Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Andrew Tobias: The Speech Rephrased
… there are other things [Trump] might have said, but didn't.
For example, he could have said this: The state of the Union is precarious. In my first year I have: 1. Told more than 2000 public lies or falsehoods. 2. Ended the American Century and abdicated our leadership of the world. …
Jonathan Chait: Donald Trump's Presidency Is the Libertarian Moment (NY Magazine)
This is a perfectly predictable outgrowth of an Ayn Rand-inflected movement. The alliance between the Kochs and Trump exists not despite their libertarian ideology, but because of it.
Josh Marshall: First Take on the Speech (TPM)
It's important to restate the facts. Out of more than 10 million undocumented immigrants in the country, of course there are some who commit crimes and even horrific crimes. The same would be the case for any other ten million people, certainly for any group that is disproportionately young. But every study shows that immigrants, both documented and undocumented, commit crimes at a low rate than the native born. This is pure incitement. We can't lose sight of that.
Ryan J. Reilly and Amanda Terkel: What A Year This Month Has Been (Huffington Post)
All of these things happened in January 2018. No, seriously, they really did.
Ed Mazza: New 'Purge' Movie Is Already Trolling Donald Trump (Huffington Post)
That hat sure looks familiar.
Taryn Ryder: 'Wonder Years' Mom Alley Mills: Show Canceled Due To 'Ridiculous' Fred Savage Harassment Lawsuit (Yahoo Entertainment)
"So it gets really tricky, you know, this thing that's happening right now, all of these allegations. When they're true, awesome. You know, bring it out, bring things to the light. But it's so important - because I actually know a couple that are not [true] - it's tricky, it's really tricky because people would rather just let go of it than allow you your truth and your time in court. So, this was like, one of the first ones."
Elyse Wanshel: Diane Keaton On Woody Allen: 'I Continue To Believe Him' (Huffington Post)
"Woody Allen is my friend."
Michael Gregor, MD: Moderation Kills (nutritionfacts.prg)
In my video Everything in Moderation? Even Heart Disease? you can see the data from a 26-year follow-up of the Framingham Heart Study comparing the cholesterol levels of people who get heart attacks and the cholesterol levels of those who don't. The study suggests that because we now know that 35% of heart attacks occur in people with total cholesterol levels of 150-200 mg/dL, a target level of only 200 mg/dL guarantees that millions of U.S. citizens will die from coronary artery disease.
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Presenting
Michael Egan
replied:
has returned to semi-retired status.
In memory.
Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
David E Suggests
Phenomenal Places
David
Thanks, Dave!
Bonus Links
Jeannie the Teed-Off Temp
Reader Comment
Current Events
Wonkette on Graham's bill
The bill didn't pass, but this is a good explanation of why it was probably brought to a vote:
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
TRUMPY TAKES CARE OF HIS 'BOY TOY'.
"OUR UNION CANNOT BE STRONG WITHOUT SCIENCE."
"NONE OF THIS IS NORMAL."
DUMB AS A BARREL OF OIL.
THE SNAKE IS TRYING TO WIGGLE OUT.
'NUNERS'.
WHAT A 'HOCKY PUCK'.
GET READY TO RUMBLE!
GROUNDHOGS SHOULD LEARN TO SHUTUP
Visit JD's site - Kitty Litter Music
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Running late. How unusual.
Potential Viacom Merger
CBS
CBS Corp's board is expected to discuss a merger with Viacom Inc on Thursday, sources told Reuters, a move that could begin a formal process to reunite the companies split by controlling shareholder Sumner Redstone more than a decade ago.
The board will need to decide if the deal is now attractive enough to CBS shareholders to overshadow concerns that scuttled a proposed tie-up pushed by Sumner and his daughter Shari Redstone in 2016.
The CBS board meeting is regularly scheduled and no announcement may come out of it, said the sources, who wished to remain anonymous because they are not permitted to speak to the media.
Viacom Chief Executive Bob Bakish and CBS CEO Leslie Moonves talked about the potential merger earlier this month, Reuters reported.
Viacom's Nickelodeon and MTV networks and Paramount films could help broadcast-focused CBS' All Access streaming service become more competitive, and the combined company could also better negotiate with cable and satellite distributors.
