1/ Frank Rich with his thoughts on Trump and the election......always insightful, always intelligent.....
Most weeks, New York Magazine writer-at-large Frank Rich speaks with contributor Alex Carp about the biggest stories in politics and culture. Today: the fallout from the Trump-Khan feud, the question of standing up to Trump, and Hillary Clinton’s post-convention bounce.
In the wake of Donald Trump’s protracted feud with the Khan family, President Obama has openly called on Republican leaders to withdraw their support for Trump, arguing that repeated criticisms of his missteps are meaningless unless they come with real consequences. At this point, would it be more dangerous for the GOP to abandon Trump or to defiantly double down on him?
The most dangerous thing — for America, assuming we care more about the country than either political party — would be for Trump to be elected president. The most patriotic thing would be for Republican leaders to abandon Trump and do anything possible to stop him. But most GOPleaders have other priorities: gaining the White House for their party no matter who the chief executive or what the price, holding their House and Senate majorities, and retaining statehouses. They are not going to mount an effort to repudiate Trump unless they think those partisan political goals — especially holding Congress — are in serious jeopardy.
http://nymag.com/daily/intelli
2/ Bill Maher with a "New Rules" that has a serious note as well as some great zingers......a very good five minutes.....
Bill Maher warned liberals tonight that for the sake of not risking a Donald Trumppresidency, they need to temporarily just take a backseat and not stir up the culture wars.
As he pointed out, conservatives saw success when they exploited gay marriage as a culture war issue and won in 2004.
Maher even said that he’s willing to sacrifice his marijuana advocacy in the name of keeping the entire focus of the year on Trump, and he pointed to new culture war issues the right is trying to stir up about bathrooms.
“There’s no room,” he said, “for boutique issues in an armageddon election.”
3/ Paul Krugman with an interesting story on the role reversal of the Dems and GOP when it comes to patriotism.....USA, USA!
It has been quite a week in politics.
On one side, the Democratic National Convention was very much a celebration of America. On the other side, the Republican nominee for president, pressed on the obvious support he is getting from Vladimir Putin, once again praised Mr. Putin’s leadership, suggested that he is O.K. with Russian aggression in Crimea, and urged the Russians to engage in espionage on his behalf. And no, it wasn’t a joke.
4/ This will be a classic John Oliver - our premier comedic reporter on [of course] the orange one.....
The host of Last Week Tonight on HBO devoted his deep-dive segment to recapping the Republican and Democratic National Conventions Sunday night, emphasizing the the language used by Donald Trump in the days since Khizr Khan emotionally spoke in Philadelphia.
Khan, the Muslim father of fallen U.S. Army Captain Humayun Khan, has inadvertently gotten into a feud of sorts with the Republican nominee that stemmed from a DNC speech Thursday night. “If you look at his wife, she was standing there, she had nothing to say, she probably — maybe she wasn’t allowed to have anything to say, you tell me,” said Trump to George Stephanopoulos this weekend, noting Ghazala Khan‘s silence during the DNC speech.
It took an officially released statement from the campaign for Trump to finally acknowledge Capt. Humayun Khan as a “hero,” a stick point that Oliver sharply criticized Sunday night. Perhaps, offered the late night host, Ghazala Khan is too overwhelmed to speak, “when she sees images of her dead son’s face, you fucking asshole.”
5/ Some advice to Bernie from reporter Greg Palest.....and Bernie should take it....
Bernie's campaign is just beginning. No kidding. The real campaign. The one he was chosen for.
I got this idea of what Bernie and Berners should do from Satan, from the Anti-Christ. Or, as you might know him from television, the Reverend Pat Robertson. That’s correct: the berzerko right wing televangelist – and one of the most brilliant men I've ever met.
Years ago, the Guardian asked me to investigate Rev. Pat’s diabolical plan to create the first web-only bank. (The goofy bank caper was foiled when The Guardian reported on his less-than-savory financial dealings that would likely disqualify him from getting a bank charter.)
When I visited The Reverend at his TV studio in Virginia Beach, I reminded him that, when he ran for President in 1988, he claimed that God himself had told him to run. My question: With a campaign manager like that, how come he lost?
6/ The wonderful Samantha Bee with her take on the DNC Convention and Mr Khan's speech....seven very amusing minutes.....
“Full Frontal” host Samantha Bee on Monday celebrated the successes of last week’s Democratic National Convention.
“The convention was an unexpected triumph of positive messaging and flawless showmanship,” Bee said. “Turns out the Democrats had this in them all along, and all it took for them to get their shit together was the looming certainty of armageddon.”
