Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Josh Marshall: The House Is On Fire - Accepting the Truth of the Trump Revolution (TPM)
Trump's repeated expressions of sympathy for racist activists, refusals to denounce racist activists, coddling and appointments of racist activists can only really mean one thing: that he instinctively sympathizes with them and indeed is one. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me 80 million times, I need to seriously consider what the fuck is wrong with me.
Hayley Miller: Ex-KKK Leader David Duke Has Meltdown After Trump Condemns White Supremacists In Charlottesville (HuffPost, MSN)
Minutes after Trump's speech, Duke lashed out in a series of tweets, claiming the president had been manipulated by the media.
Wealthy Teen Nearly Experiences Consequence (The Onion)
SOMERSET, NJ-In what local authorities are calling a "near tragedy," Charles Wentworth, a 17-year-old Rutgers Preparatory senior and member of the affluent Wentworth family, came perilously close to suffering a consequence resulting from his own wrongdoing Saturday.
10 Two-Sentence Horror Stories That'll Give You The Chills (College Humor)
Two-Sentence Horror Stories is a great subreddit featuring bite sized scares. We like to check in on it every now and then for a good spook. Have a look at some of our most recent favorites and try not to shit your pants.
Kat Eschner: The Surprising Origins of Kotex Pads (Smithsonian)
Before the first disposable sanitary napkin hit the mass market, periods were thought of in a much different way.
Gary Abernathy: "Elvis's death was a perfect example: The media doesn't understand Middle America" (Washington Post)
In 1977, before cable news or the Internet, the nightly news broadcasts of CBS, NBC and ABC were at their zenith. Newspapers were enjoying their most prosperous years. But in newsrooms across America, and particularly in the media mecca of New York, Presley was barely on the radar. If they regarded him at all, it was as a 1950s icon.
Charles Hughes: The man who brought down racial barriers through music (Washington Post)
Throughout his life, Sam Phillips, who founded Sun Records and launched the careers of artists such as Johnny Cash, Howlin' Wolf, B.B. King, Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis Presley, claimed that the music recorded in his small Memphis studio was more than just a crucial addition to the world's soundtrack. He believed that those records helped the United States become a freer and more equal place.
Gary Abernathy: The media's martyr complex is embarrassing (Washington Post)
Unfortunately, when President Trump accuses the mainstream media of being "fake news," too often the journalists being targeted don't ignore it or merely address it internally. Instead, they react with public outrage, their popping veins nearly bursting through their thin skins.
Mark Morford (Emeritus Professor): White supremacists' rally insult to university (Daily Hampshire Gazette)
Thomas Jefferson's University of Virginia, founded in 1819, was chosen as the site of the white supremacists' rally as an insult to his memory and to the concept of a truly liberal education for the citizens of the new republic.
Garrison Keillor: Don't Take Lunacy Too Seriously (Washington Post)
It is more than sad that we have a president whom lunatics look up to as a hero.
David Bruce's Amazon Author Page
David Bruce's Smashwords Page
David Bruce's Blog
David Bruce's Lulu Storefront
David Bruce's Apple iBookstore
David Bruce has over 80 Kindle books on Amazon.com.
Presenting
Michael Egan
wrote:
has returned to semi-retired status.
In memory.
Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
David E Suggests
Food Photography
David
Thanks, Dave!
Reader Comment
Current Events
I keep saying--Borowitz is supposed to write satire, not report true news!
Bonus Links
Jeannie the Teed-Off Temp
Reader Comment
eclipse
some guy
Thanks, Guy!
from Marc Perkel
Patriot Act
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
"HE'S ONE OF THEM"
MOTHER FORGIVE THEM FOR THEY KNOW NOT WHAT THEY DO!
OUT DAMN CHEMICAL!
SAVE THE TURTLES.
THE EVIL CONSERVATIVE WHITE TRASH!
DONALD TRUMP IS A TRAITOR TO OUR COUNTRY!
SIGN ME UP!
THE EVIL CONSERVATIVE RIGHT WING STRIKE AGAIN!
MEATHEAD!
Visit JD's site - Kitty Litter Music
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Not a butterfly to be seen. Seems the season is over.
Outside Trump Tower
Protest Vigil
Filmmaker Michael Moore and actor Mark Ruffalo led a vigil near Trump Tower in Manhattan on Tuesday night in memory of Heather Heyer, the woman killed on Saturday during the violence that erupted at a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va.
Moore took the extraordinary step of chartering buses to bring members of the audience for his one-man Broadway show "The Terms of My Surrender" at the Belasco Theater a few blocks to the Trump Tower area on Fifth Avenue for the vigil. Ruffalo was a special guest at Moore's performance on Tuesday night.
Moore and Ruffalo expressed outrage at Donald Trump's (R-Corrupt) comments on Tuesday at a news conference in which he spread some of the blame for Saturday's horrifying display of bigotry and violence to what he called "alt-left" activists in addition to the rally organizers.
Olivia Wilde, currently appearing on Broadway in "1984," and actress-writer Zoe Kazan were also among the familiar faces at the rally.
