Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Paul Krugman: What Happens if the Tax Bill Is a Revenue Disaster? (NY Times Blog)
So that's my prediction: minor market impact, but quite probably a political disaster for the GOP as it becomes even clearer that their tax policies reward scammers.
Cameron Joseph: Doug Jones Beats Roy Moore In Wild Alabama Election (TPM)
MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Democrat Doug Jones will be Alabama's next senator after one of the wildest races in recent memory, giving Democrats a crucial seat in the chamber and opening a real if narrow path to retaking Senate control next year.
Richard Wolffe: Roy Moore's stunning defeat reveals the red line for Trump-style politics (The Guardian)
Who can afford to stand with Trump when the Democratic voters are so energized they turn out in numbers huge enough to overturn the monumental Republican majority in Alabama?
Alison Flood: Figures show children worst hit by library cuts (The Guardian)
Official figures show more than 100 libraries closed last year, with campaigners warning that the heaviest impact is being made on the youngest readers.
Eddie Deezen: "Dr. No: The First James Bond Movie" (Neatorama)
In real life, Sean Connery was morbidly afraid of spiders. The scene where the tarantula crawls into Bond's bedroom was filmed with a sheet of glass between him and the arachnid. For close-ups in the scene, where the spider is seen actually crawling on 007, stuntman Bob Simmons replaced Connery. (Simmons called it the most terrifying filming of his entire career.)
Amelia Tait: "'I just hope this is a cruel joke': 15 years of The Legend of Zelda, The Wind Waker"(New Statesman)
The tenth Zelda game caused controversy when it was first announced, but is now one of the most beloved of the series. If you haven't played it yet - why not?
LE CAMION BÉTONNIÈRE BOULE DISCO (YouTube)
"French artist Benedetto Bufalino made the rotating drum of a cement mixer into a giant disco ball! He parked his truck on the streets as part of an installation in Montreal, Quebec, Canada…a good soundtrack and some well-aimed lights and a good time was had by all." - Sideswipe
David Bruce's Amazon Author Page
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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
Reader Comment
Current Events
Quote of the day
QUOTE OF THE DAY, from Josh Holmes in Mike DeBonis's story in the Post: "If I had the top five Republican minds in politics and we spent three months attempting to conceive of a way to lose an Alabama Senate race, I'm not sure that we could come up with it. You could literally take any name out of a phone book except Roy Moore's and win by double digits. And we managed to get the only guy in Alabama that could lose to a Democrat."
Source
Twitter skewers Hannity
So fun:
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
"HE IS ONE DUMB, WEIRD GUY."
STICK A FORK IN HIM. HE'S DONE!
"THE NAZI ANATOMISTS."
"JESUS WANTS ME TO WIN!"
THE "FOX NEWS RETARDS".
"BLACK VOTERS MATTER".
A "FANTASY".
REPUBLICANS CAN'T ESCAPE THE SMELL OF SULFUR!
THE KIDS FIGHT BACK!
"FUCK YOU AND THE HORSE YOU RODE IN ON"
Visit JD's site - Kitty Litter Music
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Way too warm and way too dry.
2018 Inductees
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame has announced its list of 2018 inductees, and they include four enduring bands from the classic-rock world as well as an influential jazz-soul singer and pianist.
Next year's honorees in the performers category are Bon Jovi, The Moody Blues, Dire Straits, The Cars and Nina Simone. The 33rd annual ceremony is scheduled for April 14 at Public Auditorium in Cleveland, where the hall is located.
In addition, rock 'n' roll pioneer Sister Rosetta Tharpe will be inducted in conjunction with receiving the Award for Early Influence.
Bon Jovi, The Moody Blues, Dire Straits and The Cars -- in that order -- were the top four vote-getters in the Rock Hall's fan poll picking the favorite nominated artists. Notably, four of the honorees were nominated for the first time ever this year: The Moodies, Dire Straits, Simone and Tharpe.
Bon Jovi is the only new inductee that was eligible for the honor for fewer than 10 years, having first qualified for induction in 2009. Simone and Tharpe have been eligible since the Rock Hall's inception in 1986, The Moody Blues became eligible in 1989, and Dire Straits and The Cars first qualified in 2004.
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
Royal Companion Of Honor Award
J.K. Rowling
The royal family has just presented J.K. Rowling with a Companion of Honor award at Buckingham Palace.
The "Harry Potter" author received the prestigious award from Prince William on Tuesday, as recognition of her services to literature and philanthropy.
According to the royal family, King George V founded the Order of the Companions of Honor in 1917, and the queen names recipients of the award "who have made a major contribution in their field."
Rowling said in a statement that she was "deeply honored and proud" to receive the honor.
"To be included in the distinguished and diversely talented company of the other Companions of Honour, especially as a female writer, is a particular privilege," she said.
J.K. Rowling
PBS Suspends
'Tavis Smiley'
PBS has suspended late-night talk show "Tavis Smiley" amid misconduct allegations against its host and namesake.
