Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Marc Dion: Cash Money is Sick (Creators Syndicate)
If you don't have money on you, I think you're poor. If I have $65 in my pocket and all you have is a credit card with a $200,000 limit, you're poor and I'm not.
Mark Shields: Recognizing the Voice of Leadership (Creators Syndicate)
We're traveling in a crowded subway car somewhere under Manhattan when, without warning, the car comes to an abrupt halt in a tunnel in between stations. The subway car is plunged into darkness, and our own growing anxiety, along with that of our fellow passengers, is almost palpable. After a while, a measured, authoritative voice comes over the public address system and calmly tells all us stranded, semiscared passengers a) what has happened; b) what is now being done to fix the problem; c) that we will be safe and on our way within a finite amount of time; and d) what we can do in the meantime to help the rescue process along. That is what the voice of leadership sounds like.
Lenore Skenazy:A Wabi-SabiBirthday (Creators Syndicate)
"Wabi-sabi" is the Japanese concept of the beauty of imperfection. The classic example is the artist who makes a perfect vase, fires it in the kiln and out it comes - with a big crack in the side. Instead of crying (or changing the vase's birthday), the artist fills the crack in with gold, celebrating the beauty of imperfection.
Susan Estrich: Why must a woman be perfect? (Creators Syndicate)
Elizabeth Warren checked every box. Brilliant. Tough. Prepared. A Harvard Law professor who didn't go to a fancy private law school. Married young, followed her husband, made it to the United States Senate by dint of hard work, determination and courage. Bernie Sanders checks no boxes. A socialist without a plan. An old man who had a heart attack and refuses to release his medical records. A campaign rife with so much nastiness and sexism that Hillary Clinton has yet to get over it. A Vermonter who was in search of a Soviet sister city even as then-President Ronald Reagan was demanding that the Berlin Wall come down. The man with whom Democrats were publicly and privately terrified to run. How come Bernie is still in and Warren is out?
Froma Harrop: Watering Plants is Actually Good for You (Creators Syndicate)
I know this is an outlier story. It's about Brooklyn brownstone couples who pay over $2,000 for professionals to choose and care for their houseplants. Houseplant designing is actually a service being offered to the urban and suburban gentry. One such "Plant Doctor & Stylist" charges an hourly rate between $125 and $175. Those are psychotherapy prices.
Oliver Burkemann: Some life problems aren't especially hard to fix - as long as they're not rushed (The Guardian)
From parenting to a broken dishwasher, it's often enough just to stop, and look, and wait.
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Presenting
Michael Egan
replied:
In memory.
BRUCE'S RECOMMENDATION
BANDCAMP MUSIC
BRUCE'S RECOMMENDATION OF BANDCAMP MUSIC
Music: "Woogie Boogie Time" from the album BLUES GUITAR DELUXE
Artist: Jacob Clyde
Artist Location: Grand Rapids, Michigan
Info: "New School innovative rockin' blues and blue wave. Was originally a demo CD for band and guitarista promo."
Price: $1 (USD) for song; $7 (USD) for 11-track album.
Genre: Blues, Blues Rock.
Links:
Jacob Clyde on Bandcamp
BLUES GUITAR DELUXE
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David Bruce has over 140 Kindle books on Amazon.com.
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Lead Second California "Fire Drill Friday"
Jane & Lily
While much of the world - and the entertainment industry - hunkers down amid the coronavirus outbreak, Jane Fonda continues to take to the streets with her "Fire Drill Friday" rallies, this Friday visiting San Pedro and Wilmington for her second California stop.
The two cities, sitting about 20 miles south of Los Angeles, are home to one of the biggest urban oil fields in the country and with extremely close proximity to homes and schools, many in the community have experienced respiratory problems and even cancer in some cases.
Fonda, along with friends and past protestors Lily Tomlin, Sam Waterston, Diane Lane, Rosanna Arquette, Lana Parrilla and Vanderpump Rules' Billie Lee, started the day with a San Pedro rally in front of Councilmember Joe Buscaino's office, delivering a letter asking to impose restrictions that oil wells must be at least 2500 feet from residential areas, before moving to Wilmington for a march on local oil refinery Warren E&P.
With local and state politics embedded in much of the protest - including asking for California Gov. Gavin Newsom to halt future fossil fuel projects and the creation of new oil and gas wells - national politics were also a big point of conversation in the aftermath of Super Tuesday. Fonda, who previously told The Hollywood Reporter that she approved of Bernie Sanders', Elizabeth Warren's and Tom Steyer's environmental platforms, says now that with the race just down to Sanders and Biden that she supports the former.
