Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Paul Krugman: When the President is Un-American (NY Times)
Trump is a betrayal of our national identity.
Marc Fisher: Who did Trump borrow his press tactics from? Joe McCarthy. (Washington Post)
They both hated, coddled and needed reporters.
Jamelle Bouie: The Bubble President (Slate)
Trump lives in a fantasy of triumph. He will never do anything to win back the voters he's lost.
Robert McCrum: 'Words are the best weapons with which to come to terms with ageing' (The Guardian)
After a brush with death in 1995, Robert McCrum had settled back into life as a literary journalist. Then, aged 60, came a fall that would force him to contend with mortality once more…
Tim Lewis: "Samantha Bee, the new heroine of American political satire" (The Guardian)
Samantha Bee, a 47-year-old Canadian-born dual-citizen of Canada and the US, has been called the "comedian of the resistance" in the Donald Trump era.
A Totally Real, 100% Valid Theory | Full Frontal with Samantha Bee | TBS (YouTube)
Donald Trump can't read?
David Bruce's Amazon Author Page
David Bruce's Smashwords Page
David Bruce's Blog
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David Bruce's Apple iBookstore
David Bruce has over 80 Kindle books on Amazon.com.
Presenting
Michael Egan
took the day off.
has returned to semi-retired status.
In memory.
Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
Team Coco
CONAN
Bonus Links
Jeannie the Teed-Off Temp
Reader Comment
Current Events
Borowitz is NOT supposed to report straight news--he's supposed to write satire:
WASHINGTON ( The Borowitz Report)-A disturbing hostage video surfaced on Monday showing an American man woodenly reciting words that were not his own.
The video, which was broadcast on all the major news networks, raised concerns for the man, whose robotic performance indicated that he was reading a prepared statement under duress.
While the man appeared well fed and, to a certain extent, healthy, his facial expressions and body language convinced experts that the act of reciting the prepared text was an extraordinary ordeal for him.
from Marc Perkel
Patriot Act
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
TINY HANDS. POISON FINGERS.
THE END OF DENIAL ABOUT TRUMP.
A MORAL FAIURE!
ONE MORE TIME. INTO THE STUPID!
JUST GO ON LIVING.
"THIS SITE IS NOW UNDER THE CONTROL OF ANONYMOUS."
THE "TWITTER TWIT" STRIKES AGAIN!
"BUT I AM PETRIFIED FOR THEM."
Visit JD's site - Kitty Litter Music
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Twice in the last week, on 2 different local TV stations, reporters pronounced the word 'escape' as 'eX-cape'.
Yeah, they're hiring the best and the brightest for the 2nd largest market in the country. Sigh.
Pantone Announces Official Color
Prince
In a fitting and unusual tribute, the Prince Estate, alongside Pantone Color Institute, announced today the creation of a standardized custom color to represent and Prince.
The color, of course, is a shade of purple.
"Love Symbol #2" was inspired by his custom-made Yamaha purple piano, which was originally scheduled to go on tour with the artist before his death from an accidental drug overdose on April 21, 2016. From the 1984 film "Purple Rain" to multiple lyric references, wardrobe and vehicle choices and more, Prince has long been associated with the color. The announcement comes just weeks after the release of a deluxe edition of the "Purple Rain" album including previously unreleased tracks and a long out-of-print DVD of a 1985 concert.
"The color purple was synonymous with who Prince was and will always be. This is an incredible way for his legacy to live on forever," said Troy Carter, Entertainment Advisor to Prince's Estate.
Laurie Pressman, Vice President of the Pantone Color Institute said: "We are honored to have worked on the development of Love Symbol #2, a distinctive new purple shade created in memory of Prince, 'the purple one.' A musical icon known for his artistic brilliance, Love Symbol #2 is emblematic of Prince's distinctive style. Long associated with the purple family, Love Symbol #2 enables Prince's unique purple shade to be consistently replicated and maintain the same iconic status as the man himself."
Prince
Hacker Leaks Episodes
'Curb Your Enthusiasm'
The weeks-long standoff between HBO and a hacker intent on extracting money from the Time Warner-owned cable network intensified Sunday with the leak of several episodes of "Curb Your Enthusiasm," as well as other series.
The Larry David-fronted comedy series wasn't scheduled to return to TV until October. But in a statement issued Sunday after the hacker's dumping, the network did not indicate it would yield to pressure tactics.
"We are not in communication with the hacker and we're not going to comment every time a new piece of information is released," the network said in a statement. "It has been widely reported that there was a cyber incident at HBO. The hacker may continue to drop bits and pieces of stolen information in an attempt to generate media attention. That's a game we're not going to participate in. Obviously, no company wants their proprietary information stolen and released on the internet. Transparency with our employees, partners, and the creative talent that works with us has been our focus throughout this incident and will remain our focus as we move forward. This incident has not deterred us from ensuring HBO continues to do what we do best."
