" (The Guardian)
The director is back, with another charismatic obsessive - this time a 1950s couture designer - in Phantom Thread. But his brush with fashion has not left him with a taste for togs.
Skye Sherwin: "Edward Hopper's Night Windows: evoking voyeurism and intrigue" (The Guardian)
The great American realist was a master at painting the cinematic language of drama, theatrics and fluidity.
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David Bruce has over 80 Kindle books on Amazon.com.
Presenting
Michael Egan
responded:
has returned to semi-retired status.
In memory.
Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
David E Suggests
T-Shirts
David
Thanks, Dave!
Bonus Links
Jeannie the Teed-Off Temp
Reader Comment
Current Events
Wonkette on the Southern Cow
Wonkette is SPOT ON!
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
ALA-DAMN-BAMA!
FUN AND GAMES IN THE GOP.
THE 'CAP GUN' MEMO.
WRONG GUY TRUMPKINS.
GOODBYE ROBERT. WE WILL MISS YOU.
ONE STUPID TOO MANY.
'THAT'S IT?'
"HEAL THE SICK!"
THE TRUMP FILES.
Visit JD's site - Kitty Litter Music
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Computer issues. Argh!
Top Weather Scientists Offer
Climate Change
Donald Trump (R-Crooked) has been sent a letter by the US's top scientific organisation for weather and climate researchers, correcting him on points made in a recent interview.
Talking to Piers Morgan, Mr Trump questioned much of the science of climate change, and appeared to suggest global temperatures were actually decreasing.
Many scientists have already been vocal in discrediting the ideas suggested by the US President, and now the American Meteorological Society (AMS) has offered to help him understand the science of climate change.
In a letter, AMS executive director Dr Keith Seitter pointed Mr Trump in the direction of the "wealth of comprehensive and accurate information on climate change" available via US government agencies.
Dr Seitter expressed disappointment that Mr Trump has seemingly ignored the data from global scientific observations, especially given that US agencies like Nasa and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have been instrumental in making those observations.
Climate Change
'Person Of Interest' In Her Death
Natalie Wood
Los Angeles County Sheriff's investigators say Robert Wagner is "more of a person of interest" in the death of actress Natalie Wood, who died nearly 40 years ago under mysterious circumstances.
"As we've investigated the case over the last six years, I think he's more of a person of interest now," Lt. John Corina told "48 Hours" in an interview that's set to air Saturday. "I mean, we now know that he was the last person to be with Natalie before she disappeared."
Wood, who starred in "West Side Story" and "Rebel Without a Cause," was found dead in the water in 1981, near Santa Catalina Island off the coast of California. She had gone on a yachting weekend with Wagner, as well as Christopher Walken, who at the time was starring with the actress in the movie "Brainstorm," and Dennis Davern, the boat's captain.
Wood's death was originally ruled an accident, but the case was reopened in 2011. The coroner changed her cause of death to "drowning and other undetermined factors" the following year.
Detectives who spoke to "48 Hours" said an autopsy report indicated there were a number of bruises on Wood's body that appeared to have been fresh at the time of death.
Natalie Wood
Boosts Christie's Sales
Leonardo da Vinci
Sales at Christie's hit a record high last year of £5.1 billion (5.8 billion euros, $7.3 billion) boosted by blockbuster sales including Leonardo da Vinci's "Salvator Mundi", the auction house said on Friday.
The Britain-based auction powerhouse was responsible for sales of seven of 10 top works of art sold globally in 2017 including the Leonardo, which was bought for $450.3 million.
At New York's November Impressionist and Modern evening sale, six auction world records were made, with Vincent Van Gogh's "Laboureur dans un champ" fetching $81.3 million and Fernand Leger's "Contraste de formes" making $70 million.
Auction sales led the growth in 2017 with a 38 percent increase totalling £4.6 billion while sales of art online, via Christie's live platform and online absentee bidding, reached £165.6 million.
Globally, European and Middle Eastern buyers led client spending, accounting for 37 percent while buying in the Asia region increased 39 percent to represent 31 percent of global spend.
Leonardo da Vinci
Scientists Find Massive Mayan Society
Guatemala
Researchers using a high-tech aerial mapping technique have found tens of thousands of previously undetected Mayan houses, buildings, defense works and pyramids in the dense jungle of Guatemala's Peten region, suggesting that millions more people lived there than previously thought.
The discoveries, which included industrial-sized agricultural fields and irrigation canals, were announced Thursday by an alliance of U.S., European and Guatemalan archaeologists working with Guatemala's Mayan Heritage and Nature Foundation.