To kick off the day, dozens of supporters and "Fire Drill Friday" staffers gathered in a San Pedro ballroom -most wearing red to mirror Fonda's now-iconic coat - to lay out the day's schedule, take a pledge for nonviolence and discuss what would happen at the oil refinery march, where Fonda was not allowed to physically take part in the protest following her number of arrests last year: "The judge in DC said I had to have three months with no arrests, so I can risk arrest again in May," she said.
Jane & Lily
AFI Postpones Life Achievement Award
Julie Andrews
The American Film Institute (AFI) is postponing the 48th annual AFI Life Achievement Award Gala Tribute in celebration of Julie Andrews. The event was originally scheduled for April 25 and AFI said it will be rescheduled for a date in early summer.
The new date and the air date for the premiere of the Tribute special on TNT will be announced in the coming weeks, AFI said. The AFI Life Achievement Award is bestowed on artists "whose work has stood the test of time."
"AFI's decision to postpone the event is simply in response to the rapidly evolving nature of current events and our promise to ensure the well-being of the artists and audience that gather each year to celebrate America's art form," said AFI CEO and President, Bob Gazzale. "This move will allow our full attention to focus on the many gifts that Julie Andrews has given the world."
The AFI Life Achievement Award was established by the AFI Board of Trustees in 1973. It is presented to a single honoree each year based on a recipient "whose talent has in a fundamental way advanced the film art; whose accomplishment has been acknowledged by scholars, critics, professional peers and the general public; and whose work has stood the test of time."
Julie Andrews
Marvel More Scientifically Accurate
Neil deGrasse Tyson
It's a debate that will never be settled; it's a debate nearly as old as time itself. Around these parts, you won't have to go too far to hear someone ask, "Marvel or DC?" In a matter of days, astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson will appear in Cosmos: Possible Worlds on National Geographic. We had already been talking to him about the acclaimed docuseries when we had to ask a question of the utmost scientific importance, "Is Marvel or DC more scientifically accurate?"
Tyson wasted no time at all in saying Marvel is "hands down" more scientifically accurate over its Burbank-based counterparts at DC Comics. "Oh yeah. No question. Oh, there's no question," Tyson says without skipping a beat. "Oh, it's obvious. Marvel wins that contest hands down over DC Comics if for no other reason that almost, minus Thor and maybe one or two others that I've lost track of, almost everyone with powers in Marvel Comics, those powers are derived from something scientific that happened to them."
The physicist adds, "Spider-Man. He's bitten while he's in a biology lab where there's a radioactive spider. There's the Hulk, who... it was gamma rays. Everybody's got a science-based story behind their superpowers, and that creates a fertile landscape that you can go back to if you need to. Plus, Banner was a medical doctor, for goodness' sake. So, this has value."
Shortly after that, Tyson wanted to point out he had no ill-will towards DC. In fact, the host reminded us he's officially a member of the DC Universe thanks to an appearance in Action Comics #14 (2012). "Action Comics #14," Tyson excitedly says.
The astrophysicist detailed he actually had an active hand in developing the particular issue, in hopes of making it accurate - or, as accurate as possible when dealing with an alien from Krypton. He adds, "I'm talking to the writer and I said, 'All right if that's the case, it means Superman got here through a wormhole because that's the only way he can beat the beam of light. I just want to make this clear,' So, I worked with them on the story just to try to keep the science a little bit up and up. But anyhow, that was very fun to meet Superman in the comic."
Neil deGrasse Tyson
"Makes Me Very Uneasy"
Stephen King
Author Stephen King is once again stirring the bubbling cauldron of the Twitterverse with a controversial stance.
King, who found himself in hot water in January when he made remarks about diversity and the Oscars, has again raised some eyebrows with an online position. This time, it was a complaint about Hachette Book Group dropping Woody Allen's memoir. So far, the backlash appears muted, but King felt the need to clarify his position several times.
King said the Hachette decision left him "very uneasy," and noted, "The next one is always easier."
King worried that a precedent has been set by the Hachette decision.
"The Hachette decision to drop the Woody Allen book makes me very uneasy. It's not him; I don't give a damn about Mr. Allen. It's who gets muzzled next that worries me," King tweeted
Stephen King
Recruited Ex-Spies For O'Keefe
Erik Prince
Project Veritas, the right-wing group known for secretly recording and releasing clips attempting to expose the news media, used former British and American intelligence officials to infiltrate at least two left-wing groups in an attempt to release damaging information about them, according to a report from The New York Times on Saturday.
The operations were orchestrated by Erik Prince (R-Untrustworthy), a security contractor and founder of Blackwater, a private military company he sold in 2010 following years of controversy, criminal complaints, and lawsuits. Prince, who has ties to the Trump administration, reached out to former intelligence community members so they could assist Project Vertias' efforts, the report said.