“The entire week was an implicit middle finger to Trump’s dystopian view of America,” she continued. “But in four days of powerful rebukes to Trumpism, the most devastating came from the father of Captain Humayun Khan, who sacrificed his life while saving his fellow soldiers in Iraq.”
7/ Thomas Frank on the danger for the Clinton campaign of taking polling for granted.....because Trump is stealing her progressive positions, even though his simple minded followers don't realize it....
A challenging story to read if you are a Democrat.....
The Republican party wants my liberal vote. This was the most shocking wave to wash over my brain last week as I sat in the convention center in Cleveland. It was more startling in its way than the storm of hate that I saw descend on former GOP hero Ted Cruz, stranger than the absence of almost all the party’s recent standard-bearers, weirder than the police-state atmosphere that hovered over the streets of the city.
The Republicans were trying to win the support of people like me! Not tactfully or convincingly or successfully, of course: they don’t know the language of liberalism and wouldn’t speak it if they did; and most of the liberals I know will never be swayed anyway. But they were trying nevertheless.
Donald Trump’s many overtures to supporters of Senator Bernie Sanders were just the beginning. He also deliberately echoed the language of Franklin Roosevelt, he denounced “big business” (not once but several times), and certain of his less bloodthirsty foreign policy proposals almost remind one of George McGovern’s campaign theme: “Come home, America.”
Ivanka Trump promised something that sounded like universal day care. Peter Thiel denounced the culture wars as a fraud and a distraction. The Republican platform was altered to include a plank calling for the breakup of big banks via the reinstatement of Glass-Steagall. I didn’t hear anyone talk about the need to bring “entitlements” under control. And most crucially, the party’s maximum leader has adopted the left critique of “free trade” almost in its entirety, a critique that I have spent much of my adult life making.
It boggles my simple liberal mind.
8/ Seth Meyers on Trumps really bad week..... seven funny minutes.....
“Late Night” host Seth Meyers on Thursday took “A Closer Look” at GOP Donald Trump’s nightmarish week on the campaign trail.
Just this week Trump: feuded with Gold Star father Khizr Khan, twice lied about having seen a nonexistent video of the U.S. handing Iran $400 million in ransom money in bags, claimed his Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton was “the founder of ISIS,” and declined to endorse Speaker Paul Ryan in his reelection bid in Wisconsin’s first congressional district.
Former-Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee assured Fox News viewers on Wednesday that, a President Trump would be “surrounded by a whole lot more people than he is as a candidate … I think he probably won’t have his own Twitter account when he’s president.”
9/ The NY Times featured an unfiltered three minute video of Trump supporters collected over the last few months.....it's quite chilling....and it shows exactly the type of people you thought were voting for him....
Unfiltered Voices From Donald Trump's Crowds
By ERICA BERENSTEIN, NICK CORASANITI and ASHLEY PARKER | Aug. 3, 2016 | 3:11
New York Times reporters have covered Donald J. Trump's rallies for more than a year. His supporters at these events often express their views in angry and provocative ways. Here are some examples.
10/ Do you follow Howard Stern, or did you in the past? You may be interested in this long story from the Times about how Stern has reinvented himself as a great interviewer......most interesting.....
For years, Mr. Stern was known principally for pushing the limits of taste as the ringmaster of a raunchy circus of pranksters, oddballs and strippers. During his decades on terrestrial radio, his main passions seemed to be, in no particular order, boob jobs, prostitutes, lesbians and flatulence. Introspection and empathy were not fortes.
Mr. Stern being carried to his book party
1993
What I didn’t appreciate, until hearing Mr. Murray lay bare his deepest anxieties, is that since settling in to his new home on satellite radio, which he did in 2006, Mr. Stern and his show have gradually taken on an improbable new dimension. Scattered among the gleefully vulgar mainstays are now long, starkly intimate live exchanges — character excavations that have made Mr. Stern one of the most deft and engrossing celebrity interviewers in the business and a sought-after stop for stars selling a movie or setting the record straight.
11/ Here's a classic routine from Howard Stern when he was on normal radio - one of his male staffers gets a bikini wax of his nether region, and it's hysterical. It's about 15 minutes......Stern sets it up, brings in a lady waxer and talks you through the procedure, which sounds awful - and is!
I remember I was listening to this on the radio driving to work, and I had to pull over I was laughing so much. If you want to shorten the time, listen to the last couple of minutes of Part 1, then play Part 2......
Richards Bikini Wax - Part 1
Richards Bikini Wax - Part 2
We had some great video come out from the Republican Convention two weeks ago that we didn't have room for.....so here are three fine segments......a little late, but still worth a look....
12A - Sam Bee sent a black reporter to the RNC to try to get a Republican to actually say "black lives matter".....watch the results.....almost poignant...