CBS
Hidden Extremism
State Of The Union
President-for-now Donald Trump's (R-Crooked) first State of the Union address was competently delivered and - for him - relatively inoffensive. The mainstream media and the television pundits will surely deem it to be a presidential moment, representative of yet another pivot to the center.
But one speech does not erase Trump's record. The speech's banality - its embrace of optimism and platitude - is a mask. Do not be fooled: Political extremism, divisive rhetoric and bizarre behavior have characterized the first year of Trump's presidency and underlie many of the harmless-sounding proposals he talked about Tuesday night.
This is the president, recall, who rose to political power on the racist lie that his predecessor was born in Kenya, and he ran for president while calling to ban all Muslims from the country and deriding Mexican immigrants as rapists. He was slow to denounce white nationalists, who have looked to him as a leader and marched openly in the streets of this country. And since last summer, this president has launched an all-out war on the investigations into Russian interference in the 2016 election - a war that continued to rage this week.
Trump mentioned none of those facts in his State of the Union address. Indeed, the speech was most notable for all of the policies and initiatives of his administration that he downplayed or left out entirely.
State Of The Union
Second WW2 Bomb In A Week
Hong Kong
A second wartime bomb was discovered at a construction site in the heart of Hong Kong within a week, prompting thousands of people to evacuate on Wednesday and stores to shutter.
Police sealed off parts of the busy Wan Chai district and ferry services crossing the Victoria Harbour were suspended as experts worked to unearth the explosive, an operation that would likely continue overnight.
The bomb was found at the same construction site along the harbour front as a 450-kilogram explosive that was successfully defused on Saturday.
Over 4,000 people had been evacuated by Wednesday evening including hotel customers, residents, workers from the surrounding office towers and students from over 40 schools at a track and field event, Apple Daily reported.
Both bombs were of the same American-made model that had been dropped on Hong Kong during the Second World War but the newly discovered one was in an unstable state, local media reported citing the police.
Hong Kong
Gets 8 Years
Pharmacist
The pharmacist convicted in connection with a deadly 2012 meningitis outbreak was sentenced to eight years in prison on Wednesday after he tearfully apologized to the victims for the pain and suffering they endured.
Glenn Chin sobbed as he struggled through his statement during his sentencing hearing in Boston's federal courthouse on Wednesday. The outbreak killed 76 people and sickened hundreds.
Victims of the outbreak and their family members on Wednesday described the pain and suffering they experienced because of the contaminated drugs at a sentencing hearing Wednesday for a convicted pharmacist.
The Massachusetts man was cleared in October of second-degree murder under federal racketeering law. Nearly 800 people were sickened in what is considered the worst public health crisis in recent U.S. history. The meningitis infection was traced to contaminated steroid injections given mostly to people with back pain.
Prosecutors wanted a 35-year-sentence for Chin, pointing to the devastating impact the outbreak had on families across the country. Chin's lawyers asked for about three years behind bars.
Pharmacist
'Human Error'
Afghan War Data
The NATO-led command leading the war in Afghanistan blamed "human error" Tuesday for withholding information about America's longest war and made the data public, denying any deliberate attempt to shield the conflict from public scrutiny.
A U.S. military watchdog, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), had suggested that the decision to classify the number of districts in Afghanistan, and the population therein, controlled by the Afghan government or the Taliban or contested by both sides, amounted to an effort to escape accountability.
"It was NOT the intent of Resolute Support to withhold or classify information which was available in prior reports. A human error in labeling occurred," U.S. Navy Capt. Tom Gresback, public affairs director for NATO's Operation Resolute Support, said in an emailed statement.
"The classification system, because it incorporates both a NATO and U.S. nomenclature, can be challenging, and a mistake was made," Gresback continued. "The data is not classified and there was no intent to withhold it unnecessarily."
His comments came hours after SIGAR said in a quarterly report on the conflict that the Pentagon prohibited the inclusion of information on the number of districts in Afghanistan, and the population therein, controlled by the Afghan government or the Taliban or contested by both sides.