Prince - also the brother of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos (R-Religiously Insane) - has at times served as an informal advisor to the President Donald Trump, advising on projects like the president's transition into office in 2017, according to the report. Project Veritas also has known ties to Trump and his son Donald Trump Jr., is listed as an invited guest on the website for the wedding of the group's founder, according to the report.
Prince, in one instance, helped recruit a former member of M16, UK's Secret Service organization, to infiltrate the American Federation of Teachers, the New York Times reported. The man, identified in documents as Richard Seddon, directed an undercover woman to secretly film leaders of the union in order to obtain information potentially damaging to their organization.
Emails and other documents that revealed the Project Vertias operation were revealed as part of the discovery process in a lawsuit leveled against Project Vertias by the American Federation of Teachers, the NYT reported.
Erik Prince
Lack Of Emotion
'Zero-Empathy'
Donald Trump (R-National Disgrace) has been filmed showing "zero empathy" for an 8-year-old boy during a meeting with families of Tennessee tornado victims.
The US president met with the families on Friday in the town of Cookeville as part of a trip to see the devastation caused by this week's tornadoes.
As Trump stood in front of destroyed homes he spoke to the press about an 8-year-old boy who was carried away from his family home by a tornado, only to land alive two blocks away.
"An 8-year-old boy was ripped out, flown to a certain area and dropped off at the street two or three blocks away and they found him walking and he said 'I just flew in the air," said Trump in the Fox News video.
After asking "how did his parents do?" and being informed the boy's parents and sister had died in the storms he relayed that information to the crowd before moving on by saying "So we're gonna go see some of the folks."
'Zero-Empathy'
'Our Feminist Spring'
Mexico
Dalilah Loza is 15 and dreams of being an orthodontist, or an economist - perhaps even a photographer.
But most of all she wants to be the voice of her mother.
"I'm the only one who can speak for her now. I'm her daughter. I'm the only one who really cares," said the teenager, whose 33-year-old mother was murdered at their home in Tijuana last September in front of Dalilah and her baby brother.
Before last month Dalilah had never taken part in a political protest.
But when Mexican feminists hit the streets on Valentine's Day to denounce their country's worsening femicide crisis, she saw a chance to ensure her mother's life and death were remembered.
Mexico
Overruled CDC
White House
The White House overruled health officials who wanted to recommend that elderly and physically fragile Americans be advised not to fly on commercial airlines because of the new coronavirus, a federal official told The Associated Press.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention submitted the plan this week as a way of trying to control the virus, but White House officials ordered the air travel recommendation be removed, said the official who had direct knowledge of the plan. Trump administration officials have since suggested certain people should consider not traveling, but they have stopped short of the stronger guidance sought by the CDC.
The person who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity did not have authorization to talk about the matter. The person did not have direct knowledge about why the decision to kill the language was made.
On Friday, the CDC quietly updated its website to tell older adults and people with severe medical conditions such as heart, lung or kidney disease to "stay home as much as possible" and avoid crowds. It urges those people to "take actions to reduce your risk of exposure," but it doesn't specifically address flying.
Vice President Mike Pence (R-Pharisee), speaking Saturday after meeting with cruise ship industry leaders in Florida, targeted his travel advice to a narrower group: older people with serious health problems.
White House
Geofence Warrant
Google
The email arrived on a Tuesday afternoon in January, startling Zachary McCoy as he prepared to leave for his job at a restaurant in Gainesville, Florida.
It was from Google's legal investigations support team, writing to let him know that local police had demanded information related to his Google account. The company said it would release the data unless he went to court and tried to block it. He had just seven days.
In the notice from Google was a case number. McCoy searched for it on the Gainesville Police Department's website, and found a one-page investigation report on the burglary of an elderly woman's home 10 months earlier. The crime had occurred less than a mile from the home that McCoy, who had recently earned an associate degree in computer programming, shared with two others. Now McCoy was even more panicked and confused. He knew he had nothing to do with the break-in - he'd never even been to the victim's house - and didn't know anyone who might have. And he didn't have much time to prove it.
McCoy worried that going straight to police would lead to his arrest. So he went to his parents' home in St. Augustine, where, over dinner, he told them what was happening. They agreed to dip into their savings to pay for a lawyer.
The lawyer, Caleb Kenyon, dug around and learned that the notice had been prompted by a "geofence warrant," a police surveillance tool that casts a virtual dragnet over crime scenes, sweeping up Google location data - drawn from users' GPS, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and cellular connections - from everyone nearby.
Google
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