Paul Krugman: Cruelty, Incompetence and Lies (NY Times Column)
Graham-Cassidy, the health bill the Senate may vote on next week, is stunningly cruel. It's also incompetently drafted: The bill's sponsors clearly had no idea what they were doing when they put it together. Furthermore, their efforts to sell the bill involve obvious, blatant lies. Nonetheless, the bill could pass. And that says a lot about today's Republican Party, none of it good.
David Leonhardt: Senator Cassidy, Please Stop Lying about Health Care (NY Times)
First, health care: Here's a giveway about how bad the new Senate health care bill is: Bill Cassidy, one of its authors, keeps trying to sell it by telling untruths. "The relatively new phenomenon of just 'up is down' lying about your bill's impacts is jarring," says Loren Adler of the USC-Brookings-Schaeffer Initiative on Health Policy.
Dan Diamond: Kimmel, not Cassidy, is right on health care, analysts say (Politico)
While Cassidy had pledged to protect people with pre-existing conditions like Kimmel's infant son, who was born with a serious heart condition, the proposal Cassidy co-authored with Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) wouldn't live up to those promises, Kimmel said.
Hobbit Day is the birthday of the hobbits Bilbo and Frodo Baggins, two fictional characters in J. R. R. Tolkien's popular set of books The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. In the books both Bilbo and Frodo were said to be born on September 22, but of different years. Bilbo was born in the year of 2890 and Frodo in the year of 2968 in the Third Age (1290 and 1368 respectively in Shire-Reckoning.)
The American Tolkien Society first proclaimed Hobbit Day and Tolkien Week in 1978, and defines them as this: "Tolkien Week is observed as the calendar week containing September 22, which is always observed as Hobbit Day", but acknowledges that Hobbit Day pre-dates their designation.
Source
Mark. was first, and correct, with:
What a coincidence. Hobbit Day is celebrated September 22nd.
Alan J said:
September 22.
Randall wrote:
Sept 22
Gene replied:
Do my feet look furry?
Always September 22. Hobbit Day is today. (Or yesterday as this is published.) It is the birthday of Frodo and Bilbo Baggins, two of the main hobbit characters from The Lord of the Rings. There also is a Hobbit Week, which occurs on the Sunday through Saturday where Hobbit Day falls.
Adam answered:
Sept 22nd- but I still have my 9/11 tree up.
Jim from CA, retired to ID, responded:
Always September 22. It is the birthday of Frodo and Bilbo Baggins, two of the main hobbit characters from The Lord of the Rings
Deborah wrote:
It must be today, September 22.
Last summer sunrise was quite chilly. Looking forward to more of that come official autumn, later today.
Billy in Cypress said:
Today, i.e. September 22.
zorch replied:
September 22nd. Today.
Dale of Diamond Springs, Norcali, responded:
September 22. Looked it up…had no clue…Happy Equinox
Joe S answered:
Hobbit Day is celebrated on September 22nd, Bilbo' s and Frodo's birthday. Bilbo was born in 2890, and Frodo in 2968. And that's the way it was. I'll be reading those books again, as soon as I finish Harry Potter.
David of Moon Valley is celebrating another trip around the sun.
It's just come out that CBS, NBC, ABC, CNN (and FOX?) have all given him the "we'll call you" treatment with respect to any "talent" appearances. It seems he doesn't hold any credibility with them.
Once you fuck a goat, you'll always be a goatfucker. Both Trump voters and Trump staffers are in this category.
Whenever I hear the name of Sean Spicer, I immediately think of him dragging the stolen mini fridge down the White House driveway.
May The Indictments Rise To Meet You
May The Investigators Be Deep Into Your Tracks
May The Heat Make Cold Sweat Sweat Form Upon Your Face
And Rain Hard Upon Your Dreams
And Until We Meet Your Lies Again
May Mueller Hold You In The Shadow Of The Laws of The Land
Linda >^..^<
We are all only temporarily able bodied.
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 RERUN'NCIS: The 3rd One', followed by a RERUN'Criminal Minds', then '48 Hours'.
NBC opens the night with 'Dateline', followed by a RERUN'SNL'.