"I want him to hear us," Ruffalo said. "I want him to know that an American killed on an American soil by a Nazi is not acceptable."
Protest Vigil
Study Explores How To Talk To
Climate Change Deniers
There are many people who don't believe in climate change -- starting with Donald Trump (R-Crooked) and the head of the Environmental Protection Agency Scott Pruitt (R-Profiteer) -- and it seems like climate change deniers and believers won't ever understand each other.
Those who don't believe in climate change are often portrayed as being out of touch, ignorant or as someone that cannot comprehend science facts. However, Jacob Lipsman, a doctoral student in Sociology at the University of Kansas, found there might be a way to approach those who deny climate change, and talk about the issue even if they don't want to accept the problem.
The study comes as Trump and other Republicans continuously deny climate change. Trump previously said global warming was a hoax invented by the Chinese, and promised to bring the coal industry back throughout his campaign.
Lipsman has been looking into the economic, social or cultural influences that could play a part in why people don't want to accept climate change. It's worth noting that those who tend to deny climate change depend on certain industries for jobs, which has an impact on how they feel about the issue.
Through his research, Lipsman found that climate change denial is not because of lack of information or whether someone fails to understand scientific facts, but how the issues is communicated, especially through empathy and local issues.
Climate Change Deniers
Push Back
Governors
Governors in at least two states that have legalized recreational marijuana are pushing back against the Trump administration and defending their efforts to regulate the industry.
Alaska Gov. Bill Walker, a one-time Republican no longer affiliated with a party, sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions (R-Napoleon Complex) this week asking the Department of Justice to maintain the Obama administration's more hands-off enforcement approach to states that have legalized the drug still banned at the federal level.
It comes after Sessions sent responses recently to the governors of Alaska, Colorado, Oregon and Washington, who asked him to allow the pot experiments to continue in the first four states to legalize recreational marijuana. Sessions detailed concerns he had with how effective state regulatory efforts have been or will be.
Washington state also responded to Sessions this week. Gov. Jay Inslee said the attorney general made claims about the situation in Washington that are "outdated, incorrect, or based on incomplete information."
Since taking office, Sessions has promised to reconsider pot policy, providing a level of uncertainty for states that have legalized the drug. A task force assembled by Sessions encouraged continued study of whether to change or rescind the approach taken under former President Barack Obama.
Governors
Forbes' Highest-Paid Actress
Emma Stone
Fresh off winning her first Oscar, actress Emma Stone ousted Jennifer Lawrence on Wednesday to claim the top spot on Forbes' 2017 list of the world's highest-paid actresses.
Stone, 28, who won best actress for her role as a struggling actress in "La La Land," made $26 million in pre-tax earnings, according to Forbes' calculations over a 12-month period from June 2016 to June 2017.
She outpaced Jennifer Aniston, 48, who came in at No. 2 this year with earnings of $25.5 million, with residual income still coming in from the television sitcom "Friends" and endorsement deals with brands such as SmartWater and Emirates Airline .
Lawrence, 27, who topped the Forbes list for two consecutive years, dropped to No. 3 this year with earnings of $24 million, almost half of her prior year's earnings of $46 million.
Forbes said the cumulative total earned by the world's top ten highest-paid actresses - $172.5 million - was down 16 percent from the previous year.
Emma Stone
Blames the Media, Not Nazis
Fox News has been searching for something-anything-that would allow it to deflect the violent Unite the Right rallies in Charlottesville, Virginia, that erupted Saturday afternoon. By Monday morning, it appeared the network had found the group to point its collective finger at for the continued racism, violence and polarization in America: not the Nazis, the KKK, white supremacists or the "alt-right," but the mainstream media.
Fox Rupert News
As graphic images of white men carrying tiki torches and attacking counterprotesters flooded timelines across the nation, hosts of the right-wing morning talk show Fox & Friends blamed the left and the media for wanting to "run with their narrative" about the latest developments.
Fox News hosts Abby Huntsman and Pete Hegseth slammed news outlets for their coverage of Donald Trump's (R-Appalling) statement on the rally, in which he failed to directly condemn white supremacists and the alt-right movement, instead stating that hate had come "from all sides."
"It seems like an open door now for them to run with their narrative, when the president didn't come out and call it for what it was," Huntsman said Monday morning. "In their minds, and a lot of them, they say this can, we can associate the president with these groups, and that fits a lot of the narrative on the left, a lot of the media, and that is very problematic for, for, society."
"Look for the press to keep pressing him no matter what," Hegseth quipped. "In their mind, nothing is ever good enough."
Fox Rupert News
Issue Joint Statement
Bushes
Two former US presidents have issued a strong statement condemning the white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia - one day after President Donald Trump (R-Nazi Sympathizer) failed to do so.
Former President George HW Bush and his son, former resident George W Bush, issued a joint statement calling on Americans to "reject racial bigotry, anti-Semitism, and hatred in all forms".
"As we pray for Charlottesville, we are reminded of the fundamental truths recorded by that city's most prominent citizen in the Declaration of Independence: we are all created equal and endowed by our Creator with unalienable rights," the prominent Republicans wrote.
