Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Marc Dion: The Soda Bottle on the Dinner Table (Creators Syndicate)
A lot of the women President Donald Trump knows can be seen naked on the internet: his wife, Stormy Daniels, Kim Kardashian. When you catch your teenage daughter sending naked pictures of herself to her boyfriend, don't get tense. "Keep doing that, honey, and you'll be the first lady someday," you should tell her. "You want daddy to buy you a video camera for your Sweet 16?"
Connie Schultz: We Already Knew This About Roseanne Barr (Creators Syndicate)
… I was accustomed to explaining that Roseanne Barr's shtick bore little resemblance to the family of my working-class roots. We didn't eat with our mouths open or splatter food as we talked. Our clothes were always clean, the cotton ones pressed with knife-edge creases. Our manners were a point of pride for my parents, and they were forever correcting our grammar. We didn't mock teachers; we revered them. And we were expected to treat our mother and father with respect. Mom would never have attempted to mock Dad in front of us or make him feel like less of a man. Most importantly, we were not raised to mistake a steady stream of scorching put-downs for love.
Suzanne Moore: Roseanne deserves her banishment, but we'll lose a lot with her (Guardian)
I can't forgive her these latest awful tweets, yet she was once a rare voice that connected conservative and liberal America
Froma Harrop: "Dumping Roseanne: Quick, Dirty and Smart" (Creators Syndicate)
Roseanne Barr's divorce from civilization started 28 years ago. Given the honor of singing the national anthem at a San Diego Padres-Cincinnati Reds game, she shrieked the words and, upon concluding, spit at the ground and scratched her crotch. All choreographed for a national TV audience.
Susan Estrich: Getting What She Deserves (Creators Syndicate)
Of course there should be room on television for shows that depict conservative families who support Donald Trump. Frankly, I think it is important for some of my liberal friends to see that not everyone who supports the president is a fool or a freak or a racist. Because they aren't. But Roseanne Barr is all those things.
Connie Schultz: A Singular Mother (Creators Syndicate)
At the last minute, with an unfortunate combination of bad news and gratuitous drama, the divorced father was unable to attend his daughter's wedding.
Lenore Skenazy: America's Doctor (Creators Syndicate)
At a duel, each man is allowed to choose a doctor to accompany him. At the most famous duel in American history - Alexander Hamilton vs. Aaron Burr, 1804 - both men chose Dr. Hosack. Um, who?
Mark Shields: When Politics Was Fun (Creators Syndicate)
That was the same Dick Tuck who - when he was a state Senate candidate in California and asked what he would do about the Los Angeles River, that was as dry as a bone - had dared to answer: "Either fill it up or paint it blue." After he lost that primary, Tuck earned the admiration of every disappointed candidate ever forced to make a concession statement, with these memorable words: "The people have spoken, the bastards."
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Presenting
Michael Egan
took the day off.
has returned to semi-retired status.
In memory.
Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
Reader Comment
Current Events
Predator as trainer!
Dear Lord! Predator as a experiential teacher, leading by modeling behavior and making his student practice with "real-life" examples! As an old trainer, I'm horrified by this satire from The New Yorker that hits too close to home!
Trump Makes Pence Watch Him Issue Pardons to See How It's Done
6/2/18 WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report)-President Donald J. Trump made Vice-President Mike Pence watch him issue pardons for several hours to see how it is done, a White House source confirmed.
According to the source, Trump pardoned a number of disgraced political figures and former reality-show cronies for the sole purpose of training Pence in the art of issuing pardons.
After signing pardon after pardon while Pence looked on intently, Trump commanded the Vice-President to sign a "practice pardon" to prove that he "wouldn't mess anything up," the source said.
Bonus Links
Jeannie the Teed-Off Temp
Reader Comment
So Dak
OMG!
Kristi Noem, S.Dak.'s sole State Rep. is running for Governor now, and with the
primaries coming up this next week she's been running an ad confessing that she
can't swim (even after 6 years of lessons), but, she says, "I can still ride horse.
I can still shoot a gun. What else do you need in South Dakota?" The right is
passing it off as a cute joke, but in reality, it's very close to how they really
feel (wink, wink...nod, nod), which is scary. I always wondered why I've felt out of
place in this state...I can't do either! She's pulled the ad now, but you can still
see an edited part of it in her 4 min. video entitled, "Experience".
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
IN THE BEGINNING...
THE RUSSIANS ARE COMING! THE RUSSIANS ARE COMING!