Of course, 'SNL' is a RERUN, with Dave Chappelle hosting, music by A Tribe Called Quest.
ABC fills the night with LIVE'College Football', then pads the left coast with local crap and maybe an old '20/20'.
The CW offers an old 'Friends', followed by another old 'Friends', then an old '2½ Men', followed by another old '2½ Men'.
Faux fills the night with LIVE'College Football', then pads the left coast with local crap.
MY has an old 'Major Crimes', followed by an old 'Rizzoli & Isles'.
AMC offers the movie 'Armageddon', followed by a FRESH'Halt & Catch Fire', then another 'Halt & Catch Fire'.
BBC -
[6:00AM] STAR TREK: THE ORIGINAL SERIES - SEASON 1 - EPISODE 14-Balance of Terror
[7:10AM] STAR TREK: THE ORIGINAL SERIES - SEASON 1 - EPISODE 15-Shore Leave
[8:20AM] STAR TREK: THE ORIGINAL SERIES - SEASON 1 - EPISODE 16-The Galileo Seven
[9:30AM] STAR TREK: THE ORIGINAL SERIES - SEASON 1 - EPISODE 17-The Squire of Gothos
[10:40AM] STAR TREK: THE ORIGINAL SERIES - SEASON 1 - EPISODE 18-Arena
[11:50AM] STAR TREK: THE ORIGINAL SERIES - SEASON 1 - EPISODE 19-Tomorrow Is Yesterday
[1:00PM] STAR TREK: THE ORIGINAL SERIES - SEASON 1 - EPISODE 20-Court Martial
[2:10PM] STAR TREK: THE ORIGINAL SERIES - SEASON 1 - EPISODE 21-The Return of the Archons
[3:20PM] STAR TREK: THE ORIGINAL SERIES - SEASON 1 - EPISODE 22-Space Seed
[4:30PM] STAR TREK: THE ORIGINAL SERIES - SEASON 1 - EPISODE 23-A Taste of Armageddon
[5:40PM] STAR TREK: THE ORIGINAL SERIES - SEASON 1 - EPISODE 24-This Side of Paradise
[6:50PM] STAR TREK: THE ORIGINAL SERIES - SEASON 1 - EPISODE 25-The Devil in the Dark
[8:00PM] STAR TREK: THE ORIGINAL SERIES - SEASON 1 - EPISODE 26-Errand of Mercy
[9:15PM] STAR TREK: THE ORIGINAL SERIES - SEASON 1 - EPISODE 27-The Alternative Factor
[10:30PM] STAR TREK: THE ORIGINAL SERIES - SEASON 1 - EPISODE 28-The City on the Edge of Forever
[11:45PM] STAR TREK: THE ORIGINAL SERIES - SEASON 1 - EPISODE 29-Operation: Annihilate!
[1:00AM] STAR TREK: THE ORIGINAL SERIES - SEASON 1 - EPISODE 14-Balance of Terror
[2:15AM] STAR TREK: THE ORIGINAL SERIES - SEASON 1 - EPISODE 15-Shore Leave
[3:30AM] STAR TREK: THE ORIGINAL SERIES - SEASON 1 - EPISODE 16-The Galileo Seven
[4:45AM] STAR TREK: THE ORIGINAL SERIES - SEASON 1 - EPISODE 17-The Squire of Gothos (ALL TIMES EDT)
Bravo has 'Real Housewives Of OC', followed by the movie '50 Shades Of Grey', then the movie '50 Shades Of Grey', again.
Comedy Central has the movie 'Broken Lizard's Super Troopers', followed by the movie 'The Hangover', followed by the movie 'The Hangover Part III'.
FX has the movie '22 Jump Street', followed by the movie 'Spy'.
History has 3 hours of old 'Pawn Stars', followed by the FRESH'The Ultimate Guide To Sounding Smart'.
