Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Marc Dion: Trumpana Republic (Creators Syndicate)
We used to brag that American workers made the most money and had the best standard of living in the world. We used to brag that America made the most and the best of everything, from toasters to cars. Texas produced more oil than anyplace on earth. Our tall buildings were the tallest; our medical care was the best. Not anymore.
Paul Krugman: No Fairy, No Cry (NY Times Blog)
Bottom line: the G.O.P.'s fiscal behavior has been hypocritical, irresponsible, and reprehensible. But it won't cause a recession.
Josh Marshall: Don't Be An Idiot. Republicans Have Never Cared About Deficits. (TPM)
… the one thing that has never changed in almost fifty years is that Republican do not care about deficits. Deficits will rise under Republican rule, especially under unified Republican rule, as surely as night follows day.
Froma Harrop: The Tax Cuts Are Truly a Crummy Deal for Most of Us (Creators Syndicate)
Would someone kindly replace Nancy Pelosi as a spokesperson for Democrats? The House minority leader's riff on the tax bill as "crumbs" for average Americans bombed on two fronts. One was her snide and preachy tone. The other was linking "crumbs" to $1,000-or-better bonuses that a few companies said they will distribute out of their tax savings.
Mark Shields: False Humility Is Better Than None at All (Creators Syndicate)
If only President Abraham Lincoln had dared, after so eloquently speaking of this "new nation conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal," to pause, turn to those in his Gettysburg crowd and urge them to "give it up for all men being created equal!"
Lenore Skenazy: Death Be Out Loud (Creators Syndicate)
What does it take to get 200 New Yorkers out on a cold winter night? Death. "You have shared your stories," author Rebecca Soffer told a standing-room-only crowd at a hip Brooklyn bookshop, "and brought other people out of their own isolation after loss. Have a good time!"
Mark Shields: Finally, a Unifying Theme for 2018 (Creators Syndicate)
Democrats whom I talk to confess privately that despite President Donald Trump's unpopularity and the fact that nearly all polls show their party with a lead over Republicans when it comes to the upcoming midterm elections, they are increasingly nervous about 2018.
Laurie Penny: Ruby Tandoh's Eat Up is a manifesto for freedom that targets the cult of wellness (New Statesman)
Part-Delia Smith, part-Irvine Welsh; this isn't a recipe collection full of soft-focus food pornography.
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Presenting
Michael Egan
Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
Reader Comment
Current Events
Linda >^..^<
We are all only temporarily able bodied.
Thanks, Linda!
Bonus Links
Jeannie the Teed-Off Temp
Reader Question
Er, No
Have you gone over to the dark side?
Mike Lester cartoon inditing Trump investigators?
Doug
"What we think, or what we know, or what we believe is, in the end, of little consequence. The only consequence is what we do." - John Ruskin -
16½ years, 373 days without a break, and 1 bum cartoon means I've gone over to the dark side?
Sigh.
It was late, I was tired, shit happened.
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
"WALTZING MATHILDA"
THE SURVIVOR.
CHRISTIANS WHO HAVE FAILED THEIR FAITH.
SUPER HAIR!
AND THE BEAT GOES ON.
HOLY SHIT!
Visit JD's site - Kitty Litter Music
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Overcast and seasonal, but no rain.
Marijuana Sales Overtake Alcohol
Aspen
Sales of marijuana have overtaken alcohol in a city in Colorado, three years after the state became the first in the US to legalise recreational use of the drug.
Licensed vendors in the ski resort of Aspen raked in $11.3m (£8.2m) income from cannabis last year, compared to $10.5m (£7.6m) brought in by off-licences.
It is believed to be the first time legal marijuana sales have eclipsed those of alcohol anywhere in the US.
Aspen's cannabis sales grew 16 per cent last year compared to 2016, when shops brought in $9.7m (£7m) from the drug, said the city's finance department. The marijuana industry is the fastest growing of Aspen's 12 retail sectors, according to figures in an end-of-year sales tax report.
A study by Georgia State University last year found alcohol sales had tumbled 15 per cent in US states where medical marijuana had been legalised. Counties where cannabis could be legally obtained had 20 per cent lower alcohol sales than neighbouring counties across state borders where it was still outlawed.
Aspen
Aren't Backing Down
Team USA
Vice President Mike Pence's (R-Mother) anti-LGBTQ track record continues to haunt him halfway around the world.
