Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Susan Estrich: Trump in 2020? (Creators Syndicate)
The big problem on my side of the aisle these days is that so many people hate Trump so much that they cannot acknowledge his strengths among voters and simply cannot believe he could possibly win. And in this, they are sadly wrong. Not only could Trump win; he probably will if Democrats remain locked in a state of denial. Trump has at least three big advantages.
Marc Dion: The Art of the Korean Deal (Creators Syndicate)
North Korea got to keep its nuclear missiles. American got 55 boxes of bones. Shrewd. Apparently, North Korea has figured out who we are now. We are an America content with symbols and flags and fireworks and the anthem. We're a big, squalling, narcotized baby, and North Korea tossed us a ring of keys to make us stop crying about a mini maniac with a Moe Howard haircut and a bushel basket full of nukes.
Paul Krugman: Partying Like It's 1998 (NY Times Blog)
And now for something completely similar. For a while, those of us who devoted a lot of time to understanding the Asian financial crisis two decades ago were wondering whether Turkey was going to stage a reenactment. Sure enough, that's what seems to be happening.
Paul Krugman: Supply Chains and Trade War (Very Wonkish)
The invaluable IGM Forum poses policy questions to a representative panel of economists. The goal is to provide a snapshot of the professional consensus on various issues, which is important because advocacy groups - mainly on the right - combined with media "balance" often conveys the impression of division where there really isn't any. For example, essentially no experts believe that tax cuts pay for themselves, even though there are Stephen Moores out there who are paid to insist that they do.
Froma Harrop: Dereliction of Political Duty in a Tweet (Creators Syndicate)
"Bad environmental laws," [Trump] tweeted, have diverted needed water "into the Pacific Ocean," making the wildfires "so much worse." That's the ignorance part. The claim that firefighters don't have enough water is not true, and to a moronic degree. "We're having no problems as far as access to water supply," said Scott McClean, deputy chief of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Rob Stutzman, a prominent Republican strategist in California, called that tweet "nuts," as well as "frightening" in its dumbness. Water plays a surprisingly small part in fighting wildfires. The main weapons are flame-retarding chemicals dropped from planes and creating physical fire breaks.
Lenore Skenazy: "The Next Big Thing (or Not)" (Creators Syndicate)
Trends are not something I would say I'm great at predicting. Years ago, when I was passing the Empire State Building, two tourists asked me whether I'd take their picture. "Sure," I said. One handed me a phone. "What the heck?" said I. "Oh, you can take pictures with a phone now," they told me.
E.J. Hutchinson: The Hedonism of Reading Good Books (American Conservation)
It's a pleasure that infuses life with richness and it's available for the price of a library card.
David Bruce's Amazon Author Page
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David Bruce has over 80 Kindle books on Amazon.com.
Presenting
Michael Egan
answered:
has returned to semi-retired status.
In memory.
Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
Bonus Links
Jeannie the Teed-Off Temp
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
"WE'RE THE PARTY THAT ISN'T GOING TO JAIL."
DONALD TRUMP WEARS A JOCK STRAP ON HIS HEAD.
"A DAY LATE AND A RUBLE SHORT."
SHOW ME!
"IN FOR A PENNY IN FOR A POUND."
"TO TELL THE TRUTH IS REVOLUTIONARY."
THE BAGMAN.
Visit JD's site - Kitty Litter Music
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
First, and what appears to be the only, butterfly this year. (Scroll way down.)
Gandalf Inspired
George R.R. Martin
Game of Thrones fans who've ever been distressed about a death in the series (Ned Stark! Shireen! HODOR!) now know who to blame, George R.R. Martin says.
Martin, the creator of the Song of Ice and Fire book series that inspired HBO's Game of Thrones, was interviewed in a video for PBS' Great American Read series. He discusses the influence J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings series had on him as a young boy growing up in New Jersey.
"It was so totally immersive," Martin recalls of the series, "Tolkien approached this thing as if he was writing history."
And Tokien's work influenced Martin in another way.
"And then, Gandalf dies!" Martin exclaims to PBS in the video. "I can't explain the impact that had on me at 13. You can't kill Gandalf!"
George R.R. Martin
Future In Doubt
'Star Trek 4'
Chris Pine and Chris Hemsworth are no longer boldly going where no person has gone before.
The two actors were in negotiations to star in Star Trek 4 but sources say that talks between two actors and the companies making the new installment, Paramount Pictures and Skydance Media, have fallen apart, with both sides walking away from the table.
Dealmaking with other returning castmembers - including Zoe Saldana, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, Simon Pegg and John Cho - was expected to follow.