IFC -
[6:00AM] BARONESS VON SKETCH SHOW-Stay for a Drink
[6:30AM] BARONESS VON SKETCH SHOW-CatShaPurr
[7:00AM] BARONESS VON SKETCH SHOW-Don't Call Me Ma'am
[7:30AM] HANNIBAL RISING
[10:15AM] RED DRAGON
[1:00PM] HANNIBAL
[4:00PM] SHUTTER ISLAND
[7:00PM] GOODFELLAS
[10:15PM] THE DEPARTED
[1:30AM] SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER
[4:15AM] BARONESS VON SKETCH SHOW-Stay for a Drink
[4:45AM] BARONESS VON SKETCH SHOW-CatShaPurr
[5:15AM] BARONESS VON SKETCH SHOW-Don't Call Me Ma'am
[5:45AM] COMEDY CRIB: THE SHOW (ALL TIMES EDT)
Sundance -
[6:20AM] The Andy Griffith Show-The Bookie Barber
[6:50AM] The Andy Griffith Show-Andy on Trial
[7:20AM] The Andy Griffith Show-Cousin Virgil
[7:55AM] The Andy Griffith Show-Deputy Otis
[8:25AM] The Andy Griffith Show-Mr. McBeevee
[9:00AM] The Andy Griffith Show-Andy's Rich Girlfriend
[9:35AM] The Andy Griffith Show-Andy and the New Mayor
[10:10AM] The Andy Griffith Show-Andy and Opie -- Bachelors
[10:45AM] The Andy Griffith Show-The Cow Thief
[11:15AM] Iron Eagle
[2:00PM] Windtalkers
[5:00PM] M*A*S*H-White Gold
[5:30PM] M*A*S*H-Abyssinia, Henry
[6:00PM] M*A*S*H-Welcome to Korea
[6:30PM] M*A*S*H-Welcome to Korea
[7:00PM] M*A*S*H-Change of Command
[7:30PM] M*A*S*H-It Happened One Night
[8:00PM] M*A*S*H-The Late Captain Pierce
[8:30PM] M*A*S*H-Hey, Doc
[9:00PM] M*A*S*H-The Bus
[9:30PM] M*A*S*H-Dear Mildred
[10:00PM] M*A*S*H-The Kids
[10:30PM] M*A*S*H-Quo Vadis, Captain Chandler
[11:00PM] M*A*S*H-Dear Peggy
[11:30PM] M*A*S*H-Of Moose and Men
[12:00AM] M*A*S*H-Soldier of the Month
[12:30AM] M*A*S*H-The Gun
[1:00AM] M*A*S*H-Mail Call Again
[1:30AM] M*A*S*H-The Price of Tomato Juice
[2:00AM] Windtalkers
[5:00AM] The China Syndrome (ALL TIMES EDT)
Ventriloquist Jeff Dunham poses with his puppet character Walter after receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Thursday, Sept. 21, 2017, in Los Angeles.
Photo by Chris Pizzello
Bill O'Reilly (R-Creep) is speaking out about his firing from Fox News, where the host worked for more than two decades.
In April, Fox News canned O'Reilly amid a bombshell New York Times report discussing workplace sexual harassment allegations throughout the host's tenure at the network. Soon after the report's publication, advertisers fled O'Reilly's show and refused to place commercials during what was once the highest-rated program on cable news.
On Wednesday, the conservative talk show host discussed his firing on NBC's "Today" show and on conservative pundit Laura Ingraham's radio program.
On "Today," O'Reilly told host Matt Lauer that his ousting from Fox News was "a hit job."
"There was a sponsor boycott engineered by Media Matters, the radical left group, and the sponsor boycott unsettled some people at Fox News," O'Reilly said. He also claimed he did "absolutely nothing wrong."
A search dog is walked into the area of rescue efforts at the Enrique Rebsamen school in Mexico City, Mexico, on Sept. 21, 2017.
Photo by Rebecca Blackwell
The end of the world is upon civilization, at least as far as some are concerned, but the crutch for their argument doesn't exist. The doomsday conspiracy claims the fictitious planet Nibiru, also called "Planet X," will slam into Earth Saturday, Sept. 23, and decimate the world.