Among other series leaked by the hacker included the latest episode of HBO comedy "Insecure," which was to have premiered tonight. Episodes of a series already airing a new season, "Ballers," as well as new series that have yet to air a single episode, including "Barry" and "The Deuce" were also distributed.
'Curb Your Enthusiasm'
Jumped Ship From ABC to Netflix
Shonda Rhimes
ABC's most reliable hitmaker Shonda Rhimes has jumped ship, moving her longtime juggernaut production company Shondaland over to Netflix with a rich new overall deal, marking a huge shift in the television landscape.
Rhimes' stated reason for leaving ABC Studios after 15 years is a desire for the creative freedom offered by Netflix, including fewer restrictions, more flexible episode orders and variable run times.
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, the producer voiced a desire to escape the "necessary grind of network television," including the arduous task of producing 22-24 episodes per season.
For the time being, Rhimes remains attached as an executive producer on all of the Shondaland shows currently airing and in the pipeline at ABC, including "Grey's Anatomy," "Scandal," "How to Get Away With Murder," this fall's upcoming legal drama "For the People" and a firefighter-centric "Grey's" spinoff.
But as "Grey's" heads into its 14th season - with executive producer Krista Vernoff returning to the series as co-showrunner alongside Rhimes and Betsy Beers - and "Scandal" prepares for its final, farewell season, Rhimes' role as a hands-on producer at ABC is in a down period.
Shonda Rhimes
To Fall Silent For Four Years
Big Ben
Britain's much-loved Big Ben will fall silent for four years from next week as conservation work is carried out on the famous 19th century bell in a clock tower next to the Houses of Parliament.
It will be the longest period that Big Ben, whose bongs are familiar to many people around the world because of their use in BBC radio and television broadcasts, has been silent in its 157-year history.
The Great Bell, popularly called Big Ben, weighs 13.7 tonnes and strikes every hour to the note of E. Four smaller bells also chime every 15 minutes.
The last bong before the refurbishment will be at 12 pm (1100 GMT) on August 21, the statement said.
The clock will still tell the time silently until 2021 and the chimes will continue to be rung on important occasions such as New Year's Eve.
Big Ben
91 Volcanoes Slumbering Beneath Ice Sheet
West Antarctic
In a discovery that sounds like the premise for an environmental disaster movie starring Jake Gyllenhaal, researchers say they've identified 91 previously unknown volcanoes sitting underneath the West Antarctic Ice Sheet.
Yes, that's the same ice sheet that climate scientists are concerned has slid into an irreversible collapse, due to human-caused global warming.
If verified through other studies, the new results would bring the total number of volcanoes beneath this part of Antarctica to nearly 140, and raise the unsettling possibility that subglacial heat from these volcanoes could speed up the melting of the ice.
The study, from researchers at Edinburgh University, used radar data from aircraft and satellites that penetrates through the ice to expose the rock below. They then analyzed the observations to find basalt rock formations closely resembling volcanoes.
According to the study, the volcanoes are concentrated along the 1,864-mile-long West Antarctic Rift System, which extends from the Ross Ice Shelf to the Antarctic Peninsula.
West Antarctic
Resign From Trump Council
Three CEOs
The chief executives of Intel Corp, Merck & Co Inc and Under Armour Inc resigned from Donald Trump's (R-Crooked) American Manufacturing Council on Monday, following Trump's initially tepid response to weekend violence at a rally of white supremacists in Charlottesville, Virginia.
"I resigned from the council to call attention to the serious harm our divided political climate is causing to critical issues...," Intel Chief Executive Brian Krzanich said in a blog post.
Kenneth Fraizer, the chief executive of drugmaker Merck and an African-American, said he left the advisory council because of the president's reaction after the violence between white supremacists and counter protesters. Frazier cited the need to "take a stand against intolerance and extremism."
The AFL-CIO, a federation of labor unions that represent 12.5 million workers, said it was considering pulling its representative on the committee.
The CEO of Under Armour, Kevin Plank, announced his resignation from the council in a Twitter posting. "We remain resolute in our potential and ability to improve American manufacturing," said Plank. "However, Under Armour engages in innovation and sports, not politics."
Three CEOs
Canceled By GoDaddy Then Google
Domain Registration
Neo-Nazi website the Daily Stormer had its domain registration revoked twice in less than 24 hours, in moves that threatened to take it offline if it does not find a replacement for GoDaddy and Google, which both said the site had violated their terms of service.
GoDaddy Inc disclosed late on Sunday via Twitter that it had given The Daily Stormer 24 hours to move its domain to another provider, saying it had violated GoDaddy's terms of service. The white supremacist website, associated with the alt-right movement, helped organize the weekend rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, that turned violent.
GoDaddy feared the site might be used to incite further violence after the events in Charlottesville, including the death of Heather Heyer, who was fatally struck by a car allegedly driven by a man with white nationalist views.
