Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Paul Krugman: Trump's $700 Billion Gift to Wealthy Foreigners (NY Times Column)
Why is Donald Trump planning to give away $700 billion - that's billion, with a "b" - to foreigners, no strings attached? You probably didn't know that he's planning to do this. In fact, he himself almost surely has no idea that he's planning to do this. But it would be one clearly predictable consequence of the tax "reform" he and his congressional allies are trying to pass.
Tom Danehy: Tom recalls the days of real un-American activity-and it wasn't football players who take a knee during the National Anthem (Tucson Weekly)
On October 27, 1947 (70 years ago […]), the House Un-American Activities Committee began the crazy-ass phase of its "investigation" into whether communists had infiltrated the entertainment industry and were using films to spread pro-Soviet propaganda.
We Set up a Hotline to Help You Reject Creepy Men (The Mary Sue)
For when he just won't go the hell away.
April Glaser: Robert Scoble Isn't Sorry (Slate)
The famous tech blogger just showed us everything you shouldn't do when you're accused of sexual assault.
Katy Waldman: "The Book of Dust, Volume 1" (Slate)
Fall in love with Philip Pullman's imagination all over again.
Nikesh Shukla: "Adichie, Kureishi, Hurston: what authors should be in the 'decolonised' canon?"(The Guardian)
What Olufemi wanted was to 'decolonise' Cambridge's English literature curriculum, highlight some authors from BAME backgrounds and ensure that students read widely. This is not in any way controversial. It's needed. It's important. Olufemi's tireless efforts are to be applauded, as is the university for standing by her.
Will God forgive Mark Wahlberg for Boogie Nights? (The Guardian)
The actor has sought a pardon from upstairs for his role in the drama about the porn industry, but really he should be begging forgiveness for those two Transformers movies.
Jamie Peck: I spoke out about Terry Richardson seven years ago. Why did Condé Nast only ban him now? (The Guardian)
This week, Condé Nast International announced they'd not work with the photographer Terry Richardson. It's about time.
Alexis Petridis: I can go for that: how soft rock finally got cool (The Guardian)
Once, the sound of 70s and 80s yacht rock was a musical punchline. Now Doobie Brother Michael McDonald is in demand from cutting-edge artists such as Thundercat, and hipster cratediggers are championing lost classics.
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Presenting
Michael Egan
replied:
has returned to semi-retired status.
In memory.
Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
Reader Suggestion
Current Events
2 articles that are worth reading--
10 revelations confirming Trump's awfulness:
Bonus Links
Jeannie the Teed-Off Temp
Reader Suggestion
Make Halloween great again! ;)
from Marc Perkel
Patriot Act
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
TAKE THE PLEDGE!
HOW TRUMP SUPPORTERS STAY BUSY.
'DADDY WARBUCKS' IS WINNING.
THE CRIMINALS.
THE REPUBLICANS SELL OUR COUNTRY DOWN THE RIVER.
Visit JD's site - Kitty Litter Music
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Running even later than usual for a Friday.
Rolex Sold At Auction
Paul Newman
Paul Newman wore it on his wrist, but it cost the winning bidder an arm and a leg.
A Rolex watch that once belonged to the iconic actor sold Thursday for a stunning $17.8 million at a Phillips auction in New York. The amount shattered the previous mark for a wristwatch ? $11.1 million fetched for a Patek Philippe in November, per Bloomberg.
According to the catalog note, Newman's wife, Joanne Woodward, bought the stainless steel "Daytona Rolex" for Newman nearly 50 years ago. She had it engraved "Drive Carefully Me." The two actors, who were married for 50 years before Newman's 2008 death, starred together in the 1969 racing movie "Winning" that inspired Newman's real-life racing career.
Newman was seen wearing the watch in hundreds of photographs, the catalog noted, and it became known in some circles as the "Paul Newman" watch. His daughter, Nell Newman, confirmed the provenance of the timepiece, which officially sold for a total amount of $17,752,500. The buyer wished to remain anonymous.
According to Forbes, Newman had given the watch away in 1984 as a gift to James Cox, who dated Nell and is still a close friend. Bloomberg noted Cox decided, in part, to sell it so some of the proceeds could benefit the Nell Newman Foundation, for which he serves as treasurer.