The study estimates that roughly 10 million people may have lived within the Maya Lowlands, meaning that kind of massive food production might have been needed.
"That is two to three times more (inhabitants) than people were saying there were," said Marcello A. Canuto, a professor of Anthropology at Tulane University.
Researchers used a mapping technique called LiDAR, which stands for Light Detection And Ranging. It bounces pulsed laser light off the ground, revealing contours hidden by dense foliage.
Guatemala
Career Diplomat To Retire
State Department
The most senior career diplomat in the US State Department has decided to retire, exactly one year after he oversaw the transition to President Donald Trump's administration, he said Thursday.
Thomas Shannon will retire as undersecretary of state for political affairs, after 35 years in which he served as an ambassador, an acting assistant secretary of state and, for two weeks last year, acting secretary of state.
Shannon ran the State Department in the interim period between the departure of former president Barack Obama's secretary of state John Kerry and the arrival of Trump's nominee, Rex Tillerson, a period which was marked by reports of dissent among career staff.
But, in a retirement letter to colleagues, the 60-year-old Shannon gave no hint of political dissatisfaction, describing his decision as "personal, and driven by a desire to attend to my family, take stock of my life, and set a new direction for my remaining years."
State Department
More Conservative Family Values
Florida
A Florida lawmaker who opposes a bill to ban child marriage said Thursday that the current law allowing child rapists to marry girls they impregnate is well-crafted.
Republican Rep. George Moraitis voted against a bill that would ban child marriages with the exception of some 16- and 17-year-olds when a pregnancy is involved. He cited a legislative staff analysis showing that between 2012 and 2016 only one 13-year-old was allowed to marry and said he encourages pregnant "women" to get married.
"The current law is ... very good, in my opinion, a very carefully crafted balance," Moraitis said.
He said it's "very reasonable" to allow 16- and 17-year-olds to marry with parental consent, regardless of whether the girl is pregnant. And he noted that pregnant girls under 16 still need a judge's permission to get married.
Republican Rep. Julio Gonzalez also voted against the child marriage ban, even with the exceptions, saying, in part, that it wouldn't allow members of the military to bring their 16- and 17-year-old lovers with them when they receive out-of-state assignments.
Florida
Bison Protections
Yellowstone
A judge has ruled that U.S. wildlife managers erred in denying Endangered Species Act protection to bison at Yellowstone National Park and must reconsider extending such safeguards to America's largest pure-bred herd of wild buffalo.
The decision was welcomed on Thursday by wildlife advocates who petitioned the Obama administration in 2014 to protect bison in and around Yellowstone, where animals wandering outside park boundaries are culled for slaughter by the hundreds each year.
The seasonal culling is supported by ranchers in the region, particularly in Montana, concerned about exposure of livestock to disease, competition for grass and property damage from straying bison.
Officials for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said they were reviewing the ruling, issued on Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper in the District of Columbia.
Yellowstone's herd of 4,000-plus bison constitutes the largest and one of the last free-roaming, genetically pure groups of an animal that once roamed North America by the millions before being hunted to near extinction in the late 1800s.
Yellowstone
Heirs Dispute
Manson
The corpse of Charles Manson will remain in a morgue for at least another month while would-be heirs and a friend wait for a court hearing to fight over his remains.
A Kern County Superior Court commissioner on Wednesday set a March 7 hearing in the dispute that includes a son of Manson, a grandson and a pen pal who collected and sold memorabilia of the murderer.
The Kern County coroner's office filed the case to have a judge referee who should get the body of the cult leader who orchestrated the 1969 killings of pregnant actress Sharon Tate and eight others. Manson, 83, died Nov. 19 in a Bakersfield hospital.
Deputy Kern County Counsel Bryan Walters said "bodies are stacking up in the morgue" from methamphetamine and opioid epidemics and the coroner would like to dispose of the body.
The latest person to emerge in the fight for Manson's remains is Michael Brunner, whose mother was one of the first members of the so-called Manson family.
Manson
Mass Grave Identified
'Viking Great Army'
A mass grave found in a vicarage garden contains the remains of a Viking army that invaded England, according to new analysis.
The remains of nearly 300 people were first discovered in the 1970s, but their identities have remained a mystery until now.
Excavations unearthed the bodies underneath a shallow mound by St Wystan's Church vicarage in Repton, Derbyshire.
Now, radiocarbon dating by a team at the University of Bristol has placed them in the late ninth century, when records suggest a "Viking Great Army" invaded and drove the local king into exile.
Also known by Anglo-Saxon chroniclers as the "Great Heathen Army", this invading force consisted of warriors from across Scandinavia joined in an alliance to invade England.
'Viking Great Army'
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