Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Andrew Tobias: Westphalian Sovereignty And Your Vote Tuesday
What an act of astounding patriotism it would be for Mike to fulfill his pledge to fund a Democratic sweep, no matter who the nominee, while working to assure the strongest possible Administration. We don't need a revolution. We do need to make dramatic progress toward the goals Bernie and the rest of us share: universal health care, a revitalized infrastructure, less inequality, campaign finance reform, and so much more. For that to happen, we need to win - and be able to work across the aisle. I think Republicans would be less resistant to working with Joe and Mike than with Bernie.
Anya van Wagtendonk: Biden says he'll contest the Democratic nomination if no one gets a majority of delegates (Vox)
If Sanders leads in delegates but doesn't have a majority, Biden said he'll fight for the nomination.
Dylan Matthews: If anti-Sanders Democrats were serious, they'd unite around Biden right now (Vox)
If swing-district House members and party elites really want to stop Sanders, their next steps are obvious. The Clintons, Pelosi, and Schumer, and all the Bloomberg backers among the frontline House Democrats, should formally endorse Biden as the best hope for defeating Sanders. They should hit the campaign trail and hold rallies convincing rank-and-file Democrats that the Buttigieg, Klobuchar, and Bloomberg campaigns aren't viable options, and Biden is the only moderate capable of holding up against Sanders. They should have done this weeks ago, if their intention was really to stop Sanders, but at the very least they should do so before post-Super Tuesday high-delegate races in Florida, Illinois, Ohio, New York, and Pennsylvania.
John Mauldin: "COVID-19: A Crisis the Fed Can't Fix" (mauldineconomics.com)
After talking to economists and medical researchers this week, I am pretty confident in two things. First, this is going to be a long slog. The virus will spread slowly but widely. The containment measures are simply buying time. There's no need to panic, but we should all take common-sense protective measures. Second, as usual, I am the "Muddle Through guy." I think we'll get through this. Not without some damage and tragic loss of life, but it won't be the end of the world. This is not the zombie virus. I wasn't thinking of viruses when I said the 2020s would be the Decade of Disruption, but COVID-19 may mark the beginning of it.
Nicholas Kristof: Is This Coronavirus 'the Big One'? (NY Times)
At a time when we need wise, scientifically informed leadership, we find ourselves with a president with little credibility and an antagonistic relationship with scientists. It doesn't help that during the Ebola crisis of 2014, Trump was one of the most fiery critics of evidence-driven policies that actually succeeded in ending the outbreak.
Dr. Michael Gregor, MD: Nuts (NutritionFacts.org)
The Global Burden of Disease Study, the most comprehensive and systematic analysis of the causes of death ever undertaken, involved nearly 500 researchers from more than 300 institutions in 50 countries and examined nearly 100,000 data sources. The study noted which foods, if added to the diet, might save lives. Eating more vegetables could potentially save 1.8 million lives. How about more nuts and seeds? 2.5 million lives. The study calculated that not eating enough nuts and seeds was the third-leading dietary risk factor for death and disability in the world, killing more people than processed meat consumption, and potentially leading to the deaths of 15 times more people than all those who die from overdoses of heroin, crack cocaine, and all other illicit drugs combined.
David Bruce's Amazon Author Page
David Bruce's Smashwords Page
David Bruce's Blog #1
David Bruce's Blog #2
David Bruce's Blog #3
David Bruce's Lulu Storefront
David Bruce's Apple iBookstore
David Bruce has over 140 Kindle books on Amazon.com.
Presenting
Michael Egan
wrote:
has returned to semi-retired status.
In memory.
BRUCE'S RECOMMENDATION
BANDCAMP MUSIC
BRUCE'S RECOMMENDATION OF BANDCAMP MUSIC
Song: "Night Train"
Artist: The Cocktail Slippers
Artist Location: Oslo, Norway
Info: Song written and produced by The Cocktail Slippers
The Cocktail Slippers are Bente Konstanse Larsen, Astrid Waller, Silje Hope, Sara Andersson and Stine Bendiksen.
Recorded at OSLO KLANG by Bjarne Stensli and Kim Lillestoel
Price: $1 (USD) for song (single)
Genre: Pop, Rock, Girl Group
Links:
The Cocktail Slippers on Bandcamp
"Night Train"
Other Links:
FREE BRUCE'S RECOMMENDATIONS PDF
FREE YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIND PDFS
FREE davidbrucehaiku PDFs #1-#10
FREE davidbrucehaiku PDFs #11-?
David Bruce has over 140 Kindle books on Amazon.com.
Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
New Venture
Michael Egan
Reader Suggests
Tiny Home RV
Marty -
Here's a guide that is detailed, updated and comprehensive on how to keep weight down in a tiny home RV. It is completely free and packed with practical tips and advice. You can find it here:
from Bruce
Anecdotes
Bonus Links
Jeannie the Teed-Off Temp
Reader Comment
Current Events
Mr. Vaginal Probe prohibited!
