Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Marc Dion: Taking It Home to Wifey, Whatever That Means (Creators Syndicate)
Five years ago, I got married for the first time at age 51. I immediately began to use a wide variety of marital language I borrowed from the men of my father's generation. I said "the old ball and chain" and "my better half." If one of my friends saw me alone in a bar, I told him I, "got a pass for the night." My wife found it funny, something that may not have been possible for a woman of less self-confidence. And "wifey." I say "wifey" all the time.
Susan Estrich: The Last of the Willie Horton Ads? (Creators Syndicate)
The spectacular failure of incumbent Alaska Sen. Mark Begich to use a "Willie Horton-style ad" (it's being called that) would almost be amusing for this veteran of the real Willie Horton ad were it not so pitiful on so many levels.
Susan Estrich: The Measles Are Back (Creators Syndicate)
No, it's not a rock group. You're lucky if you can't remember. It's a disease that was gone, and now it's back. So, by the way, is whooping cough, another dreaded childhood disease that had been effectively wiped out.
Froma Harrop: Kids Who Don't Go to College Also Matter (Creators Syndicate)
It shouldn't be this way, but the well-to-do tend to dominate public conversations in this country. The result has been a national preoccupation with the comfort, safety and psychological health of children like theirs - that is, children who go to college.
Connie Schultz: The Envelope, Please -- and a Living Wage, Too (Creators Syndicate)
After a self-congratulatory rollout to rival the ruckus of God's six days of earth-making, Marriott International has begun leaving envelopes in hotel rooms to encourage guests to tip housekeepers the corporation refuses to pay a living wage.
Lenore Skenazy: When It Is Against the Law to Play Outside (Creators Syndicate)
Children's book author Kari Anne Roy was recently visited by the Austin police and Texas Child Protective Services for allowing her son Isaac, age 6, to do the unthinkable: play outside, up her street, unsupervised.
18 Undeniable Facts That Prove the World Is Getting Better (Cracked)
When the news is screaming bloody murder in our brains, and our social media feeds are full of people disagreeing with each other in the most vile manner possible, it's hard to believe that things are peachy right now. But, well, when you take a step back and look at the grand picture -- they are.
Veritasium: 13 Misconceptions About Global Warming (YouTube)
"Global warming: a topic that is often hotly contested. Science video blog Veritassium has compiled this video to present some facts for perusal. At the very least, it might be handy to bookmark for when the holidays hit and you're looking to cool down the arguments between your relatives who are political polar opposites, before they come to blows." - Neatorama
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Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
BadtotheboneBob
'Up North Smugglin' Blues'
From the 'Up North Smugglin' Blues' File...
"Fifty-one turtles found in a man's sweat pants may have a brighter future after he was caught trying to cross from Detroit into Canada, authorities said. Kai Xu was charged with federal smuggling crimes for trying to return to Windsor with the live reptiles tucked in baggies around his legs, according to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Detroit..."
Source
Yes... We Michiganders are smugglin' turtles into Canada. The Canadians have an awful 'turtle problem' and we are avariciously taking advantage of that. It's not our fault, though. I mean, like, Canada has the problem, right? If they didn't have 'the problem', we wouldn't be forced into being avaricious, now, would we? They are tempting one of our base human natures, dagnab them. So, they're actually the 'Bad Guys' and responsible for all this sordidness, eh? Yes... Yes, they are those dagnab Canucks, the hosers they are. Take Off!
BadtotheboneBob
Thanks, B2tbBob!
From The Creator of 'Avery Ant'
from Marc Perkel
BartCop
Hello Bartcop fans,
As you all know the untimely passing of Terry was unexpected, even by
him. We all knew he had cancer but we all thought he had some years
left. So some of us who have worked closely with him over the years are
scrambling around trying to figure out what to do. My job, among other
things, is to establish communications with the Bartcop community and
provide email lists and groups for those who might put something
together. Those who want to play an active roll in something coming from
this, or if you are one of Bart's pillars, should send an email to
active@bartcop.com.
Bart's final wish was to pay off the house mortgage for Mrs. Bart who is
overwhelmed and so very grateful for the support she has received.
