Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Jonathan Chait: Republican Extremism Is Turning Democrats Left on Health Care (NY Mag)
It would be extremely reasonable for a liberal who favors Obama-Romney-style subsidized private insurance to conclude that market-based insurance is simply too vulnerable to right-wing sabotage, and the only safe path for covering people who can't afford their own insurance is through public programs. One of the things conservatives have been completely oblivious to is the degree to which their manic uncompromising stance has strengthened the case for more left-wing health-care reforms within the Democratic Party while undermining the basis for more moderate ones.
Paul Krugman: "What Do We Actually Know About the Economy? (Wonkish)" (NY Times)
Macroeconomics is better than you think, microeconomics worse, and data are limited
Josh Marshall: They'll Crawl Over Broken Glass for Kavanaugh (TPM)
It is of course true that the Republicans have shown there's no norm or tradition they won't violate in a situation like this. But these are real obstacles. They create great uncertainty about the outcome of another nomination. Republicans and the conservative legal movement (led by and typified by The Federalist Society, but not limited to it) have been working to get this fifth vote for more than forty years. This is the pay-off. They got one part of the way there with the corrupt Gorsuch nomination. Now they have the fifth vote in their sights.
E.J. Dionne, Jr: The ominous decline of social democracy (Washington Post)
The rise of Donald Trump was shocking, but it was not a one-off. The forces that brought him to power have parallels across democracies as fears about immigration, inward-looking nationalism and discontent over economic globalization push an ever-larger share of voters to the far right. For American progressives, it is especially disturbing that social democracy, one of the most humane political movements of the last century, is losing ground almost everywhere. What can we learn from its decline?
Matthew Yglesias: George W. Bush is not a resistance leader - he's part of the problem (Vox)
A relatively small number of Republicans could, without in any way compromising any of their conservative policy principles, join with Democrats to force disclosure of Trump's personal finances, investigate his possible ties to money laundering, and force him to stop profiting personally from the presidency. But none of them are doing so. Not because they love Trump personally, but because they love the mainstays of the Republican Party domestic agenda - regressive tax cuts, business-friendly regulation - so much that they don't want to imperil it by challenging Trump's personal corruption or erosion of the rule of law.
Jonathan Chait: How Elizabeth Warren Is Dominating the Democratic Presidential Race (NY Mag)
First, [her ideas] directly attack the most glaring political weakness of Trump and his Republican allies: the nexus of corruption and self-enrichment that has defined the Trump era. Trump is enriching himself and his family in office, and Republicans are allowing him to do so because he signs policies that enrich them and their donors - in some cases, through literal graft, and in other cases through routine Republican policies like corporate tax cuts, deregulation of polluters, exploitative for-profit colleges, Wall Street, and other wrongdoers.
Joe Bob Briggs: It's 5 a.m. for Burt Reynolds (Taki's Magazine)
… he will be remembered primarily for a movie about a redneck in a cowboy hat who accepts a job running illegal Coors beer from Texarkana, Tex., to the old fairgrounds on the south side of Atlanta, for no particular reason other than so his friends can have the beer at their party. After a hundred minutes of chase scenes, car crashes, encounters with a flummoxed sheriff played by Jackie Gleason, and an on-the-road romance with runaway bride Sally Field, Burt and his "posse" sidekick Jerry Reed are victorious. The beer is served. The party continues. It may be the thinnest plot in the history of the world to gross $300 million. And Burt would be okay with that.
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Presenting
Michael Egan
answered:
has returned to semi-retired status.
In memory.
Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
from Bruce
Anecdotes
• At one time, Elizabeth Taylor was married to John W. Warner, a Senator from Virginia. After a trip to a Virginia oil field, Senator Warner was thirsty, so he stopped at a tiny country store to ask for a glass of water. However, the proprietress denied his request, saying, "We're running a business here. We've got Coke, Sprite, and 7-Up. Take your pick." Aghast, Senator Warner said, "You don't understand. I'm Senator John Warner, and I want a glass of water." This did not impress the proprietress. Then one of the Senator's aides said to her, "You don't know this man. He's married to Elizabeth Taylor." This did impress her. She replied, "Well, then, he can have all the water he wants."