"Effective today, PBS has indefinitely suspended distribution of 'Tavis Smiley,' produced by TS Media, an independent production company," the public broadcaster said. "PBS engaged an outside law firm to conduct an investigation immediately after learning of troubling allegations regarding Mr. Smiley. This investigation included interviews with witnesses as well as with Mr. Smiley. The inquiry uncovered multiple, credible allegations of conduct that is inconsistent with the values and standards of PBS, and the totality of this information led to today's decision."
Sources close to the production told Variety that PBS hired attorney Sarah Taylor Wirtz of the firm MSK to oversee an investigation into Smiley's behavior after receiving allegations of misconduct by Smiley, who hosts and produces the talk show. Wirts declined Variety's request for comment. According to sources, MSK took reports from 10 witnesses, a mix of men and women of different races and employment levels in Smiley's organization, most of them former staffers.
The investigation found that Smiley had engaged in sexual relationships with multiple subordinates. Some witnesses interviewed expressed concern that their employment status was linked to the status of a sexual relationship with Smiley. In general, they described Smiley as creating a verbally abusive and threatening environment that went beyond what could be expected in a typical high-pressure work environment. Several expressed concerns about retaliation.
In a February piece in the Observer, Jacques Hyzagi, a former producer on Smiley's television show, wrote that Smiley's "misogyny is always creeping around, barely camouflaged by Midwestern good manners." Hyzagi described Smiley picking up a woman at the Orlando airport and bringing her along on a reporting trip as a "fuck buddy"; alleged that Smiley had a romantic relationship with another producer; and quoted Smiley denigrating PBS executives.
'Tavis Smiley'
ABC Pulls Off Schedule
'Great American Baking Show'
ABC is pulling "The Great American Baking Show" from its schedule in light of allegations of sexual misconduct against Johnny Iuzzini, one of the show's judges.
"In light of allegations that recently came to our attention, ABC has ended its relationship with Johnny Iuzzini and will not be airing the remainder of 'The Great American Baking Show' episodes," an ABC spokesperson said in a statement to Variety. "ABC takes matters such as those described in the allegations very seriously and has come to the conclusion that they violate our standards of conduct. This season's winner will be announced at a later date. Episodes of 'The Great Christmas Light Fight' and 'CMA Country Christmas' will take its place this week and next."
Season 3 of the competition series, formerly known "The Great Holiday Baking Show," debuted last week with the second episode originally set to air this Thursday night.
Four of Iuzzini's former employees came forward in late November, claiming that the celebrity chef sexually harassed and abused them. One woman, who chose to remain anonymous, claimed that Iuzzini stuck his tongue in her ear "three or four times" on separate occasions. The women also reported that the chef would often use kitchen utensils to suggestively touch female staffers on the buttocks. They also say that he would routinely "stand behind you really closely and breathe on your neck." On Tuesday, four more women came forward.
'Great American Baking Show'
Fires Exec
Netflix
A week after parting ways with Danny Masterson, Netflix has done the same with Andy Yeatman, the executive who told one of The Ranch star's accusers that "we don't believe" the rape claimsmade against him.
"Mr. Yeatman is no longer employed at Netflix," a Netflixspokesperson said in a statement to EW about the former director of global kids content.
According to a story last week from the Huffington Post, Yeatman was recently approached by a woman wanting to know why Netflix still employed Masterson, who has been accused by multiple women of sexual assault. Yeatman reportedly told the woman the company didn't believe the alleged victims, after which she revealed she was one of them.
"While he was coaching a youth soccer match today, Mr. Yeatman - a Netflix kids' programming executive - was approached by a stranger who did not identify herself or explain her connection to Danny Masterson," Netflix said in a previous statement. "Mr. Yeatman's comments were careless, uninformed and do not represent the views of the company. Further, he would have no insights into decision making on The Ranch."
Shortly thereafter, Masterson was officially let go from the Netflix original series, on which he starred with his former That '70s Show costar Ashton Kutcher.
Netflix
Governor: Women Can 'Make Their Own Health Care Decisions'
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf (D) has reaffirmed his intention to veto a highly controversial bill passed by his state's Republican-controlled legislature to restrict abortions after 20 weeks.
The ban, known as Senate Bill 3, passed in the state's House on Tuesday night, 121-70, after passing the state Senate back in February, 32-18.
"This bill is an attack on women, and it should never have reached my desk," Wolf said in a tweet posted Wednesday. "I will veto it, because all Pennsylvania women deserve to make their own health care decisions."
The measure would also criminalize a certain medically accepted abortion procedure known as "dilation and evacuation," although SB3 refers to it as "dismemberment abortion." Were the bill to become law, Pennsylvania would become one of nearly 20 states that have laws banning abortion after 20 weeks - but experts say the so-called "dismemberment" ban is unprecedented.
In a statement issued Tuesday, the governor called SB3 an "an assault on the doctor-patient relationship by politicians without medical or health expertise."