Anyone wanting to make a donation can click on this the yellow donate
button on bartcop.com
But - I need you all to help keep this going. This note
isn't going to directly reach all of Bart's fans. So if you can repost
it on blogs and discussion boards so people can sign up then when we
figure out what's next we can let more people know. This list is just
over 600 but like to get it up to at least 10,000 pretty quick. So
here's the signup link for this email list.
( mailman.bartcop.com/listinfo/bartnews )
Marc Perkel
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Sunny and cooler.
To Christen St. Louis Jazz Center
Wynton Marsalis
Trumpeter Wynton Marsalis will help christen a new St. Louis jazz center that organizers hope will serve as a venue worthy of the genre's top acts while inspiring the next generation of jazz greats from an area that has produced Miles Davis, Clark Terry and David Sanborn, among others.
The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra will join Marsalis for the grand opening Thursday of the Harold & Dorothy Steward Center for Jazz. Other big-name performers will follow, said Gene Dobbs Bradford, executive director of Jazz St. Louis.
Before undergoing a $10 million renovation over the past few months, the space was known as Jazz at the Bistro and was a popular jazz hangout for decades. Now, the space is one of the nation's only major performance and education centers devoted specifically to jazz, along with Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York and SFJAZZ in San Francisco, Bradford said. Although St. Louis is much smaller than those coastal cities and attracts far fewer jazz-loving European tourists, Bradford said he has high hopes for what the new venue will bring.
The space is named after longtime jazz lovers Harold and Dorothy Steward, whose son Dave Steward was the lead donor for the new center.
Wynton Marsalis
Wedding News
Alamuddin - Clooney
George Clooney married human rights lawyer Amal Alamuddin Saturday, the actor's representative said, out of sight of pursuing paparazzi and adoring crowds.
A smiling Clooney traveled up the spectacular Grand Canal to his wedding standing coolly aboard a water-taxi, waving to hundreds of well-wishers on shore and a flotilla of photographers chasing a glimpse of his final moments of bachelorhood.
With the pink sunset casting a gleam on Venice's most picturesque canal, Clooney rubbed his hands in sweet anticipation and disappeared into the luxury Aman hotel's tent-covered pier, where celebrity friends including Cindy Crawford and Matt Damon had passed moments earlier.
Clooney's long-time representative Stan Rosenfield announced in one sentence some 2 ½ hours later that the wedding had taken place. It's expected to be the only communication on the much-anticipated marriage of the actor who long reigned as Hollywood's most-eligible bachelor.
Alamuddin - Clooney
Baby News
Charlotte Clinton Mezvinsky
Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton say they are "blessed, grateful, and so happy" to become grandparents.
Their daughter, Chelsea, gave birth Friday night to her first child, Charlotte.
Chelsea Clinton announced the news on Twitter and Facebook early Saturday, saying she and husband Marc Mezvinsky are "full of love, awe and gratitude as we celebrate the birth of our daughter, Charlotte Clinton Mezvinsky."
The Mezvinskys live in New York City, but the family did not say where the child was born or provide additional details on her birth.
Charlotte Clinton Mezvinsky
Changes Clocks For 4th Time In 5 Months
Egypt
For the fourth time in less than five months the clocks have changed in Egypt.
The switch between summer and winter time was abandoned after the 2011 uprising toppled long-ruling autocrat Hosni Mubarak, but then was abruptly revived this past May, when clocks sprung forward in a move aimed at alleviating rolling power blackouts.
But just weeks later the clocks fell back again at the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan -- which this year fell at the hottest point of the summer -- to shorten the daily dawn-to-dusk fast.
The clocks returned to summer time when Ramadan ended in July, but now winter has come again, despite the fact that daytime temperatures still hover around 85 (30C).
As of midnight Thursday Egypt is two hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time and six hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time.
Egypt
Sidewalk-Chalk Arrests Dpawn Federal Lawsuit
Las Vegas
The arrests of several protesters for writing anti-police messages with chalk on a sidewalk last year have spawned a federal civil rights lawsuit against Las Vegas police.