The problem with this argument, which is currently being peddled by conspiracy theorist David Meade, is that there is no such thing as Nibiru. The hoax was dismantled by NASA in 2012 after people feared for the end of their lives Dec. 21, 2012. The Mayans supposedly predicted it was Armageddon. The day after NASA released a Q&A report about why the world didn't end.
The main explanation was because Nibiru isn't real and that the end of the Mayan calendar didn't mean the end of the world.
"Nibiru and other stories about wayward planets are an Internet hoax. There is no factual basis for these claims. If Nibiru or Planet X were real and headed for an encounter with the Earth in 2012, astronomers would have been tracking it for at least the past decade, and it would be visible by now to the naked eye. Obviously, it does not exist. Eris is real, but it is a dwarf planet similar to Pluto that will remain in the outer solar system; the closest it can come to Earth is about 4 billion miles," NASA wrote.
In an interview with The Washington Post, the Meade said he based his doomsday prediction off of several Bible verses and numerical codes. He also cited the Aug. 21 solar eclipse as a sign.
A first edition copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone has been sold in America for $81,250 (£60,186), more than 5,000 times its original £10.99 price tag, setting a new world record for an unsigned work of fiction.
The novel is one of 500 first editions of the novel published by Bloomsbury in 1997.
The book, the first in the seven-part series of Harry Potter books, was kept in pristine condition by a private UK collector.
It was sold in Dallas, Texas, by rare book specialists Heritage Auctions.
Heritage Auctions sold a signed edition of the same book in 2009. Despite having the author's signature, it was bought for four times less than the book sold this week, fetching $19,000 (£14,000)
A crowd of protesters paste posters reading "Spain and Euro, Anti-democratic Fraud" to the Catalan region's economy ministry building after junior economy minister Josep Maria Jove was arrested by Spanish police during a raid on several government offices, in Barcelona, Spain, Sept. 20, 2017.
Photo by Albert Gea
To Premiere Postponed 'Nureyev' Ballet In December
Bolshoi
Russia's Bolshoi Theater said on Friday it would hold the postponed premiere of its ballet about late Soviet dancer Rudolf Nureyev in December, but probably with a new director standing in for the Kremlin critic who was originally in charge.
The premiere of the ballet was pulled on July 11, just two days before it had been due to open. The theater said at the time the production was not ready and more rehearsal time was needed. It denied there was any ulterior motive.
But some Russian cultural figures said it was dropped because its edgy staging by director Kirill Serebrennikov -- whose experimental theater pokes mocks the Russian establishment -- sat awkwardly with influential conservatives.
Serebrennikov was detained in August on charges of embezzling state funds. He is being held under house arrest until Oct. 19 pending trial. He denies the charges, which his supporters have called an attack on cultural freedoms.
A large part of the work on the ballet had already been completed under Serebrennikov's direction, and the main task now was to rehearse and perfect the choreography, Urin said.
The federal government on Friday told election officials in 21 states that hackers targeted their systems before last year's presidential election.
The notification came roughly a year after U.S. Department of Homeland Security officials first said states were targeted by hacking efforts possibly connected to Russia. The states that told The Associated Press they had been targeted included some key political battlegrounds, such as Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin.
The AP contacted every state election office to determine which ones had been informed that their election systems had been targeted. The others confirming were Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Minnesota, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas and Washington.
Being targeted does not mean that sensitive voter data was manipulated or results were changed. A hacker targeting a system without getting inside is similar to a burglar circling a house checking for unlocked doors and windows.
Even so, the widespread nature of the attempts and the yearlong lag time in notification from Homeland Security raised concerns among some election officials and lawmakers.
Rescue personnel from Panama's Civil Protection team and their dogs arrive at the airport to aid in recovery efforts after an earthquake caused buildings in the city to collapse in Mexico City, Mexico, Sept. 20, 2017.
Photo by Dan Trotta
Evolution Is Fake And Homosexuality Should Be Illegal
Alabama
U.S. Senate candidate Roy Moore (R-Theocrat) has approached his work over the decades as he once approached mastering kickboxing and building a house with own hands: with laser focus and a fervent belief that he has God on his side.