Two other former presidents had already offered their comments over the weekend. Bill Clinton tweeted on Saturday that the US "must condemn hatred, violence and white supremacy".
Mr Trump's predecessor, Barack Obama, expressed his thoughts via a quote from Nelson Mandela, in what quickly became the most-liked tweet of all time.
Bushes
Mayors Pander To Black Citizens
Newtie
Confederate statues are being taken down in some cities after violence erupted in Charlottesville, Virginia, where white nationalists rallied against the planned removal of a statue of Gen. Robert E. Lee.
But former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Philanderer), told Fox News host Martha MacCallum Monday that the efforts of the left are taking a "destructive" turn, as he cited former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's contention that eliminating Confederate symbols sanitizes history.
Then he got downright offensive."I think the point is we ought to be a country focusing on the future, not a country frothing at the mouth about the past," the author of "Understanding Trump" said in an exchange reported by Media Matters. "And it tells you something about the intellectual collapse of the left ? that all they have is this kind of rabid behavior. And of course, mayors in towns that are largely black are going to pander to their audience. They are going to go out and prove they are popular by doing something that meets the current demagogic needs."
That's apparently "every thing that the founding fathers worried about," according to Gingrich.
Newtie
Judge Suspended
'Snowflakes'
A Georgia judge has been suspended for making online comments that called critics of Confederate monuments in the South "snowflakes" and "nut cases."
Judge Jim Hinkle was suspended Tuesday from his post as a Gwinnett County Magistrate Court. Judge Kristina Hammer Blum, the metro-Atlanta court's chief judge, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that Hinkle would remain off the bench "while I consider the appropriate final action."
A Marine Corps veteran and former mayor of the city of Grayson, Hinkle wrote about the controversy on his Facebook page Saturday.
"It looks like all of the snowflakes have no concept of history," Hinkle wrote. "It is what it is. Get over it and move on."
The judge followed up with a post Tuesday that criticized "the nut cases tearing down monuments."
'Snowflakes'
Israel Builds Underground Wall
Gaza
Israel is pressing ahead with construction of an underground barrier along the border with the Gaza Strip in an ambitious project meant to halt the threat of attack tunnels built by the Hamas militant group.
Cranes and work crews are digging holes and installing sensors and other equipment for a structure that is expected to stretch along the entire 60-kilometer (40-mile) border when it is complete.
Gadi Yarkoni, head of the local Eshkol regional council, said the project is a key reason that the area has enjoyed a surge in growth and attracted young families since a devastating war with Hamas three years ago.
Israeli defense officials have said little about the new barrier project or how much has been completed. At one construction zone, a sign said "military zone - no passage," and Associated Press reporters could not approach as cranes and bulldozers were at work.
Gaza
Didn't Sell
Blanco Bronco
It's one of the most famous, or should we say infamous, vehicles in history. It captured the attention of millions of people for one insane day back in June of 1994. I'm talking about a certain fifth-generation Ford Bronco that was finished in bright white paint. It's the O.J. Bronco, and it just appeared on the show "Pawn Stars."
There were actually two Broncos associated with O.J. Simpson. One was owned by Simpson himself, and that one was where police found traces of blood. The second Bronco was the white one that Al Cowlings used to drive O.J. on that dramatic slow-speed highway chase. It's the second Bronco that is so famous and that found its way onto TV once again.
Now Gilbert is ready to part with the Bronco and he wants to see if the "Pawn Stars" will pony up his asking price. Gilbert appeared on the latest episode of the show with the Bronco and had a tidy little asking price of $1.3 million. That price, along with the infamous history of the truck, were enough for the shop owners to pass.
So that leaves the O.J. Bronco still on the market and on display at the Alcatraz East Crime Museum in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Gilbert may have created some clever marketing by appearing on "Pawn Stars." Were he to take it to an auction like any of the several at this week's Monterey Car Week, he could probably get his asking price or possibly more.
Blanco Bronco
White Nationalists Flock
Genetic Ancestry Tests
It was a strange moment of triumph against racism: The gun-slinging white supremacist Craig Cobb, dressed up for daytime TV in a dark suit and red tie, hearing that his DNA testing revealed his ancestry to be only "86% European, and … 14% Sub-Saharan African."
The studio audience whooped and laughed and cheered. And Cobb - who was, in 2013, charged with terrorizing people while trying to create an all-white enclave in North Dakota - reacted like a sore loser in the schoolyard.
"Wait a minute, wait a minute, hold on, just wait a minute," he said, trying to put on an all-knowing smile. "This is called statistical noise."
Then, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, he took to the white nationalist website Stormfront to dispute those results. That's not uncommon: With the rise of spit-in-a-cup genetic testing, there's a trend of white nationalists using these services to prove their racial identity, and then using online forums to discuss the results.
But like Cobb, many are disappointed to find out that their ancestry is not as "white" as they'd hoped. In a new study, sociologists Aaron Panofsky and Joan Donovan examined years' worth of posts on Stormfront to see how members dealt with the news.
Genetic Ancestry Tests
| CURRENT MOON lunar phases |