Pine was due to reprise his role as iconic sci-fi hero Captain Kirk, which he has inhabited for three movies, while Hemsworth was to have played his father in a time-traveling adventure. (Hemsworth played the role in the prologue in the 2009 movie that rebooted the franchise.)
The deal points came down to the usual suspect: money. Pine and Hemsworth, among Hollywood's A-list when starring in DC or Marvel movies, are said to be asking the studios to stick to existing deals. Paramount, according to insiders, contends that Trek is not like a Marvel or Star Wars movie and is trying to hold the line on a budget.
'Star Trek 4'
Heading North Due to Climate Change
Black Widow Spiders
As climate change warms the earth, black widow spiders are moving north.
The spiders are notorious, because venom is 15 times stronger than a rattlesnake's. A bite can cause aches, pains, and paralysis of the diaphragm which make breathing difficult.
In a study published in PLOS One on Wednesday, Canadian researchers reported that over the past 60 years the northernmost point black widow spiders live has moved 31 miles north, into southern Canada. The scientists believe that the spread of the spiders, which prefer a temperate climate, is due to climate change.
The team used citizen data to make updated species distribution maps for the spider. "In our project, the citizen science data was essential in modeling distributions of spiders," Christopher Buddle, a co-author on the study and professor at McGill University, said in a statement. "People who are excited about discovering where species live can contribute in meaningful ways to scientific progress and this is exciting, important, and is changing how we do research."
The scientists hope that this will provide a new way for scientists to study species distribution, especially during a time when so many species are affected by changing climates. This style of collecting information is more efficient and less expensive than sending scientists out into the field and helps the researchers cover more ground.
Black Widow Spiders
Ancient Giant Shark Teeth Found
Australia
An amateur fossil hunter in Australia has just made the find of a lifetime: a rare set of teeth from a giant prehistoric mega-shark, the first of its kind found on the continent.
Philip Mullaly, a schoolteacher from Victoria, was walking along a beach in Melbourne on the hunt for fossils. This was less a shot in the dark than it sounds: Southern Australia is actually rich in fossils, and Mullaly was walking near a region named Dinosaur Cove.
Taking a second glance at a rock he had already passed once before, Mullaly noticed what appeared to be a shiny blade.
A closer look revealed something extraordinary. It was a jagged, narrow tooth from a Carcharocles angustidens, a mega-shark that would grow up to 21 feet in length. Their teeth were serrated, not unlike a modern steak knife.
During the Oligocene era, around 33.9 million to 23 million years ago, the C. angustidens was one of the planet's most dominant predators, ruling the planet's oceans. Fossilized remains of the ancient Giant White Shark have been found all over the planet, from Mississippi to France. But a set of teeth is still a very rare find, considering how most fossilized teeth only emerge as individuals.
These teeth are of international significance, as they represent one of just three associated groupings of Carcharocles angustidens teeth in the world, and the very first set to ever be discovered in Australia," says Erich Fitzgerald, a senior curator at Museums Victoria, which investigated Mullaly's find after the initial discovery, in a press statement.
Australia
AP FACT CHECK
Economic Mirage
President-for-now Donald Trump (R-Grifter) is pulling numbers out of thin air when it comes to the economy, jobs and the deficit.
He refers to a current record-breaking gross domestic product for the U.S. where none exists and predicts a blockbuster 5 percent annual growth rate in the current quarter that hardly any economist sees. Hailing his trade policies in spite of fears of damage from the escalating trade disputes he's provoked, Trump also falsely declares that his tariffs on foreign goods will help erase $21 trillion in national debt. The numbers don't even come close.
The statements capped a week of grandiose and erroneous claims by Trump and his critics, including questionable rhetoric from Sen. Bernie Sandersthat his "Medicare for all" plan would reduce U.S. health spending by $2 trillion.
While economists are generally optimistic about growth, very few anticipate the economy will expand at a 5 percent annual rate in the July-September quarter the president referred to. Macroeconomic Advisers, a consulting firm in St. Louis, forecasts 3.2 percent growth in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase economists have penciled in 3.5 percent. The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta pegs it at 4.3 percent.
Whatever the final number turns out to be, none of these figures represents record or close-to-record growth for gross domestic product, the broadest measure of the nation's output. The 4.1 percent growth in the second quarter was simply the most since 2014.