Feel ZERO sympathy for Vaginal Probe Cuccinelli--everyone here with even half a brain haaaaaaaates him.
Judge Moss's decision seems especially apt in Cuccinelli's case, since it underlines some basic points Trump's supporters keep yelling about immigration: If you don't enforce the law, you don't have a country; people who get their jobs illegally can't be trusted; and if Cuccinelli wants to be director of USCIS, he should get in line and be confirmed by Congress like everybody else.
Cuccinelli was appointed to a pretend-subordinate position with the express purpose of putting him at the head of the agency, and no, said Moss, you can't do that.
The Trump administration is already planning to appeal the ruling, on the principle that the "president" is allowed to do anything he wants, including ignoring the law.
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
JD is on vacation.
Visit JD's site - Kitty Litter Music
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Cloudy and windy.
First Comedy Festival
Netflix
Following their proud tradition of dropping plenty of content all at once, Netflix announced on Monday morning that the service's comedy wing Netflix Is A Joke will be launching its own festival, beginning next month in Los Angeles.
The weeklong event, dubbed Netflix Is A Joke Fest, will take place from April 27-May 3 across a number of different venues around the city, featuring not just some of the biggest names in comedy, but plenty of Netflix vets. Dave Chappelle, Ali Wong, Hannah Gadsby, David Letterman, Sebastian Maniscalco, Iliza Shlesinger, Mike Birbiglia, and Michelle Wolf will all appear as part of the lineup, which spans standup sets, Q&As, improv shows, podcast tapings, and sketch showcases.
A number of these events will be recorded for audiences around the world to watch when they're made available on the platform later this year. Those included a quartet of standup lineups at the Palladium hosted by Jamie Foxx, Jane Fonda & Lily Tomlin, Amy Schumer, and Martin Lawrence. "Stand Out" will also honor a number of performers - including Margaret Cho, Rosie O'Donnell, and Gadsby - in a decades-spanning celebration of LGBTQ+ comedians. The closing night capper will be the creation of a new pantheon of comedy stars known as The Hall. Chappelle, Kevin Hart, Whoopi Goldberg, and Jerry Seinfeld will be on hand to help honor the inaugural class, which will include Richard Pryor, Joan Rivers, George Carlin, and Robin Williams.
Netflix
Bernie Sanders Rally
Dick Van Dyke
Dick Van Dyke took the stage at a rally for Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders over the weekend, hamming it up for a crowd that at one point broke into a chant of "We love Dick!"
Alongside performances by Public Enemy and comedian Sarah Silverman, Van Dyke spoke in support of the Vermont senator on Sunday, two days before the crucial Super Tuesday primaries when 14 states vote.
Van Dyke delivered some introductions, broke into some dance moves and serenaded the crowd with a "Bye, Bye Birdie"-inspired tune about Sanders:
"We love you, Bernie. Yes we do. We love you Bernie, and we'll be true. When you're not near us, we're blue. Oh Bernie, we love you."
The 94-year-old legendary actor also joked about his age, saying: "I am what's left of Dick Van Dyke."
Dick Van Dyke
Captain Kirk Days Are Done
William Shatner
Star Trek fans hoping to see William Shatner play Capt. James T. Kirk one more time a la Patrick Stewart reprising his character in Picard are in for a letdown. The actor explained Sunday why he would not do a series like Picard, currently streaming on CBS All Access.
"I think Kirk's story is pretty well played out at this point," Shatner said on Twitter to one inquiring fan.
Last year, Shatner said he would be interested in playing Kirk one more time when Quentin Tarantino was in talks to do a Star Trek project (which ultimately fell through), but Shatner's response could have been tongue-in-cheek.
The last time Shatner played Kirk on film was in 1994's Generations, in which the character was killed. Stewart also appeared in that film as Capt. Picard.
William Shatner
'The Road Will Kill You'
Older Musicians
In a chilling quote from much-loved music documentary The Last Waltz, about The Band's final concert in 1976, leader Robbie Robertson looks straight into the camera and ominously says: 'The road will kill you."
At the time, he was just 34. Yet, over four decades later, musicians of his storied era are still on the road - and facing escalating health issues as a consequence. Since the start of this year, Ozzy Osbourne, 71, had to cancel his 2020 tour to seek treatment for issues related to his recent diagnosis of Parkinson's disease. Elton John, 72, had to ditch dates on what was already advertised as his goodbye tour, after declaring himself "extremely unwell". Madonna, 61, was forced to scratch a bunch of shows from her British tour due to "overwhelming pain" from injuries she sustained on the road which already caused her to nix some US dates. Meanwhile, Aerosmith felt compelled to disinvite drummer Joey Kramer from their Grammy performance, over alleged difficulties the 69-year-old was having keeping the beat, while the group itself has had to scratch dates due to various health issues experienced by Steven Tyler. Then, just this last week, the 56-year-old frontman of Metallica, James Hetfield, needed to cancel shows to, in his words, "look after my mental, physical and spiritual health".