That's thanks to figure skater Adam Rippon and freestyle skier Gus Kenworthy, Team USA's first two openly gay athletes competing in the Winter Olympics.
The two have made it clear they aren't backing down from their criticism of Pence's selection to lead the U.S. delegation to Friday's opening ceremony.
Rippon and Kenworthy both published photos on social media Friday from the opening ceremony, with captions that subtly ? and not so subtly ? called out the vice president's history of undermining LGBTQ rights.
As a reminder: In 2006, Pence predicted marriage equality would result in "societal collapse." While running for Congress in 2000, he promoted reallocating funds from HIV/AIDS research to "institutions which provide assistance to those seeking to change their sexual behavior" instead. Pence press secretary Alyssa Farah told HuffPost last month that Pence denies supporting gay conversion therapy, calling the claims against him "totally false with no basis in fact." The statement seemingly contradicts statements he made on his own campaign website.
Team USA
Winter Olympics
The Netherlands
The 2018 Pyeongchang Games are officially underway and now it's a race to see which country scores the most golds and overall medals in the next two weeks.
On Saturday, The Netherlands pulled off a medals sweep in the women's 3,000-meter speed skating event, making them the first country to collect gold, silver, and bronze medals for this round of games. And how did they celebrate? By throwing some shade at President Trump, of course!
In a photo captured by Dutch TV channel NOS, two women proudly whipped out The Netherland's tri-colored flag with some words painted over it aimed at Trump.
"Sorry Mr. President...The Netherlands FIRST... and 2nd... and 3rd!" the message reads.
The Netherlands
US Ambassador
Israel
The American ambassador to Israel attacked an Israeli leftwing newspaper Friday, questioning whether it had any "dignity" after a vitriolic column.
The quarrel erupted after Haaretz newspaper criticised US Ambassador David Friedman, personally selected by President-for-now Donald Trump (R-Pendejo), for his support of settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.
In the wake of the murder of an Israeli rabbi and father of four from the Har Bracha settlement on Monday, Friedman tweeted that he had provided an ambulance for the community 20 years ago. Friedman then criticised Palestinian "leaders" for praising the killing, although Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas said nothing about it.
In response Haaretz, which opposes settlement building in the Palestinian territories, ran a column by commentator Gideon Levy saying that "with Friedman's ambulance or without it, Har Bracha (literally, 'Mountain of Blessing') is a mountain of curses."
It accused Friedman, who was Trump's personal lawyer before being confirmed as ambassador in May 2017, of "encouraging and funding war crimes and violations of international law".
Israel
False Accusations
'Due Process'
President-for-now Donald Trump (R-Crooked), a man notorious for throwing around patently false accusations, has suddenly appealed for "due process" as top White House aides have been cast out over domestic violence allegations.
On Saturday, Trump tweeted that people's lives "are being shattered and destroyed by a mere allegation."
"Some are true and some are false," he tweeted. "Some are old and some are new. There is no recovery for someone falsely accused."
Trump himself, a man who once bragged about being able to grab women "by the pussy," has been accused by more than 20 womenof sexual misconduct and abuse. It might not come as a surprise, then, that Trump would be eager to protect those accused of sexual abuse rather than those who say they've been victimized by it.
"Is there no such thing any longer as Due Process?" the president asked in a tweet. It's a fair question, for sure. It's also something Trump has previously not seemed to care about. Here are just a few times that "due process" didn't matter to Trump.
'Due Process'
Pipeline Suit
Dakota Access
Attorneys for a Florida-based environmental publication want a federal judge in North Dakota to sanction the Texas-based developer of the Dakota Access oil pipeline in a dispute over whether the publication can be sued.
Earth First Journal maintains Energy Transfer Partners attorneys aren't acting in good faith by associating the publication with the Earth First social movement, which the company contends was part of an effort to undermine the pipeline project and the company.
Energy Transfer in August sued Greenpeace, BankTrack and Earth First for up to $1 billion, alleging the environmental groups disseminated false and misleading information about the $3.8 billion pipeline moving oil from North Dakota through South Dakota and Iowa to Illinois, and instigated violent protests.
Company lawyers have asked U.S. District Judge Daniel Hovland to declare that Earth First has been served with the lawsuit via Earth First Journal, whose website bills the publication as a forum for discussion within the Earth First movement.
Journal attorney Pamela Spees maintains the journal and movement aren't the same thing, and that the insistence of company attorneys to the contrary is "intentional and reckless disregard of their duties to the court."