Afghan War Data
Property Tax Bill
Florida
President-for-now Donald Trump (R-Corrupt) says the Trump National Golf Club in Florida is worth more than $50 million.
Palm Beach County Property Tax Appraiser Dorothy Jacks disagrees, saying the Jupiter course, where Trump plays when he visits nearby Mar-a-Lago, is actually worth much less - $19 million.
But in a twist, Trump's lawyers are now suing Jacks, saying her estimate and the nearly $400,000 property tax bill it generates are too high, even if her appraisal is only 40 percent of what the president listed in his 2017 financial disclosure form.
Trump's company, Jupiter Golf LLC, doesn't say in the lawsuit how much it thinks the course is currently worth, but it sent the county nearly $300,000 as a good-faith estimate of what it believes the tax bill should be. That would make the course worth $15 million.
If the course were worth at least $50 million, its tax bill would be $1 million or more at the county's 2 percent business property rate.
Florida
Sends Sex Crimes Expert To Chile
Vatican't
After coming under excoriating public criticism, Pope Francis decided Tuesday to send the Vatican's most respected sex crimes expert to Chile to investigate a bishop accused by victims of covering up for the country's most notorious pedophile priest.
The Vatican said Maltese Archbishop Charles Scicluna would travel to Chile "to listen to those who have expressed the desire to provide elements" about the case of Bishop Juan Barros.
The move marks the first known time the Vatican has launched a full-blown investigation into allegations of sex abuse cover-up, and it comes after Francis was harshly criticized by the media, survivors of abuse, his fellow Jesuits and some of his top advisers for his unwavering defense of Barros.
The Barros controversy dominated Francis' just-ended trip to Chile and Peru and exposed his blind spot about clerical abuse. Even the head of his abuse advisory panel, Cardinal Sean O'Malley of Boston, publicly rebuked him for his dismissive treatment of victims and tried to set him straight.
While thousands of abusive priests have been defrocked and sanctioned over the years, only a handful of bishops are known to have been removed because they mishandled reported cases.
Vatican't
Rapist Avoids Jail
Oklahoma
An Oklahoma man who is legally blind has been sentenced to probation for raping a 13-year-old Texas girl at a church camp, after prosecutors cited his disability in agreeing to a plea deal that spares him prison time.
Benjamin Lawrence Petty, 36, pleaded guilty to attacking the girl in 2016, while she was attending the Falls Creek church camp in southern Oklahoma. Petty, who was a cook at the camp, tied a rope around the girl's wrists, raped her and threatened to hurt her if she told anyone, according to investigators.
Murray County Assistant District Attorney David Pyle said a major factor in his decision not to insist on prison time was that Petty was legally blind, the Oklahoman newspaper reports . But a group that works to prevent and eliminate sexual and domestic violence said the sentence sends the wrong message.
"Failure to hold perpetrators accountable regardless of their disabilities sends the wrong message to victims of crime," said Candida Manion, executive director of the nonprofit Oklahoma Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault.
The Falls Creek church camp is owned and operated by the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma and is the largest youth camp in the nation. Sen. James Lankford, an Oklahoma Republican, was director at the camp for 13 years before stepping down in 2009 to run for Congress.
Oklahoma
Drowning In Waste
Hong Kong
Hong Kong boasts glittering skyscrapers, seamless transportation and billion dollar infrastructure projects, but it is struggling with a much more mundane problem: disposing of its trash.
The former British colony is grappling with a growing mountain of waste resulting from China's ban this year on imports of 24 types of unprocessed rubbish - part of an effort to upgrade its recycling industry and reduce pollution.
The Hong Kong government acknowledges its inability to cope with the problem, saying that it lacks the land to develop an effective recycling industry. Critics say, meanwhile, that the city has done too little to upgrade and develop its waste management system.
Until last year, Hong Kong exported over 90 percent of its recyclables to China. That all changed at the end of 2017 as the effects of the Chinese ban - which included Hong Kong despite its status as a special administrative region of China - started to be felt around the world.
Huge mountains of old newspapers, cardboard and office scrap have piled up on Hong Kong's docks over the past few months while plastic waste has been dumped into the landfills.
Hong Kong
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