The Daily Stormer responded by moving its registration to Alphabet Inc's Google Domains, which offers transfers through an automated online process that the Internet company says typically takes 20 minutes or less to complete.
The domain was registered with Google shortly before 8 a.m. California time and the company announced plans to revoke it at 10:56 a.m., according to somebody familiar with the revocation.
Domain Registration
Urged Trump To Fire Bannon
Rupert
Media mogul Rupert Murdoch recently urged Donald Trump (R-Corrupt) to sack his far-right chief strategist Steve Bannon, The New York Times reported late Monday.
Murdoch made his plea during a White House dinner before Trump left for vacation in New Jersey on August 4, the Times said.
The timing means it preceded the violence that broke out over the weekend at a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, leaving one dead and 19 wounded.
The dinner was also attended by Jared Kushner, one of Trump's closest advisers and the husband of his daughter Ivanka, and Trump's new chief of staff John Kelly, the paper said, quoting a person familiar with the conversation.
Trump did not strongly counter Murdoch's advice and expressed frustration with Bannon, the paper said.
Rupert
Racist Fired
Charlottesville
White nationalists who participated in the deadly rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, over the weekend are being identified on social media, and at least one man has lost his job as a result.
Top Dog, a hot-dog restaurant in Berkeley, California, said it fired Cole White on Saturday after the man was named by a Twitter account devoted to outing rally participants.
"Effective Saturday 12th August, Cole White no longer works at Top Dog," read a sign posted outside the restaurant on Sunday. "The actions of those in Charlottesville are not supported by Top Dog. We believe in individual freedom and voluntary association for everyone."
The Twitter account that identified White, @YesYoureRacist, is encouraging the public to help identify other attendees shown in photos from the event.
Charlottesville
Offers To Settle
North Dakota
North Dakota regulators offered Monday to settle state allegations that the Texas-based developer of the Dakota Access oil pipeline improperly reported the discovery of American Indian artifacts during construction.
The state Public Service Commission last November proposed a fine of at least $15,000 against Energy Transfer Partners, though the commission has the authority under state law to levy fines of up to $200,000.
ETP didn't immediately comment on the proposal. The company has 10 days to accept the offer. If it rejects it, the PSC will move forward with the complaint. The next step would be a public hearing.
The complaint arose when the PSC was notified by a third-party inspector that pipeline crews last October had diverted construction of the pipeline around Native American artifacts. The company had obtained the approval of the State Historic Preservation Office but not of the commission, which oversees pipelines. The artifacts weren't disturbed.
ETP has maintained it did nothing intentionally wrong and has been fighting the proposed fine, which pales in comparison to the $3.8 billion cost of the pipeline that last month began moving oil from North Dakota to a distribution point in Illinois.
North Dakota
In Memory
Joseph Bologna
Joseph Bologna, the actor, director, playwright, and Oscar-nominated screenwriter, died Sunday morning after losing his battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 82.
His wife of 52 years, actress Renée Taylor, said in a statement that his team of doctors prolonged his life for the last six months during the cancer's most aggressive stages.
A Brown University graduate and Marine Corps veteran, Bologna began his career directing commercials, winning many Cleo Awards along the way.
He and Taylor wrote their first Broadway show, "Lovers and Other Strangers," and went on to pen the screenplay for it, which earned them an Academy Award nomination. They wrote and starred in "Made for Each Other," which won a Writer's Guild Award, and co-wrote and co-directed "Love Is All There Is," where they discovered and introduced Angelina Jolie.
As a team, Bologna and Taylor published 22 plays, many of which landed on Broadway, including "It Had to Be You," "Bermuda Avenue Triangle" and "If You Ever Leave Me I'm Going With You," which they also starred in.
On film, Bologna appeared with Michael Caine in "Blame It on Rio," with Gene Wilder in "Woman in Red," with Peter O'Toole in "My Favorite Year" and with Adam Sandler in "Big Daddy."
On the small screen, he had guest appearances on shows such as "CSI," "Arliss," "L.A. Law" and "The Nanny," where he once again worked alongside Taylor.
Bologna's final project was the soon to be released "Tango Shalom" was a true family affair. He wrote and starred it in with Taylor (and their life-long family friend Lainie Kazan), his daughter Zizi was the music supervisor and his son Gabriel directed it.
Bologna and Taylor celebrated their 52nd wedding anniversary two days before his death. Their first wedding was courtesy of TV personality and media mogul Merv Griffin, who picked up the tab for the ceremony, which was shot on the sound stage of his popular variety show and aired in his regular time slot. Through the years, they renewed their wedding vows five times in a different religion every time.
The night Bologna passed, his longtime friend Dr. Roger Lerner visited him at City of Hope. As Bologna slipped in and out of consciousness, the doctor asked him if he was comfortable. Bologna answered, "No, but I make a living."
Joseph Bologna
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