Dakota Access
'Not Necessary'
Abayas
Saudi women need not wear the abaya - the loose-fitting, full-length robes symbolic of religious faith - a senior member of the top Muslim clerical body said, another indication of the Kingdom's efforts towards modernisation.
On his radio programme, Sheikh Abdullah al-Mutlaq, a member of the Council of Senior Scholars, said Muslim women should dress modestly, but this did not necessitate wearing the abaya.
"More than 90 percent of pious Muslim women in the Muslim world do not wear abayas," Sheikh Mutlaq said on Friday. "So we should not force people to wear abayas."
While not necessarily signalling a change in the law, the statement is the first of its kind from a senior religious figure. It follows the recent pattern of freedoms the Kingdom has been witnessing with the ascent of young Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman to power.
Saudi women have started wearing more colorful abayas in recent years, the light blues and pinks in stark contrast with the traditional black. Open abayas over long skirts or jeans are also becoming more common in some parts of the country.
Abayas
Revamped Congressional Map
Pennsylvania
Republican leaders of the Pennsylvania Legislature on Friday produced a new proposed map of the state's congressional districts, three weeks after the state Supreme Court declared the former map unconstitutional.
The proposal drafted by House Speaker Mike Turzai and Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati would make widespread changes, eliminating dozens of municipal and county divisions while keeping nearly 70 percent of residents in their old districts.
They forwarded the map and other materials to Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf, who has until Thursday to tell the justices if he supports it. If not, the court has indicated it will develop its own map.
The GOP-drawn map passed in 2011 has been a political winner for Republicans, giving them a 13-5 advantage in three straight elections in a state with more registered Democrats than Republicans.
Pennsylvania
Almost No One
Poll
President-for-now Donald Trump (R-Corrupt) made waves this week as reports emerged that he had asked the Pentagon to work up plans for a massive military parade akin to the type normally seen in countries like Russia and North Korea.
But according to an informal poll conducted by the Army Times, most people don't support it.
Nearly 9 in 10, or specifically 89 percent, of the publication readers who responded said the parade is "a waste of money and troops are too busy." Another 11 percent supported the idea, describing it as a "great opportunity to show off U.S. military might."
The Washington Post reported on Tuesday that planning for a military parade is now underway at the behest of the draft-dodging president.
Poll
In Memory
Reg Cathey
Reg Cathey, the veteran actor who won an Emmy for playing the owner of longtime Frank Underwood haunt Freddy's BBQ Joint on Netflix's House of Cards, has died. He was 59. Details of his death weren't immediately available. David Simon, creator of HBO drama The Wire and miniseries The Corner, both of which Cathey also appeared in, announced the news in a tweet today.
Known for his deep, commanding voice, Cathey had been acting in films and TV for nearly two decades when he was cast as political operative Norman Wilson on The Wire. Joining the show for Season 4 in 2006, he appeared in nearly two dozen episodes. Before that, Cathey guested in a 1998 episode of Simon's NBC crime drama Homicide: Life on the Street and went on to co-star as Scalio in the writer-producer's Simon's post-Homicide miniseries The Corner (2000). He also appeared in the post-series Homicide telefilm in 2000.
Cathey began his career with bit roles in late-1980s/early '90s films including Crossing Delancey, Penn & Teller Get Killed, Born on the Fourth of July, Quick Change and What About Bob? In 1987, he began recurring on kids anthology series Square One Television. He continued to work in TV and mostly films into the mid-'90s - including The Mask, Clear and Present Danger, Airheads, Tank Girl and Se7en - before the gigs in Simon's TV shows.
Also in 2000, he was cast in another HBO series from another Homicide original, Tom Fontana's often-brutal prison drama Oz. He recurred as Martin Querns, a former drug dealer-turned-prison unit managed at Emerald City.
He continued to work steadily through the 2000s and later became a regular on FX's boxing drama Lights Out, which lasted one season. Cathey would go on to appear in multiple episodes of Law & Order: SVU, Grimm, The Divide and Banshee before landing the role for which he became best known.
Cathey won an Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series in 2015 and also was nominated the year before and after.
After his House of Cards stint, Cathey became a regular on the Cinemax horror drama Outcast, playing Chief of Police Byron Giles for its entire two-season run. He appeared in last year's HBO telefilm The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, playing a son of the title character. His most recent credit was Sebastian Silva's Tyrel, which was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance in January.
Reg Cathey
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