• Leo Slezak was one of the world's great tenors, and so he was a celebrity in any country that loved opera. Of course, being a celebrity does have advantages. Once he took his children to an amusement park, where he decided to shoot an air rifle at a target. The proprietor recognized him, casually asked what target he was shooting at, then said in a voice loud enough to reach the back of the tent, "Ah, the tiger." Mr. Slezak then aimed at a different target, fired the rifle, the tiger fell down, and he won a prize.
• Famous vaudeville comedian Bobby Clark was seldom recognized unless he was wearing his trademark spectacles-which weren't real spectacles, but were merely drawn onto his face. Even his barber, who had been cutting his hair for years, didn't recognize him. Once, his barber told him that he had seen a comedian with the same name as his on a vaudeville stage and he wondered where the comedian had thought up the crazy things he did. Mr. Clark replied that he had often wondered the same thing.
• Comedian Jack Benny used many gestures in his comedy, including a hand-to-cheek gesture. According to Mr. Benny's friend, George Burns, Mr. Benny developed this gesture in order to have something to do with his hands. In vaudeville, Mr. Benny had carried a violin. On the radio, he had held the script. On television, he wasn't quite sure what to do with his hands-thus he developed the hand-to-cheek gesture.
• Dancer Fred Astaire sometimes had an odd effect on other people. At a party, he asked a woman named Slim Keith to dance with him. She was flattered, but she was also so terrified to be dancing with the great Fred Astaire that when the music started, she was unable to move. She had to tell him, "Thank you very much, but I'm too scared," then sit down.
• Dawn Wells, who played Mary Ann on Gilligan's Island, still has many fans. Once, she boarded an airplane and all the passengers sang the theme song from Gilligan's Island. On another occasion, she was touring a castle in Bavaria and some fans came running up to her, crying, "Mary Ann! Mary Ann!"
• Once Sid Caesar's writers were nominated for an Emmy. However, another show's writers won-so Caesar writer Mel Brooks jumped up on his table at the awards and shouted, "There is no God!"
• Some celebrities have a sense of humor. Actor Walter Slezak's autobiography What Time's the Next Swan? has the subtitle "as told to Smith-Corona Model 88-E."
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Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
Edward Curtis: The last photos of Native American tribes - History 101
SEXUAL ASSAULT!
"BLAST THEM!"
Visit JD's site - Kitty Litter Music
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Last night it was finally cool off enough to put a blanket on the bed.
Season 44
SNL
Saturday Night Live, at long last, has revealed the lineup for its season 44 premiere. On Twitter today, the show announced that Adam Driver will host the show's premiere on Saturday, September 29, accompanied by musical guest Kanye West.
Both have performed on SNL before; Driver made his hosting debut in January 2016, while Kanye has performed as musical guest a handful of times, most recently when Ben Affleck hosted in 2013 and Melissa McCarthy hosted in 2016.
SNL
A Bad Idea
Neil deGrasse Tyson
All astronauts get high - about 240 miles (385 kilometers) higher than the planet's surface, if they're working aboard the International Space Station.
But no astronauts get stoned … at least, they're not supposed to. There are plenty of good reasons for that. Practically speaking, sparking up a fire in the oxygen-rich environment of a space station could result in hungry balls of flame spreading in every direction that there's fuel to burn. (Scientists and stoners can agree: That's a serious buzzkill.)
Spontaneous combustion aside, there are other health risks associated with getting high in a demanding microgravity environment - reasons that Neil deGrasse Tyson, the most famous mustache in astrophysics, recently explained in an interview with a tabloid reporter who asked what it would be like to smoke weed in space.
The topic came up after the reporter asked Tyson his thoughts about billionaire space entrepreneur Elon Musk taking a hit of weed during a recorded interview with TV personality and podcast host Joe Rogan. Musk, whose spaceflight company SpaceX contracts with the U.S. Air Force, is reportedly being investigated by Air Force officials for his use of the drug.