It’s day two of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, but Full Frontal With Samantha Bee still had some choice words for the Republican National Convention, which the host and her staff crashed last week.
GOP delegates talked to Full Frontal about how they’re excited for a president who doesn’t care for "political correctness," who "talks like I want to talk," and how "he says the things we’ve been thinking for years, that no one had the guts to say."
But the most interesting Full Frontal segment from the RNC floor was the one that tackled the idea that — in Bee’s words — "Donald Trump didn’t bring the racist potato salad to the GOP’s church picnic." Well actually, she corrected herself, "He did, but they were like, ‘Oh, man, we already have so much potato salad!’"
In a verbal game of cat and mouse, Bee’s correspondents tried to get RNC delegates to say the words, "black lives matter," leading to a montage of the interviewed delegates insisting that "all lives matter."
12B - Sam Bee also did special RNC coverage where she rented a bus on the way to Cleveland, and interviews a Republican politician in a diner who can't bring himself to say Trump's name. The six minute video features Tony Goldwyn from "Scandal" as her bus driver......the format is sort of like a mini-doc....
Amusing.....
As if the show doesn’t have enough to cover during this bizarro world of election season, Full Frontal with Samantha Bee released an extra episode Wednesday, covering the journey from New York to the Republican National Convention in Cleveland.
The series is undoubtedly still filming at the convention for segments to air in a later episode, so this installment was basically an excuse to air several reports Full Frontaldid along the way in the crucial swing state of Pennsylvania.
(Also, Scandal’s Tony Goldwyn — aka President Fitz — was there to drive the bus, for no reason other than the fact that Bee and company could get Scandal’s Tony Goldwyn to drive the bus.)
12C - Bill Maher did live RNC convention coverage, and this is one of his special "New Rules".....really really funny, five minutes.....and you will never look at Giuliani the same again.....
Controversial comic and host of HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher host Bill Maher capped off his first live special convention episode with one of his patented “New Rules” segments that took aim at the first three days of the Republican National convention, and left no punch pulled. Maher, who prides himself on leaving no sacred cow unmolested, was particularly irreverent during an extended riff about former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, and Giuliani’s bottom teeth:
13/ Scott Maxwell with an excellent column on the way our Florida politicians, starting with the slimy mutant roach we have as a Governor, could care less about the environment and our water......corrupt, and paid for.....
A
few weeks ago, Florida made national news for being coated in thick, green, toxic algae.
It looked like a river of snot. It smelled worse. And it mangled the economy along the St. Lucie River and Treasure Coast.
Anyone with one good eye and nostril knew something needed to be done.
Well, last week, Florida officials responded ... by voting to allow more cancer-causing agents into the Sunshine State's drinking water supplies and recreational waters.
No, I'm not kidding.
While the state is still reeling from one water crisis, Gov. Rick Scott's "environmental" commission voted to allow higher levels of things like benzene (which can lead to leukemia) and tetrachloroethylene (which has been linked to bladder cancer) into ground water supplies elsewhere.
It may sound too ridiculous for fiction. But it's not too ridiculous for Florida — where environmentalism is about as dead as the belly-up fish in the algae blooms.
Politicians here routinely tout Florida's natural beauty on the campaign trail, but then treat the state like a roll of toilet paper. (Seriously, check out our lax septic tank policies.)
They allow companies, developers and homeowners to pave and foul the land — and then charge taxpayers billions to clean it up. Fiscal conservatism, my asphalt.
14/ Thomas Edsall with a well written column on how Hillary can't go at Trump logically, because his appeal to the great unwashed white voter has nothing to do with facts, just emotion.
Quite a good analysis of what she has to do...........
How do you deal with an opponent immune to the truth, whose appeal is atavistic rather than rational? How do you pick off enough of his constituents and prevent him from making inroads into yours?
In Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton and her Democratic allies face a candidate for whom there is no precedent in presidential politics.
15/ Hot enough for you? Guess what - you ain't seen nothin yet....
Lots of data in this story......
America is too damn hot: U.S. faces dramatic rise
in extreme heat and humidity
Heat is the No.1 weather-related killer, and as carbon pollution continues, global temperatures will keep climbing
A boy walks near water spraying from an open fire hydrant in Brooklyn, N.Y., on July 5, as temperatures soared toward 100 degrees.
This article originally appeared on Climate Central.
Across the United States, we’ve hit the dog days of summer. Most regions are now seeing their hottest temperatures of the year, and the combination of heat and high humidity sends most people running for a cold drink, some shade or an air conditioner.
Heat is the No.1 weather-related killer, and as carbon pollution continues, global temperatures will keep climbing, bringing hotter summers and more dangerous heat.