Economic Mirage
Let Trump's Lawyers Host His Radio Show
Hannity
Jay Sekulow (R-SuperCuts) and Rudy Giuliani (R-Cheap Veneers), lawyers for President-for-now Donald Trump (R-OfPutin), hosted Sean Hannity's (R-OfRupert) radio show Friday afternoon in an unvarnished display of partisan loyalty on one of the nation's most influential talk shows.
Hannity announced the schedule change Friday morning on Twitter as he shared an interview with Sekulow he conducted earlier in the week. The lawyer criticized special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation, a theme that resurfaced in Friday's episode when Sekulow and former New York Mayor Giuliani took the reins.
Hannity's cozy relationship with the president is well known, but this is the first time he's stepped aside to lend his powerful microphone to Trump's team directly.
The president's lawyers spent the show's three hours rehashing Trump administration talking points and making their case for their shared client in between listeners' calls.
Hannity
The Base
Alaska
A father and son have been charged with several crimes after they allegedly shot a mother bear and her crying newborn twins inside their Alaska den, authorities said.
The men's actions were captured on a motion-activated video camera installed by wildlife officials who were tracking the mother bear.
Owen Renner, 18, was seen on the video shooting the mother black bear in April on Esther Island in Prince William Sound, said police. According to a sworn summary of events by police that was filed in court, the "cubs begin shrieking in the den after the initial shots are fired," The Anchorage Daily News reported Wednesday.
His father, Andrew Renner, 41, then took "aim through his rifle scope only feet away and fires several more shots, killing the newborn bear cubs," per the court documents. He was also seen on video saying: 'It doesn't matter. Bear down,'" authorities said.
Other clips showed the men skinning and butchering the sow, and Owen Renner declaring, "They'll never be able to link it to us," authorities said.
Alaska
You'll Never Spot Them
Fastest Creatures on Earth
Scientists have a plan to study the fastest creature in the world - and hope to use what they learn from its behavior to build tiny robots.
The creature isn't a cheetah or a falcon; instead, it's a single-celled organism called Spirostomum ambiguum, commonly found in bodies of water. Cheetahs can sprintat speeds of more than 60 mph (96.5 km/h), and falcons may dive at well over 250 mph (400 km/h). But S. ambiguumcan move even faster, shortening its body by 60 percent into a football shape within "a few milliseconds," according to a press release.
But researchers have no idea how the single-celled organism can move this fast without the muscle cells of larger creatures. And scientists have no clue how, regardless of how the contraction works, the little critter moves like this without wrecking all of its internal structures.
When you curl into a ball like the S. ambiguum, or sprint like a cheetah, or dive like a falcon (the latter is not recommended, except possibly into very deep swimming pools), you activate actin and myosin proteins in your muscle cells that contract to generate motion, the statement said.
But tiny creatures like S. ambiguum don't rely on proteins of that sort, Bhamla said. (S. ambiguum exists on a sort of fuzzy boundary between animals and non-animals. Older texts often considered single-celled "protozoans" like this, which have animal-like characteristics, to be part of the animal kingdom. But more recently biologists have tended to separate them into their own kingdom of life, known as Protista.)
Fastest Creatures on Earth
Show Promise
Psychedelic Drugs
They aren't drugs you'd ever expect to see scribbled on a doctor's prescription pad: ecstasy, "magic" mushrooms, ayahuasca.
But in recent years, a number of small studies have explored the potential for psychedelic drugs to treat certain mental health conditions. And the results suggest that, along with talk therapy, the drugs may benefit some people.
"Combined with [talk therapy], some psychedelic drugs like MDMA [or ecstasy], psilocybin [the active ingredient in magic mushrooms] and ayahuasca may improve symptoms of anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder [PTSD]," Cristina Magalhaes, an associate professor of clinical psychology at Alliant International University in Los Angeles, said in a statement. Magalhaes co-chaired a symposium on psychedelics and psychotherapy on Aug. 9 at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association (APA) in San Francisco.
Research will soon begin a large-scale study of MDMA, the active ingredient in the drug ecstasy, along with talk therapy, for the treatment of PTSD. The "Phase 3" study, which will include at least 230 people, is the final step needed before MDMA can be approved as a prescription drug, according to The New York Times.
Recent studies also suggest that psilocybin could benefit patients who have cancer-related psychological distress, or cancer patients with depression who haven't benefited from other treatments. For example, in 2016, two studies involving a total of 80 patients found that a single dose of psilocybin could considerably reduce the depression and anxiety felt by patients who had terminal or advanced cancer, compared with those who took a placebo. And the effect was long-lasting; up to 80 percent of participants saw their reductions in depression and anxiety last for six months.
Psychedelic Drugs
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