THE ANIMALS CRAWL OUT OF THEIR CAVES.
WHAT A SICK FUCK!
BUST THE BANKS NOW!
"NO SHIT SHERLOCK!"
'SEA, ICE, SNOW, IT'S ALL CHANGING'
WAH!
Visit JD's site - Kitty Litter Music
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Sunny and much warmer.
Going Strong At 80
Superman
In an era when superheroes seem to be everywhere -- there were literally dozens in the most recent "Avengers" film -- the Man of Steel stands apart.
Eighty years after his debut in Action Comics #1, dated June 1938, Superman is still an American cultural icon, the hero of reference and the undisputed star of DC Comics.
And today, the comic book publisher -- also known for Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash and Green Lantern, among others -- is counting on Superman more than ever.
In Action Comics #1, 13 pages were dedicated to the story of Kal-El, an alien from the planet Krypton with supernatural strength, sent to Earth by his father before his home planet was destroyed.
Superman's debut was a smash success. A year later, DC Comics gave the Man of Steel his own book, and introduced another formidable hero: Batman.
Superman
'Treasure Trove' Of Silver Coins
Pompeii
An unfortunate Roman who was decapitated by a giant slab of stone as he tried to flee Pompeii was carrying a "treasure trove" of silver and bronze coins when he died, archeologists announced on Friday.
The skeleton of the man, partially buried beneath by the 300kg rock, was found earlier this week, in what was hailed as a "dramatic and exceptional discovery".
Archeologists believe the man, aged in his thirties, was attempting to flee the eruption of Mt Vesuvius in AD79 but was impeded by an infection in his leg bone.
As experts excavated beneath the skeleton, they found the remains of a leather pouch which he had been carrying, perhaps around his neck, when a flying stone door jamb hurtled through the air and beheaded him.
The pouch contained 22 silver and bronze coins which together were worth 80 sestertii, equivalent to around 500 euros in today's money.
Pompeii
Was Actually Human
'Hawk Mummy'
The 2,100-year-old mummified remains of what was thought to be a "hawk mummy" actually belong to a stillborn boy who suffered from anencephaly, a rare condition in which part of the brain and skull fails to develop.
"The whole top part of his skull isn't formed," Andrew Nelson, a bioarchaeologist and professor of anthropology at the University of Western Ontario, said in a statement. "The arches of the vertebrae of his spine haven't closed. His earbones are at the back of his head" Nelson said.
The mummy is one of only two confirmed mummies from Egypt known to have anencephaly.
The mummy was donated to the Maidstone Museum in the United Kingdom in 1925 by a local physician and has been on display at times. "It was believed to be a votive hawk mummy because of the cartonnage" that the ancient Egyptian put the mummy is in, Nelson told Live Science. Cartonnage consists of layers of linen or papyrus covered with decorated plaster. A picture of the cartonnage shows that the top part looks a bit like a hawk.
They found that the mummy would have been stillborn at a gestational age of 23 to 28 weeks. "It would have been a tragic moment for the family to lose their infant and to give birth to a very strange-looking fetus, not a normal-looking fetus at all," Nelson said in a statement. "So this was a very special individual."
'Hawk Mummy'
Looks For A Comeback
Bare-Knuckle Boxing
In 1889, the great John L. Sullivan, the Boston Strong Boy, beat Jake Kilrain in 75 rounds - yes, 75 - in what the International Boxing Hall of Fame has called the "last significant bare-knuckle bout in boxing."
Since then, about the only gloves-off fighting many people have witnessed has consisted of barroom brawls.
But on Saturday night, 10 bouts of bare-knuckle boxing, including one involving female fighters, will take place at the Cheyenne Ice and Events Center.
The event, available on pay-per-view, is being promoted as the first legal, regulated and sanctioned bare-knuckle fight event in U.S. history. Back in Sullivan's day, there were no sanctioning bodies and few if any regulations.
The boxers will be allowed wraps around their thumbs and wrists but will not wear any protection over their knuckles the way fighters normally do in traditional boxing, MMA or other combat sports where padded gloves of various thickness are used.
Bare-Knuckle Boxing
The Erosion Of Democratic Norms
America
Ask people with deep knowledge of the US justice department about the damage Donald Trump might be doing to the country, and the conversation quickly flips back to Watergate.
Following Richard Nixon's failed attempt to pull the plug on a special prosecutor who turned out to be on to something, the need for investigators to work free from White House interference was recognized by the public and reinforced by elected officials.