Climate Central’s States at Risk project analyzed historic trends in summer temperatures since 1970 as well as projections for future extreme heat for hundreds of metro areas across the lower 48 states. Using several measures, our findings show that most U.S. cities have already experienced large increases in extreme summer heat and absolute humidity, which together can cause serious heat-related health problems.
We found that scores of U.S. cities home to tens of millions of people will face dramatic increases in dangerous and extreme heat days by the middle of this century if current greenhouse gas emissions trends continue.
Todays short stories - for you literary types.....
1. Lost Phone
Last night a friend rushed me out of the house to catch the opening act at a local bar’s music night. After a few drinks I realized my phone wasn’t in my pocket. I checked the table we were sitting at, the bar, the bathrooms, and after no luck I used my friend’s phone to call mine. After two rings someone answered, gave out a low raspy giggle and hung up. They didn’t answer again. I eventually gave it up as a lost cause and headed home. I found my phone laying on my nightstand, right where I left it.
Last night a friend rushed me out of the house to catch the opening act at a local bar’s music night. After a few drinks I realized my phone wasn’t in my pocket. I checked the table we were sitting at, the bar, the bathrooms, and after no luck I used my friend’s phone to call mine. After two rings someone answered, gave out a low raspy giggle and hung up. They didn’t answer again. I eventually gave it up as a lost cause and headed home. I found my phone laying on my nightstand, right where I left it.
Todays guy video - a five minute clip of a wind turbine being put up.....one for you engineers.....
Todays Trump joke
Donald Trump goes on a fact-finding visit to Israel. While he is on a tour of Jerusalem he suffers a heart attack and dies.The undertaker tells the American diplomats accompanying him, 'You can have him shipped home for $50,000, or you can bury him here, in the Holy Land, for just $100.'The American diplomats go into a corner to discuss for a few minutes. They return with their answer to the undertaker and tell him they want Donald Trump shipped home.The undertaker is puzzled and asks, 'Why would you spend $50,000 to ship him home, when it would be wonderful to be buried here and you would spend only $100?’The American diplomats reply, 'Long ago a man died here, was buried here, and three days later he rose from the dead. We just can't take the risk.'
Todays beer joke
Woman:
Do you drink beer?
Man: YesWoman:
How many beers a day?Man:
Usually about 3Woman:
How much do you pay per beer?Man: $5.00 which includes a tipWoman:
And how long have you been drinking?Man:
About 20 years, I supposeWoman:
So a beer costs $5.00 and You have 3 beers a day which puts your spending each month at $450.00. In one year, it would be approximately $5400.00 correct?Man:
CorrectWoman:
If in 1 year you spend $5400.00, not accounting for inflation, the past 20 years puts your spending at $108,000.00 correct?Man:
CorrectWoman:
Do you know that if you didn't drink so much beer, that money could have been put in a step-up interest savings account and after accounting for compound interest for the past 20 years, you could have now bought a Ferrari?Man:
Do you drink beer?Woman:
No.
Man:
Where's your Ferrari?
Todays golf jokes
GOLF AND WHAT IT ALL MEANS
Golf can best be defined as an endless series of tragedies obscured by the occasional miracle, followed by a good bottle of beer..Golf ! You hit down to make the ball go up.You swing left and the ball goes right.The lowest score wins, on top of that, the winner buys the drinks.If you find you do not mind playing Golf in the rain, the snow, even during a hurricane, here's a valuable tip ......... Your life is in trouble.Golfers who try to make everything perfect before taking the shot rarely make a perfect shot.A 'gimme' can best be defined as an agreement between two golfers ... Neither of whom can putt very well.An interesting thing about Golf is that no matter how badly you play, it is always possible to get worse.Golf's a hard game to figure.One day you'll go out and slice it and shank it, hit into all the traps and miss every green.The next day you go out and for no reason at all your game really stinks!If your best shots are the practice swing and the 'gimme putt', you might wish to reconsider this game.Golf is the only sport where the most feared opponent is you.Golf is like marriage, If you take yourself too seriously it won't work, and both are expensive.The best wood in most amateurs' bags is the pencil.SENIOR'S DAY AT THE COURSE
David Letterman's Top Ten Reasons Why Golf Is Better Than Sex...
#10... A below par performance is considered damn good.
#09... You can stop in the middle and have a cheeseburger and a couple of beers.
#08... It's much easier to find the sweet spot.
#07... Foursomes are encouraged.
#06... You can still make money doing it as a senior.
#05... Three times a day is possible.
#04... Your partner doesn't hire a lawyer if you play with someone else.
#03... If you live in Florida, you can do it almost every day.
#02... You don't have to cuddle with your partner when you're finished.
And the NUMBER ONE reason why golf is better than sex.....
#01... When your equipment gets old you can replace it!
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