All this comes hot on the heels of an escalating wave of older stars who've either quit the road entirely or begun their last hurrahs, including Paul Simon at 78, Bob Seger at 74, Kiss aged between 68 to 70, Neil Diamond at 79, and Eric Clapton at 74.
If all that wear-and-tear takes a toll on older performers, their increasing absence from the road threatens to weaken the concert industry's bottom line. According to the industry's most authoritative source, Pollstar, five out of the top 10 worldwide tours of the last year featured band members over the age of 50. Three of those were peopled with players aged 60 to nearly 80. In Pollstar's list of top 200 North American tours, the top three earners were over 70, including Elton, Bob Seger and the Stones.
When it comes to the highest grossing single shows worldwide, four of the top five positions were occupied by a group with players over age 70, while 16 of the top 20 shows featured the same band. That would be the Rolling Stones, who are about to embark on yet another American jaunt this spring and summer, despite the fact that Mick Jagger had to have heart valve replacement surgery last April.
Older Musicians
Overhauling Education System
Navy
The U.S. Navy is overhauling its approach to education because the nation no longer has a massive economic and technological edge over potential adversaries, according to a strategy released Monday.
The Education for Seapower Strategy 2020, provided to The Associated Press ahead of its release, is the first unified, comprehensive education strategy for the Navy and Marine Corps, said John Kroger, who is implementing the strategy as the Navy's first chief learning officer.
It is very much a response to the nation's geopolitical position in the world today, versus the advantages it had at the end of the Cold War, Kroger said, noting China's economic strength and investments in 5G networks, energy storage and other major technologies that matter for war-fighting.
The Navy wants to create a naval community college to provide associate's degrees to tens of thousands of young sailors and Marines, at no cost to them. It plans to unify the schools within the existing naval university system, similar to a state university system, and invest in them, as well as enact new policies to encourage and reward those who pursue professional military and civilian education.
"In a world where potential adversaries are peers economically and technologically, how do you win?" Kroger said in an interview. "We think we can out-fight potential opponents because we can out-think them. In order to do that, we must have, by far, the best military education program in the world."
Navy
Proposes Constitutional Changes
Puti
Russian President Vladimir Putin has submitted to parliament a number of constitutional changes, including amendments that mention God and stipulate that marriage is a union of a man and woman.
Putin in January unleashed a political storm by proposing an overhaul of the constitution, the first changes to the basic law since 1993.
Ahead of a second and key reading set for next week, Putin submitted 24 pages worth of new proposals, said State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin.
The amendments enshrine the mention of Russians' "faith in God" and also stipulate that marriage is a heterosexual union, said Deputy Speaker Pyotr Tolstoy.
Most Russians identify as Orthodox Christians but Russia is officially a secular state.
Puti
Casino Takings Plunge
Macau
Macau's casino industry suffered its worst monthly downturn on record in February after city-wide closures aimed at stopping the spread of the deadly coronavirus.
The former Portuguese colony took the unprecedented step in early February of shutting much of its lucrative entertainment sector for two weeks -- including casinos, nightclubs and many bars.
Takings for the month plunged 87.8 percent from the previous year, according to figures released by gaming authorities late Sunday.
Macau has recorded only 10 COVID-19 infections and has not detected any new cases for almost a month.
Macau depends almost entirely on gaming revenue, raking in more in a single week than Las Vegas makes in a month.
Macau
Major Physics Conference Scuttled
American Physical Society
The American Physical Society canceled its annual March Meeting in Denver, Colorado, the country's largest physics conference that draws over 10,000 annually, citing health and safety concerns due to the coronavirus outbreak.
The cancelation came less than two days before the conference's scheduled start date of today, March 2, leaving participants to cancel travel plans last-minute and even leaving those who arrived early in Denver without a conference to attend. The APS cited the fact that many attendees would be visiting from outside the U.S., including from countries with the highest warning level for a travel health notice: China, Italy, South Korea, and Iran.
The meeting is among the most important of the year for physicists. Researchers use the gathering to share their latest results and network with peers. The APS announced the cancellation on Saturday night over social media, through an update to their web page, and in email to participants, followed by a press conference yesterday. Nature physics journalist Davide Castelvecchi, himself stranded in Denver, reported that the decision came specifically after the CDC upgraded Italy and South Korea to its highest warning level for travel.
Unfortunately, hundreds of physicists from around the world found out about the cancelation after arriving at their hotels on Saturday night or Sunday morning. Audun Skaugen, a postdoctoral researcher at Tampere University in Finland, told Gizmodo via Twitter that he had gone straight to sleep after checking into his hotel on Saturday, only to wake up to a cancelation email on Sunday morning. He'd planned to attend a pre-conference course on machine learning in statistical physics and was going to give a talk on his own research Friday.
American Physical Society
| CURRENT MOON lunar phases |