Pennsylvania
Lie Of The Year
PolitiFact
PolitiFact on Tuesday revealed its 2017 "Lie of the Year,"focusing on how President-for-now Donald Trump (R-Crooked) has regularly disputed whether Russia interfered in last year's election and questioned the widely held conclusion of U.S. intelligence agencies, which he has frequently undermined and dismissed as "political hacks."
The evidence that Russia interfered in the election is plentiful and demonstrates an elaborate and sophisticated scheme. Moscow has also attempted to infiltrate elections in Europe.
But, as PolitiFact notes, "one man keeps saying it didn't even happen:" the president of the United States.
When the nation's commander-in-chief refuses to acknowledge a threat to U.S. democracy, it makes it all the more difficult to address the problem. For this reason, we name Trump's claim that the Russia interference is a hoax as our Lie of the Year for 2017.
Trump's equivocation on Russian meddling is among the biggest examples of his perpetual attempts to dismiss unfavorable coverage as "fake news" and "to create a different version of reality," PolitiFact's editors note.
PolitiFact
Imprisoned Worldwide
262 Journalists
An advocacy group for journalists said Wednesday that 262 people are imprisoned around the world for their work gathering and reporting the news, a record high.
The Committee to Protect Journalists said the number of imprisoned journalists is the highest since it began conducting its annual survey of journalists behind bars in the early 1990s. It said the 2017 number topped last year's total of 259 imprisoned journalists, the highest number until then.
"The pattern reflects a dismal failure by the international community to address a global crisis in freedom of the press," said the group's editorial director, Elana Beiser.
The three countries where the most journalists are imprisoned are Turkey, China and Egypt, the organization said. There are 73 journalists behind bars in Turkey, 41 in China and 20 in Egypt, it said.
The Committee to Protect Journalists, which is based in New York, said Erdogan's government "appeared to pay little price for its repressive tactics," noting that U.S. President-for-now Donald Trump (R-Corrupt) hosted Erdogan at the White House in May and has praised him as a friend.
262 Journalists
Five Years After
Sandy Hook
Five years after a gunman killed 20 children and six adults at a Connecticut elementary school, advocates who are disappointed with the failure of efforts to limit access to firearms are changing their strategy.
Instead of pressuring lawmakers to push new gun-control measures through the U.S. Congress (R-Bought Off), volunteers from groups including Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America are now running for office themselves.
Nine of 13 volunteers trained by the group ran for office this year and won seats, ranging from New Hampshire state representative to city council member in West University Place, Texas. Fourteen more have already declared their intentions to run for office in 2018, seeking seats in Congress, state legislatures and local government, all running as Democrats.
"The reality is that the work doesn't really start in Congress. That's where it ends," said Moms Demand Action founder Shannon Watts, who launched her group the day after the Dec. 14, 2012, massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.
Even if the next class of candidates, none of whom are running as Republicans, succeed in winning office, they will face an uphill battle against a U.S. Congress controlled by Republicans, who are staunch defenders of the right to bear arms protected by the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution on the payroll of the NRA.
Sandy Hook
Marks 80 Years Since Nanjing Massacre
China
Sirens blared and thousands of doves were released as Chinese President Xi Jinping presided over a sombre ceremony in Nanjing marking 80 years since the wartime massacre in the city by Japanese troops.
Several thousand black-clad soldiers, civil servants and students with white flowers pinned to their jackets braved chilly temperatures at a monument to a dark World War Two chapter that still divides the two countries.
But while vowing never to forget the "great catastrophe" wrought by "Japanese militarism" in a speech to the mourners, a top Chinese official also stressed the need for the two rivals to move forward.
According to China, 300,000 civilians and soldiers were killed in a frenzy of murder, torture, rape, arson and looting in the six weeks after invading Japanese troops seized Nanjing, then the capital city, on December 13, 1937.
It remains a source of bad blood due to disagreement over the extent of the slaughter and periodic denials by Japanese arch-conservatives that it even took place.
China
Legal Weed In Hasn't Led To Kids Abusing Drugs
Colorado
Opponents of marijuana policy reform have warned that legalizing cannabis could give way to an epidemic of young people abusing the plant. But recent studies indicate that isn't happening.
Recreational cannabis became legal in Colorado in 2012, and legal adult sales kicked off in 2014. The rate at which teenagers in the state report smoking pot has declined since these changes went into effect, according to data the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration released Monday from its National Survey on Drug Use and Health.
Roughly 11 percent of people ages 12 to 17 said in the 2014-15 survey that they'd used cannabis in the past month. That number went down to 9 percent in 2015-16. And the rate of that age group saying they'd used marijuana in the past year dropped from 18 percent in 2014-15 to just over 16 percent in 2015-16.
Past-month use among youth ages 12 to 17 is now also lower than it was before recreational pot became legal, dropping from roughly 10.5 percent in 2011-12 and about 11 percent in 2012-13.
The data showed a similar decline in marijuana usage among people of that age range in Washington state, where legal adult sales also started in 2014. The rate of past-month marijuana use among 12- to 17-year-olds in Washington dropped from roughly 9 percent in 2014-15 to just under 8 percent in 2015-16.
Colorado
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