Maggie McLetchie, attorney for the plaintiffs, said Friday that chalking isn't a crime, and the people who protested in July 2013 outside Las Vegas police headquarters and a regional courthouse had a constitutional right to express themselves.
The arrests of plaintiffs Brian Ballentine, Catalino Dazo Jr. and Kelly Patterson on conspiracy and graffiti charges provided a pivot point for a debate last year about the use of police resources and power to punish department critics. A protest supporter, Gail Sacco, is also a plaintiff in the case.
The civil lawsuit filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Las Vegas seeks unspecified monetary damages and a court declaration that protesting on public sidewalks is not against the law. The 31-page complaint accuses the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department and several officers of false imprisonment, intentional infliction of emotional distress, inadequate training and harassment.
Ballentine, Dazo and Patterson are members of a group called the Sunset Activist Collective that uses chalk as a form of expression and art.
Las Vegas
Cuts Ties With Confucius Institute
U. of Chicago
The University of Chicago cut ties with a Chinese language and research center following a Chinese media report that suggested the university had bowed to the authority of the institute's leader in Beijing.
The university said in a statement Thursday that University of Chicago would not renew its agreement with the Confucius Institute for a second term. The current agreement ends Monday.
The statement said the university and the Confucius Institute Headquarters, known as Hanban, "have engaged in several months of good faith efforts and steady progress toward a new agreement."
Professors in the U.S. and Canada have urged administrators to end relationships with the institute. They're concerned universities have allowed the Chinese government, which funds the institutes, to supervise staff and curriculum.
U. of Chicago
Celebrates Beatification
Spain
The second most important figure in the Opus Dei order was beatified Saturday at an open air Mass attended by tens of thousands of Catholics that sent Alvaro Del Portillo on a key step toward sainthood and illustrated how the once secretive order has become more mainstream.
Del Portillo succeeded Opus founder, Josemaria Escriva de Balaguer, as Opus Dei's leader. The miracle attributed for Del Portillo's beatification was confirmed last year by Pope Francis.
The beatification of Del Portillo is seen by experts as confirmation that Opus Dei has normalized its place in the Catholic Church. Once viewed as a secretive, right-wing, cult-like group that curried unusually high favor with Pope John Paul II, Opus Dei has gained acceptance as just another Catholic movement.
Founded in 1928 in Spain, Opus Dei had been associated with Spain's former fascist regime and the nation's wealthy, religious and conservative right. The favor it enjoyed under John Paul cemented its reputation as a right-wing orthodox movement so special it deserved its unique status as a personal prelature, a sort of diocese without borders.
Opus still enjoys favor in Rome, boasting two influential cardinals and about 25 bishops from its ranks at the Vatican and in dioceses around the world. But Francis' papacy and his focus on a "poor church" has taken the spotlight off of the order.
Spain
Northern Atlantic Ocean Waters
Bluefin Tuna
Scientists say warmer ocean waters are leading to bluefin tuna being caught in more northern Atlantic Ocean waters than ever before.
Danish fishermen have caught the giant fish over the past several weeks between Greenland and Iceland.
Bluefin traditionally follow mackerel up the coast of Canada and Ireland but have never been seen between Iceland and Greenland. Those waters are usually too cold for tuna and its prey.
The number of the giant tuna caught is not huge - only about 20 or 30, have been caught in the northern waters. But the growing number is alarming to scientists, according to professor Jeffrey A. Hutchings from the Canada Research Chair in Marine Conservation and Biology at Dalhousie University.
Bluefin Tuna
Top 20
Concert Tours
The Top 20 Concert Tours ranks artists by average box office gross per city and includes the average ticket price for shows in North America. The previous week's ranking is in parentheses. The list is based on data provided to the trade publication Pollstar by concert promoters and venue managers.
1. (1) One Direction; $7,796,955; $84.64.
2. (2) Beyonce/Jay Z; $6,001,611; $115.31.
3. (6) Bruno Mars; $3,505,364; $191.07.
4. (3) Paul McCartney; $3,229,604; $131.84.