But now Trump is president, the public can seem apathetic or amnesiac and the norms governing justice department independence are being tested. Severely.
In interviews, two former assistant attorneys general, law professors and analysts from across the political spectrum used recurring words to describe Trump's assault on justice: "dangerous", "alarming", "high-stakes".
Some analysts warn that national security has also been endangered, as Trump has undermined public trust in the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and intelligence agencies whose work is often conducted in secret and who therefore depend uniquely on such trust to function.
America
Koch Backed Group
North Dakota
The political arm of the Koch network, long reputed for championing conservative causes and politicians, has launched an ad campaign thanking a Democratic Senator up for reelection in a red state for her work in passing a financial deregulation bill.
The ad campaign, released on Friday by Americans for Prosperity, thanks North Dakota Sen. Heidi Heitkamp for her leadership role in working on the Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Act, which President-for-now Trump (R-Crooked) signed into law last month. The bill eases regulations on local and regional banks in order to improve their ability to provide loans and mortgages.
"This was a bipartisan effort made possible by lawmakers like Heidi Heitkamp who put politics aside to work together," said AFP President Tim Phillips. "While we don't agree with Sen. Heitkamp on everything, particularly her vote against tax relief, we commend her for taking a stand against the leaders of her party to do the right thing."
"We hope to find common ground and work with Senator Heitkamp on other issues moving forward including making tax relief permanent," Phillips added.
North Dakota
Whale Hunt
Japan
Japan killed 122 pregnant minke whales during a highly controversial annual whaling expedition that Tokyo defends as scientific research but conservationists call "gruesome and unnecessary".
The four-month expedition in the Antarctic ended in March after the fleet killed 333 minke whales, according to a report submitted by Japanese authorities to the International Whaling Commission (IWC) last month.
Of those, 122 were pregnant, according to the Japanese report, with dozens more immature whales among those killed.
Humane Society International, a conservationist group, called the figures "a shocking statistic and sad indictment on the cruelty of Japan's whale hunt".
"It is further demonstration, if needed, of the truly gruesome and unnecessary nature of whaling operations, especially when non-lethal surveys have been shown to be sufficient for scientific needs," said the group's senior program manager, Alexia Wellbelove.
Japan
Will Donate Old Jet
Televangelist
A televangelist who called for donations from his followers for a $54m private jet has said he will give away his old plane if supporters buy him a new one.
Jesse Duplantis, from Louisiana, sparked outrage earlier in the week after he posted a video on his ministry's website asking for donations.
"I really believe that if Jesus was physically on the Earth today he wouldn't be riding a donkey," he said. "Think about that for a minute. He'd be in an aeroplane preaching the gospel all over the world."
Earlier this year, prosperity preacher Kenneth Copeland attained a Gulfstream V jet from director Tyler Perry which was paid for by donations from his followers.
Mr Copeland and Mr Duplantis talked about the need for private jets on a 2016 episode of the former's show, Believer's Voice of Victory, which saw Mr Copeland describe commercial air travel as being "in a long tube with a bunch of demons."
Televangelist
Dunes Made Of Grains Of Frozen Methane
Pluto
Scientists have detected another exotic feature on one of the solar system's most wondrous worlds, a large field of dunes on the surface of the distant, frigid dwarf planet Pluto apparently composed of wind-swept, sand-sized grains of frozen methane.
The dunes, spotted on images taken by NASA's New Horizons spacecraft during its 2015 flyby, sit at the boundary between a heart-shaped nitrogen glacier about the size of France called Sputnik Planitia and the Al Idrisi Montes mountain range made of frozen water, scientists said on Thursday.
"Pluto, even though it's so far away from Earth and so very cold, has a riot of processes we never expected to see. It is far more interesting than any of us dreamed, and tells us that these very distant bodies are well worth visiting," Brigham Young University planetary scientist Jani Radebaugh said.
The dunes cover about 775 square miles (2,000 square km), roughly the size of Tokyo. Their existence came as a surprise. There was some doubt about whether Pluto's extremely thin atmosphere, mainly nitrogen with minor amounts of methane and carbon monoxide, could muster the wind needed to form such features.
Methane, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and nitrogen, all gaseous on Earth, are rendered solid with Pluto's temperatures near absolute zero. Pluto's dunes were shaped by moderate winds reaching around 22 mph (35 kph) apparently blowing fine-grained frozen methane bits from mountaintops.
Pluto
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