Paul Newman
Cast Rose McGowan in 'Grindhouse' As F-U to Harvey Weinstein
Robert Rodriguez
Robert Rodriguez says he knew about Harvey Weinstein's alleged sexual assault of Rose McGowan and accuses the mogul of burying the release of "Grindhouse" out of spite. Rodriguez and McGowan were in a relationship from 2006 to 2009, and the director tells Variety in a statement that he was inspired to cast McGowan as a "bad ass" character in the film as a way of getting back at her alleged assailant.
McGowan has accused Weinstein of raping her in 1997 while she was appearing in "Scream," a horror hit that was released by Miramax, his former company. Dozens of women have accused Weinstein of assault and harassment. His accusers include Gwyneth Paltrow, Angelina Jolie, Mira Sorvino, and Cara Delevingne.
Rodriguez worked with Miramax, and later the Weinstein Co. for years, primarily releasing films through Dimension, a genre label run by Harvey's brother Bob. Films he made for the companies include "From Dusk Til Dawn," "Spy Kids," and "The Faculty." The relationship continued even after "Grindhouse" was released to tepid box office results, with Dimension distributing Rodriguez-directed sequels to "Spy Kids," "Machete," and "Sin City."
I met Rose in Cannes on May 19, 2005, at an amfAR after party. "Sin City" had just screened at the Festival the night before. Rose and I were talking, and she told me she was a film noir fan and that she wished she could have been cast in "Sin City." I asked her "Why didn't you audition for it? You would have been terrific." She said that she couldn't because she had been blacklisted from working on any Weinstein movies. When I asked what she meant by that, and how could she possibly be blacklisted, she told me the horrifying story of what Harvey did to her seven years earlier.
Incensed at what I heard, I told Rose that she was not blacklisted from MY movies and that Harvey couldn't tell me who to cast. The reason was that Harvey didn't work on my movies, I made movies all those years for Dimension and Bob Weinstein. So I explained that if I cast her in my next film, Harvey couldn't suddenly tell me no, because my first question would be "Oh, really? Why can't I cast her?" And I was sure he would not want to tell me why.
For the whole story - Robert Rodriguez
Wishful Thinking
Marijuana Edibles
No one is going to put marijuana edibles in your kid's halloween bag
Every year since 1966, families have been tuning into Charlie Brown and the Peanuts gang celebrate Halloween on "It's The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown" TV special. Spoiler Alert: Linus waits for The Great Pumpkin to materialize in the pumpkin patch but he nearly freezes to death. Drats.
Here's another Halloween tradition that is equally fictional: Reefer Madness acolytes warn parents every year that some crazed freak is going to lace trick-or-treat candy with weed and your kids will overdose on the devil's lettuce. But, like Linus awaiting the fictional Great Pumpkin, it never happens.
This Halloween tale of fright is picking up steam as more and more states legalize cannabis. The latest version of the bogus story comes from the Township of Moorestown, N.J., a burg east of Philadelphia. The township's police department, in its infinite wisdom, decided to scare the bejesus out of its 19,000 residents with a Special Halloween Alert.
Medical marijuana programs have been in existence for more than 20 years and 29 states now allow for it. Eight states have legal weed. A basic internet search through news reports do not show a single incident of marijuana-laced candy harming a trick-or-treater.
Marijuana Edibles
Runs Red
Trevi Fountain
The waters of Rome's famous Trevi Fountain have run red for the second time in 10 years after a man poured dye into the landmark basin in protest at a film festival in the city.
Police escorted the alleged offender away after he was seen to dump the red colouring into the pool, more commonly receptive of tourists throwing coins to, as legend has it, ensure a return visit.
Local media reported that it was the same man who had dyed the fountain in the centre of the Italian capital in 2007 to protest the cost of hosting an international film festival. Rome's 2017 film festival opened on Thursday.
In 2007, Italian "vandalism artist" Graziano Cecchini claimed responsibility but said he had used natural dye so that he would not damage the 18th-century marble fountain. Officials in the city are today assessing the fountain for damage.
In 2008, Cecchini rolled 500,000 plastic balls down the Spanish Steps, each representing a "lie told by a politician".
Trevi Fountain
Lashes Out
T-rump
President-for-now Trump (R-Execrable) set his sights on "wacky & totally unhinged" liberal megadonor Tom Steyer Friday.
Though Trump didn't mention what he was upset about, Steyer has spent $10 million in airtime for a minute-long commercial calling for Trump's impeachment and labeling the president "a clear and present danger who's mentally unstable and armed with nuclear weapons."