Moore, 70, is vying to become the next U.S. senator for Alabama, and his chances are looking good. A poll released Monday by Louisiana-based JMC Analytics and Polling found that the former chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court holds an eight-point lead in the Republican primary run-off over his opponent, U.S. Sen. Luther Strange, who was appointed by Alabama's governor in February to temporarily fill the seat vacated by Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
Both Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and President-for-now Donald Trump (R-Crooked) back Strange. But Moore's unabashed religious views and apparent disregard for the legal establishment have won hearts in the overwhelmingly Christian state.
In February, several months after being suspended from court for defying federal orders on same-sex marriage, Moore appeared on the radio show of a pastor who has claimed the Bible calls for the death penalty for gay people.
He'd appeared on pastor Kevin Swanson's program several times over the years, and there was a clear affinity between the men who believe they are two lone crusaders for Christ. Moore lamented to Swanson: "Our problem today is we're denying that there is even a God or that he has sovereignty over our country."
The United States is deporting people from southeastern Texas again after taking a brief break in enforcement during Hurricane Harvey rescue and recovery efforts.
The administration of Donald Trump (R-Corrupt) announced the change, saying that everyone in the country illegally is on the chopping block there, but that response operations would still not be subjected to raids.
The agency suspended immigration-related arrests as Hurricane Harvey approached southeastern Texas last month, saying that their immediate priority was to "promote life-saving and life-sustaining activities," according to a statement then.
During that time, more than 200 officers from the agency were sent to help with relief efforts. Those agents were likely to instil a degree of fear for undocumented immigrants in the area, as the Trump administration has arrested more than 6,200 immigrants in the area since Mr Trump took office. In response, federal, state, and local officials urged the 600,000 immigrants in the Houston to seek aid if they needed it. They promised no repercussions for doing so.
Those urgings reportedly weren't enough to convince people to seek shelter and aid. Many people stayed at home, according to the Houston Chronicle, choosing to ride out the risk of devastating floods instead of opening themselves up to the potential for deportation.
The Fish - Japanese Taiko Player
He said: "For this series, I think reaching out to people and gaining access to the workspace was the most challenging part.
Photo by Sanwal Deen
An international group of cryptography experts has forced the U.S. National Security Agency to back down over two data encryption techniques it wanted set as global industry standards, reflecting deep mistrust among close U.S. allies.
In interviews and emails seen by Reuters, academic and industry experts from countries including Germany, Japan and Israel worried that the U.S. electronic spy agency was pushing the new techniques not because they were good encryption tools, but because it knew how to break them.
The NSA has now agreed to drop all but the most powerful versions of the techniques - those least likely to be vulnerable to hacks - to address the concerns.
The dispute, which has played out in a series of closed-door meetings around the world over the past three years and has not been previously reported, turns on whether the International Organization of Standards should approve two NSA data encryption techniques, known as Simon and Speck.
The U.S. delegation to the ISO on encryption issues includes a handful of NSA officials, though it is controlled by an American standards body, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).
An early copy of the Book of Mormon is now in the hands of the mainstream Mormon church ? but the church had to part with millions of dollars to acquire it.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints dropped a record-breaking $35 million to purchase a printer's manuscript of the Book of Mormon on Monday, according to the church-ownedDeseret News. It is reportedly the highest amount ever paid for a manuscript.
The Book of Mormon is a sacred foundational text for Latter-day saints. According to tradition, church founder Joseph Smith translated the text from "reformed Egyptian"engravings on golden plates buried in a hill in upstate New York. The Book of Mormon includes writings of ancient American prophets and tells of how Jesus appeared to people in America after his resurrection 2,000 years ago.
The printer's manuscript was handwritten by a follower and was used to create the first printed edition of the Book of Mormon in 1830. It is the most complete copy of the original manuscript, Deseret News reports. Smith reportedly placed the original dictation of the Book of Mormon in the cornerstone of a house in Nauvoo, Illinois, in 1841, but that document was damaged by water.
The church purchased the printer's manuscript from The Community of Christ, a splinter denomination of Mormonism that also considers the Book of Mormon to be a foundational text. The Community of Christ purchased a collection that included the printer's manuscript in 1903 for $2,500.
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