5. (4) Katy Perry; $1,635,151; $107.84.
6. (New) Phish; $1,459,975; $53.58.
7. (5) Jason Aldean; $1,355,963; $50.85.
8. (7) Dave Matthews Band; $1,153,139; $55.81.
9. (9) Zac Brown Band; $1,078,597; $48.66.
10. (8) Cher; $1,056,228; $88.52.
11. (10) Michael Buble; $968,619; $84.96.
12. (New) Rod Stewart/Santana; $942,680; $96.77.
13. (11) Blake Shelton; $864,811; $50.09.
14. (12) Motley Crue; $747,134; $51.08.
15. (13) Journey/Steve Miller Band; $701,477; $58.28.
16. (16) Brad Paisley; $523,442; $34.45.
17. (15) Rascal Flatts; $520,697; $34.08.
18. (14) James Taylor; $508,614; $69.12.
19. (New) Keith Urban; $461,049; $38.73.
20. (New) Ed Sheeran; $432,264; $49.19.
Concert Tours
In Memory
James Traficant
James Traficant, the colorful Ohio politician whose conviction for taking bribes and kickbacks made him only the second person to be expelled from Congress since the Civil War, died Saturday. He was 73.
Traficant was seriously injured Tuesday after a vintage tractor flipped over on him as he tried to park it inside a barn on the family farm near Youngstown. He died four days later in a Youngstown hospital, said Dave Betras, chairman of the Mahoning County Democratic Party.
The Democrat's expulsion from Congress in 2002 came three months after a federal jury in Cleveland convicted him. Prosecutors said he used his office to extract bribes from businesspeople and coerced staffers to work on his farm and his house boat on the Potomac River in Washington. He also was charged with witness tampering, destroying evidence and filing false tax returns. He spent seven years in prison.
Traficant's notoriety was rivaled only by his eccentricity.
He loved to play the buffoon during his 17 years in Congress. He got plenty of notice within the staid, buttoned-down Capitol and airtime on C-SPAN for his messy mop of hair - revealed to be a wig when he went to prison - his typical wardrobe of cowboy boots, denim or polyester suits, and his bombastic speaking style.
His made-for-TV rants on the House floor invariably ended with the signoff "Beam me up," which Traficant borrowed from "Star Trek" to show his disgust or bemusement at whatever he found particularly outrageous.
Traficant was born May 8, 1941, in Youngstown and was a quarterback for the University of Pittsburgh, where he played with future NFL coaches Mike Ditka and Marty Schottenheimer.
He worked as a drug counselor for 10 years before running for Mahoning County sheriff at a colleague's suggestion.
He endeared himself to voters in the early 1980s by defying the courts and going to jail for three nights rather than foreclose on the homes of workers laid off from the city's dying steel industry.
The antagonism between Traficant and federal law enforcement authorities lasted throughout his public career, with Traficant trumpeting it as proof that he was on the side of "the little guy" against powerful government interests.
He faced his first federal bribery and corruption trial in 1983, when he was Mahoning County sheriff. Prosecutors accused Traficant of taking bribes to protect mobsters' criminal activity. He defended himself in court, although he was not a lawyer, and won. He argued that he was conducting a one-person sting.
He was elected to Congress the following year and was easily re-elected eight times.
He was expelled from Congress in a 420-1 vote by the U.S. House on July 24, 2002, three months after being convicted on 10 corruption-related counts. He could have avoided the indignity of expulsion by choosing to resign, but he remained defiant to the end.
He was sentenced to eight years in prison and led from the federal courtroom in handcuffs.
He was released from prison in September 2009 and the following year ran for the Youngstown-area congressional seat as an independent. He received 16 percent of the vote, again losing to Tim Ryan, and then faded from the spotlight.
From then on, he lived a quiet life on his farm, doting on his grandchildren.
The barn where his tractor tipped over played a key role in his criminal case.
A Youngstown businessman had the barn built for Traficant in return for a favor. The businessman later billed Traficant for the full construction cost after the congressman continued asking for favors. Traficant ended up paying him far less than what the barn was worth, and the businessman testified against him.
James Traficant
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