Steyer is a California-based hedge fund manager turned founder and president of NextGen America, an advocacy organization promoting progressive candidates and causes, particularly environmental protection and clean energy. Forbes estimated Steyer spent approximately $90 million in the 2016 election cycle.
In the ad, Steyer says of Trump, "He's brought us to the brink of nuclear war, obstructed justice at the FBI, and in direct violation of the Constitution, has taken money from foreign governments, threatened to shut down news organizations that report the truth."
The commercial aired during "Fox & Friends" for the first time Friday, according to Politico. Minutes after firing off his missive about Steyer, Trump thanked the program without context.
T-rump
All Harassment Accusers Are Lying
White House
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders (R-Delusional) backed President-for-now Trump (R-Odious) on Friday when asked if it's official position of the administration that the women who have accused Trump of harassment and assault are lying.
"We've been clear on that from the beginning and the president's spoken on it," Sanders told a reporter at the daily press briefing.
More than a dozen women publicly accused Trump of sexual harassment or assault during last year's campaign, when the leak of the "Access Hollywood" tape revealed he bragged about doing so with impunity in 2005.
At the time, Trump categorically denied the accusations and dismissed what he called "locker room" talk caught on the tape. He even threatened to sue the accusers, but never followed through.
Earlier this month, the president was asked again about the allegations, which he decried as politically motivated "fake news."
White House
Religious Freedom Post
Brownback
A Senate panel narrowly approved the nomination of Sam Brownback (R-Religiously Insane) to be U.S. ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom despite complaints from LGBT rights groups over the Kansas governor's views on same-sex marriage and gender identity.
On an 11-10 vote Thursday, the Foreign Relations Committee recommended that the full Senate consider President-for-now Donald Trump's (R-Crooked) selection of Brownback for the State Department post. The committee also approved several other Trump nominees for ambassadorships. Among them was Richard Grenell to be U.S. envoy to Germany. Grenell would be the first openly LGBT ambassador for Trump if he's confirmed.
LGBT rights groups have decried Brownback's nomination because of his conservative atavistic views. During his confirmation hearing earlier this month, Brownback defended his decision as Kansas governor to scrap an executive order that barred discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.
Brownback in 2015 rescinded the order issued in August 2007 by then-Gov. Kathleen Sebelius that banned discrimination against gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender individuals in hiring and employment agencies under the governor's direct control. He said that Sebelius, a Democrat, had acted unilaterally and undercut the Kansas' legislature.
He made Kansas an economic laboratory for the nation by aggressively cutting taxes and crashing the economy.
Brownback
Hoover Wanted Public Convinced
JFK Assassination Files
A memo written by FBI director J. Edgar Hoover, released among 2,800 declassified records relating to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, has shown how in the days after Lee Harvey Oswald was shot, the FBI planned to convince the public that he was the real assassin as soon as possible.
In the document, dictated shortly after Oswald was shot by Dallas nightclub owner Jack Ruby, Hoover explains how both he and then-Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach were concerned that Oswald should be established as the president's killer as a matter of urgency.
"The thing I am concerned about, and so is Mr. Katzenbach, is having something issued so we can convince the public that Oswald is the real assassin," Hoover said in the 1963 memo.
The former FBI director went on to explain that establishing which facts could and could not be made public was important because of the possible foreign policy implications. "There are several aspects which would complicate our foreign relations," Hoover says in the memo.
These were namely that the FBI was aware Oswald had contacted both the Cuban embassy in Mexico City and the Soviet Embassy in Washington. Hoover explained that having the interception of these messages-one of them to the "man in the Soviet Embassy in charge of assassinations and similar activities on the part of the Soviet government"-made public would have "muddied the waters internationally."
JFK Assassination Files
Hillary Clinton Body Double
Russian 'Troll Farm'
A former employee of a Russian "troll factory" has said that a Hillary Clinton lookalike and black man were hired by his company to make a sex tape during the 2016 US election.
The company, according to the first former employee to go on record Alan Baskaev, ran popular Twitter accounts that would promote then-candidate Donald Trump's (R-Corrupt) campaign officials and surrogates.
The Internet Research Agency also ran websites in favour of Mr Trump during the election, the Daily Beast reported.
Mr Baskaev, now a teacher in Thailand, appeared in an on-camera interview with independent Russian television station TV Rain.
He said his bosses "thought they hit the "sensation" jackpot" with the video of fake pair - seemingly impersonating former President Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton - who looked they were having sex.
Russian 'Troll Farm'
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