"Let the man get high if he wants to get high," Tyson told TMZ. "He's the best thing we've had since Thomas Edison."
Neil deGrasse Tyson
Killing Off Character by Opioid Overdose
Roseanne
Roseanne Barr has revealed the fate of her eponymous television character, Roseanne Conner. The comedian appeared on a recent episode of Brandon Straka's YouTube show and shared the news her character will die from an opioid overdose when "Roseanne" gets rebooted as "The Conners" on ABC this fall.
"Oh ya, they killed her," Barr confirmed about her character's fate. "They have her die of an opioid overdose."
Barr said the decision to have Roseanne Conner die of an opioid overdose was is an insult to the fans "who loved that family in that show." However, Barr is no longer involved in front of or behind the camera and therefore had no say in how the new show's creators got rid of her character.
"There's nothing I can do about it," Barr said. "It's done. It's over."
John Goodman, who plays Roseanne's husband Dan, previously revealed the show would be handling Barr's departure by killing off her eponymous character. When asked how his character would be different when "The Connors" starts, Goodman answered, "I guess he'll be mopey and sad because his wife's dead."
Roseanne
Aurora Cannabis
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola has had plenty of slogans throughout its long history. One recurring theme dating back to 1969 is "It's the real thing." Now a potential deal with Coke could make a top Canadian marijuana grower the real thing, too.
Aurora Cannabis is in serious talks with Coca-Cola to develop cannabis-infused beverages, according to a report by BNN Bloomberg TV. Could a deal with Coke and Aurora be even bigger news than Constellation Brands' partnership with Canopy Growth?
There are some important differences between the potential deal between Coca-Cola and Aurora Cannabis than the one between alcoholic beverage maker Constellation Brands and Canopy Growth. One biggie is that the kind of cannabis-infused beverage Coke is contemplating might not be the same as what Constellation and Canopy are envisioning.
Canopy Growth CEO Bruce Linton has said that his company and Constellation plan to launch cannabis-infused beverages including zero-calorie drinks with mixtures of cannabinoids. He told CNBC's Jim Cramer in an interview this summer, "We're talking about going into a bar and having a tweed and tonic."
Coca-Cola, on the other hand, appears to be interested in more-therapeutic cannabis-infused beverages targeting relief of cramping, inflammation, and pain. A source told BNN Bloomberg that Coke is looking to develop cannabis-infused beverages in the "'recovery drink' category."
Coca-Cola
Cuts To Plug Budget Gaps
"Entitlements"
A top economic adviser to President-for-now Donald Trump (R-Grifter) said on Monday he expects U.S. budget deficits of about 4 percent to 5 percent of the country's economic output for the next one to two years, adding that there would likely be an effort in 2019 to cut spending on entitlement programs.
"We have to be tougher on spending," White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said lied in remarks to the Economic Club of New York, adding that government spending was the reason for the wider budget deficits, not the Republican-led tax cuts activated this year.
"We're going to run deficits of about 4 to 5 percent of GDP for the next year or two, OK. I'd rather they were lower but it's not a catastrophe," Kudlow said. "Going down the road, of course we'd like to slim that down as much as possible and we'll work at it."
Kudlow also said he did not expect the Congress would be able to make the Trump administration's recent individual tax cuts permanent before the Nov. 6 midterm congressional elections.
"Entitlements"
Rafael's Rival
Beto
Rep. Beto O'Rourke (D-Texas) and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Zodiac), who are facing off in the U.S. Senate race in November, both weighed in over the weekend on the fatal shooting of a black man by a white off-duty police officer in Dallas on Sept. 6.
At a rally Friday night, O'Rourke agreed with those calling for the firing of officer Amber Guyger, who shot and killed her neighbor, 26-year-old Botham Jean, after entering his apartment. Guyger claimed she mistakenly thought she was in her own apartment.
"There has to be a full accounting for how young black men continue to be killed in this country without accountability, without justice, without these full investigations, without respecting their civil rights," O'Rourke said. "This cannot continue."
Asked whether Guyger should be fired, the representative said: "I don't understand, given the actions, how anyone can come to any other conclusion."
Cruz, in an interview with Fox 26 Houston that aired on Sunday, said O'Rourke and other Democrats were too "quick to always blame the police officer."
Beto
New Mexico
Solar Observatory
Everyone's had a bit of fun furiously speculating about why a National Solar Observatory (NSO) in Sunspot, New Mexico, was suddenly closed earlier this month. What else did anyone expect? Combine two of conspiracy theorists' favorite tropes - the FBI and the Sun - and you've got a recipe for some wild ideas, both serious and the decidedly more tongue-in-cheek.
Well, we've got some news everyone: according to a press release from the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA), the specific observatory in question has been re-opened. All those that left their homes will now be coming back to the site, and this week, all employees will return.
The statement describes the close-down of the facility, which occurred in an "orderly fashion", as being related to a security issue - something an earlier statement alluded to.
"AURA has been cooperating with an on-going law enforcement investigation of criminal activity that occurred at Sacramento Peak," the statement explains. "During this time, we became concerned that a suspect in the investigation potentially posed a threat to the safety of local staff and residents.
It's entirely unknown what criminal activity they're referring to, one that was serious enough to trigger an evacuation, but until more facts become clear to the powers that be, we won't be hearing anything else.
Solar Observatory
Postponed
Nationwide Test
The Federal Emergency Management Agency postponed its first national test of a national wireless alert system that allows the president to send text messages directly to most U.S. mobile-phone users.
The delay to Oct. 3 from Sept. 20 is due to the ongoing response to Hurricane Florence stalks the Southeastern U.S.
The test will take place on its backup date, FEMA said. The message will be identified as a "Presidential Alert" and according to FEMA it will contain the text: "THIS IS A TEST of the National Wireless Emergency Alert System. No action is needed." Carriers across the country will participate in the test, meaning that most -- but not all -- mobile users will receive the message with no ability to opt out, the agency said in a statement last week.
FEMA developed the Wireless Emergency Alerts system under a 2016 law enacted by President Barack Obama. It specifies that the system can only be used to communicate about disasters or terrorist attacks. That means it's unlikely that President Donald Trump, whose use of Twitter has revolutionized White House communications, could use it to send personal messages.
Testing will start at 2:18 p.m. Eastern time and last for about half an hour, FEMA said. It said cell phones should only receive the message once.
Nationwide Test
Schrödinger's Physics
Two Temperatures at Once
The famous thought experiment known as Schrödinger's cat implies that a cat in a box can be both dead and alive at the same time - a bizarre phenomenon that is a consequence of quantum mechanics.
Now, physicists at the University of Exeter in England have found that a similar state of limbo may exist for temperatures: Objects can be two temperatures at the same time at the quantum level. This weird quantum paradox is the first completely new quantum uncertainty relation to be formulated in decades.
In 1927, German physicist Werner Heisenberg postulated that the more precisely you measure a quantum particle's position, the less precisely you can know its momentum, and vice versa - a rule that would become the now-famous Heisenberg uncertainty principle.
The new quantum uncertainty, which states that the more precisely you know temperature, the less you can say about energy, and vice versa, has big implications for nanoscience, which studies incredibly tiny objects smaller than a nanometer. This principle will change how scientists measure the temperature of extremely small things such as quantum dots, small semiconductors or single cells, the researchers said in the new study, which was published in June in the journal Nature Communications.
Even if a typical thermometer has an energy that goes up and down slightly, that energy can still be known to within a small range. This is not true at all on the quantum level, the new research showed, and it's all due to Schrödinger's cat. That thought experiment proposed a theoretical cat in a box with a poison that could be activated by the decay of a radioactive particle. According to the laws of quantum mechanics, the particle could have decayed and not decayed at the same time, meaning that until the box was opened, the cat would be both dead and alive at the same time - a phenomenon known as superposition.
Two Temperatures at Once
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